Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie

Hero: Alex
Heroine: Nina
Category: Contemp
Page Count: 224, hb
Grade: A
Buy It: Here or here.
Part basset, part beagle, all Cupid . . . can a matchmaking hound fetch a new love for his owner?

For Nina Askew, turning forty means freedom -- from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed -- a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets . . . Fred.

Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light-years from perky. But for all his faults, he does manage to put Nina face-to-face with Alex Moore, her gorgeous, younger downstairs neighbor.

Alex looks great on paper -- a sexy, seemingly sane, surprisingly single E.R. doctor who shares Fred's abiding love for Oreos -- but a ten-year difference in age, despite his devastating smile, is too wide a gap for Nina to handle. Ignoring her insistent best friend, some interfering do-gooders and the ubiquitous Fred -- not to mention her suddenly raging hormones -- Nina thinks anyone but Alex would be a better bet for a relationship. But with every silver-haired stiff she dates, the more she suspects it's the young dog-loving doctor she wants to sit and stay!

Nina has wanted a dog practically from the day her and Guy got married, he didn't. It should have been a sign. 15 years later she's divorced and ready to get her dog. It's her 40th birthday and she wants a perky happy puppy, what she leaves with is Fred. An older overweight depressed dog, but what does it matter when he makes her happy? That's what she wanted all along. But living on the third floor makes it a bit difficult for him to do his thing, especially without an elevator, so she teaches him to go down the fire escape out the window. All is fine until one time he doesn't come back.....

Fred seems to have found a new friend, he's climbed into the second story window instead of his third floor one, and meets Alex. Alex has been an ER doctor for awhile, his family has been harping on him to choose a profession. It would seem he has but coming from a long line of specialist doctors an ER doctor is NOT a profession. It's also been hard in the dating field, every woman he dates is ready to settle down and sprout children, Alex isn't ready for marriage let alone the fact that he doesn't want children. But when he meets Fred and returns him to his owner he thinks he just might have meet the right woman.

Because of a ten year age gap Nina is very weary of anything romantic with Alex. She's come up with every excuse, his age, his maturity, his .... well everything. But nothing can change the feelings she has every time he is near, or every time she thinks of him for that matter.

Alex doesn't care about Nina's age, and is determined to make sure she doesn't care either. He wants her to see him as a grown man worthy of her. But he still is weary to make THE move, scared she'll turn away and his chance will be lost.

With Nina's best friend that has the black thumb in relationships writing a book on her love life and pushing Nina into SOMETHING with Alex. And their 75 year old upstairs neighbor and her 63 year old boyfriend also dropping hints to how age never matters. And everything else Nina and Alex are fighting an uphill battle. Throw in Alex's older brother Max that's struggling with his life decisions and an alcoholic, cardiac surgeon father this book adds up to lots of fun and a great romance. Hell throw in a red lace incredi bra while we're at it too. This is the closest to a Bet Me book. I loved it! The entire feel of the story, the banter, the dog it just makes a perfect Crusie book. Were there faults? Sure I think Charity and Max should have had some type of ending weather together or with someone else. In the end Alex went a little over board with what he was doing to prove to Nina he was mature and stable enough for her, but he smartened up. So like I said, this one rates #2 right next to Bet Me. A definite great read. Go Get It!

Dylan's Turn:

Hero: Alex Moore
Heroine: Nina Askew
Category: Contemporary
Grade: A

This book was the bomb. Nicole already gave you the low down on this very book, so all I'm gonna add is that this was a very fast read for me and it captured my attention right from the very beginning.

I didn't even issues with the age difference between Nina and Alex. It didn't bother me at all, I loved the both of them too. Nina was dumb about some things but Alex was too and it didn't bother me one bit.

I loved the flow of the story and thought that JC did a great job telling this story. If you guys haven't read this book, you totally should because it's the bomb DOT com. I loved it! The only thing that I want now? Max and Charity's book. LOL.

Oh quick question though, did you guys pronounce Char as Char (like char broiled, or shar) or as Chair, like CHARity? That little bit through me off for a bit. LOL.

Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie

Hero: Jake Templeton
Heroine: Kate Svenson
Category: Contempoary Romance
Page Count: 250 pages
Grade: B+
Buy It: Here, Here or once again, at an independant bookstore near you by clicking, Here.

