Maybe This Time, by Jennifer Crusie
A spooky ghost story AND a Crusie! Halloween jackpot over here.
Andromeda (take a drink if you’re counting Crusie-isms, Grecian Named Heroine) agrees to help her (smoking hot) ex-husband North out of a bind - he’s become the guardian of two kids (precocious kids, another drink) who live in a supposedly haunted house and he can’t keep a nanny there for more than a month without them running for the hills. Andie agrees to help out for one month, because he offers her a lot of money and also because we have to get this preposterous story going somehow.
You don’t really need more details than that, because seriously, Crusie plots are the weakest part of her books for me. And here she’s at even more of a disadvantage, because she’s experimenting with horror and mystery, and while sometimes she succeeds at being creepy I never got a sense of menace and the conflict didn’t exactly leave me on the edge of my seat.
The thing is, I don’t think that Jennifer Crusie is a really GREAT writer (I’ll just be over here, dodging stones), but it’s a blast to read her books. And what she may lack in plot, she makes up for with characters. So we’ve got Andie, who’s emotional yet capable and wears hideous clothes (sequined chiffon skirts and stretchy tank tops? Oh, okay) (I think this is a shortcut to say that she’s passionate), North, who’s cool and capable, his mischievous younger brother Southie, their battle-axe mother Lydia, a cartoonishly evil television reporter Kelly, Andie’s fiancee Will, a medium named Isolde, Andie’s mom Flo, and a sadsack paranormal researcher named Dennis. They’re all a lot of fun.
Oh, and the kids. Carter and Alice. Check.
So. Was this a great book? Not really. Did I enjoy the hell out of it? Absolutely. This is the perfect time of year to be reading about haunted houses, ghosts, and things that go bump in the night, and if there’s going to be a romance on top of that, so much the better. And the relationship between North and Andie, while it’s not really fleshed out (no pun intended), it is really sweet and ultimately satisfying. I’d give it four fun-size candy bars out of five just because it was so fun, and I can definitely see myself picking it up again next Halloween.
glossylalia asked You know what really does bum me out about contempo romance though? The fact that Jennifer Crusie is pretty much the pinnacle. I mean like you said about mashed potatoes, who doesn't love them, and when they're great, Lord are they great...but if only there were a whole aisle of potatoes, sweet potatoes, purple potatoes, taro, mashed yucca, if only there were more authors doing what she does, because I would have shelves of potatoes, shelves on top of shelves.
Flakes...if you want some potato flakes (you Chia-tatoes...add water and watch it grow potatoes) I'd say check out some of Vicki Lewis Thompson's stuff...it's a little cheesy, but when you really want some 'taters, it more than gets the job done.
I don’t know if you count Marian Keyes as contemporary romance (there’s not really SEXY sex), but I think she’s definitely a few steps ahead of Crusie. That said, I do think you’re pretty much spot-on.
Romance Authors as Food Items
For no reason at all, several reviewers and I have decided to make a list of what foods romance authors would be if they were foods. Feel free to disagree or add your own in the comments/reblogs!
Jeaniene Frost - Domino’s Pizza. Say what you will, but I’ve never seen anybody turn down a slice. I could even go for some right now, actually.
Eloisa James - Berry pie. It’s deceptively simple and sweet, but it’s pretty difficult to get just right.
Jennifer Crusie - Like Ali said, mashed potatoes. They pretty much taste the same every time (with different toppings, for variety), but seriously, who doesn’t like mashed potatoes?
Loretta Chase - I suggested ratatouille (warm, hearty, comforting), but I think Melinda nailed it with red velvet cupcake. Rich, delicious, and super satisfying - but a bit naughty.
Leigh Greenwood - Sweet Texas BBQ. Even when it’s not great, it’s pretty damn good.
Laura Kinsale - Rachel says “the world’s finest souffle.” I think she’s a fan.
Naughty Nooners - Conversation hearts. They sound better than they taste. But you can’t stop eating them, because they’re THERE. And you probably got them for free.
Stephanie Laurens - Instant mashed potatoes. You think it sounds tasty and comforting, and then you start eating and UGH
.
Kresley Cole - Rachel suggested edible body chocolate and haggis. No. I say movie theater popcorn AND Milk Duds.
Gail Carriger - Petit Fours. Delicious and intricate and a bit old-fashioned and completely addictive.
Zoe Archer - Greek salad. Okay, this might have been influenced by the fact that one of her books was set in Greece, but it’s light, refreshing, and way more exciting than most salads.
Shana Abe - A single plum, floating in perfume, served in a man’s hat.
Marian Keyes - Homemade mac and cheese, complete with those buttery breadcrumbs on top. Some people think it’s a side dish, I call it dinner.
Nora Roberts - French toast with real maple syrup, and a side of bacon. Followed by a nap and mind-blowing sex. This was Ali’s suggestion, and I immediately put several Nora Roberts books in my TBR pile.
Trust Me On This, by Jennifer Crusie
Okay, so I got another coupon this weekend. This time for 30%!! (I am a SUCKER, you guys) So obviously I bought a bunch of books. Duh. I DON’T HAVE A CREDIT CARD DEBT PROBLEM, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT.
