Bet Me

Rating:
Summary: Best one liners...
Review: Great read - I stayed up until 3 so I could finish in one setting. Wonderful main characters that were so real and genuine they felt like a breath of fresh air in the world of 'cookie cutter' hero/ines. The author did a wonderful job of matching up this odd-ball pair with sly witt and laugh-out-loud humor. The secondary characters were intersting and multi-demensional, people you actually wanted to read about versus filler material. Crusie wrapped it all up with her killer writting style and so fun one liners i.e. "Min's father met them in the hall, a lumbering man with a shock of blond hair and heavy white eyebrows who should have been hearty and welcoming but instead had the vaguely paranoid look of a sheepdog whose sheep were plotting against him."

The reason I rated this a 4 is that the main character Min was overweight and could not be comfortable with herself (until the latter part of the book). Her boyfriend, Cal, was understanding, supportive, and completely comfortable with her size but she wasn't. As a result I felt uncomfortable for her through the majority of the book. I realize that the character was 'in process' and her outlook had changed dramatically by the end still this is why a 4 not a 5. Give me a chubby character who is comfortable in their identity and secure with their self image and you get a 5!

This was my first of Crusie and it will not be my last, I plan on getting the rest of them and hoping that they all will be as fun, intersting, and entertaining as 'Bet Me' Worth your time and money!

Rating:
Summary: 4 3/4 stars of fun
Review: Heroine: voluptuous

Actuary Minerva Dobbs is short a date for her sister's wedding, thanks to her no-good low-down boyfriend dumping her at just the wrong time, all because she wouldn't fall into bed with him. Her erstwhile almost-lover then bets notorious womanizer Calvin Morrissey $10,000 that Cal can't charm her into bed within a month. But beware a woman scorned! Min's onto their scheme and figures she can string handsome Cal along and get a meal or two, a date for that darn wedding, and the last laugh out of their little game.

Trouble is, her heart, or at least her loins, tell her she wants this guy for real, but her so-sensible mind points out that nice "white-cotton-panty-and-bra-set" girls do not--can not--keep this kind of Adonis for life. And wager aside, the odds are stacked against their making it in the long term: He's beautiful; she's not. He's all charm, she's no-nonsense. He's triple fudge, she's plain vanilla. And don't even get them started on which Elvis is better.

But will common sense win out over their hearts' desires? Don't bet on it.

What worked for me:

I thought this story was sweet and funny and felt like a Meg Ryan movie. And while some readers might feel like the plot was contrived in spots, I myself was fine with that for the most part. After all, keeping the hero and heroine out of each other's arms only raises the stakes and the tension.

I, too, know the heartache of trying and failing to make Chicken Marsala "heart smart". Just can't be done.

I don't want to give it away, but the epilogue made this particular curvy gal smile. It was perfect for the reader who requires her story be tied up in a neat little package with a perfect bow.

Size-wise Min is very voluptuous, like an old 50s pinup and then some. I love that Cal loved her curves and stood up for her, reassuring Min that she could both be beautiful and eat bread and butter.

What didn't work for me:

I was so hungry after reading this book!

What parents these people had. Poor Cal and Min! I wasn't entirely sold on all of their friends, either.

I was didn't mind it, but some folks who are looking for a story along the lines of "Welcome to Temptation" might find most of this one too tame for them. Still, stick it out. It gets rather interesting at the end.

Overall:

"Bet Me" is just begging for a production company to take a gamble on it and make it into a movie. (I wonder if Drew Barrymore or Christina Ricci is available for the lead?) (...) .

If you liked "Bet Me" you might also enjoy "Crazy For You", "Some Girls Do", "Heaven in Your Eyes", "Fast Women", "Name Dropping", "Welcome to Temptation", "Faking It", "Switcheroo", "Plum Girl", "Infernal Affairs", or "Princess Charming".

Rating:
Summary: My very first Jennifer Crusie...
Review: I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS. I cannot belive that every reader on here has not rated it 5 stars! What a FUN book! I LOVED Cal. I thought he was sweet, clever, charming, and [very attractive]...and as for Min...Oh My Gosh...She was a riot! The dialogue was unbelievable! I have never read dialogue like that in my life! It sounded so real it was hard to believe that these were only two made up characters speaking and not real people!Im so sad that its over! I am so excited to have found Jennifer Crusie. I fully intend to hunt down and purchase everything I can find that she has put out there... "Bet Me" is one book that I will be reading over, and over, and over...A DEFINITE KEEPER.