Objective: Find Man. Must Be Rich, Handsome, and Successful.
Kate Svenson is attractive, successful, a brilliant businesswoman — and miserable. After three failed engagements, she realizes it's time for a PLAN...an organized, detailed agenda with a clear goal: finding Mr. Right.

The Cabins resort is ripe with eligible bachelors, all rich, distinguished, and ambitious — just her type. And they're dropping like flies around her...at least, that's how Jake Templeton views the situation. After he's stuck pulling her latest reject out of the swimming pool, Jake's convinced this femme fatale is trouble. Especially for him.

But can a man who's sworn off ambition for good and a woman hanging from the top of the corporate ladder find common ground in the unpredictable territory called the heart, where the word proposal takes on a very different meaning...?

Another winner for Jennifer Crusie.

I enjoyed this book so much that I browsed right over the fact that Jake Templeton had a mustache. Because usually, I don't take well to heroes who have a mustache but because I enjoyed the hell out of Jake Templeton's character, his mustache was not a problem for me. Gosh, this book was funny. Kate Svenson was a great heroine too, she proved to be my favorite heroine of all of the JC heroines that I've read lately, she holds the top spot right now, she's even better than Min Dobbs in my opinion, which is saying something since I hecka liked Minn Dobbs.

Kate Svenson set out for Toby's Corner because her best friend, Jessie pretty much forced her to go. Kate is tired of being alone, she wants to find a husband who's successful and handsome and he's got to want to have kids and start a family but he's also got to want a partner and not a slave for a wife. So, off Kate goes to The Cabins in Kentucky with a plan to meet and fall in love with the many men that will be swarming the Cabins Resort. She's going to go and have herself a good time, meet gorgeous men, go on plenty of dates and she's going to find herself a fiance' dammit.

The Hotel's Events Coordinator is Valerie and she's likened to a barracuda. She's forever trying to lure all of the hotel guests to partake in the many festivities that she has planned for the day and the only way to escape being gunned down by Valerie the Barracuda, Kate rushes off with Jake Templeton, the lazy grounds keeper who is in charge of making sure the lawns get mowed. Jake Templeton is actually a partner in the entire Resort and everyday that Kate runs away to the lake with Jake is a day that they get closer and closer....as friends.

Jake lets Kate come along on his boat, everyday because she doesn't talk much and she lets him be, she's good company and when she does talk, he actually listens. They talk about anything and everything and Jake is content with his new friendship. But as each of her dates go down for the count, Jake gets happier and happier because it gives him more and more to razz her about.

As their story progresses you see the light finally alert them that they're actually perfect for each other, they're both what the other has been waiting for and what I liked about Kate is that when she came to the conclusion that she was indeed in love with Jake, she didn't shy away from him, she didn't pretend she wasn't feeling what she was feeling, she was upfront with Jake about it and she let him do what he would with her news....she had balls for standing up to Jake and laying her heart on the line, for him to either take or leave. I loved the fact that she called him out for the things he held against women because of the women of his past, I loved the way that she threw the truth at him and beat those facts into his brain until he realized that she's the best thing that will ever happen to him and if he won't appreciate her and give her what she wanted then she was gone, it'll hurt like all get out but she knew that it would doubly if she stayed, so she did what she thought was best for herself and I really admired that in her.

Jake on the other hand was such a funny cat that he made the story run by. My favorite scene in this book was the scene toward the end when they're fighting and then she's manipulating him in the boat.

"I was wrong," He lay back against the cushions, exhausted and happy. "You're not goign to kill me with sex. You're going to drown me."

"Jake, the boat is going down."

"So did you." He smiled at her in the moonlight. "Have I mentioned that was great?"

She grabbed the front of his shirt and shook him. "Jake!"

He sat up slowly. "What do you want me to do? Sing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee?"

"You, fool," she said and started to laugh. "Where's my underwear? it cost a fortune."

There was a good two inches of water in the boat now and it was sinking fasater. Jake fished around and handed her underpants and bra to her.

...He reached for his pants. "It was a good boat. I'm going to miss it."

....You killed my boat.

LMAO, this scene had me laughing my butt off. Especially since in Church yesterday, we sang that very same song! LOL. My friends sang that song and when Jake said that I couldn't stop laughing.

