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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. He wants to get ahead in business; she just wants... him . But there's no way Tess will play second fiddle to his job.Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fianc�e on a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's trying to convince Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.
256 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1994
188 people are currently reading
2305 people want to read
About the author
Jennifer Crusie
80 books7,790 followersJennifer Crusie is the New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly bestselling author of twenty-three novels, one book of literary criticism, miscellaneous articles, essays, novellas, and short stories, and the editor of three essay anthologies.
She was born in Wapakoneta, a small town in Ohio, and then went on to live in a succession of other small towns in Ohio and New Jersey until her last move to a small town in Pennsylvania. This may have had an impact on her work.
She has a BS in Art Education, an MA in literature, an MFA in fiction, and was ABD on her PhD when she started reading romances as part of her research into the differences between the ways men and women tell stories. Writing a romance sounded like more fun than writing a dissertation, so she switched to fiction and never looked back. Her collaborations with Bob Mayer have pretty much proved everything she was going to say in her dissertation anyway, so really, no need to finish that.
For more information, see JenniferCrusie.com and her blog, Argh Ink.
She was born in Wapakoneta, a small town in Ohio, and then went on to live in a succession of other small towns in Ohio and New Jersey until her last move to a small town in Pennsylvania. This may have had an impact on her work.
She has a BS in Art Education, an MA in literature, an MFA in fiction, and was ABD on her PhD when she started reading romances as part of her research into the differences between the ways men and women tell stories. Writing a romance sounded like more fun than writing a dissertation, so she switched to fiction and never looked back. Her collaborations with Bob Mayer have pretty much proved everything she was going to say in her dissertation anyway, so really, no need to finish that.
For more information, see JenniferCrusie.com and her blog, Argh Ink.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 632 reviews
December 16, 2015
4 Stars
Once again Jennifer Crusie had me cracking up laughing all night.
Nick the very proper pretty boy lawyer needs a fake fiancé. Tess the very improper free spirit ex-girlfriend is the one he goes to.
The banter between these two was hilarious! Nick trying to change Tess from thrift store clothes to name brand suits and jeans. Tess trying to get Nick to have sex in risky places. These two were complete opposites. Nick is very conservative and was doing anything he could to make partner. Tess had a hard time keeping her thoughts to herself.
I loved how even though Nick was all about his job he still took the time to do some good things because of Tess. I found Tess to be a little selfish at times but I also understood that she didn't want to completely change. I'm glad she finally seen the light after Nick explained his reason to needing to make partner.
At one point toward the end I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. But the ending was also very predictable and I had to deduct a star. I seen that coming from a mile away. lol
Another awesome light, sweet and funny read by JC! Loved it!
Once again Jennifer Crusie had me cracking up laughing all night.
Nick the very proper pretty boy lawyer needs a fake fiancé. Tess the very improper free spirit ex-girlfriend is the one he goes to.
The banter between these two was hilarious! Nick trying to change Tess from thrift store clothes to name brand suits and jeans. Tess trying to get Nick to have sex in risky places. These two were complete opposites. Nick is very conservative and was doing anything he could to make partner. Tess had a hard time keeping her thoughts to herself.
I loved how even though Nick was all about his job he still took the time to do some good things because of Tess. I found Tess to be a little selfish at times but I also understood that she didn't want to completely change. I'm glad she finally seen the light after Nick explained his reason to needing to make partner.
At one point toward the end I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. But the ending was also very predictable and I had to deduct a star. I seen that coming from a mile away. lol
Another awesome light, sweet and funny read by JC! Loved it!
May 28, 2020
This is a deeply cynical look at “political correctness” that is played for chick-lit laughs in this opposites-attract story. The title is the new age version of “strange bedfellows” in this case, sexual attraction and not “misery acquaints a man with strange bedfellows.”
Heroine is an English major without a teaching certificate who tutors poor children. When funding is pulled, she is without a paying job and she decides to apply to teach at private school since it pays well, and she will have more time to do volunteer tutoring. Heroine had been dating hero but broke up with him when he wouldn’t have sex with her in the car and wanted to wait 10 minutes until they could drive home. Yes, this is our “free spirit” heroine.
Hero is a lawyer who is trying make partner in his rich bff’s family firm. He is from a blue-collar family and has been on his own since age 18 when both his parent’s died. Security is important to him.
The story opens when the hero asks the heroine to be his fake fiancé at a weekend party at the home of a right-wing novelist who wants to enter politics. Hero’s firm wants this man as a client. His waspy bff is also attending and takes the heroine’s bff (a chorus girl who didn’t finish high school and is Italian-American) as his partner.
I add these details because they are the only characteristics the author gives them. Chorus girl + ethnic name = “unsuitable” girlfriend for the waspy bff. Annie Hall wardrobe + outspokenness (obnoxiousness) = “unsuitable” girlfriend for the hero.
