Rating: 
Summary: I should have read these reviews first...
Review: but I have thoroughly enjoyed all of JC's other books so I bought this one without doing my research first. I won't make that mistake again. Other reviewers have pointed out the major flaws, the worst being *way* too many characters to keep track of, with none of them being well developed enough to make me care about them. Secondary characters have ususally been a big part of the appeal of Ms. Crusie's books for me in the past - Fast Women and Manhunting spring to mind - but this time they just distracted from the story of the main characters. And the main characters had enough going against them already - the way they were presented, they had very little depth and I didn't see why they would be attracted to each other at all. It's as if the author wanted to come up with the weirdest bunch of people in the world and have them all come together to get their kinks worked out just in time for a happy ending. While I know I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief when reading fiction, this book was asking too much.
Rating: 
Summary: Four and 3/4 stars
Review: Heroine: "softly-padded" average An artist and con-artist pull off separate heists on the same house, the threat of discovery by its owners leading the two thieves into having a surprise "close" encounter in a walk-in closet. The artist, a guilt-ridden forger by the name of Mathilda Goodnight, realizes her partner in kissing would make an equally excellent partner in crime, and uses whatever feminine wiles she has at her disposal to convince him to help her recover the fake painting she's after. Nearly-gone-straight con man Dave Dempsey has one last job to pull before retiring: he has to retrieve some money he's lost, $3 million dollars which his lovelorn former financial advisor bestowed upon Dave's ex, a certain black widow beauty queen. Dave's street smarts tell him to forget the pleas laid on him by the vamp shut up in the closet with him, but in the end it's not his brain he listens to and he agrees to help her out. What seemed to be a one-time done-deal quickly goes awry when 'Tilda discovers that her attractive new friend has nicked the wrong painting! Fortunately for her, he didn't get what he wanted either and has decided it's to his advantage to maintain their partnership. Holed up in her kooky family's apartment building where they are surrounded by an eclectic assortment of tenants (an aging Bohemian with repressed rage and a keen sense of wordplay, a teacher-in-training whose smutty alter ego has a wardrobe to rival Madonna, plus her gay cross-dressing ex-husband and their wise-beyond-her-years teen daughter, a hit man, and a shaggy wiener dog who looks like his namesake Steven Buscemi) Dave and 'Tilda try to regroup and figure out how to reclaim the money and all six forgeries before it's too late. Will Dave ever bring back the right painting? Will 'Tilda ever be able to make-out with him anywhere but in a dark closet? And when all is said and done, will the two of them be able to admit that they belong together like butter on a muffin? What worked for me: One of Ms. Crusie's greatest strengths is writing excellent dialogue; "Faking It" is overflowing with witty one-liners and snappy comebacks. And readers can always count on her to provide a colorful cast of characters! (In my mind it's a shame she hasn't been drafted by one of the major networks to breathe new life into their faltering sit-coms. She's got a real knack for screwball comedy!) I'm a true fan of romance, and while some folks might find it too pat an ending that so many of the characters managed to find true love, it suited me just fine. Size-wise, 'Tilda sounded as though she were on the round side of average and seemed to be relatively comfy in her own skin. (She was, however, somewhat frigid due to emotional issues related to her stint as a forger.) What didn't work for me: I prefer that the romance come before the physical relationship in a story. This book blurred the line a bit there, having the characters fall in love at first "sight" and then falling into bed shortly thereafter. If a reader isn't up on her knowledge of pop culture or the art world some of the references and jokes may go over her head. And the character descriptions are dependent upon being familiar with a slew of celebrities and movie personalities. Should the reader not recognize a name that's been dropped, she consequently has very little framework upon which to rest her image of that person. (For this reason, the large cast of characters with their many names can become confusing to some. I'll be the first to stand up and admit I have no idea who "Vilma" was, so I had no strong mental image to call up whenever her name appeared.) Overall: This quirky, light-hearted romantic comedy was an enjoyable read that stands alone just fine, but I do wish I'd stop backing into series this way. I'm off to the bookstore to pick up a copy of the prior novel "Welcome to Temptation" to fill in some of the blanks. "Faking It" had an interesting plot; one intriguing enough that I think it would appeal to fans of mysteries if they don't mind the sensual passages. Warning: There are some spicy love scenes and some coarse language in this story. If you liked "Faking It", you might also enjoy "Fast Women", The "Stephanie Plum" mystery series, "Plum Girl", "Princess Charming", "Infernal Affairs", "It had to be You", "This Heart of Mine", or "Dear Cupid".
