Jennifer Crusie
Bet Me (2004)
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Genre (and subgenre): Romance (Contemporary)
Plot Summary:
Chubby Min Dobbs is unceremoniously dumped by her boyfriend David in a bar. After dumping her, David makes a bet with hunky Cal Morrisey that he cannot get Min into bed in a month. David is jealous of Cal’s prowess with women and believes that he can take Cal down a notch by getting him to try to pursue a woman he believes is frigid. Cal declines this bet but does accept a bet that he cannot get Min to eat dinner with him that night. Min overhears the conversation but does not hear Cal decline the first bet. She decides to string Cal along for a month to punish him and to obtain a date for her sister’s wedding which is in a month. After their first dinner, Min decides that Cal is too dangerously charming to be handled easily and the two part ways. Fate, however, keeps bringing them back together and they are attracted to one another. David begins to rethink his decision to let Min go. He and Cal’s ex-girlfriend plot to break the two of them up. David reveals to Cal that Min knew about the bet and tells him that she only saw Cal to make a fool out of him at the end of the month. Hurt and angry with each other, Cal and Min argue and part ways. SPOILER: Cal and Min admit the confusion over the bet was equally both of their faults. They marry and live happily ever after.
Geographical Setting: It is set in an unnamed American city.
Time Period: Present day
Appeal Characteristics:
A strong main character is central to this novel's appeal. The reader admires Min's strengths (her intelligence and wit), empathizes with her vulnerability (she is often perceived as having a slight weight problem) and admires her creative individualism (eccentric collections of shoes and mantle figurines). A strong cast of secondary and minor characters add to the novel's appeal: While the reader primarily sees the world through Min's eyes, we are also regularly treated to the thought processes of her main love interest as well as her friends and family. The prevalence of richly witty dialogue scenes is another main appeal, contributing to the moderately fast pace. For the most part, the reader gleans the individual personalities of the main characters by the way they communicate with one another. Humor, suspense and interest are well maintained by the author's technique of masterfully juxtaposing scenes in which different characters have varied and often ironic responses to the same series of events. Anyone interested in reading about a great woman, who is normally overlooked and underestimated, catching the eye of a good-looking man, who is always noticed by everyone, should read this book.
Similar Authors: Reader's who enjoy Jennifer Crusie's 2005 Rita Award-winning Bet Me will doubtless want to explore some of the author's other novels such as Welcome to Temptation (2000), a Romance Writers of America Top Ten Favorite Books selection; or Getting Rid of Bradley (1995), another Rita Award-winner. Anything by Janet Evanovich would be a good choice if the action and humor are what the reader enjoys in the book. Janet Evanovich has also created one of the toughest female characters around, Stephanie Plum. Min Dobbs is tough and doesn’t let men walk all over her, but Stephanie Plum is even tougher. Another readalike suggestion is Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson. This romantic comedy of a book is about a wacky vampire that is simply trying to reclaim what she had in her life when she was alive especially her shoe collection. Sushi for Beginners by Marian Keyes is recommended for readers that enjoy the quirky characters in Bet Me. Also the characters are put to a test to see if they can let go and let life and love takes its course. Readers might also consider Sophie Kinsella’s Can you Keep a Secret? This is a fun, fast paced British chick lit story that is of the same light and funny level of Bet Me. The protagonist is a smart professional woman that is determined to make the best of her life and live it up for her younger years. If readers like Min Dobbs in Bet Me they will also be taken in by Emma Corrigan. Jane Ann Krentz’s Trust Me. Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ This Heart of Mine. and Millie Criswell’s The Trouble with Mary are all good readalikes that have funny characters with modern lifestyles. Like Bet Me, both Trust Me and The Trouble with Mary, put an emphasis on food. The Trouble with Mary also has flawed characters who evoke pity from each other and the reader. Bet Me has some mystery and suspense elements which makes a mystery/romance like Gillian Robert’s Caught Dead in Philadelphia a good readalike. Get Lucky by Susan Brockman is another romance story with an independent heroine who has a body that she considers to be much less than perfect and gets a good looking charmer to fall in love with her. Susan Donovan'sTake a Chance on Me (2003), a Romantic Times Award-winner for Best Contemporary Romance, would also make a good next read.