The h and her bff are supposed to be on their best behavior – heroine has an added incentive in that she is not only helping the H but trying to ingratiate herself with board members of the private school so she can have a lucrative teaching position. The dinner party is supposed to be funny, but it’s just a clash of stereotypes. There is another dinner party scene later in the novel that echoes the dinner party in this one. All the rich, right-wing people are snobs and the heroine and her friend mess up – but it’s okay because true love saves the day.
In a twist that doesn’t make a lot of sense, the right wing author used to be a member of the heroine’s commune. Heroine recognizes the story he’s telling in his latest novel because he wrote it for her when she was a child. With his right wing cynicism, he changed the fairytale to a satire, because he realized it (and the commune) was too idealistic from the real world.
As you can see, this is a hot mess. The point the author is trying to make about the political spectrum is never really clear. Right wing people are shallow and materialistic and left-wing people are shallow and ineffectual?
And what about the romance? The H/h never really change. Is the lesson that the hero learns to not care about other’s opinions and heroine learns to enjoy the hero’s money?
Not my idea of an HEA
I did like the hero’s secretary. She was a great character and seemed to be the only one living without a political agenda.
Heroine is an English major without a teaching certificate who tutors poor children. When funding is pulled, she is without a paying job and she decides to apply to teach at private school since it pays well, and she will have more time to do volunteer tutoring. Heroine had been dating hero but broke up with him when he wouldn’t have sex with her in the car and wanted to wait 10 minutes until they could drive home. Yes, this is our “free spirit” heroine.
Hero is a lawyer who is trying make partner in his rich bff’s family firm. He is from a blue-collar family and has been on his own since age 18 when both his parent’s died. Security is important to him.
The story opens when the hero asks the heroine to be his fake fiancé at a weekend party at the home of a right-wing novelist who wants to enter politics. Hero’s firm wants this man as a client. His waspy bff is also attending and takes the heroine’s bff (a chorus girl who didn’t finish high school and is Italian-American) as his partner.
I add these details because they are the only characteristics the author gives them. Chorus girl + ethnic name = “unsuitable” girlfriend for the waspy bff. Annie Hall wardrobe + outspokenness (obnoxiousness) = “unsuitable” girlfriend for the hero.
The h and her bff are supposed to be on their best behavior – heroine has an added incentive in that she is not only helping the H but trying to ingratiate herself with board members of the private school so she can have a lucrative teaching position. The dinner party is supposed to be funny, but it’s just a clash of stereotypes. There is another dinner party scene later in the novel that echoes the dinner party in this one. All the rich, right-wing people are snobs and the heroine and her friend mess up – but it’s okay because true love saves the day.
In a twist that doesn’t make a lot of sense, the right wing author used to be a member of the heroine’s commune. Heroine recognizes the story he’s telling in his latest novel because he wrote it for her when she was a child. With his right wing cynicism, he changed the fairytale to a satire, because he realized it (and the commune) was too idealistic from the real world.
As you can see, this is a hot mess. The point the author is trying to make about the political spectrum is never really clear. Right wing people are shallow and materialistic and left-wing people are shallow and ineffectual?
And what about the romance? The H/h never really change. Is the lesson that the hero learns to not care about other’s opinions and heroine learns to enjoy the hero’s money?
Not my idea of an HEA
I did like the hero’s secretary. She was a great character and seemed to be the only one living without a political agenda.
August 14, 2014
Tess is a bleeding-heart liberal who grew up in a hippie commune. Nick is a conservative lawyer hellbent on making partner. If only they'd known how different they were before they fell in love...
This book wasn't really quite a 4 for me because I found both Nick and Tess a bit obnoxious and closed-minded. I would have liked to see more of the side romance of the best friends (although Crusie does an excellent job structuring it in small fragments).
Also, I felt like it was in many ways a reworking of Crusie's The Cinderella Deal. I mean, obviously this is a classic romance plot, but it seemed a bit like cheating for the same author to use such similar tropes twice.
This book wasn't really quite a 4 for me because I found both Nick and Tess a bit obnoxious and closed-minded. I would have liked to see more of the side romance of the best friends (although Crusie does an excellent job structuring it in small fragments).
Also, I felt like it was in many ways a reworking of Crusie's The Cinderella Deal. I mean, obviously this is a classic romance plot, but it seemed a bit like cheating for the same author to use such similar tropes twice.
December 4, 2013
4 ½ stars. One of my favorite reads breaks one of my Romancelandia rules: second chances. I almost feel that there should be two or three types of second chances: 1) first love/high-school (that never got off the ground), 2) their adults who had a one night stand or one week-end stand and now they meet again, or 3) they had a relationship and it’s been awhile since they’ve seen each other. Or maybe a fourth: 4) where the couple was actually married and are now find each other still attracted.