The book was a great book and it was good fun to read and I enjoyed the heck out of it and I know you will too. I didn't hate much of anything in this book, not even Jake's mustache, I loved the guy!

Read it, you'll like it!

What The Lady Wants by Jennifer Crusie

Hero: Mitchell PEATWICK Kincaid
Heroine: Mae Belle Sullivan
Category: Contemporary Romance
Page Count 250
Grade: B+
Buy It: Here, Here or support your local independant bookstores by searching for What The Lady Wants, Here.

Nothin' like a dame . . .

Mitch Peabody was learning pretty fast that the life of a private detective was not all it was cracked up to be. Cheating husbands, suspicious wives, unsuspecting mistresss — case after case left him cynical and disillusioned. This was nothing like the world of tough-talking detectives and smart-mouthed, stunning dames he'd envisioned . . . until she walked through the door.

Right down to her stilettos, Mae Sullivan was a knockout with a lethal body — and a lethal family to go with it. There was something not quite on the up-and-up about her, but she came with a case he couldn't afford to refuse . . . and left him with a case of lust like he hadn't had since high school. It didn't take long for him to fall for her, hook, line and sinker. But was Mae only interested in catching the double-crossing crooks who murdered her uncle . . . or did the lady want to catch him?

I enjoyed the hell out of this book.

But first off, one thing that got on my hot damn nerves was that Mitch's name was NOT at ANY time Mitch Peabody, but Mitch Peatwick. On the blurb in the back of the book it says Mitch Peabody so I was expecting to read about that guy and ended up reading about and falling head over heels in love with Mitch Peatwick Kincaid.

This book had me laughing from the time it started to the time it ended. Mae Sullivan is one fantastic heroine and Mitch was actually my favorite thing about the book.

You see, Mae needs a stupid PI to investigate her Uncle's death. She makes up some bogus story about him being killed (he died of a heart attack) and then wants to seduce a PI into investigating it to cause all kinds of hoopla so that they'll find Armand (the dead uncle's) diary...into the story comes Mitchell Peatwick, Private Investigator.

Mitch needs a little over $2000 to put him over the top to win the bet that he drunkenly took one year ago. He has fantasies of his last case not only putting him over the top but also being one whopper of a case by a beautiful woman with fantasy breasts.

Mitch of course takes the case, doesn't think Mae is the beauty he was looking for from his fantasies although she does have the fantasy breasts, they become a team and in true Jennifer Crusie magic, their story wraps you in and tickles your funny bone, the same time that she's making your heart sigh by how sweet it is.

As the story progresses, you can't help but fall for the characters, for me, it was all about Mitch. Mitch and his "pipeline" and his "gotta go see what's out west" bit had me cracking up and then the change in Mitch from the beginning of the book to the end of the book is just one hoot after the other, he transforms into this man that gets you all excited at the same time, he's saying something outrageous to make you laugh out loud.

Mae, she wasn't this dumb broad who didn't have a brain inside that head of hers, she was a smart mouthed, snobby chit but you didn't hate her for it. Oh no, she's got things she needs to do and people she needs to take care of, she doesn't have time to be stupid. Or do stupid things, she does what she wants and I totally dug that about her.

My favorite scene, well one of them happens when Mitch and Mae are getting shot at and Mitch tells Mae that she needs to hide and not move, he emphasizes many times that he doesn't want her to do something stupid like those heroines in the movies, he wants her to stay put and the funny thing is, she does. And when she almost gets shot more than twice and she's still staying put, Mitch finally loses his control, yells at her and then goes to save her sorry hide.

The whole time they're yelling at each other and Mitch is scolding her for not moving, he asks her, "Why didn't you move out of the way?" She yelling at him, "Because you told me to stay put, OMGosh Mitch I could've died"

And with him saying, "Serves you right"

It just had me laughing and laughing, Mitch's relationship with Carlo, Mae's cousin, is something else that cracked me the heck up, his relationship with Newton, his best friend is a hoot too. Oh and a surprise which came for me, is that Nick Jamieson and Tess Newhard, well in this book she's Tess Jamieson, from Strange Bedpersons made an appearance in this book. Nick is actually Mitch's lawyer and Tess is a good friend of his, we meet them again when they both come to Armand's memorial service, it was a hoot to see them again and I actually liked them both way better as secondary characters than I did in their own story as the main characters. What a riot.

