Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie & Bob Mayer

Agnes and the Hitman
Written by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Reading Source: Audible

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Light Suspense
Rating: 




I absolutely LOVE this book. I have read it and listened to it at least 4 times.

Agnes is bent, seriously. She's insane - and her best friend thinks so too - but she's amazing just the way she is. Having had a crappy childhood - Agnes can't stand liars - so needless to say, she's got some not-so-repressed anger.

Shane is the strong silent type - he's about action and loyalty. So when his uncle Joey, "The Gent," calls him back to protect "Little Agnes," Shane is there, expecting to find some kid - lo and behold, he finds a cranky food columnist that has somehow found herself in the middle of a deadly Mob/Government conspiracy.

Throw in a crazy woman from Jersey and a cameo from "Don't Look Down" (I'd give you a hint - but the point would be moot) and you've got an action packed romantic comedy. I love this book. There really isn't much else I can say - Follow the link above to Amazon and buy the book!!

Don't Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Don't Look DownWritten by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Reading Source: Library
Genre: Fiction, Romance, Suspense
Rating:


Lucy likes making dog food commercials, so directing the movie "Don't Look Down" is definitely not her big break, despite what her sister has been telling people. She's only come to do the movie because her niece, Pepper, cried -- Pepper is not a crier.

J.T. thought he was making a little extra money while on leave. Little did he know that his Special Ops training would be needed so much on the set of this movie. Evil is afoot, and it smells like swampy cheetos.

Lucy only agreed to direct the movie because she could tell that something was really wrong. When she gets on the set nothing is making any sense, not even the script. When things start to go wrong, and people are almost hurt she tries to stop the movie, only to find out that the contract would make her liable in the event the movie was not done in its entirety.

Captain J.T. Wilder didn't really want to be there, he had a hangover. He thought he'd make some easy cash doing some stunts while on leave, only he's been tapped for a special project for the CIA. Smugglers are using this movie to bring in artifacts and J.T. is there to make sure things go off without a hitch and to find out any additional information he can.

It doesn't take long for Lucy and J.T. to come to each other's attention, and with the help of a Wonder Woman party, it doesn't take long for J.T. to realize he's a gonner.

This is one of my favorite Jennifer Crusie books, and I think it might be due in part to the second author, Bob Mayer. There's action, there's sex, there's a gator with one eye... I think it's the balance that I enjoyed the most. If you like this one, read Agnes and the Hitman. It's written by both of them and it's good too.

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie

Linc never lies. Daisy doesnt' either - She tells stories, unreal, but not untrue. This time however, Linc lied and now he needs a wife - in about three days. The wolves are at Daisy's door - and Linc might be exactly what she's been looking for.

Linc needs this job and to do it he needs to have a wife at his interview. This is where Daisy comes in. Since Linc doesn't actually have a wife/fiancee he pays Daisy to be his fiancee for the weekend. Linc gets the job - but, as part of their deal, their Cinderella Deal, Daisy and him part. Only Linc's new boss doesn't take "irreconcilable differences" for an answer.

Daisy agrees to go back with him, she needs a fresh start on the new Daisy. Everything appears to be going well for a while, but neither one of them are completely happy. Can they make it work before the Midnight hour?

This is one of my least favorite Crusie books. Its okay - by no means did I not enjoy it. I think it is one of her older stories that were reprinted. It has a different feel to it. It doesn't have that same "new Crusie smell" to it.

It's a good book. Just doesn't have that "new Crusie smell" that I love so much.

Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie

Manhunting 

Written by Jennifer Crusie

Reading Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating:  5 Stars

What happens when you send an uptight business woman to a golf resort in the sticks of Kentucky? What happens when that same business woman gets served up a dish of ambitious-business-woman while on vacation? Exactly what should happen in a romance novel - she realizes that is just like her and she sets out to change her ways.

Kate wants to get married, she wants a partner in life and in business. At least she thinks so. Egged on by her best friend and scatterbrain cake artist, Jessie, Kate makes a "business plan" for a man. The only thing left to do was find a hunting ground - and the perfect place happened to be the golf resort a few hours south in Kentucky.

Jake had his taste of the city. He even had his taste of an ambitious career woman of a wife. All he wants is some twenty something who thinks he's god, or so he thought. Initially Jake saw Kate as comic relief at the luau. Then she needed to be rescued from group activities and ended up drunk in his boat. Neither of them realized what was going on until they'd reached the point of no return.

This is one of my favorite Crusie books. Just like with Bet Me, I can see myself in the female lead - this time not so much physically - as mentally. I enjoyed watching both lead characters grow and start to fully understand not only each other, but themselves as well.

