Rating:  Summary: A little disappointment....still worth reading! Review: Crusie is a new favorite of mine, and her newest, "Faking It", contains the combination of mystery, zaniness, crazy characters, love & sex that have made her such a great read in the past.This time the heroine is Tilda, an artist, who is the caretaker of her family. The three generations of women in the family (mom Gwen, neice Nadine, both entertaining!) give us a woven thread of a sensible ensemble...but Crusie throws in a lot of characters and characterizations that don't add to the story. Tilda's sister Eve/Louise is confused about which of her two personalities to follow; her romance is incidental to the book & Eve/Louise doesn't work as well as "the best friend" character that Crusie usually adds to the mix. The romance for the heroine occurs early in the book with Davy - a thief who is trying to secure the return of property from a former flame, Clea, now with a wealthy art collector. Art is the theme that binds them all together, specifically forged art. The book's clever, but the jumble of characters and the surface romance between Tilda and Davy (Crusie can usually give you a twosome to root for) with Clea as the necessary third in the triangle just don't compare to Crusie's former lighthearted works. Worth a read, especially if you're still beach bound, but Crusie can do better!
Rating:  Summary: Boring... Couldn't get into it.... Review: Alright, I hate to be a nay-sayer, in a group filled with such wonderful glowing reviews, but I found this book boring! I was so disappointed, I couldn't even finish this book, and (that for me is rare). This is the story of Davy, a con-man, and his love for Tilda, a 'reformed' painting forger. When Tilda's younger sister inadvertently sells a painting once forged by her, Tilda must steal it back. She and Davey run into eachother in the same closet and 'sparks' inevitably fly. This is my first Jennifer Crusie novel, and so far I am not hugely impressed. I guess, mostly because I expected this novel to be somewhat serious and it was clearly meant to be 'light' reading. Even so, the humorous parts that I read... Weren't that funny. Perhaps, I don't care for novels where the heroes and heroines feel compelled to steal for a living... But, I think I really felt the author was trying to hard to write something witty... And the characters just came off as flat and dysfunctional. I would definitely pick this one in the library rather than purchasing it full price. Otherwise, you might be disappointed.
Rating:  Summary: disappointment! Review: I was hard pressed to keep track of all of the characters in this book! I found the relationship between Tilda and Davy to be forced and unbelievable. Crusie fans would do better to just re-read Welcome to Temptation and skip this one.
Rating:  Summary: A Great Fun Read!! Review: I am a great big fan of Jennifer Crusie's books and as always she didn't disappoint me. The previous book that I had just finished reading was a real tear jerker and I really needed a good laugh. "Faking It" had so much comendy in it. I loved the pairing of Tilda and Davy, they were so ment to be together. I highly recommend this book if you want to have a good laugh. If you have never read an Jennifer Crusie book, you should start because they are alway filled with so much romance not to mention fun too. They will make forget about your troubles that you had during the day.
Rating:  Summary: LEAN BACK, LISTEN, AND ENJOY Review: Chicago actress Aasne Vigesaa reads the latest from popular author Jennifer Crusie with joie de vivre and gusto. Her voice performance brings an added dimension to the rollicking plot and fast-paced dialogue. Tilda Goodnight used to forge works of art. She doesn't anymore but she fears someone will discover her tainted and painted past. Therefore, Tilda decides she has no alternative but to steal one of her fakes back from Clea Lewis, the wanna-be socialite who bought it. Who would have thought that Tilda wasn't the only one with breaking and entering on her mind? Former con man Davy Dempsey wants to retrieve several million that the avaricious Clea now has. When Tilda and Davy meet on their missions of mischief there is an immediate attraction. Love will follow, but first things first as their doings are further complicated by art collectors, a dotty dachshund, a killer, and a bevy of other imaginative characters. Lean back, listen, and enjoy! - Gail Cooke
Rating:  Summary: Terribly disappointing. Review: I consider myself something of a Jennifer Crusie fan, as I've read all of her books, including her series titles, but this one almost bored me to tears. First of all, could she have possibly included any more characters? Second of all, could she have possibly brought together more couples by the end of the novel? There were something like five or six couples when the book ended. I'm sorry, but three hundred or so pages is not enough to create that many believable romances. I mean, yes, I expect there to be a happy ending in books like these, but it's completely unnecessary to have everyone--including the somewhat bad guys--end up in a happy relationship. It's just plain ridiculous at times. As the main storyline, the 'romance' between Davy and Tilda was bland at best. It lacked all of the sparks that have flown between the characters in her other novels. There was no tension between the two of them at any time. Suddenly, they were kissing in a closet. Suddenly, they were sleeping together. Suddenly, they were in love. As was everyone else in the art gallery. It just all seemed a bit farfetched to me. I'm also getting a little tired of there always being a yappy dog in every single book (naming the dog 'Steve' was also an annoyance because there were already too many human characters to keep track of). Maybe it's Crusie's trademark by now, but at least let the dog have a purpose other than sitting in a gallery if there has to be one in the first place. I've laughed out loud in each of her other books, but this one was severely lacking in humor. The movie references were jarring, to say the least, and the quotes the author chose were not the most memorable ones by far. All of that being said, I did enjoy all of the references to art forgery and Davy's instructions on conning people. I gave this two stars simply based on the fact that Crusie obviously did her research on those two subjects. I would recommend this book only to people who've enjoyed her previous novels and not to someone trying out this author for the first time. Read Welcome to Temptation instead.
