Thursday, July 28, 2016

A Meeting of Hearts by Tina Radcliffe

From the July 18, 2016 issue

Tagline: Casey thought she didn't have time for a life...until she met Ben!

Observations: I haven't seen the woman in a "man's job" trope in a while, but it may just be because I haven't been paying attention. Woman's World likes to promote women doing whatever job floats their boat. I loved the little detail that she kept moist towelettes in her toolbox!

Using this trope does two things. It shows the heroine is a modern woman, one who isn't afraid to take on a profession dominated by men, which we admire. I sure wish I knew about cars. That could come in handy. It also shows the hero to be open-minded. While Ben does assume she doesn't know anything about cars, who can blame him? I don't think it's chauvinistic to make that assumption. I'd jump to the same conclusion.

The only thing that gave me pause was that the auto shop was adjacent to an accountancy office. In my experience auto body shops are not near nice office buildings. Otherwise, solid story.

Photo credit: Yasser Alghofily via Flickr Creative Commons License

6 comments:

Sandy Smith said...

I thought this was a cute and well written story. I always enjoy Tina's stories. I enjoyed the change in having a woman in a "man's" profession. I didn't think anything about the location. Can't remember if we were led to believe this was a city or small town, but in a small town it is possible the two businesses could be near one another.

Tamara said...

It was a cute story, but it was confusing to me that she was looking for a good accountant but he knew enough mechanics to become her assistant.

Sandy Smith said...

Tamara, I don't have the story in front of me to check again, but I thought she needed an accountant and that is what she was going to have him do.

L. Martin said...

Hi, I'm Loretta. This is my first post, although I've been "lurking" off and on since I started reading WW about a year ago.

I share Tamara's confusion. Here's the dialogue: "Make time," he said. "I'm not much of a mechanic, but I think I know enough to be your assistant."

Why would an accountant want to become an assistant mechanic? Are we to assume it's meant tongue in cheek or as a tease? If so, a prompt or clue, such as a "suggestive/inviting smile" would have helped. Thanks

Pat said...

I loved this story. The banter between them was adorable. I loved that she was a mechanic. I didn't have an issue with him knowing a little about cars, most guys do. If he knows tools and a little bit about cars, he could help her work on her car. LOL

Didn't think about the businesses being so close. I just figured that's how small towns are.

Shyra said...

A woman auto mechanic? Can I go to that shop? Liked that she had cars in common with her dad and learned from him. Sweet. I was a little confused about his offer to help with her car maintenance but then thought it was his way of trying to find a way to spend time with her.