Okay, so this one is about Dennie and Alec. Dennie is a reporter who’s been covering the lifestyle section for ever and just kind of stagnating. Alec is some kind of a cop, who’s deals with fraud cases. Dennie’s bff totally calls her on her boring life, and so she decides that her career could use a shake up. And she gets a lead! It involves going to a conference at some hotel and trying to get an interview with a feminist professor.
Meanwhile, Alec has been invited by his awesome aunt Victoria to a conference she’s speaking at. Victoria is a lit prof and she writes about how Shakespeare plays are just like tabloids of their times. CONVENIENTLY some fraudster Alec and his boss Harry have been chasing is rumoured to be at the hotel also. So Alec goes down there and bumps into Dennie and it is like OMG THEY NEED TO SEX IT UP RIGHT NOW, but Dennie is like, NO MAN, I’M CONCENTRATING ON MY CAREER, and Alec thinks Dennie is in league with the fraudster so it is like they are STAR CROSSED LOVERS. But not, because obviously they bone.
So this book is pretty typical Crusie: Dennie is a curvy brunette with curly hair. Alec is tall and broad-shouldered with blonde hair. The secondary characters are all pretty funny and great (SPOILER ALERT: Vic and Harry totally hook up!). But you know, sometimes the joy of a romance novel is that you know what you’re getting. It’s like eating mashed potatoes. It’s not exciting, but dudes, POTATOES ARE SO GOOD WITH BUTTER and now I need a snack.
There you have it, why Jennifer Crusie is like mashed potatoes. Thank you, Ali! Another capsy review from Canada coming tomorrow.
Welcome to Temptation, by Jennifer Crusie
I haven’t been fair to contemporary romance. It is part of an irrational fear that it will either turn out to be low-grade chick lit like the vile Shopaholic novels or, on the other end, Private Parts. I think a good, solid contemporary is much more of a challenge, given that you don’t already have the pulls of vampires or ball gowns or werewolves or princes. And seriously, just because I’m female does not mean every book has to be about shopping and makeovers. They can’t all be Cinderella stories.
That said, if you’re looking for a great book that does not involve historical dress porn or sexy supernatural alpha males, look no further than Jennifer Crusie. (That’s CruSIE, not Cruise, as I called her for I don’t want to admit how long.)
Welcome to Temptation is my second Crusie, after the wonderful Bet Me. Sophie Dempsey and her sister Amy are wedding videographers looking to make it big (well, Amy is), and they head to Temptation, Ohio to film the aging-but-still-hot starlet Clea Whipple. There’s a water tower that looks like a wang, a superhot mayor, a pr0n producer, and the Dempseys come from a long line of con artists. That is really all you need to know.
…
Okay, if you want to know more: Jennifer Crusie is great at writing sexy dudes, but IMO, where she really excels is with the secondary characters. The highlight of Welcome to Temptation was, for me, the townspeople, all of whom were hilarious but still completely three-dimensional. Crusie never has to restort to stock characters, and even the total tools have moments where your heart just breaks for them. She even masters those tricky Cute Characters: there’s a kid, who’s precocious without being obnoxious, and a dog. And seriously - when an author can pull of either of these without being saccharine (if your kid has a cutesy lisp, step away from the keyboard), I’m sold. Even the villains, like the hero’s ice queen mother, have ~*~layers~*~.
The one person who did not immediately charm me was Sophie. I found her grating and unpleasant for the first third or so of the book, but after a while, I started to see WHY her issues made her that way. And seriously, Sophie’s got a LOT of shit. I mean, she was dating her therapist. However, despite that poor choice, she did not suffer from the dreaded Too Stupid To Live (TSTL) Syndrome. In fact, there are not many stupid characters in Welcome to Temptation, which is a delight. Even the sexy secretary is not stupid. THREE DIMENSIONS, Y’ALL.
Also, like I said, Sophie is only obnoxious for about the first third. Then the sexxing begins. SPOILER ALERT: There is fucking. And guess what? Sophie only does the Typical Romance Self-Hatred for a few pages and then throws herself into fucking Hot Mayor with abandon.
The only complaint that I have is that Welcome to Temptation has a LOT of characters and scenes that are a bit too reminiscent of Bet Me. Both have the cute-but-not-annoying kid, both have the newfound animal friend, the domineering mother, neither heroine is comfortable going for what she wants, and in both cases a lead has a therapist ex. It works, but it’s a tiny bit distracting. It’s like how “Born This Way” sounds like “Express Yourself”. If you like one, you’ll like the other, and it’s not like they’re EXACTLY the same, but they’re similar enough I sort of wonder if Jennifer Crusie has like, a cosmic grab-bag of great characters and plot devices.
In short, Welcome to Temptation was a fast and funny read. I was reading it on the treadmill just this morning (do not try this at home) and I lol’ed. Like, I really laughed out loud in the middle of a run (although it was more of a sweaty squealchy noise - you know what, you probably don’t need details) and I’m sure the rest of the gym thought I was nuts. WORTH IT.
Jennifer Crusie: Proof that you can have an exciting and well-written story even if there are no gargoyles or elaborate Victorian wardrobes.
