Strange Bedpersons and Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie

My library had this as a 2 books in 1 book, but I cannot find any reference to that edition anywhere on the net, so I my cover looks nothing like either of these. Minor detail I suppose!

Well, I guess it was bound to happen....a Jennifer Crusie book that I really didn't like!

When she agrees to accompany her ex-boyfriend Nick Jamieson, a conservative Republican lawyer who is desperate to make partner, on a weekend business trip as his fiance, Tess Newhart, an outspoken woman of the world, discovers that opposites really do attract.

First problem that I had with this book was the ex-factor. They had been broken up for a month. That's not ex ex in my opinion. They had been apart long enough to miss each other but not much more than that. And the reason why Tess was still holding out against Nick...because he wouldn't have sex with her in a public place. Not much of a reason in my opinion.

I didn't mind Nick that much, although yes he was very driven career-wise, but Tess - ugh!! If I had of met her in real life I would have punched her!! Annoying, selfish, annoying.

There was a second romance in this book between Nick's friend Park, and Tess' friend Gina, and I didn't really buy into that one either.

Overall, a disappointment to me. If this had of been the first Crusie that I had ever read I probably never read any more from her!

Rating 3/5

And then to contrast, I really enjoyed this book. It was laugh out loud funny. I started it at 11pm at night, and finished at 2.30 the next morning, and don't regret missing out on those couple of hours of sleep at all.

After three failed engagements, successful businesswoman Kate Svenson comes up with a definitive plan for finding the man of her dreams by snaring an eligible bachelor at The Cabins resort, but as her would-be swains begin to drop around her, Jake Templeton decides to save the world of men from this dangerous femme fatale.

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One of the good things about Jennifer Crusie's characters is that she doesn't write about 18 year old virgins all the time. Her women are generally rich in life experience, and know what it is that they want. In this book Kate Svenson thinks she knows what she wants, but when she plans how to achieve those things, it doesn't quite turn out that way.

Jake used to be everything that she ever wanted, but now he is has kind of withdrawn from life and is helping his brother run a resort complex. He likes to spend at least some of his day fishing, and hanging around in the local bar.

I really liked Kate's journey in this novel. It really is about working out what it is that you really want, as opposed to what you think that you want, and then setting out to get it. The gradual building from friendship to love for Jake and Kate was well handled and felt real.

Rating 4/5

That just leaves Crazy for You and then I have finished all of JC's fiction books...just in time for Don't Look Down to come out next month.

Speaking of Jennifer Crusie, she now has another collaboration project going in addition to the one she has with Bob Mayer. The highly entertaining blog with Bob can be found here and now there is a new one with her collaborationists Anne Stuart and Eileen Dreyer here.