My dislike is in books were there was an established “couple” relationship. I'm not really big on second chances at a loving relationship this time around. I'm "iffy" on the high-school crush; depends on what type of crush/relationship the H/h had. I kind of like the situation where a couple had a one-night-stand and are surprised to be confronted with each other again. For my rule, I'm talking about after the couple breaks up. I believe that once it is over, it’s over; why beat a dead horse? However, there is always the exception to the rule.
Strange Bedpersons is a notable exception to #3, though it hasn’t been all that long since Tess and Nick have seen each other. Of course, a good writer like Jennifer Crusie can pull it off. I didn't have a clear picture of the hero at the first, which takes off a bit, but I did by the end of the book. I really liked this quick read; it has some laugh out loud funny parts and a nice secondary romance too. Love the piano scene!
February 8, 2009
I hate to give a Crusie book such a low rating. It's a fun, quick read, typical Crusie humor, although the premise is a little too category romance for my taste. And, well, I could see the twist ending coming from chapters away. And the conflict between Nick and Tess (he's a republican lawyer! she's a flakey free spirit!) got a little repetitive and tired towards the end. I found the ending unsatisfying, also; I wish it had ended with Nick striking out on his own instead of agreeing to be a partner at his odious old firm, and also, I don't think Tess ever Gets It. I'm not sure if Tess's crack about missionary position at the end of the book is supposed to be a joke or not, but I was left with the impression that Tess still thinks being married to Nick requires her to be the perfect, obedient wife, which isn't what Nick wants at all. Nick, in fact, kind of bends over backwards to accommodate Tess through the entire second half of the book, and she still selfishly thinks that Nick is trying to suppress her personality. Tess has to learn how to compromise, how to pick her battles, but I don't think she ever quite learns that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2014
Well, this is a relief. I thought I was going sour on Crusie (as I've already devoured all the more popular ones), but I enjoyed this one just fine. It's another early one (1994) and that shows through a bit. It has a rocky start and the lead couple isn't much of a match early on. Indeed, the book's biggest weakness is that Tess and Nick really have no foundation for a trusting relationship and it takes most of the book for them to build one—and that foundation doesn't really hit until way after the "I love yous".
I was also mildly disappointed with the fairly rampant conservative bashing as there is an overt political edge to the story. As with the foundation of trust issues, this moderates a lot later on and draws to a satisfying conclusion—which was a huge surprise, let me tell you, as I was expecting more of the typical surface treatment where conservative equates with bad and all the movement is in one direction. Interestingly, it only just now occurs to me that the book predates Dharma & Greg by a few years so the faint echoes I detected would have technically have to have gone the other way... Hmmm...
So yeah, rocky, but satisfying in the end. I'd rate it a 3.5 but without enough juice to round up.
A note about Steamy: Low to mid on my personal steam rating (which is about standard for Crusie). A few explicit scenes, but they're short. This had less of the flirty/kissy bits as some others, too.
I was also mildly disappointed with the fairly rampant conservative bashing as there is an overt political edge to the story. As with the foundation of trust issues, this moderates a lot later on and draws to a satisfying conclusion—which was a huge surprise, let me tell you, as I was expecting more of the typical surface treatment where conservative equates with bad and all the movement is in one direction. Interestingly, it only just now occurs to me that the book predates Dharma & Greg by a few years so the faint echoes I detected would have technically have to have gone the other way... Hmmm...
So yeah, rocky, but satisfying in the end. I'd rate it a 3.5 but without enough juice to round up.
A note about Steamy: Low to mid on my personal steam rating (which is about standard for Crusie). A few explicit scenes, but they're short. This had less of the flirty/kissy bits as some others, too.
August 5, 2019
We enter this relationship when our heroine is about ready to dump our hero. She doesn't think she is right for him. She is a simple girl who doesn't like designer clothes, she just wants to teach underprivileged kids. In order to pay for housing and keep teaching with almost no pay, she has to take a job as a teacher in a snobby school. Unfortunately she needs connections. That's where our hero comes in.
Our hero is attracted to our heroine even though he knows it will take a lot of work to make her the proper wife for his career. He is very staid. He wears suits almost all the time and likes his shenanigans in his own bed. As opposed to our heroine who likes to let the mood take her, no matter where she is.
He figures that if he can dress her up nice and get her to watch what she says then her mind is the perfect accompaniment to landing the newest account for his firm.
From there the story takes some interesting turns towards the happily ever after. Can two such different people find love without being forced to make too many changes? What's more important; love or money? Find out in today's episode of the "Romantic Comedies."🎬
Our hero is attracted to our heroine even though he knows it will take a lot of work to make her the proper wife for his career. He is very staid. He wears suits almost all the time and likes his shenanigans in his own bed. As opposed to our heroine who likes to let the mood take her, no matter where she is.