Well anyway, this book was a good one, it had me laughing all night and I was more than a little pissed that the book was coming to an end but I totally recommend it to anyone looking for a light, funny story to read. It's a good one.

A real treat.

Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie

Hero: Zack Warren
Heroine: Lucy Savage
Category: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 248 pages
Grade: B+
But It: Here or Here or you can support independant bookstores and buy the book from a bookstore near you by clicking, Here.

Her cheating husband, Bradley, lobbed the final insult when he stood her up in divorce court. A dye job gone wrong has left her hair green. And someone is trying to kill her. To top it off, sexy cop Zack Warren is certain the very same man Lucy is trying to wash right out of her hair is the same Bradley he wants to arrest for embezzlement.

When someone shoots at her and then her car blows up, Zack decides she needs twenty-four-hour police protection. Next thing Lucy knows, Zack has moved in to her big Victorian house, making them both sleepless . . . and not just from things that go bump in the night!

I read two pages of this book last week before I started Strange Bedpersons and I didn't think I could get into it so I started what I thought would be the better book. As you can tell, I was sadly mistaken in that because I only marginally liked Strange Bedpersons and now that I finished Getting Rid of Bradley, I can say with an absolutely surety that I really liked this book. I liked the characters, especially Zack and Lucy, I swear their little romance blossomed right out of nowhere and at such an unbelieveably short amount of time that there was hardly any time for me to come up for air, but even though their romance took off at such a fast pace, it didn't take away from the story and it didn't leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.

You see, Lucy Savage was stood up for her divorce hearing. She caught her husband cheating on her with some blonde chick and she immediately set out to divorce his stupid ass, but when it came time for their court hearing, he didn't show up. He signed all the necessary paperwork and told her he'd be there but he never showed up and Lucy was feeling all kinds of salty about it. He tells her to meet him at some sleazy diner and she goes there with her sister, who is this kick ass woman who browbeats everyone who tries to harm those closest to her. She's the biggest bitch in the world and gosh I loved her for it. She went to some drastic measures to ensure her sister's safety, but you couldn't really hate her for it, since it was more than apparent that she really did in fact love her sister.

At the same time that Lucy is at the diner, the cops who are hot on the track of an embezzler who embezzled money out of California and brought it to their hood, in Riverbend. The embezzler's name is Bradley and so is Lucy's husband so Zack puts two and two together and he closes in on Lucy and when they're shot at, he takes Lucy in and protects her from those trying to harm her.

Lucy and Zack's relationship started out with a bang! A bang from a gun who shot at them and their lives really aren't the same after that. They form this bond with each other and just seeing them fall in love so fast with each other, is charming and I got so wrapped up in their romance that when it was all coming to an end, I was a little miffed with myself for reading this book so fast.

What I liked about the book was the hero, Zack Warren. This guy is an aging cop (really he's only 36, but to him, that's old, okay whatever) who sweas he's losing his edge and his instincts. He swears he's getting old and he wants nothing to come with growing up, he doesn't want to get married, he doesn't want responsibilities and he most definitely doesn't want to care enough about anyone that he might lose, so he wants to steer clear of maturing into an adult.

When it comes to Lucy though, all bets are off. Not because he's fallen head over heels in love with her at first sight or antying like that but because the woman is a menace, she beat him up (or didn't beat him up depending on who you're asking) with her purse, her hair is the color of bad carpeting and she needs a keeper. He finds himself stepping into the role and not really caring one way or another what happens after that.

The closer they got, the cuter they became. They fought like there was no tomorrow and they laughed and joked with each other and she didnt let him get away with anything, I really liked that. Nobody understood her love for dogs, dogs that needed her care like Zack did and I just found that to be totally adorable.

Something else that I thought was entirely too cute was when Zack is pissed to high heaven at Lucy because she didn't stay put. The following quote was such a simple little thing, but I thought it was too cute:

""I thought you were dead," Zack grabbed her arm. "I thought somebody had grabbed you. I thought I was goign to have to raise your damn dogs..."