Red Flags: Graphic sex scene (only one at the end of the novel); profanity
Crazy for You (1999)
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Genre: Romance (Contemporary)
Plot Summary:
The novel's protagonist is Quinn McKenzie ,a high school art teacher, who seems to have built a good life for herself. In the beginning of the novel, her friend, Thea, brings a stray dog into Quinn's classroom and Quinn feels an automatic attachment to the dog. When Quinn's boyfriend, Bill, tells her that she can't keep the dog, Quinn decides that she is bored with her life and that she needs to make some major changes to it. When Bill brings the stray dog to the pound, without telling Quinn, Quinn decides to leave him and move in with her parents for a short amount of time. While all of this is going on, Quinn is also busy with her friend, Darla, and her husband, Max, who are starting to have problems in their marriage. Quinn begins to have feelings for Nick, her sister's ex-husband and Max's brother, and Nick has feelings for Quinn as well. Soon, Bill starts to stalk Quinn and begins to try destroy the new life that's she's trying to build for herself. SPOILER: Later on, Bill breaks into Quinn's new home and takes an extra key for her house, while he's in there. Bill brings the dog to the pound again and asks for it to be killed, but Quinn and Nick are able to steal the dog from the pound before it's killed. Also, we find out that Quinn's mother is having a lesbian relationship with their family friend, Edie. Nick ends up being arrested for stealing the dog from the pound, but nothing really comes of it. Darla and Max's marriage starts to fall apart, but by the end of the novel their marriage is just fine. Quinn and Nick end-up getting hot and heavy and they eventually fall in love. Bill starts to go crazy and breaks into Quinn's home again and again. Bill becomes more obsessed with the idea that he and Quinn will still live happily ever after together. Quinn ends up falling down the stairs and spraining her ankle after Bill broke into her house one day. Bill's baseball team starts to do poorly and almost everyone involved with the school blames Quinn for it. Bill ends up attacking Quinn and threatening Quinn and Nick. Nick reports the incident to the police, but they refuse to do anything about it. Bill ends up hitting the principal of the high school, Bobby, and breaks into Quinn's home and moves in his things. After talking to Quinn, the police sheriff decides to help her out with the situation with Bill. Finally, there's a standoff between Quinn and Bill at her house, but Quinn fights of Bill and the novel ends well.
Geographical Setting: Tibbett, Ohio.
Time Period: Present day (1999)
Appeal Characteristics:
This is a fast-paced, page-turning novel that continues to keep the reader's attention. The book is full of humor and the tone of the novel ranges from light to fairly dark. The characterization included in this novel is very strong, especially when it comes to Quinn and some of the secondary characters including Bill,Darla, and Max. The plot is very easy to follow and it continues to be interesting throughout the story, because of the action, romance, and relationships included in the novel. The setting of the novel is also important to the story because the small-town and highschool environments really influence the story and the lives of Quinn and the secondary characters as well.
Read-alikes: If you want to read another fast-paced, humorous, contemporary romance, I suggest No Body's Baby but Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. The novel is about Dr. Jane Darlington, who decides to seduce a celebrated quarterback in order to get the baby that she has always wanted, but she ends up getting more than she bargained for. If you like novels that share similar elements of pacing and storyline, I suggest Trust Me by Jayne Ann Krentz. The novel is about a caterer, Desdemona Wainwright, who tries to collect her needed payment for Sam Stark's wedding reception and ends up falling in love with him. If you like humorous romances about small town life, I suggest Sherryl Wood's Angel Mine. The novel is about Heather Reed, who tracks down her ex, Todd Winston, in Whispering Wind,Wyoming with their daughter, who he has never met. If you want to read more of Jennifer Crusie's novels, I suggest Faking It. The novel is about Matilda Goodn
ight and Davy Dempsey, who work together to take on a femme fatale, a hitman, an art collecter, and a golddigger. Finally, if you like fast-paced, funny novels with an air of mystery, I suggest Janet Evanovich's High Five. The novel is about Stephanie Plum, who's uncle has disappeared and she tries to track him down.
