Rating: 
Summary: A Funny Romance
Review: This is the first book that I've read by Jennifer Crusie. It is an easy going, entertaining novel that is a love story of sorts. Maddie is the good girl of the small town who lives her life for everyone else. When she finds out that her husband is cheating on her again, she decides to get even! After a wild romp with C.L., a guy she once dated in high school, things begin to unravel and tongues begin to wag in Frog Point. It is definitely a scathing look at the character of people in a small town and the stigma of family ties. Everyone is concerned with everyone elses business. The book is a light read with some mystery, funny dialogue, and some sexy scenes. The only thing I didn't really enjoy in the book was the daughter Emily who was only supposed to be eight years old...her thoughts and actions seemed to reflect someone much older than that. A good fun read though overall.
Rating: 
Summary: A Giggly Good Read
Review: I really enjoyed this book. It was light and flowed along nicely. Some reviewers appear to have expected a lot more from this book, and indeed the author, but if you take it for what it is--a good, easy going, laughable story--you will not be disappointed. No, it is not totally realistic, nor absolutely believable but hey, it is fiction and I personally enjoy escaping into a book and away from my all too realistic life. If I want realism, etc I just need to pick up a newspaper. If all you want to do is read an entertaining yet light novel with a good few laughs, mixed with some more sensitive moments, then this is ideal. Great for reading on a beach or curled up on the sofa with a nice glass of wine.
Rating:
Summary: A Keeper
Review: This book is full length for the genre (over 300 pgs), so I am not rereading it at this time. But I will. I just opened up the book in 3 different places and found 3 great scenes. Great dialogue. There are over 70 reviews written to date, so if you want in depth analysis... If not, buy the book and enjoy the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Crusie at Her Best
Review: It takes quite a lot to make me laugh aloud while reading, but this book manages to make me do so. From the moment I picked it up I was in hysterics, and Jennifer Crusie's description of small-town life can be truly appreciated by anyone who's ever lived in one. Her sense of the absurd captures the truly ridiculous things that can occur in real life. A friend who borrowed the book came in to work upset because she was up the whole night reading it. Any woman can sympathise with Maddie, and anyone who's wanted to change their life but wasn't sure how to go about it will appreciate her story.
Rating:
Summary: A little too far fetched for me
Review: Maybe I am just being too hard on this book because neither romance nor mystery are my favorite forms of fiction and this book was a little bit of both. It was a pleasant enough and easy read but one I found extremely hard to believe. That one woman could go through so many far fetched sitations in one weekend and manage to fall in love to boot is just too much for me to stomache. I think the book would have been much more interesting if it was the story of Maddie's grandmother instead of this far fetched murder mystery about Maddie, her husband and her long lost high school love. This was the first of Ms. Cruise's works I have read and it definately did not leave me yearning for more. While it wasn't bad, it just wasn't my cup of tea.
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: After seeing this book appear on so many Amazon lists, I decided to pick it up. Unfortunately, I found the characters boring and unlikeable, the plot contrived, the writing clumsy at times, and the humor smart-alecky and unfunny. I almost gave up after the first 25 pages, but decided to continue because I was looking for a fun book. Sadly, this book wasn't very fun because the main character was unbelievable, annoying and unrealistic. Also, you could see almost every plot twist and turn coming a mile a away.
Rating:
Summary: Crusie breaks out of category romance with a vengeance!