He thought he was going to have raise her dogs and after the trouble she went through with her husband, I thought that was too cute for Zack to say. It totally made me go softer on him than I already was.

Something that gave me pause throughout the book though was the Zack's enthusiasm for a commitment with Lucy after the first time they made love, I wasn't expecting that from someone like Zack and even though I breezed over that, it didn't give me pause for a bit because I wasn't expecting it and it was a bit unbelievable but it just gave me pause, I didn't let it bother me though.

I highly enjoyed this book, it was just the book to read after reading a meh book by Jennifer Crusie, it has given me the hope that I need to get over a book like SB and I'm glad for it. This book was a hit with me and I'm sure it will be with you, it's short, it's light and it's funny, a real treat, I recommend it on hot summer nights, it's the perfect thing to get you through.

Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie

Hero: Nick Jamieson
Heroine: Tess Newhart
Category: Contemporary Romance
Page Count: 249 pages
Grade: C-

Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne, she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer, she was raised in a commune and thinks Cinderella is politically incorrect. He wants to get ahead in business, she just wants . . . him — only not the social-climbing Nick, but the sweet, caring, unbuttoned-down Nick.

And Nick wants her, too, but there's no way Tess is about to play second fiddle to his obsession to make partner. Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée for a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's wrapped up in convincing Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her left-wing opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.

It took me almost two weeks to read this 249 page book.

It wasn't because the book wasn't good, because I guess it kind of was. For me, I'm really into character development and just related and connecting with the characters. If you give me some great, fantabulous characters, I'll be one happy camper and more willing to overlook subtle gaps in the storyline or horrible spelling errors, I'll even forgive you for confusing me with the color of the heroes eyes (can anyone tell me what color eyes JG's Alec Kincaid has? hehe). If I like the characters, if I love the characters, I'll let you off easy on the other stuff.

In this story, I could not stand Tess Newhart. I'll probably be in the minority here but Tess got on my hot damn nerves. There was nothing about her that I liked. Her ideas and just her way of life was not something that I could relate to. I spent most of the book irritated as all get out at her because she was just so in your face with everything, she made an FBI case out of every little thing mentionable and after a while it just started getting on my nerves. By the end of the book, however I was able to overlook a lot of the things she did but it took me forever to get to a place where I actually wanted to finish the book.

Now moving on to the hero, Nick Jamieson. I liked him well enough I guess, he was a lawyer but he's nowhere near the best hero that I've read about but he was a likeable sort. He was trying to climb the success ladder by making partner in his law firm, only problem was, it was a family firm he was working for and he was not family. How the hell is that going to work you ask? His friend, Park, who he went to college with IS family and soon Park's father who is running the company will retire and Park will make Nick partner then, until then, they have to land the Welch account in order for the old man to retire.

Nick has to keep his reputation squeaky clean in order for him to climb the ladder of success, and Tess Newhart is as squeaky clean as a dirty sock. She's vintage shops and second hand furniture and he's Gucci penny loafers and three piece suits, they are so different that it's painstakingly obvious that they would not suit.

But Nick needs this account and Tess has a way of helping him get it, so against his better judgement he goes after her again and charms the socks off of her. He realizes that he missed her more than a little bit and he gets her to agree to go to a dinner with Welch and stand in as his fiance'.

As the story progresses, Nick and Tess fall into a relationship they both don't want to walk away from, but what I can't understand about myself is that the things I hated about Tess, I hated even more than Nick was trying to change her against her will, without her permission, just sort of steam rolling over her and for some reason, it irritated the ever living crap out of me.

Another thing that I couldn't stand abotu the book is Tess' stupid reason for being pissed off at Nick in the beginning, she was mad at him because he didn't want to have sex with her in his car, because he wanted to have sex with her in his bed. So because he preferred to make love in a bed, she just thought he was the most unsuitable person in the world? Umm, hello? Yeah, okay so sometimes that's probably a good idea, but if the wrong stick shift is getting in the way, why NOT take your activities somewhere, where he can better enjoy your body and you his? I just thought it was the most retarded thing for her to be pissed about and then the whole piano thing?

I'm just not seeing how it was so very important for them to do that? I don't know, I didn't hate this book enough to give it a D or an F, because I did enjoy the story but the characters got on my hot damn nerves.