Red Flags: The novel includes some strong language, some harassment of homosexuals, and strong sexuality.a name = "faki">
Faking It (2002)
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Genre: Romance (Contemporary/Suspense)
Plot Summary:
At the age of 17, Tilda Goodnight’s father told her she was meant to paint, not to love. Now, the artistic Tilda Goodnight is 34, self-reliant, somewhat bitter, and pleasantly “round.” She is also known as Matilda Veronica when she is painting murals on the dining room walls of wealthy midwestern suburbanites. Tilda left home after her father’s heartbreaking proclamation. However, she returned to the family home and gallery in Columbus, Ohio after his death in order to help pay the mortgage. Tilda’s family is comprised of an eccentric cast of characters: her mother, Gwen Goodnight; her older sister, Eve; her 17-year-old niece, Nadine; and her gay ex-brother-in-law, Andrew. Tilda is confronted with a serious problem when Nadine accidentally sells a forgery to Clea Lewis, a professional gold digger who recently moved to Ohio. Tilda meets the dashing con artist Davy Dempsey in Clea’s bedroom closet when she is attempting to steal back the forgery. Davy is Clea’s ex-lover and he is attempting to recover three million dollars that Clea extorted from him. There is instant chemistry between Davy and Tilda, but definitely not instant love. However, Tilda’s problem with the one forgery multiplies and Davy soon joins her quest to apprehend all of the forgeries in order to prevent the demise of the Goodnights. Davy and Tilda embark on a suspenseful, steamy adventure along with a corrupt accountant, an FBI agent, and a hit man.
Geographical Setting: Columbus, Ohio
Time Period: Present day (2002)
Appeal Characteristics:
This non-literary, character-driven novel may have been intended to be a fast-paced read, but the multitude of characters and details prevent it from completely taking off. There are elements of suspense throughout the novel that give it an occasional jolt. However, even these elements are often lost in the heavy characterization and plot/sub-plots. The bevy of characters consists of some very interesting ones, such as Gwen Goodnight who lives on pineapple orange muffins and Double-Crostics. There is also the dualistic Eve who is matronly, school teacher Eve by day and domineering, sex toy Louise by night. However, several of the characters are downright extraneous and appear to serve no purpose. I occasionally found myself needing to write down the names of the characters in order to keep track of them. Readers will be drawn to the imperfect Tilda Goodnight, who is somewhat frumpy, but very spunky -- a Betty Boop in the eyes of Davy Dempsey. The story is set in Columbus, Ohio, but it could have taken place in any mid-sized American city. The themes of duality and secrecy are tantamount to the novel and strongly define both Tilda and Davy. Crusie throws in many one-liners from a wide range of movies such as Grosse Pointe Blank and Dial M for Murder. For those readers who like romances where the love relationship develops early on, this novel should be appealing since Tilda encounters Davy Dempsey in the first chapter. The sex scenes between Tilda and Davy are quite graphic and steamy, but humorous at times. Crusie also includes a wide array of facts about art, forgery, and con artists. Faking It sometimes gets caught in plot and characterization, but it ultimately holds true to the Romance novel formula.
Similar Authors: Two other Crusie novels that should not be missed are Welcome to Temptation and Bet Me. Welcome to Temptation is a distant relative to Faking It since it is the story of Davy Dempsey’s two sisters, Sophie and Amy. Davy is another character in this novel along with Clea. Bet Me is the story of Minerva Dobbs, a thirty-something full of imperfections the reader will relate to easily. Readers might also enjoy This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips if they are interested in reading a romance about a complicated female artist and her family relationships in a midwestern setting. It is book number five in the Chicago Stars/Bonner Brothers series. One might try Almost Perfect by Patricia Rice if they want to read more about an artist and a con. However, in this novel the roles are reversed: Jared McCloud is a successful cartoon artist and Cleo Alyssum is an ex-con attempting to put her life in order. If readers are interested in reading something with a mystery/suspense element, then they should try Sharp Edges by Jayne Ann Krentz. This novel also contains similar subject matter in relation to crime and art. Another title with some elements of suspense is Mary Kay Andrews, Savannah Blues. This novel is full of facts relating to interior design and fashion along with a cast of interesting characters. Readers specifically interested in a cast of eccentric, humorous characters should try The Dixie Belle’s Guide to Love by Luanne Jones. The story focuses on Rita Butcher Stark, her two best friends, and her restaurant Pernel’s Pig Rib Palace.