Crazy For You by Jennifer Crusie

Crazy For You by Jennifer Crusie

This book is all about Quinn and how her "beige" life has got to go. She starts by ditching her man and getting a dog. Everything starts to roll down hill from there. Her friends and family start to change things up in their lives, which adds to this comedy of errors. Then things take a turn for the creepy. Her ex is not the hero the town thinks he is, and no one really believes her, until someone gets hurt.

This is where Nick, her sister's ex-husband and one of Quinn's best friends, really starts to come into the plot. He's always tried to remain detached, but there is just something about Quinn... she's the fuzzy half of the velcro to his rough prickly half (you know what I'm talking about... ) Despite his 'pizza' brush-off - he cares, and everything that is going on with Quinn and the coach is scaring the crap out of him.

This is one of Jennifer Crusie's more serious romance novels. I hesitate to call it a romantic comedy, as a good chunk of her other books could be called. This one has it's funny moments, but for the most part it is a story of growth and change, and how that is not always easy to cope with.

My general belief is that you cannot go wrong with a Crusie book. She is by far one of my all time favorite authors. 

This book is well balanced and fun to read. You get a good mix of serious and humor and it leaves you wanting more.

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie

One: Hot Town Boy


Two: Versions of one Movie


Three: Dempsey's


Four: Generations of Tucker's holding office


Five: Hours to finish the book


This is another good book  by Jennifer Crusie.

Welcome to Temptation, a small town in Southern Ohio that hasn't had a lot of excitement in a long while, until the Dempsey's come to town to make a sort film

Sophie has always been the good girl, but her family can't really say the same. Coming from a long line of Con-artists, Sophie knows how to get what she wants.  From the point Sophie and Amy Dempsey first arrive in Temptation, Sophie can tell that trouble is brewing.

Phin is trying to keep his mother and the town happy without completely losing his mind. He is the Mayor of Temptation, but all he really wants is to sell books and play pool. He lives for pool. Phin has no idea the trouble that the Dempsey sisters are bringing into Temptation.

As everything stars to go crazy, Sophie and Phin find themselves wrapped in a world of blackmail, gossip, death, adultery and headbanging sexy. As things go from bad to worse, Sophie and Phin start to realize they're getting more than the excellent sex they both were looking for. They're also getting love, unconditionally.

I really enjoyed this book - Phin is so unexpected as a hero - and really, when it comes right down to it - he's not - in a traditional sense of the word. The women are the heroes in this book, Sophie mainly, but Phin's mom, who starts out as a stone cold bitch, really comes through at the end. She's still a stone cold bitch, just not to Sophie.

I liked how Crusie was able to put great sex scenes throughout the entire book - but still make Phin a single father. I hope that if I ever decide to have kids - that I'm able to continue to have great sex where ever I want.... ( I highly doubt it will happen - I think the bond is a little bit different in real life and with mothers....)

Overall this book was fun, and that is what makes it so appealing. Great sex scenes, good plot and subplots, good characters and a lot of laughs.

This is a really good book  - I have read it before, and I'll probably read it again.... It's not every day that you get "Discovery Fantasy Sex" in a contemporary romance.

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie





Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie is probably my all time favorite book. I can relate to Min and the emotions she encounters in this humorous, romantic and sexy love story. It is because I can relate so much to Min that really draws me to this book. I find that after reading it for a third time, that I could still come back to it again and again.


The story starts out in a bar, in which Min is being dumped by her boyfriend of about 2 months, whom she doesn't even really like, she just needed a date to her sister's wedding. It is this event that is the impetus for the entire book! Min now needs a date for her sister's wedding, and her friends pick one out for her to pick up. Only to have her ex bet him that he couldn't get the "grey checked suit" into bed inside of a month.


Cal couldn't believe that David bet $10,000 on whether or not he could get a woman into bed, he figured that once the alcohol wore off David wouldn't believe he made the bet either. To distract David from the "big" bet, Cal bet David $10 he could get the "grey checked suit" to leave with him, and that was it.
Overhearing the bet as she heard it, Min is outraged. But she's got a plan. She'll use the bet to her advantage and get a date to her sister's wedding. Neither one was ready for what was about to come next.


The growth of the two main characters were so subtle yet profound. I can see these types of changes happening in real life. Min is not a skinny girl, and she doesn't yet understand that sexy is a state of mind. Cal has never found someone he can be totally comfortable with. I love the way their relationship evolves and how the supporting characters are not just fluff thrown in to bulk up the story.

Great Book - This is the third time I've read it and I'll be reading it again!