Rating: 
Summary: IGNORE The NAY-SAYERS!!!! THIS IS A WONDERFUL READ!
Review: This is an absolute gem of a book. Min is everywoman and the way she deals with so many of our issues is, well, just
inspirational. Although Min was never a doormat, it's great fun watching her flex her muscles as she gradually realizes that she doesn't have to put up with all that stuff cluttering up her life -
an obnoxious boyfriend, a toxic mother, her own negative body image, well-meaning yet interfering and slightly loopy friends.
She's just learning to know and love herself when Cal comes into her life. And what a perfect reward for all her pains Cal is - better than Krispie Kremes. (Vegas Here I come) *ahem*Min and Cal's relationship is so skillfully developed that
I didn't even notice how long Crusie made us wait for one of her famous "hot" scenes until it finally happened. And the dog we've come to expect is in this case a cat - but what a cat. I just loved this funny and wickidly sharp book and I know it's one I'll read again and again - especially when the old self-esteem needs a boost! Well said....Diana
Rating: 
Summary: This was a surprise!
Review: I listen to Jennifer Cruise's books on unabridged audiocassettes because there aren't many choices for romances in this area. Jennifer Cruise's books have never been all that great to me. This one came as a big surprise. I actually liked the female character, there wasn't a sex scene every 20 pages, the story was cute, and the female character wasn't a thin, long-legged Barbie type.
Rating:
Summary: A Winning Book Recommended for all Chick Lit Fans
Review: Is there such a thing as a fairy tale romance? Does anyone ever live happily ever after? Actuary Minerva Dobbs finds out in BET ME, the latest in a string of Chick Lit books written by the popular author Jennifer Crusie. In this story, the focus is on a young woman who does not wear a size six dress nor cares about how she appears to the opposite sex. She is tired of the dating scene and of her criticizing mother, and is ready to move in with a cat. The story opens in a bar in New York with Minerva and her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend David breaking up. Apparently he is not happy that she has refused to have sex with him during their entire dating relationship, and he decides it's time to move on. Not that Minerva cares; she is actually relieved. She was tired of David's advice on how to lose weight and what not to eat, and wished that he could have accepted her the way she was. She leaves David and seeks out her two best friends, Bonnie and Liza, who are waiting for her at the bar. Min soon notices a trio of men across the way who are watching them. Three guys for three gals --- a perfect match. So Min decides to go over there and see what's up. As she approaches, she overhears them talking about her (in a rather unflattering way) and the man who has caught her eye is making a bet with his friends that he can convince her to go out to dinner with him by the end of the evening. On that note, Min runs back to her safe corner with Bonnie and Liza, and as the women wait, the man who caught her attention, Calvin Morissey, walks over to them, and subsequently asks Min out to dinner. Min accepts. What Min does not know is that David was the one who made this initial bet with Cal. She also isn't aware that David bet Cal $10,000 that Cal could not get Min to have sex with him within a month. David thinks this is an easy win for him, since he is under the impression that Min simply is not interested in sex. But what David does not understand is that Min simply was not interested in David, period. Cal, on the other hand, has a reputation for never losing a bet. He does not take David's sex bet seriously, but nevertheless wins the $10 bet regarding dinner with Min, thanks to her eavesdropping just minutes earlier. She basically went out with Cal just to infuriate David. From that point on, the crazy up and down friendship between Cal and Min begins. The two are obviously attracted to each other, but they drive each other nuts. It's like oil and water. They talk, they tease, they flirt. But neither one wants to admit that there is anything going on between them. Bonnie and Liza notice that something exciting IS going on between the two, and so do Cal's friends, Tony and Roger. Soon, the six of them become regular buddies, with Roger and Bonnie falling in love, Tony and Liza "dating" but with no serious intentions for a commitment, and Cal and Min arguing, flirting and stealing kisses every now and then. Min soon sees another part of Cal's life --- his personal relationship with his family, his ex-girlfriend Cynthie (who is secretly plotting a way to get Cal back), and a childhood that left Cal scarred and scared about being a failure. Cal also meets Min's wacky family, including a sister who is having pre-wedding jitters, an overbearing mother and an overprotective father who may be having an affair with his secretary. BET ME is a winning book. Although this reviewer feels it went on a bit too long, Jennifer Crusie does an excellent job creating some very funny characters. We see each individual written into this story as someone uniquely important in his or her own right, yet integral to the love story of Cal and Min. There are subplots that surround the fairy tale; although at first this reviewer did not see the point in throwing in all of these characters, it all comes together nicely by the end of the book. BET ME is recommended for all fans of Chick Lit. --- Reviewed by Marie Hashima Lofton
Rating:
Summary: Did not want to see it end.
Review: This was a great book from beginning to end. I loved it. The characters were great and the writing was excellent. For the reviewer who gave the book 1 star, Cal did not make the bet about getting her into bed. You should re-read that part because I think you missed it. This goes to show that men and women are not all superficial enough to care about weight and looks. It is also about personality which I think that both Cal and Min have in abundance.