Red Flags: There are several graphic sex scenes, frank discussions about sex, some profanity, mild violence, and a gay relationship.
Fast Women (2001)
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Genre: Romance (Contemporary)
Plot Summary:
Nell Dysart needs a change in her life. After twenty-two years of marriage, Nell is divorced and sleepwalking through life. Her best friend finds her a new job working for Gabe McKenna, a private detective. Gabe's life is also far from perfect, his ex-wife has dumped him again, and his business of watching cheating spouses for money is depressing, but he is confident his new secretary won't cause any trouble. Is he ever wrong. The trouble begins when Nell decides to redecorate the dilapidated detective agency, and tries to modernize Gabe, who could double as Sam Spade. When she uncovers the previous secretary's embezzlement, and Gabe does nothing about it, Nell takes matters into her own hands. Gabe wonders when his life became so complicated, why can't things stay the same? In her reorganizing of the detective agency, Nell uncovers several unsettling artifacts that lead Gabe to believe his father had some illegal business dealings and it is somehow connected to his most prominent and reliable customers. Gabe tries to solve the mystery, while Nell gets in the way and complicates his life by being so likable. When she isn't stealing dogs, and trying to change his business cards, she is up to something else. Things get serious when there are break-ins, fires, car accidents, and dead bodies!
Geographical Setting: Columbus, Ohio
Time Period: Present Day
Appeal Characteristics:
Crusie creates believable, real-life characters who have you laughing and hoping they find love. Real Women has elements of a suspense mystery with a lot of complications coming from the relationships of married people. Divorce, adultry, betrayal, and manipulation are just a few of the subjects that come up in the book. The book is a compelling read with plot twists that keep the reader entangled in the story. The tone of the book is light, with hints of darker things sometimes coming through. Crusie switches narrators often, and there is a fairly equal ratio of male/female perspectives. Enough so, that I think there is more male perspective in this book than can be found in many other romances. Though the book is set in Ohio, there are very few references made to actual locations. Fast Women won the RITA award for one of the Top Ten Favorite Books in 2001.
Similar Authors: Janet Evanovich is one of the first authors that comes to mind when it comes to humorous mysteries. Any of her Stephanie Plum novels would be good readalikes for Crusie. Trust Me by Jayne Ann Krentz is a romance that includes elements of suspense and mystery as does Fast Women. Krentz is not as humorous as Crusie, but they are still a good match. Stephanie Bond in Whole Lotta Trouble, has three characters that get tangled up in a murder and in love. They are more mystery than romance, but they are very funny. If the issues of divorce, family loyalty or betrayal are what interests you, This Heart of Mine by Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a romance that is focused on the real-life characters created by Phillips. The characters are dealing with some of the same family, divorce issues that Nell and her friends are in Fast Women. Another author, Mary Kay Andrews, touches on the same life issues in Savannah Blues. There is also a mystery element in Andrews novel. Susan Andersen, author of Head Over Heels, also writes character driven mysteries. Her true-to-life characters seem similar to Crusie's Nell and Gabe.
Red Flags: There is some language and several graphic sex scenes.
