Fast Women

Rating:
Summary: Have we met?
Review: This book was wonderful. I started reading it right after my husband left, and was amazed by how much Nell sounded like me. I had to wonder if maybe Jennifer Crusie was someone I knew writing under a pen name I didn't know. Doubtful...

This book had it all. It had romance, suspense, mystery, and humor. I touched on so many emotions I couldn't list them all here. Ms. Crisie has always been a very talented writer in my eyes, but this is one of my all time favorites of hers. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Not Crusie's Best-- Read "Bet Me" Instead.
Review: This is the first Jennifer Crusie novel that I didn't devour and finish within a couple of days. Usually I cannot stop reading her novels-- I can't wait for the main characters to get together and I'm dying to see how it all ends up. But "Fast Women" bored me. I felt like it never really found its rhythmn, I didn't much like Nell or Margie or Suze, and I kept losing track of the mystery plot.

At first, I liked that the novel's romances moved more slowly than they typically do, but after a while, it felt like Crusie was delaying satisfaction rather than building to it. As a result, although the love scenes were well-written as always, they seemed flat to me.

There were also two minor plot twists-- Suze and Nell making out and Nell sleeping with Riley-- that I thought were silly and a waste of time.

I did feel that this was one of Crusie's more ambitious novels. There's a lot of emotional gray areas, multiple characters, and attempts to present the realities of divorce. But the end result was disappointing for me. I wish I'd re-read "Crazy for You" or "Bet Me" instead of taking on "Fast Women."