Bet Me

Rating:
Summary: once again, formula Crusie...BORING!!!
Review: I read several of her books and really liked them although you could see the same old lines being used in each one...and of course there is always the woman "with attitude" that we are "supposed" to love...right? Well, I got kinda tired of the same old type of writing the Crusie does and stopped reading her books for a bit. Was in the library one day and walked pasted a book stand and saw "Bet Me" so I thought I'd try her again. I couldn't get passed Chapter Five before I had to put it down. I found the writing once again tedious to get through. It was the same old type of stuff and boy was I tired of it. I won't read any more of her books.

Rating:
Summary: Great can't-put-it-down book
Review: I received this book as a Christmas present from my in-laws (of all people). I was a bit hesitant - do they really know what I like to read?! Surprise surprise! They got it right! "Bet Me" is one of the best books that I've read lately. The characters pull you in and you keep turning pages to see what kind of crazy situation they'll get themselves into next.

After reading "Bet Me" I went to the library and checked out other Jennifer Crusie books. "Bet Me" got me hooked!

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: My First (and not last) Crusie
Review: For months I've had "Bet Me" sitting on the top of my TBR pile. A good friend just raved about Jennifer Crusie, and since I'd turned her into a Suzanne Brockmann fan, she felt justified in turning me toward Crusie's collective works. So when I finally got around to opening this book, it was with great expectation.

I'm glad to say that I wasn't let down. "Bet Me" was such a treat to read. The humor was wonderful, and I was immediately taken with both the hero, Calvin Morrisey, and the heroine, Minerva Dobbs.

Instantly the characters had a chemistry with each other despite the fact that they both tried to fight it through nearly the entire book. What was exceptionally clever is how Crusie brought attention to this connection by using a secondary character - a psychologist ex-girlfriend of Cal's - to list clues indicating if the couple was developing feelings, only to have those very clues show up in Cal and Minerva's interactions with each other.

The only problems I had with this book were Minn's mother and Minn's obsession with her weight. Minn's mother was so extreme in her nastiness - in her complete fixation on her daughter's physical appearance and disapproval of same - that she almost came off as a cartoon character. I kept waiting for Minn to turn around and smack the woman, mother or not, especially given that Minn felt no compunction in speaking her mind to every other character. And while it was completely understandable why Minn herself was so obsessed with her weight, it really became annoying that it was such a significant obstacle between Cal and Minn. Cal never expressed anything but appreciation for Minn's figure, yet Minn could not let him forget that it was less than her definition of perfect.

Still, it was refreshing to read about a woman who didn't conform to society's (and romance readers') expectation of physical perfection and an amazing, sexy desirable man who loved her all the same. The dialogue between these two was wonderfully real, fast paced and at times, wicked. Once they allowed their passion to run free, the scenes were downright steamy.

I've already got a whole stack of Crusie's just begging to be read. I can only hope they are all as good as "Bet Me".


Rating:
Summary: Read and re-read
Review: Crusie is the best in contemporary romantic fiction- but you've got to like some laughs; if passionate pathos and despair are your thing, you won't be pleased. Bet Me is at the top of my list of her books, though Faking It and Welcome to Temptation are duking it out for pure entertainment value. Her dialogue and situations are outstanding. Her books step on the edges of suspension of disbelief without ever going near the shores of Dynasty type writing. Her characters are fully rounded with flaws, families and friends that just make us like them more. Reading a Crusie novel is the best form of escapism. She has a fabulous sense of humor and her heros are perfect for being so far from perfect and therefore believable fantasies. She writes a sex scene like no one else. The hero is never virile and unbelievably potent and the gasps usually (initially) come from something stuck in the cushions under the couch. Then they deal. The most unlikely, yet lovely, aspect is that her heros want to talk and figure out how to do better in the future. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: New Fan of Crusie!
Review: I'd never read any of Crusie's books, until I picked this one up at the store after it caught my eye. I have to say, I've already went out and bought a few more of her books, because if they're as good as "Bet Me"- I'm a new fan & I'm hooked!

We first meet Min Dobbs as her boyfriend is breaking up with her- in a bar- for not sleeping with him. Thank god her friends are there for support, and so are some good looking available men. Cal catches her eye and she's definitely interested, until she sees him talking to her now ex-boyfriend & making a bet that he can't get her into bed in 1 month! No longer interested in his good looks, out of spite she does agree to leave the bar with Cal. Only, this casual acquaintance seems to take a life on of it's own...and Min & Cal begin running into each other where ever they go. Their love/hate relationship becomes irresistable, even though both of them try to deny it.

This book was such a pleasant, fun read! Very quickly I became attached to the characters in the book, the friends of Cal & Min, their families, even their conspiring Ex's! I think this is one of the best romantic comedy books I've read in a long time. As another reviewer put it, the dialogue and situations in the book are realistic, they do not come off as contrived or fake- as some books do. I'd certainly love to see a movie version of this book- and like I said, I'll be reading much more of Crusie in the future!

Rating:
Summary: Bet Me is a spunky and charming novel
Review: Bet Me is a fabulous book. Though it had a rough start, it really picked up towards the end. The main plot of the book is about Minerva Dobbs, a practical, sworn off of men, carb counter, who is being swooned by Cal. Cal is a serial dater that always wins his bets. When Cal recieves a bet to try to make Min fall in love with him, his world goes crazy. To make it worse, Min knows about the bet. First, they argue over everything and decide not to see each other, but fate has other plans. Where ever they go, they accidently bump into each other. They each finally realize that they love one another. Min tells Cal that she knows about the bet and he decides to throw it, but Min decides the prize is to great to risk. Ten thousand dollars and true love is too precious to let go.