Strange Bedpersons (1994)
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Genre: Romance (Contemporary)
Plot Summary:
Nick and Tess are complete opposites, but they can't seem to stay away from each other. Nick is a republican yuppie concerned only with money, status and a partnership in his lawfirm. Tess, raised on a commune, doesn't care about her thift store wardrobe or her less than gentrified neighborhood as long as she has the opportunity to teach the disadvantaged kids she loves. When Tess reluctantly agrees to pretend to be Nick's fiance for a weekend in order to impress an important client and secure his partnership, her left-wing ideas threaten to hurt his chances more than help. The important client, Norbert Welch, is a neoconservative author about to release a new book railing against the naivete of Tess's values. Although Tess fails to bite her tongue, Welch seems to find her more amusing than offensive. Tess brings her shy and unrefined best friend, Gina to accompany Nick's selfish and shallow best friend, Park, and their relationship provides an entertaining subplot. SPOILER: However, the situation becomes more complicated when Tess suspects part of Welch's book is plagarized and it turns out Welch is not exactly who he says he is. Both Tess and Nick must decide if they can have a long-term relationship without compromising their own identity.
Geographical Setting: America
Time Period: Contemporary (1994)
Appeal Characteristics:
The fast pace Strange Bedpersons is an important appeal element for many readers. This book contains lots of lively and spirited dialogue. The chapters are short and the characters' motivations and intentions are revealed quickly. The style is conversational and simple. Many readers of this novel may be drawn in by Jennifer Crusie's well developed and quirky characters. The reader is meant to empathize with them, especially Tess, a strong female protagonist. The frame is contemporary America. The book has a definite contemporary feel, but the frame isn't a major part of the book's appeal. The setting is not described in detail. Although the frame provides context, it is not the focus of the reader's attention. The upbeat and energetic tone of Strange Bedpersons is another appeal element to note. The light and humorous mood created by the author will entertain many readers. The storyline is character-centered, concentrating on the relationships created by the author. There are several explicit sex scenes, but they don't take over the novel. The sensuality level was considered "warm" by All About Romance. The neatly resolved ending will be satisfying to traditional romance fans.
Read-alikes: Suzanne Elizabeth Phillips is a good suggestion for those who enjoyed Strange Bedpersons. Phillips' 2001 novel This Heart of Mine is would be a good place to start. The protagonist, Molly, is a children's book illustrator and is similar in many ways to the carefree and audacious Tess. When Molly gets pregnant, her football star one night stand, Kevin, proposes. However, after the wedding, Molly miscarries and must decide if this marriage is really what she wants. Like Strange Bedpersons, This Heart of Mine has a light and humorous tone and a fast pace, driven by snappy dialogue. The level of sensuality is similar to i>Strange Bedpersons. Millie Criswell is another romance writer characterized by humor and an upbeat tone. Her books center around her quirky and well developed characters. The Trouble with Mary is the first of Criswell's Baltimore Novels series. This novel, also a "warm" on the All About Romance scale, is the story of Mary, a 33 year-old virgin who has just opened up an Italian restaurant. Dan Gallagher's bad review threatens her success and when Mary confronts him, they find they have a mutual attraction. The romance is complicated by Mary's quirky Italian family. Rachel Gibson's Lola Carlyle Reveals All is another read-alike for Crusie's Strange Bedpersons. This is a similar opposites-attract love story. Although the sensuality level is a little hotter in this selection, those who don't mind will enjoy the humorous tone and fast pace. As this novel begins, Lola, a famous former model, is nursing her embarrassment over some private pictures that her ex-fiance has put online. She has chosen to hide from the scandal on a secluded island. At this point Max Zamora shows up with even bigger problems. He was on a secret government mission that went bad. Together they try to get home in one piece. Elizabeth Bevarly's How To Trap a Tycoon may appeal to many fans of Jennifer Crusie. Bevarly's characters are well developed and quirky, and her tone is light and upbeat. Dorsey MacGuiness is a sociology student working on her dissertation. She's also the bestselling author of How to Trap a Tycoon, under her pseudonym, Lauren Grable-Monroe. She does research for both as a bartender at Drakes, an bar that caters to the tycoon demographic. This situation is muddled by Adam Darien, a customer at Drakes and publisher of a men's magazine. He decides to try to find Lauren Grable-Monroe's true identity. This novel is similar in level of sensuality to Strange Bedpersons. Susan Donovan's Public Displays of Affection would be another good suggestion for those who like the humorous and fast pace of Strange Bedpersons and don't mind a slightly higher level of sexuality. This is a story of a rekindled romance between Charlotte Trasker, a lonely widow leading an ordinary life and Joe Bellacera, a DEA agent trying t
o remain under the radar until he testifies in an upcoming trial against a powerful druglord. Charlotte and Joe had a fling years earlier, before Charlotte's marriage. Now that Joe's back in town they must both admit to themselves that they never got over it.