Rating: 
Summary: riveting--terrific!
Review: All truly great humor seems to come from honesty--and this book, like Crusie's others, is not only funny and fun, but totally honest. Characters hoping to hide don't have a chance. You don't have to read to get at that level; you can enjoy a ride with Crusie any way you want to--but I never fail to end her books feeling richer and more thoughtful about people and our human condition. This one is so much fun in plot and story, besides--a terrific book. Highly recommend.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!!!
Review: Jennifer Crusie is an amazing writer. This book has some comedy moments and some unbelievable situations but that's what makes it exciting and a page-turner!!
Rating:
Summary: The fix that keeps on fixing!
Review: LOVE the new Crusie! My husband grabbed it before I could get my paws on it and he's a slow reader so I only finished it for the first time yesterday. He kept laughing, darn him. Taunting me. This is madcap ensemble comedy at its best! Nobody else is writing it these days. Fast Women was slower, more emotionally intense. This one goes for the Noel Coward effect...with hot sex! More more more please!
Rating:
Summary: Call it a B+, ahead of all her hardbacks
Review: I'd given up on this author several hardbacks ago. She started her career as a romance writer for Harlequin and was known for short, snappy, witty romances. Her work with Harlequin was all quite good. Then she converted to hardback fiction writing with a mainstream publisher. She still wrote romances but they were no longer short and snappy or even particularly witty. Even worse, there was always a murder tossed in so the publisher could tout her as a mystery suspense writer, an abysmal idea. With this book, she is gaining her own voice again rather than echoing the publisher's ideas of what is marketable writing. It is a screwball romance comedy reminding me of "Arsenic and Old Lace," an early Cary Grant & Frank Capra movie. The most important thing she gets right is that the heroine is an artist from a family of artists. Some readers are put off by these characters as being too weird to be real. Being an artist myself, let me assure you, these art types are absolutely authentic. The male half of the equation is men, and especially one man, Davy, who are con artists or thieves. They have been lured into being law enforcement consultants because they were so good on the wrong side of the law. Everyone is involved in some fashion with a woman who is temporarily in Columbus acquiring art and, perhaps, another wealthy art patron husband. She is suspect as a murderess, arsonist and thief but really she is just the plot mcguffin for everyone else in the novel. Crusie brings them all together in German Village, an artsy community in Columbus, Ohio, and lets them live in the same gallery building as they plot to foil the villainous woman. I enjoyed it a lot. I can't say it is great fiction. However, if you are looking for a good screwball romantic comedy, this will provide several nights of good entertainment.
Rating: 
Summary: ...
Review: While the characters were all well-drawn & the story-line was interesting, the author needs to work on descriptive phrasing. There was some good description at the beginning of book, but from middle of book onward, it reads like a play script. This was very un-satisfying to me as a reader...
Rating:
Summary: a truly FLAT reading of a simplistic story
Review: A waste of time...even if all you are doing is commuting to and from work. I listened to about 20 minutes of the audio reading of this book and then lost all patience. Grading the performance: The reading was uninspired and did little to bring the story alive. The reader's voice was annoying. The charecterizations were weak. Grading the author: The writing is as bland and simplistic as Minute Rice. Hearing the story read aloud seems to highlight the narrative deficiencies.
Rating:
Summary: Obnoxious and disappointing.
Review: Characters boring, not funny, not sexy, disappointing. I, too, have enjoyed a couple of Crusie's previous books. Unfortunately, she's getting worse, not better. Don't buy it.
Rating:
Summary: It's the Real Thing
Review: Faking It is the story of Tilda, who is gradually sinking under the weight of her family's darkest secrets. When she meets con artist Davy in someone else's closet in the middle of the night, neither one of them is in a position to take the moral upper hand. From this is born one of the most entertaining relationships in contemporary fiction. Faking It is the best of Jennifer Crusie's books so far. It has all the stuff Crusie fans love--lots humor, good sex, food, art, snappy dialogue, likable characters & good friendships. But it also has something that we've seen Crusie move toward in her latest two novels--a strong plot. This book would make an excellent movie. There are so many twists and turns in the plot that I was constantly engaged and could never get a step ahead of the story. Loved it!
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