- Shopping Bag ( 0 items )
Want a NOOK? Explore Now
"Wonderful, fresh, funny, tender, outrageous…" says Booklist of Jennifer Crusie, whose wry, witty romantic comedies have made her a New York Times bestseller. This bundle includes four ferociously funny, sexy romances, Getting Rid of Bradley, Strange Bedpersons, What the Lady Wants and Charlie All Night.
Former schoolteacher Jennifer Smith got her Master's degree in Professional Writing and Women's Literature at Wright State University. She wrote her thesis on women's roles in mystery fiction before trying her hand at penning romance novels using her grandmother's family name Crusie. Despite her impressive credentials, she dismisses her debut novel Sizzle as "lousy" even as her fans clamber to gets their hands on this long out-of-print pulp romance. "That damn book is following me around the way early porn films follow actresses," so says Crusie one her web site of Sizzle.
No matter what the author thinks of her first effort, the astounding string of critically lauded bestsellers that followed it have firmly established Crusie as one of the very best writers of contemporary romantic fiction. Much of this is due to her sharp wit and ear for comedic dialogue, humor being an element often sorely missing in romance novels. From the sly private dick tale What the Lady Wants to the frantic Faking It, Crusie's books contain the perfect balance of suspense, snickers, and steamy love scenes.
What's more, the author has raked up a slew of awards, as well as spots on "best romance novels of the year" for Anyone But You, Temptation, Fast Women, and Faking It. Getting Rid of Bradley scored Crusie a RWA Rita award for Best Short Contemporary Fiction, and in 1996, she received a career achievement award for her work in the romantic comedy genre from Romantic Times magazine.
Now, after 13 crowd pleasers and award winners, Crusie is offering up her first-ever collaboration. She teamed up with hard-boiled action writer Bob Mayer (Operation Dragon-Sim) to conjure up Don't Look Down, a wacky escapade that is equal parts comedy, adventure, and playful erotica.
In Don't Look Down, movie director Lucy Armstrong goes toe-to-toe and heart-to-heart with J.T. Wilder, a green beret who serves as an advisor on a movie that is taking an unexpected turn from romantic comedy to blow-‘em-up action flick. Publisher's Weekly has declared the joint-effort "good fun," and Crusie reveals on her website that more fun with Mayer is on the way. The team is currently working on their second novel together Agnes and the Hitman.
As for future solo ventures by Crusie, there's plenty more in store. She not only has another release slotted for 2006 -- a sexy yuletide novella titled Hot Toy, which will appear in St. Martin's Press' Santa Baby anthology -- but she currently has no less than five additional projects on the burner. Among these upcoming releases are a collection of short stories and a book that Crusie is particularly qualified to create: a guide to writing women's fiction.
Crusie is the proud owner of three dogs, one of which is named Lucy. Oddly, the main character of Don't look Down is also named Lucy -- and happens to be a director of dog food commercials. Coincidence?
Crusie has a few nonfiction works to her credit, including introductions in Totally Charmed, a collection of essays about Alyssa Milano's cult TV series, and Anne Rice: A Critical Companion, which the author wrote under her given name of Jennifer Smith.
hotbestseller
Posted April 26, 2010
How can an eBook customer know what they're paying for if it isn't written on the website?
15 out of 19 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Books included:
Getting Rid of Bradley (one of my least favorite Crusie book)
Strange Bedpersons (cute!)
What the Lady Wants (haven't read this one yet)
Charlie All Night (enjoyable read)
- Plot summaries -
Charlie All Night:
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 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 is 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?
What the Lady Wants:
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?
Strange Bedpersons:
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.
Getting Rid of Bradley:
Lucy Savage is finally getting rid of Bradley-and his hideous green recliner. Bradley is out of her life for good. Or so she thinks. Turns out Officer Zack Warren wants to arrest the very same Bradley for embezzlement and figures the lovely Lucy can lead him straight to his target.
Good thing there's a cop around. Because someone shoots at Lucy and then blows up her car. Zack insists she needs twenty-four-hour protection. What does he think her three dogs and attack cat are for? Still, he insists on moving right in to Lucy's house.
Now there's danger lurking outside and in her own kitchen, bathroom-and bedroom. Or maybe Zack is just what Lucy needs...
10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.5260977
Posted February 2, 2011
Bet me is still my favorite. All these were good, but Getting Rid of Bradley was my least favorite. Hard to get into. Usually she has me hooked in the first couple pages.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I couldn't wait to read a Jennifer Crusie book. I've always heard how great she is - and after buying the bundle from B&N for my Nook, this was the first book I read.
Lucy, the main character, is ready to change her life and become someone different after a divorce. She wants to be a more spur of the moment girl. She meets Zack, a cutting edge cop/detective, whom by chance is also investigating Lucy's ex-husband, or so it seems.
The storyline is cute, but I found the conversations between the two main characters tiresome and sometimes boring. They bicker back and forth, and eventually work things out, but this isn't a book that will go on my all time favorites list. I was slightly disappointed, as this was my first Jennifer Crusie read. I'm hoping the next one is better.
1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 24, 2011
I really enjoyed this bundle. Books are pretty short, only about 150 pages but all fun and silly.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.SM28
Posted April 27, 2011
I bought two of her books for my nook and loved them, then I saw this bundle and what a great buy. I couldn't put my nook down. I read four of her books in just a week. Love her writing, would highly recommend this bundle.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.risuena
Posted April 11, 2011
So after reading quite a few of her books, I find them quite entertaining. They are quick, light, and sexy. I wouldn't say that they are that romantic because the main characters just fall in love too quickly; her stories remind me more of lust, if you consider the time frame of the plots. Neverless, I enjoyed her different writing style, not your typical romance. Some of her stories are unbelievable, but again, they're fun reads, just keeping in mind that they're fiction. The first book of the bundle, Getting Rid of Bradley, I thought was quite entertaining. The main characters are a little different/offbeat from her other characters, and I found them quite humorous. The plot was set up to be I thought a complex mystery, but when it unraveled, it was a little disappointing and anti-climatic. I enjoyed it more for the characters than the plot. Strange bedpersons was really witty, funny, and a lot of fun to read. It's probably one of my favorite shorter books that she's written. The dialogue of the main characters made this book stand out to me. What a Lady Wants was a quick light read. I thought it was okay, it wasn't bad but nothing really stood out to me. Sometimes I felt like the supporting characters were more interesting. Charlie All Night was along the same lines. I felt like the roomate was more interesting, the romance time frame a little unbelievable, and nothing really stood out. I liked the banter the leading male dished out, but the leading female kind of fell flat for me.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 21, 2010
I loved Getting Rid of Bradley...think it's one of her best. The latest ones she's done have been very disappointing to me. Her early ones, however, I love and this bundle is great.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 4, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 10, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted September 4, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 1, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted June 23, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted September 30, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted March 23, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 4, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 17, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted February 29, 2012
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted August 22, 2011
No text was provided for this review.
Anonymous
Posted January 13, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
"Wonderful, fresh, funny, tender, outrageous…" says Booklist of Jennifer Crusie, whose wry, witty romantic comedies have made her a New York Times bestseller. This bundle includes four ferociously funny, sexy romances, Getting Rid of Bradley, Strange Bedpersons, What the Lady Wants and Charlie All Night.