Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie *****

Hey, CindyW - I finally got around to listening to it on audio too! and I'll just repeat my review here and add a note about the audio at the end:

first read was in 2008:

This was a terrific, short, light, fun read!

Kate has a plan. She's a 35-year-old career woman who's been engaged 3 times in 3 years - but never manages to make it to the altar. With the help of her best friend Jessie, the plan is to go to a golf resort and find her life partner. Her requirements: tall, dark and successful.

She manages to meet men right at the start: Lance, who she shoved in the pool for being a little too grabby; Peter, who got rushed to the hospital for heart palpitations when she caught him cheating at golf; Donald, who got a fork in the hand when he tried to stop Kate from eating; Nick, who fell off a cliff into poison ivy for... well, just a nice kiss on a hike! (and whatshisname that got kicked by a horse?)

Meanwhile, she spends her early mornings fishing with the resort owner's brother Jake, who keeps trying to rescue the men she's inadvertently maiming, and who warns her not to get involved with the locals since it's such a small town... and she's sending all the men to the hospital.

Jake's a former tax attorney who gave up life in the fast lane to move home to the small town where the resort is, in order to both finance and help his brother with the resort. Jake is a sort of silent partner - he now handles all the outdoor maintenance type work on the grounds, and fishes, and shies away from women like his ex-wife who values the fast life and big money.

Although it does only take place in 2 weeks, the relationship that builds between Jake and Kate feels real and believable, with them starting out just being friends. They both admit it - he doesn't fit in her plan, and she's the kind of woman he has no use for. When the feelings finally come to the forefront, they're both actually a little surprised, although no one else is.

The major conflict is how to compromise for a long-term relationship: she's on a career fast track (admittedly, not one of her choosing or that she particularly likes) and he's semi-retired from work at all. Plus he's commit-phobic as well. So after a long buildup and a fast relationship, they have to now face a future where one or both have to make some changes or live without each other.

I enjoyed it quite a lot, and rated it 5 stars, although I don't consider it one I'd save in a fire.

------------
The narrator of the audio is Renee Raudman, and she was wonderful!