OH, LORDS!

Two writers relate their war stories from the fraught dating scene in this guide.

In this collaboration, Averhart and Zimmerman share many of their personal experiences with the various “Lords” in the dating world—each man is used to exemplify a larger group or type. There’s Lord At-Your-Peril, a culprit who can load on his abuse in any number of ways—and about whom the authors have no-nonsense, completely unambiguous advice: run. “The relationship won’t get better,” they warn. “It can’t because it’s not about you.” There’s Lord FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), who openly admits that he’s playing the field and is just interested in dating, not commitment. About this Lord, the authors caution the romantics among their readers: “Many women will date Lord FOMO and say, ‘surely, once he gets to know me, he’ll change his mind. I can win him over.’ Uh, don’t count on it.” There are many others—Lord Contradiction, Lord Self-Absorbed, and so on—and the habits of each are dissected in detail, followed by the authors laying out the lessons that can be learned from dealing with the man. They break up these lessons with “Bloopers,” chapters in which Averhart and Zimmerman tell some of their favorite and most entertaining stories about all corners of the dating world, from apps to heartbreak. Their book is very well illustrated by Steiner in an invitingly cartoonish style, very well designed for easy reading, and, most of all, very knowing and compassionate. The authors stress that their lessons apply to the Ladies on the dating scene as well as the Lords, and the main theme running through the work is one of empowerment. Again and again, the authors assure their readers that they are in control of their own dating lives.

A funny, satirical, but ultimately affirmative examination of the Lords of the dating world.