Rating:  Summary: Witty Romance Review: Best-selling author Crusie is back again with a witty novel replete with steamy love scenes and a humorous look at the ups and downs of relationships. Matilda "Tilda" Goodnight is struggling to keep her family art gallery afloat as she is commissioned to paint murals for various private patrons. Enter Davy Dempsey, con man extraordinaire, who wants the money that former lover, Clea Lewis, stole from him. As Davy rents an apartment from Gwen, Tilda's mother, he and Tilda hit it off from their first encounter in a closet. Tilda is at the home of Mason, a friend of her deceased father's, to locate a painting she forged years ago. And Davy is there looking for his money that Mason's squeeze, Clea, snatched from him. Sounds zany-it only gets better with Tilda's sister, Eve, or "Louise", her alter-ego, that sleeps with Davy's fellow con-man and thief, Simon. And there is Ford a "hit man" who is after Davy upon orders of Clea. But Ford seems interested in Gwen, even though her teen-aged granddaughter, Nadine,discovered that he was under contract to take Davy out. Ms. Crusie's latest is another in a long line of fabulous reads filled with quirky relationships amidst a roller coaster ride of plot twists and turns and spicy bedroom scenes. This one is definitely not to be missed.
Rating:  Summary: NYCreader Review: I have been a fan of Jennifer Crusie's for a long time, and this book was not a disappointment. I truly can't understand why some people did not like this book. Like most of her books there are true 'stand out' moments: the water-tower in Welcome to Temptation and the 'Poor Baby' moments in Faking It, for example. This book was light-hearted, full of interesting and amusing characters. I will admit that some characters were quite transparent. For example, I never once thought that Ford was a hit man - it was quite obvious that he was a good guy. However, the fun and the laughs were there from start to finish. Way to go, Crusie!
Rating:  Summary: Wonderful! Review: Zany! Crusie kept me laughing all through the book. I woke up at 4 am, couldn't sleep, and finished the book by 8 am. I'm just sorry it's finished. This book is a definite keeper, and I look forward to many wonderful reads of it, as I do her other books.
Rating:  Summary: amusing contemporary screwball romantic comedy Review: Her niece sixteen year old Nadine sells a fake "Scarlet" painting that Tilda was not planning to release to the public because the family art gallery has gone straight since grandpa died. Not only has the selling of a "Scarlet" painting placed the gallery in jeopardy, the artist Tilda could spend time in prison for forgery. Tilda knows she must steal back the incriminating painting from a Ms. Lewis. Former con artist Davy Dempsey learns how a mark feels when his financial advisor Rabbit Abbott embezzles millions from him, giving the money to Clea Lewis. Davy decides to steal back his money from his former girlfriend. As Davy and Tilda trip over each other with fumbled burglaries, they get stuck in a closet to avoid being caught. Soon they team up to abet one another in reacquiring their assets from Clea, but neither one expected that collaboration to lead to love. New York Times best selling author Jennifer Crusie shows why she is so popular with a contemporary screwball romantic comedy. The amusing story line engages the audience through the bantering between the lead couple as each tries to outwit the other while attempting to accomplish their primary goal. The support cast is a delight as they augment the antics of the lead duet. No reader will claim Ms. Crusie is FAKING IT as she once again provides a humorous original tale. Harriet Klausner
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