I had to give up on Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. I adored her The Cinderella Deal, and expected a similar type romance, fun and predictable.
On the one hand, I was right. The two main characters Min and Calvin are so cute together. Of course, neither thinks the other is right for them, but we know different. They enjoy each other, bantering, playing, relaxed even though Min thinks he’s only dating her because of a bet. It would be quite an enjoyable story if Crusie had kept these two and Calvin’s friends and dumped all of Min’s friends and family. They are the reason I had to abandon this one.
Min’s family is just mean to her. First, they think she’s overweight and are constantly harping on it. Thank heavens Calvin loves how much she relishes food and gets her to eat all kinds of goodies, from chicken marsala to brats to donuts. And they give the impression that they think she’ll never be able to attract, let alone build a relationship, with a decent attractive man. Hated them.
Her friends aren’t any better. First of all, they are both beautiful and Min feels like the non-attractive third wheel. I don’t believe they think she is, but they never seem to encourage her to feel good about herself. One friend, Bonnie, is just too saccharine sweet. The other, I think it was Liza, didn’t give Min any credit, didn’t think she was capable of making her own choices, taking care of herself around Calvin. She was sure that Calvin would break Min’s heart. I’m all for friends watching out for each other, but this wasn’t helpful from my pint of view, more demeaning.
Anyway, I only listened to about half of the book. I just couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe everyone realizes what a wonderful, beautiful woman Min is. Well, Cal already gets it, but I was referring to everyone else in the book. Hopefully. I’m sure that there will be a happy, romantic ending for Cal and min, it’s that type of predictable, in a good way, book, but I’m just not willing to put up with all the secondary characters to see how they get there.
12 hours, narrated by Deanna Hurst
Published February 10th 2004 by St. Martins Press
unfinished
I borrowed my audio copy from the library and the above is my honest opinion.
Sorry this was a stinker.
I don’t know that it was a stinker. Some people, at least on Goodreads, love it. Just wasn’t for me, I guess.
Too bad. But life is too short to read books you don’t enjoy.
Sorry you did not make it to the end :/ Sucks when it happens, but better stop than suffer through it
I remember listening to this one and liking it, but also being really annoyed with the way everyone talked about and to Min.
Oh.. Thats sad.. I no use reading astory u dont enjoy.. just a waste of time..
Oh I really, really appreciate book reviews. Even if a book stinks, your critiquing is very important to us who would think of picking up and reading it…only to find out that the whole book sucks. And your review is honest and trustworthy.
Thanks for stopping by yesterday. Your comments and visit are always a welcomed treat for me.
My Thursday Themesong Link Anni’s Song
I remember reading this book and liking it quite a lot, but I also remember skimming any sections that mentioned Min’s friends and family. You don’t have that option with the audio, so I think giving it up was the way to go. I know I couldn’t sit through their harping!
Thats too bad it was a DNF.