Rating:
Summary: My new favorite book-I've read it twice!
Review: I am an avid reader. I read at least one novel per week, usually romance. My favorites are Nora Roberts, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Janet Evanovich, etc. I have read Jennifer Cruise in the past and thought the books were cute reads. When I read this book, I laughed out loud. I loved the characters, they were so real and the dialogue and thoughts were exactly right. This really is a fantastic book.

Rating:
Summary: I figured out why its not great
Review: I am listening to the CD, after giving the book a quick read when it came out. The premise is great, but the dialog gets boring because its all "xx"Cal Said then "xx"Min Said "xx"Bonnie said "xxx"David Said. The word SAID must have been used 10,000 times in this book. It slows down otherwise snappy dialogue.

Rating:
Summary: "Well, they let me eat bread..."
Review: I checked this book out at my local library, it was a new issue, so I could only have it for 7 days...what with work and children and life, I didn't quite finish it so I kept it until I had finished and paid the fine! Well worth it, I must say! I loved the characters (I can picture each one of them in my head!) and I thought her dialogue was very, very funny. In fact, the funniest of all..."Well, they let me eat bread..." had me laughing out loud at 1:00 AM with my DH snoring beside me. I am anxious to reading more of her books and hopefully will enjoy them all as much.

Rating:
Summary: cheesy romance done right
Review: I couldn't put this book down - after I read it I had to go right back to some good parts. It's standing up excellently to re-reading: it was just as funny the third time as it was the first two.

Jenny herself described this as a "cheesy romance". There is no suspense element, and the plot is not only straightforward, but extensively foreshadowed. These are not flaws, because the writing is wonderful, the dialogue is hilarious, and the characters are interesting, as usual. I particularly liked how true everything was; there are at least six different theories of love and relationships among the various characters, all of which turn out to apply to the protagonists. In recent books by Ms. Crusie there is usually some element a bit over the top; in "Bet Me" it's the fairy tale themes. How many actuaries get to play Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, a girl who cries wolf, and the Beast in the course of a single story?

Crusie writes contemporary romances in much the way Dorothy L. Sayers wrote mysteries, or Lois McMaster Bujold writes science fiction, or Georgette Heyer wrote Regencies. Which is to say excellently well, but with no two books quite alike. In particular, they don't tend to repeat themes. If you like the writers voice, and enjoy watching her grow and change, this is wonderful. It does lead to different readers having different favorite books. This week my own favorite Crusie is probably "Faking It", but tastes vary. Fortunately it doesn't matter much; they're all very good.

If you insist on suspense with your romance, try Jayne Ann Krentz or Nora Roberts instead. If you want a story more focused on a serial heartbreaker hero, try Catherine Asaro's SF novel "The Last Hawk". If you want a recent fairy tale romance as fantasy rather than as a contemporary, try "The Fairy Godmother" by Mercedes Lackey. If you love "Bet Me" and want more straight contemporary romance, try Susan Elizabeth Phillips. If you really need the same theme over and over, stick to authors like Stephanie Laurens instead.

Jenny went on to suggest "... the world needs more cheese". I'm from Wisconsin, where we heartily agree with that sentiment. Especially when it produces books as wonderful as "Bet Me".

Rating:
Summary: All bets are off....
Review: I don't read a lot of "chick lit" -- but I do love Jennifer Cruisie. Cruisie's wit shines through in her characterization, her dialogue, and her ability to laugh at situations she's doubtless been in, through her characters' eyes.

All of that seems missing from "Bet Me", her latest. I'm told it's an older manuscript that got polished for publication -- but much of what I enjoy about Cruisie's work is missing. There are no really likeable characters here, especially in the parents of lead characters Min and Calvin. In terms of romance and sexual situations, which Crusie excels at - you can get warm reading what Calvin thinks about Min, but you really can't see much real passion from any of the other characters for their various partners. The characters I hated included Cynthie, David...and I was pretty impatient with Bonnie and her outlook on fairy tale lives (although her proposal to Calvin's friend was witty)...and Crusie went on and on about Min's weight, her self-consciousness, and her carb count. Truly, this book was an advertisement for Krispy Kreme donuts and chicken Marsala.

Crusie can do much, much better, and I'm looking forward to her next work of original, and not reworked material.

2 stars - I really wouldn't bother, if I were you.

Rating:
Summary: Good fluffy read
Review: I don't usually go for the romance type books but I thought I'd take a chance on this one. I was glad I did. I enjoyed the characters and their stories. It was a good read, sweet, funny, thoroughly enjoyable. I put this up with Good in Bed and In Her Shoes by J. Wiener- witty dialog, good one-liners,characters you can relate to. I will definitely be picking up other books written by this author.

Rating:
Summary: Crusie is always worth the read
Review: I enjoyed this latest from Jenny as much as her previous work. Go ahead, indulge. Looking forward to anything by Jenny!