Bet me by Jennifer Crusie
Published by St. Marin's Press
Why I read this: I'm going to blame Holly. She is the cause of many of my reads, and I don't think she even realizes it. She and Wena reviewed it here.
Min Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man like Cal Morrisey, who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Cal Morrisey knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again.But Fate has other plans, and it’s not long before Min and Cal are dealing with meddling friends, wedding cake, a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kremes, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a frantic bride, Chicken Marsala, a mutant cat, snow globes, two Mothers-from-Hell, great shoes, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of including the biggest gamble of all--unconditional love.
Oh, yes, I liked this book. A contemporary, featuring Min Dobb's, a level headed nice gal, and Cal, a heartbreaking sexy beast.
On a bet (that Min knows about right from the start), Cal asks her out. She says yes hoping to turn the tables on him. From there she falls in love with him, but the whole time trying very hard NOT to fall in love with him.
I think I liked this book so much because the author took the classic 'big misunderstanding' storyline, which I hate, and turned it into something fresh and believable.
By having Min know about the bet from the moment it was spoken, the ball was put in her court to do with it as she pleased. Se figured she could play him for a while, have a date to her sisters' wedding, and then dump him. After all, he did ask her out on a date based on a bet. He didn't even liker her or find her very attractive at first.
There are a number of secondary characters in Bet me, and I liked them all. Even the villains. Without the loser ex boyfriend, obsessed ex girlfriend, crazy friends, and annoying mothers, Bet me just would not have been the same.
An A book. It feels very nice to find out that this book is as awesome as my friends said it was. I have stopped getting my hopes up when a lot of people rave about a book-I tend to not like them and am left scratching my head wondering what dugs all ya'll were on.
That wasn't the case here. :)
I'm even told that there are books by this author that are even better than this one. I can't wait to read them!
(and look, I went the whole post without mentioning that there are super cute shoes on the cover of the book. Oh oh, I guess I just mentioned it ;)
ETA: Check Jennifer Crusie's Bet me page. It has tons of interesting information about this book. Very cool stuff.