Would I recommend this book? Meh, not really...read it if you're broke and you've got absolutely nothing else to read but if you want something to sweep you up in the story then keep this at the bottom of your TBR pile, there's other JC books that are better than this one.

Charlie All Night by Jennifer Crusie

Hero: Charlie Tenniel
Heroine: Allie McGuffey
Grade: A

Dumped by her boyfriend and demoted from WBBB's prime-time spot, radio producer Allie McGuffey has nowhere to go but up. She plans to make her comeback by turning temporary DJ Charlie Tenniel into a household name. And if he's willing to help her cure her breakup blues with a rebound fling, that's an added bonus.

Charlie just wants to kick back, play good tunes and eat Chinese food. He's not interested in becoming famous. But he is interested in Allie. And after all, what harm in a little chemistry between friends?

But suddenly their one-night stand has become a four-week addiction. Night after night on the airwaves, his voice seduces her. . .and all the other women in town. He's a hit. It looks as if Charlie's solved all Allie's problems. . .except one. What is she going to do when he leaves?

This was the perfect book to read after the catastrophe that was Killing Time.

I started this yesterday morning (could only get in about 10 minutes of reading though) and finished it last night, it was short, sweet and Charlie was just oh so adorable. The storyline was simple enough without much drama, the way Charlie and Allie fell in love was sweet to read about and the working family at WBBB was such a great thing to read, this book was light and fluffy with none of that overly dramatic storyline, the characters were cute, I had a soft spot for Harry, the insecure guy who was waiting for his wife to come back from her parents house, she's been gone for 13 years, he wasn't a hottie by any means, but he was sweet and when he found his niche in his radio show it was cute to see him all excited to have fans calling in.

And then there was Joe and his wonderful pecan waffles. I loved Allie and Charlie's room mate. He was a good friend and an easygoing room mate, becuase if my room mates were making all that noise every night, we would have had some mean words exchanged but Joe was a good one, very understanding and you could totally tell that he loved and cared for Allie deeply. Joe was just sweet.

One of my favorite things about the book was Samson. How listening to Billy Joel was the only way he fed from the bottle, I loved how Charlie was with Sam, it was just so cute. Guys who are good to their Moms and to Dogs are always okay with me. Charlie was good with dogs, I love him.

The whole story is probably not realistic since Allie picked Charlie up in a bar, found out he was her new DJ, invited him to move in with her and Joe all in the space of a couple of hours, but that didn't bother me because the whole story happened really fast so it was okay with me, if you could get over that, you'll enjoy the book.

I'm so buying this book, since I bookfree'd it, this could very well be one of my light and fluffy feel good reads that Izzy was talking about in the post below mine, gosh this book was such a cutie.

I am totally pimping this book out.

Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie

Fast Women.
They don't break for anybody.

Nell's been discarded. Suze's been repressed. Margie's been put on hold. But now they're hitting the ground running, kicking up dust, and moving at the speed of rage.

The Story:
Nell Dysart is living a too small life in a too small apartment with no visible evidence of a reason to get up in the morning. Weighed down by an inexplicable divorce and a loss of appetite for everything, Nell is frozen in place, and she's not alone: Her two closest friends and sisters-in-law are as stuck as she is. Suze is married to a controlling lawyer who keeps her housebound while she perfects an almost zen-like denial, and Margie has been stuck in foggy limbo since her husband disappeared seven years before with a lot of money that didn't belong to him. Good thing Nell's new job is with a down-and-out detective agency that has huge potential and a boss who looks easy to manage.

Gabe McKenna isn't doing too well, either. His detective agency is wasting time on a blackmail case, his partner Riley has decided he hates watching cheating spouses for money, and his ex-wife has just dumped him . . . again. Good thing his new secretary looks efficient, boring, and biddable.

But soon Nell and Gabe are squaring off over embezzlement, business cards, bribery, interior decoration, vandalism, dachshund-napping, blackmail, and unprofessional sex, all of which turn out to be the least of their problems. Because shortly after that, somebody starts killing people. And shortly after that, they start falling in love...

I wasn't all too anxious to read this one by JC, but surprisingly it turned to be a good read. A very good read. Once I got past the first few chapters and familiarised myself with the range of characters, I became very antsy and wanted to get to the end of the book already.