Rating: 
Summary: Superficial & disappointing
Review: I wish I could say I liked this book...then I wouldn't feel so bad about the $$ I paid for it! But in truth, Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie was a real disappointment. The characters felt so one-dimensional, especially Min's mother, who existed as little more than a one-note cliche. A lot of the conversations read more like scripted banter, but one really stuck out to me as not ringing true at all. When Min and Cal were discussing weight and Cal went on and on about how men love to touch soft cushy women and women don't realize this and worry about being thin. He said something like "women get skinny for women, men don't care about that stuff," and I was just rolling my eyes! Please, that sounded a lot more like the author's FANTASY of what's true, it was totally oversimplified, but more annoyingly, the whole conversation just struck me as fake. Not to mention, Cal is a man in his mid-30s actually betting with the guys about how fast he can get Min in bed. And this is supposed to be the "hero" of this story?? NOT!!! Ugh, I just could not get into these characters or their shallow lives! If you have an ounce of maturity, I would skip this one.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly fabulous!
Review: I absolutely loved this book! I am a huge fan of Jennifer Crusie ("Welcome to Temptation" is one of my favorites - I read it over and over again). I was so excited when I saw that Ms. Crusie was releasing a new book - I pre-ordered it and then waited and waited and waited ... I re-read all of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum novels (also fabulously, cackle to yourself, don't read in public or others will think you're mad, funny!) while I waited! When I finally received "Bet Me" in the mail, I sat down with it with the intentions of just reading the first couple of pages while I ate lunch, before my afternoon class. Uh-huh - yeah, right. I missed all of my classes that day, because I absolutely could not put this wonderful book down. I read it in one sitting, and now I want to re-read all of Jennifer Crusie's others (even though I just did that last month). I can't stand to be without a Jennifer Crusie novel! This is definitely a must-read - laugh aloud funny, sweet, romantic, fabulous friendships, and has a real woman (complete with insane family and a realistic body) at the core. Don't just check this one out from the library - you will want to read it again and again. Buy this book!!!
Rating:
Summary: IT'S ABOUT TIME
Review: When all your romance novels out there are about your perfect size 8 women it is wonderful to read a humorous love story about a real 'rounded woman'. Crusie doesn't just offer the standard pat romance plot either. Between bets gone bad and overcoming self image problems Cal and Min battle out parents and friends to discover that sometimes 'fairy tales' can come true if your willing to take the risk. I LOVED this book!
Rating:
Summary: WITTY!!
Review: Read this book if you enjoy funny, sexy, witty characters and writing. You will chuckle and not even realize that time is passing quickly - I finished this book in one day - it was good and I definitely recommmend it.
Rating:
Summary: BET ME
Review: Bet me was a great read! I read it in one sitting. I was so looking forward to reading this book and I was not disappointed. If you like quirky characters and funny dialogue this is a book for you. One of Jennifer Cruise's best.
Rating:
Summary: Bet Me is a Sure Bet!
Review: If you liked Tracy and Hepburn, Bogart and Becall, Gable and Lombard just to name a few then I think it's safe to say that you will like Cal and Min. Like the preceding couples, they click in a memorable way. And like the archetypes above, they are sexy and fun to read about. Once I picked up Bet Me, I had a hard time putting it down. Not because I was worried about the ending or that it kept me in suspense. Nope, it was just so much fun to read that I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Crusie has matured in her writing and it shows in this offering. Her characters are sophisticated, smart and likable. They are movie material. I always thought WTT was movie material but more in a Farrelly Brothers type of movie. Bet me is akin to Mike Nichol's material. Either is lots of fun and true entertainment but Nichol's films have that touch of something that makes them classics. And Bet Me is like that. It has that certain something where the characters are bigger than the pages and they come right off and on to the stage. All the characters in this book are well written and indispensable. Each shines their little bit of flashlight on the fun and development of the romance between the leads. Whether it's the lesbian neighbor bartender or the ex-psycho- analyst girlfriend who is an almost stalker.
Bet Me was an exercise in written foreplay. Badinage type foreplay, where the characters delve into every aspect of each other before giving in to the inevitable. The sexual banter and development of the relationship between Cal and Min is really good stuff and like I said hard to put down. JC really puts a lot into the cultivation of her characters in this book especially the heroine. She is a woman that you can relate to in some ways if not all ways. We all have our physical drawbacks and a person in our lives that makes us feel inadequate. So, Min is a sympathetic character like Brigid Jones was. Min is never going to be model thin and her mother is never going to be happy about that. She has an overprotective dad as well as in appearance, a perfect sister and Min isn't exactly the sweetest person in the world. Min has attitude and she doesn't want to settle. She's not expecting Prince Charming like her friend Bonnie but in a relationship she expects a little endurance and respect. Her ex provided neither.
Cal appears to be the consummate playboy type. Gorgeous, well off, buff and intelligent with a reputation as a heartbreaker. A love 'em and leave 'em womanizing male creature with no feelings. Appears is the operative word here. Cal like Min has layers and depths and is not as shallow as he seems to be. He has had to contend with dyslexia his whole life as well as overbearing parents. And though it seems like he can't maintain a long term relationship, it's obvious he has never fallen in love before.
The secondaries are great in this book and very memorable. Even the per se villains the exes are well drawn and add just the right dimensions to this book. I was trying to think of my favourite scene in this book and I was running them all through my brain. It was nearly impossible to pick one but if I had to, I would have to pick the post coital scene near the end where everyone and his mother literally show up. Great plotting and excellent dialogue in this book. Bet Me gets an A from me and I really hope it does get made into a movie. There are rumors that there may be one. Wouldn't that be fun.
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