Review: Crusie wrote formulaic category romances for years, but her books were way ahead of the pack, funny, intelligent, excellent reading. Her characters were real, fully-rounded people. I enjoyed Tell Me Lies, with one small quibble (which I'll go into later). It is a wonderful character study of a small town (Frog Point) good girl, the one who married the high school football hero and lived happily ever after. Not! No, Maddie Martindale Faraday's dream marriage is a sham. Her husband Brent is a philanderer, and worse. The only thing that's been holding this marriage together is their 8-year-old daughter, Emily, whom both adore, and suddenly it is not enough. The reappearance of C.L. (you'll love what those initials stand for!) Sturgis, the hot, bad boy of Maddie's high school days, is the further catalyst for Maddie's personality change. He's in town on a specific mission, but seeing Maddie makes him want to stay. Funny dialogue, a good mystery, sexy scenes, and even a puppy, will keep the reader going, but my quibble is with the intrusion of Emily's thoughts into the book's otherwise fast pace. Stops you dead, in my opinion, though Em is a good character, and a smart kid. I love the obvious and subtle ties among the townspeople, where everyone is related somehow to someone else, by blood or business, and family stigmas can never be erased, no matter how much anyone tries to achieve. The down side to small town life is sharply and honestly portrayed.("Well, she's a Lowery, what can you expect?"---Oh, those self-fulfilling prophecies! Save us!) Highly recommended, as are all of Crusie's books.
Rating:
Summary: Sometimes unbelievable, sometimes inconceivable
Review: Things are going well in Maddie Farraday's rather humdrum life until she finds incriminating evidence of her husband's infidelity underneath the driver's seat of his car. From there, her life goes downhill. Her daughter badly wants a dog, her overprotective mother keeps calling, her best friend is keeping secrets from her, and the boy who had a crush on her back in high school is back in town with an agenda all his own. C.L. Sturgis returns to Frog Point with the intention of checking Brent Farraday's company books for his ex-wife whose fiance has bought in to Farraday's company. When he arrives in town, it is to find the girl he loved unhappy and upset, his target elusive, and himself falling in love all over again. Jennifer Crusie has written an interesting, if somewhat unbelievable story involving the community of Frog Point. Everyone has a secret of some sort and oddly enough, it is Brent Farraday's untimely demise that uncovers some of them,the rest are aired through the community via gossip, most notably by Maddie's own mother. Looking back, after having read the entire novel, it almost seems as though the author has constructed two separate plot lines and woven them together. Rather than blend comfortably, the fit is awkward and inappropriate. The plot involving Brent's murder seems to be a story all its own at some points even though Maddie is a convenient, if somewhat absurd, patsy. And then there is the plot involving Maddie and C.L. which finds a multiple purpose of developing their relationship and also providing several motives. Even though the reasoning behind the plot seems plausible, the actions of the characters are not and this makes the story feel ultimately contrived. Plus, the viciousness of this town is enough to make the reader sympathize unexpectedly with Maddie's husband. Crusie does insert moments of hilarity and humor into Maddie's story and in the beginning it works. But as the town begins to reveal its darker side through criticism, jealousy, betrayal, and judgment, it becomes harder and harder to alleviate the heavy plot with Crusie's usual wit. Though "Tell Me Lies" is by no means a poorly written story, it is not her best work. For a better example of Crusie's talent, try "Manhunting" and "Crazy For You".
Rating: 
Summary: Highly overrated. Not her best.
Review: I was eager to try Ms. Crusie as I had heard a lot of rave reviews about her Crusie-isms. Sadly, I found this book a waste of money. Her characters all needed to 'grow up.' The mystery & romance were neither convincing nor consistent. And, while there were many attempts to be funny, most felt forced & contrived. Exciting this was NOT! as I found my chores much more interesting. Fortunately, "Manhunting" is light years better than this one.
Rating:
Summary: Fun Fluff
Review: Comparing Jennifer Cruise to Susan Isaacs is like comparing Bon Jovi to Bach. It's no where near the same league--but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy it! With a tad more believability, a lot more ingenuity and tons more fun than your typical Harlequin-style romance, Jennifer Crusie gives us a little sex, a little mystery and lots of small-town atmosphere. It's a fun read. A good diversion on a cold winter night. She's no Susan Isaacs (despite what the book jacket may say), but she is fun. If you're looking for some fluff with a bit more substance, give this and all her books a try.
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