Both Nell and Gabe are control freaks, or should I say "Kissers"..so you can only imagine what the consquences are for putting these two together. But some how, they made it work. Well, eventually, they made it work.

I liked Nell very much, at least compared to my last JC hero (Maddie Faraday) and I enjoyed reading about her own journey of self. Gabe McKenna on the other hand, wow. I LOVED him. I absolutely ate up the fact that he was so darn..whats the word I'm looking for. Hmm..Decent. And kind..and just, so much more. His protective nature won me over in a heart beat.

And Riley McKenna (Gabe's partner) was such a treat too. He sounds like such a charmer, I think it'd be so freakin' dangerous to come across him in a bar..*sigh* I should be so lucky.

The secondary romance between Nell's son, Jase Dysart and Gabe's daughter, Lu is something I was rooting for too. Gosh, Jase sounds like a lady's man. He stole a little piece of my heart too.

Overall, JC climbed back up a few notches for me, after her crash and burn in Tell Me Lies. The only complaint I have for this one, is the ending..I felt like it fell a little flat and short. I'm not sure what exactly I was expecting, but maybe just a little more oomph or perhaps an epilogue..or something! But otherwise, Fast Women was a treat. :)

3.5/5

Tell Me Lies by Jennifer Crusie

Maddie was coping pretty well with the adultery, the embezzlement, and the blackmail.Then her old boyfriend came back to town

The Story:
Maddie Faraday's life would be perfect if it weren't for her nosy neighbors, her interfering mother, her unhappy best friend, her worried little girl, her cheating husband, and that guy she lost her virginity to twenty years ago who just showed up on her front porch. But things keep taking a turn for the worse (and worse than that) and pretty soon she's up to her eyes in gossip, blackmail, murder, and brownies, not to mention some flashbacks to a past that's just as steamy in the present.

After being slightly disappointed by Faking It, I decided the best course of action for this next JC book was to have no expectations at all. To just read it without thinking, OH gosh, this is the same author who wrote Bet Me and Welcome To Temptation..and oh gosh, those were FABulous! I wanted to give this a fair go. I tried, I really did. But in my eyes, Tell Me Lies came up short. Very short. I can't exactly pinpoint it to one thing in particular, I can only say that by the end of the 384 pages, I wasn't a completely satisfied reader.

I didn't feel like I could relate or warm up to Maddie Faraday much..and I hated that she tried to cover up the fact that her lying-cheating-good-for-nothing-husband hit her. That made me mad. The secondary characters were just meh and I think the only saving grace for me was CL Sturgis. I loved that he was so frank and forward with his wants and intentions with Maddie and never tried to convince himself otherwise because he was scared. (at the beginning he did try, but I understand that because Maddie was married to someone else) He fought for what was his and kept on fighting until he finally got his HEA. And considering he had been waiting for a very long time, he scored some major points there.

All in all, as much as it pains me to say it..I'm disappointed in Tell Me Lies.

2.5/5

Faking It by Jennifer Crusie

She has a history of forgery she's trying to forget. He has a knack for scamming he's trying to resist. But one fateful night, their good intentions go bad, And what they get up to is downright immoral, illegal, and irresistible.

The Story:
Meet the Goodnights, a respectable family who have run a respectable art gallery for generations. There’s Gwen, the matriarch, who sedates herself with Double-Crostics and double vodkas; Eve, the oldest daughter, who has a slight identity problem (she has two); and Nadine, the granddaughter, who’s ready to follow in the family footsteps as soon as she can find a set that isn’t leading off a cliff. Holding everyone together is Matilda, the youngest daughter, who’s inherited the secret locked down in the basement of the Goodnight Gallery, a secret that she’s willing to do almost anything to keep, including breaking into a house in the dead of night to steal back her past.

Meet the Dempseys, or at least meet Davy, a reformed con man who’s just been ripped off for a cool three million by his financial manager, who then gallantly turned it over to Clea Lewis, the most beautiful sociopath Davy ever slept with. Davy wants the money back, but more than that, he’ll do anything to keep Clea from winning, including breaking into her house in the dead of night to steal back his future.