Red Flags: Sexually explicit
Welcome to Temptation (2000)
Author: Jennifer Crusie
Genre: Romance (Contemporary)
Plot Summary:
Sisters Sophie and Amy Dempsey run a business taping weddings in Cincinnati, Ohio. When they get a chance to make a different kind of movie in Temptation, Ohio, Amy jumps at the chance to fast forward her film-making career while Sophie just wants to get in and get out of the lousy little town as fast as possible. They have been hired by their brother Davy's ex-wife Clea to make a movie about her return to her hometown of Temptation and her confrontation with a high school boyfriend. As the three women arrive in Temptation, they learn that they are not exactly welcome. Clea has starred in at least one porn movie and the townspeople, especially city council members Virginia and Stephen Garvey, are suspicious that she plans to make her next installment right in their beloved town. Meanwhile, Sophie falls into a steamy relationship with the town's mayor, Phineas Tucker. Phin is the fourth generation of Tucker mayors in Temptation. He feels it's his duty to win the next election but being mayor is not his passion. His passions are pool and books...and now, also, Sophie. Sophie can tell that Phin is bad news: He reminds her of the "town boy" who took her virginity and broke her heart in high school. Phin can tell that Sophie is bad news: She could be just like every other woman who used him for his power and money. And besides, she could cost him the next election with her potentially controversial film and all the anti-pornography ruckus his opponent Stephen Garvey is kicking up. As Phin and Sophie's forbidden relationship sizzles, the town of Temptation is thrown upside down, culminating when Clea's jealous husband/sleazy television anchor Zane shows up, blackmails everyone, and quickly winds up dead. Sophie is framed and then nearly murdered herself. Stephen puts a pornographic version of the Dempsey's movie on local TV. Clea and Davy disappear. It looks as if the Dempsey sisters have ruined the quiet little town of Temptation and, potentially, Phin's career as mayor. Phin's mother Liz is livid. All she ever wanted was for Phin to marry the Garvey's daughter Rachel and continue winning elections as his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had before him. SPOILER: Finally, it is revealed that Virginia Garvey shot Zane because he was trying to blackmail her. Virginia then framed Sophie for the murder and even tried to kill her. Virginia held Sophie responsible for thwarting her grand plan to get her daughter Rachel married off to Phin. Davy follows Clea, who fled town, and effectively cons her out of the money she was trying to take from her late husband Zane. Thanks to Davy's handy work with Clea, Sophie becomes the owner of Clea's parent's farm house in Temptation. Phin and Sophie get engaged and Sophie starts planning for her own campaign as mayor after his next term ends.
Geographical Setting: Small town of Temptation, Ohio
Time Period: Present Day (2000)
Appeal Characteristics:
The strongest appeal elements of Welcome to Temptation are characterization and tone. Crusie supplies her main characters, the Dempsey siblings, with a wonderfully colorful con artist family background. Both Sophie and Phin are well-developed, stubborn, quirky characters. Sophie is a strong female lead and the unlikely chemistry between her and Phin is enticing. Crusie also includes a large cast of unique secondary characters, all of whom grab the reader's attention. The tone of this book is humorous because the characters and their dialogue are funny and because they find themselves in absurd situations. It's also steamy, both because it takes place during the hottest days of summer in southern Ohio and also because the relationship between Phin and Sophie grows more and more intense. The setting of Temptation, Ohio creates a small town, gossipy atmosphere. Crusie provides a special background frame of pool, Phin being a pool enthusiast who can read a person's character through their pool game. The story line is convoluted with lots of action. All of the characters become entangled in the drama surrounding Amy and Sophie's movie. While Crusie takes her time to introduce her large cast of characters, the pace of the book picks up significantly near the middle, especially by the time Zane is killed. From there, it is end oriented, with readers becoming invested in solving the mystery and in the resolution of differences between Sophie and Phin. Crusie's writing style is conversational and very funny. She writes brisk, witty dialogue, exemplified by the banter between Sophie and Phin.
