Rating: Summary: A Perfect Fantasy Review: I've loved all of Crusie's books, and "Bet Me" is no exception. The characters are well defined, and fun. I laughed and I enjoyed! It's a romantic comedy fantasy where fate just won't let them go until they "live happily ever after".It's a definite read.
Rating: Summary: funny and scarcastic and true Review: It's been a long time since I had to stop reading for several minutes because I was laughing so hard I couldn't focus on the page. But I did just that several times. Crusie has a gift for getting emotional and sexual tension just right. And Min gets to say things that most of us only think, and then only if we have a sense of the absurd.
Rating: Summary: A great read... Review: An absolute winner! I thoroughly enjoyed this story. I love the fact that Min isn't a perfect size 4. She's a normal woman with issues about her body. It was refreshing to read a story about a great-looking guy who falls in love with a smart, funny and attractive girl who just happens to be overweight. Ms. Crusie has done it again. Her characters are funny, quirky and enjoy great friendships. Is it too early for summer? This one goes hand in hand with sun, sand and a boat drink. Cheers!
Rating: Summary: enjoyable Review: I don't think this is the worst Jennifer Crusie book, far from it. It's exactly what all the rest of her books are - fun, exciting, interesting, sexy and funny. This one did remind me more of Crazy for You than any other because the the characters and the entire story is pretty down-to-earth and it's just everyday situations for all of the characters. She describes a life that could be anyone's and often is. Great book. Fun read. Enjoy it.
Rating: Summary: Excellent Crusie Sample Review: The only problem I had with this book, personally, is that I can't help but compare it with Welcome to Temptation, which is the best Crusie book out there, bar none, and perhaps the best witty romantic contemporary fiction novel available, period. However, Bet Me has its own charm. Min Dobbs, our plump, witty heroine, is conflicted about accepting the attentions from Cal Morrisey, a red hot training seminar maven who, under normal circumstances, would be out of her league. However, Cal's interest is piqued when Min's smarmy ex-boyfriend points her out and initiates a bet that Cal can "get" Min within a month... and Min overhears their exchange. Crusie shines in the drafting of outrageous characters (this time, in the form of Min's mother, a cluelessly social-climbing barracuda; her and Cal's friends, and a cat named Elvis... not for this particular volume the ever-present Crusie dog... for me, vive la difference!). Characters are the key for this novel, and each one sparks independently of the others. Together, they combust. Min and Cal work out the kinks in their pseudo-but-evolving relationship in the face of considerable and hilarious impediments. As always, Crusie relies on cleverness, wit, and fundamental humor, plus generous italicized thought revelations, to create depth in her story. However, Min's comparative ordinariness is the single most outstanding component of this book; she's round, professionally accomplished, entrenched in a weird family, doesn't want kids... Min is a real woman (finally!); not for this story an impossibly slim, impossibly beautiful, impossibly exquisitely heartstricken young thing who's dying to fall in love with the right man and crank out babies in ostensible sequels that would be too boring to read. This book is not boring. If you like Crusie, this is a great book for you... it's a solid effort of an increasingly mature writer with growing mastery over her genre.
Rating: Summary: Mildly amusing, but not much of a plot. Review: I have to agree with other reviewers that Ms. Crusie's last two efforts (BET ME and FAKING IT) have not been up to par with her usual standards of excellence. Although the characters are likeable and there are some witty lines, the book lacks any kind of plot. It consists mostly of couples pairing off in a singles bar. It reminds me of "Seinfeld" meets "The Dating Game" (which is not a compliment since I don't care for either show). Also, I felt the author threw in some things to try to please everyone. Min is overweight and carb conscious. The bartender (who is also Cal's neighbor) is a Lesbian. One couple decides to remain childless, which disappointed me because they both like children and it is pointed out a couple of times in the book that they would make beautiful children. I will continue to read Ms. Crusie's books, but hope for better in the future.
Rating: Summary: Destiny trumps even the best made plans. Review: Minerva Dobbs is a young lady that begins to have doubts about every finding Mr. Right when her boyfriend dumps her for not wanting to have sex. "IS that all men think about?" she judges. Just when things seem to have gotten as bad as they could get, they go even lower. Her ex-boyfriend, pegging Min as a cold-hearted lady with no sex drive, bets Cal Morrissey that he is not able to bed her. Min decides to have fun in raising Cal's hopes before she ultimately plans to leave him with the desires in his hand. A funny thing happens on the way, they actually go beyond their original plans for each other and start to come to terms with the fact that they may have found their perfect match. Sometimes, destiny is grand and Jennifer Cruise takes us through a humorous journey in search of the Cinderella ending that everyone dreams of but always feels is beyond our own reach.
Rating: Summary: I loved it! Wonderful! Funny, warm, sexy!! Review: I inhaled this book in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. The dialogue was absolutely delightful, very witty, very funny, very warm. Cal is sexy as hell, and Min is so funny and so insightful. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read Jennifer Crusie's other books. The secondary characters were a hoot. This book is a real modern day fairy tale and I loved every minute of it. Jennifer Crusie's voice is so pure, so true, so funny. It's a wonderful, warm, sexy book!!
Rating: Summary: Very disappointing Review: I found Bet Me to be a huge disappointment. There were no quirky, funny secondary characters in this book like there had been in her others. All of the characters were lacking depth and fire. Even Jennifers' usual great dialogue was flat. From the moment the book started, you knew the ending, but there were never any curveballs thrown in along the way. And 3/4 of my way through the book, I still didn't feel any real chemistry between Min and Cal. Min is described as everything from being full figured to fat, but Cal seduces her with food every step of the way and uses Krispy Kreme donuts to tease her. What is sexy about that? I wanted to scream at her "Run for your life - you will die of a coronary before your 40th birthday if you stay with the guy!" If you want to read a fun Jennifer Crusie book - buy Welcome to Temptation or Faking It instead!
Rating: Summary: I liked it! Review: I, like a few others, was a little underwhelmed with "Faking It." Nevertheless, I decided to give "Bet Me" a try. I liked the two primary characters and their quick repartee and the building "tension" between the two. The early description of the cat had me chuckling and awakened my dog out of her sweet slumber. I finished the book last night and thought to myself, "that was a sweet story" maybe because I too, am in search of my own fairy tale. That's by two cents worth.
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