One collision in a closet later, Tilda and Davy reluctantly join forces to combat Clea, suspicious art collectors, a disgruntled heir, and an exasperated hit man, all the while coping with a mutant dachshund, a jukebox stuck in the sixties, questionable sex, a painting of three evil fishermen closing in on a dyspeptic tuna, multiple personalities, miscellaneous Goodnights and Dempseys, and the growing realization that they can’t turn their backs on the people they were meant to be... or the people they were born to love.

After being thoroughly impressed by Welcome to Temptation, I was very excited to read the follow up book on Davy Dempsey. I couldn't wait to see Davy in the spotlight and to see the woman who would match our reformed con man.

Davy was a FAB hero. I knew he would be from his secondary role in WTT, but reading Faking It merely confirmed it. He made me laugh and he made me blush, and I loved how he continually came to Tilda's rescue. First with the paintings and then when he tried to take care of her the way she looked after her family. I loved it.

Tilda was an alright heroine, nothing absolutely fabulous about her for me. Although I did like the fact that she wasn't perfect in every way. I also appreciated her little quirks and habits which made her all the more real and likable. I really liked the the secondary characters - Eve/Louise (Matilda's sister), Nadine and Gwen as they all helped to create a richer tale to be told. It was nice to get to know them. And very nice to see Davy become protective Tilda's family too.

Between Welcome to Temptation and Faking It, WTT is definitely my favourite. I think after reading WTT, my expectations of Faking It was a touch high and when it fell short (only by a very little!) I was disappointed. But nevertheless, Faking It is still a great read. I'm glad I finally got around to reading it.

3.5/5

Welcome to Tempation by Jennifer Crusie

Welcome to Temptation.Population 2,158. And falling...

Sophie came to Temptation, Ohio, to help her sister make a movie.Now she's making trouble for the town council, love with the mayor, and lemonade for a murderer.

The Story:
All Sophie Dempsey wants to do is help her sister make a video of a washed-up actress and get out of town before they get into trouble. The daughter of generations of con men, Sophie's trying to walk the straight and narrow, but it's, well, difficult.

All Mayor Phineas Tucker wants to do is run Temptation with as little fuss as possible and win his upcoming election without cutting into the time he needs for his real passion: playing pool. The son of generations of mayors, Phin's trying to be an upstanding citizen, but it's, well, boring.

It only takes one look before Sophie knows that Phin's the kind of boy her mother used to warn her about-- a fast-talking town boy-- and Phin knows she's the kind of woman his father told him to stay away from-- the devil's candy.And in no time at all, boredom is the least of their difficulties. Gossip, adultery, and blackmail; pornography, politics, and murder; vehicular abuse of a corpse and slightly perverse but really excellent sex: all hell is breaking loose in Temptation, Ohio, while Sophie and Phin fall deeper and deeper in trouble… and in love.

It's taken me almost six months to finally feel "in the mood" to read this book, but luckily two days ago I decided to dig it out of the box Dylan graciously sent to me (bless her generous heart) and pop it into my bag to take to work. I started reading it on my lunch break and I could not put it down. I was in my office reading and grinning and laughing and trying not to laugh so much or hard, (which obviously didn't work because within minutes my co-workers were in my room asking if the work load had finally driven me mad) and to no avail. Suffice to say I was in a huge rush to get home to continue reading.

And there the grinning and laughing continued. It's been a very long time since I've literally laughed out loud because of a book, but Welcome to Temptation definitely had me laughing hysterically, cheeks and tummy hurting and all. For those that have read it, the part I'm specifically talking about is where Phin and Wes are talking about all the "injuries" and possible causes of death for one particular person. Oh gosh, I laughed soooooooooo hard!

Phin Tucker was an amazing hero. Shockingly gorgeous, down to earth, cocky and quick with his comebacks. I absolutely loved the banter between him and Sophie. And gosh, did the boy know how to make me blush.

I really liked Sophie and felt myself rooting for her the whole time. Her sister Amy though, got on my nerves a little. As did a fair number of the people in town, including Phin's mother, Liz. Although, I did change my mind about her in the end when she finally stood up for Sophie. Hoo-ray!

All in all, WTT was a great read and just the thing to pry me out of my reading slump. And more importantly, it has me very, very eager to read all about Sophie's ex-con brother, Davy Dempsey in Faking It. I can't wait! *grin*

4.5/5