Read-alikes: Readers who enjoy Crusie's humorous tone, witty dialogue, small town setting, and clashes between headstrong lovers may also enjoy Ain't She Sweet? by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. In Ain't She Sweet? Sugar Beth Carey returns to her hometown of Parrish, Mississippi after having made many enemies there in her youth. The level of sensuality in this book is not as explicit as in Crusie's book. Those who appreciate Crusie's strong female lead, eccentric secondary characters, and convoluted story line but who are not tied down to the Romance genre may enjoy the Chick Lit of Jennifer Weiner. Readers new to Weiner might want to start with Good in Bed, in which plus-sized writer Cannie Shapiro finds out that her ex-boyfriend has written a story about their relationship, titled "Loving a Larger Woman," for a national women's magazine. In Skintight by Susan Andersen, poker player Jax Gallagher must retrieve a priceless baseball from his widowed stepmother, a Vegas showgirl named Treena McCall. At first he tries to seduce her into giving him the ball, but soon finds himself falling in love. Readers who enjoyed Crusie's convoluted story line, humorous secondary characters, and strong, but somewhat unlikely heroine will find a lot to enjoy in Andersen's novel. Both Skintight and Welcome to Temptation contain similar levels of sensuality. Readers comfortable with the level of sensuality in Welcome to Temptation who enjoy Crusie's humorous tone and fast-paced romantic suspense might also enjoy Linda Howard's Mr. Perfect. Four women create a list of the attributes of a perfect man. Soon the list spreads through their company and one of the women ends up dead. Janie Bright, with the help of her sexy next door neighbor cop, Sam Donovan, must find out who's after her and her friends. Readers who enjoy the humorous mystery in Crusie's novel and are willing to step away from the Romance genre may also enjoy reading Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum mystery series. Both Crusie and Evanovich feature smart-mouthed female lead characters who find themselves in romantic entanglements and surrounded by numerous quirky secondary characters. Readers who want to see Evanovich at her best might want to pick a book further into the series, such as book five, High Five, in which bounty hunter Plum faces multiple mishaps as she tries to track down her missing uncle Fred. Crusie continues her sexy banter between characters and page-turning pace in all of her books, but a good one to pick up after Welcome to Temptation is Faking It. It is not a sequel to Temptation, but some of the same characters appear in the story of Tilda Goodnight who figures out how to sell forged paintings and falls for Davy Dempsey in the process. Unpredictable by Eileen Cook is another story about a woman who will do anything to get the man she loves, including pretending to be a psychic to his new girlfriend. Cook uses humor and romance as her main medium for an entertaining novel that really lets you get to know her characters. Baby Don’t Go by Susan Anderson is about Daisy Parker who nine years earlier had a one night stand with Nick Coltrane. Now Daisy is hired to protect him. She can protect him, but is not sure she can protect her own heart from him. Just like in Temptation, there are entertaining characters, a close knit setting, and a fun fast pace. Hissy Fit by Mary Kay Andrews is also set in a small town where you feel like you get to know the characters and the town, like in Temptation. In Hissy Fit, Keeley is an interior decorator who has designed her life perfectly, or so she thinks until she finds out about her boyfriends infidelity. Keeley moves on to bigger and better things, including a new romance. Ain't She Sweet is a story about Sugar Beth returning home to the South after dreading it for years. After she does, she discovers herself, love, and other wanted and unwanted attention. If you liked the humorous tone of Temptation, the small town setting, or the strong female characters, you will also love Ain't She Sweet.
Red Flags: There is some language, mild violence, and graphic sexuality.
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