He figures that if he can dress her up nice and get her to watch what she says then her mind is the perfect accompaniment to landing the newest account for his firm.
From there the story takes some interesting turns towards the happily ever after. Can two such different people find love without being forced to make too many changes? What's more important; love or money? Find out in today's episode of the "Romantic Comedies."🎬
May 6, 2021
This is cute and funny. As always the banter between the two main characters is wonderful. You can’t help but root for the two of them although both are clearly control freaks.
March 26, 2021
3.5/5
Smagiau, nei tikėjausi. Juokinga, turinti netikėtų posūkių, nelauktai ir teisingai feministiška.
Smagiau, nei tikėjausi. Juokinga, turinti netikėtų posūkių, nelauktai ir teisingai feministiška.
June 25, 2021
Jennifer Crusie “Keista pora” 💑
Tai labai šmaikšti, vėjavaikiška ir aistringa dviejų žmonių meilės istorija!
Tesos ir Niko nuomonė išsiskiria tikriausiai ties viskuo! Ji – laisvę, spontaniškumą, pigius drabužius, greitą maistą ir ryškias spalvas mėgstanti moteris, o jis – konservatyvus, viską iš anksto suplanuojantis ir apgalvojantis, ikrus ir deimantus dievinantis, visada pasitempęs vyras. Abu jie supranta, kad vienas kitą erzina ir geriau būtų sukti skirtingais keliais. Bet širdžiai neįsakysi. Didžiulė trauka vis sugrąžina juos vienas pas kitą ir drauge jie įsivelia į sudėtingus sprendimus priimti priversiančią dramą, kuri nulems jų ateitį.
Labai smagiai praskriejo man šios knygelės puslapiai! Nieko rimto ir sudėtingo, visiškai atpalaiduojantis atostogų romanas. Nors knyga gali pasirodyti lengvabūdiška, bet joje užčiuoptas ir lyči�� lygybės klausimas. Pagrindinė veikėja drąsi, nebijanti išsišokti ir neieškanti žodžio kišenėje! O, Nikas, nors ir karjeristas, bet giliai širdyje šiltas ir rūpestingas vyras. Romantikos, aistros ir juoko tikrai netrūko, skaitydama jaučiausi lyg žiūrėčiau smagią komediją su Jennifer Aniston ar Sandra Bullock. Rekomenduoju visiems ieškantiems šiltos, mielos istorijos apie du kaprizingus, bet kartu norinčius būti žmones. 😊
3,5 ⭐️ | 2021 – 36 📚
Tai labai šmaikšti, vėjavaikiška ir aistringa dviejų žmonių meilės istorija!
Tesos ir Niko nuomonė išsiskiria tikriausiai ties viskuo! Ji – laisvę, spontaniškumą, pigius drabužius, greitą maistą ir ryškias spalvas mėgstanti moteris, o jis – konservatyvus, viską iš anksto suplanuojantis ir apgalvojantis, ikrus ir deimantus dievinantis, visada pasitempęs vyras. Abu jie supranta, kad vienas kitą erzina ir geriau būtų sukti skirtingais keliais. Bet širdžiai neįsakysi. Didžiulė trauka vis sugrąžina juos vienas pas kitą ir drauge jie įsivelia į sudėtingus sprendimus priimti priversiančią dramą, kuri nulems jų ateitį.
Labai smagiai praskriejo man šios knygelės puslapiai! Nieko rimto ir sudėtingo, visiškai atpalaiduojantis atostogų romanas. Nors knyga gali pasirodyti lengvabūdiška, bet joje užčiuoptas ir lyči�� lygybės klausimas. Pagrindinė veikėja drąsi, nebijanti išsišokti ir neieškanti žodžio kišenėje! O, Nikas, nors ir karjeristas, bet giliai širdyje šiltas ir rūpestingas vyras. Romantikos, aistros ir juoko tikrai netrūko, skaitydama jaučiausi lyg žiūrėčiau smagią komediją su Jennifer Aniston ar Sandra Bullock. Rekomenduoju visiems ieškantiems šiltos, mielos istorijos apie du kaprizingus, bet kartu norinčius būti žmones. 😊
3,5 ⭐️ | 2021 – 36 📚
August 7, 2015
4 Stars ~ One of the best days of Tess' life was the day she'd met Nick, at a picnic, playing touch football. That day she'd seen the sensitive, fun loving Nick with these gorgeous laugh lines at the corner of his eyes. It'd been a year ago, and so much had happened in between. Nick is driven, a lawyer, eager to make partner and enjoying the ride to the top. Tess' parents are free spirits and as a child Tess lived on a commune where at 8, she met a young man that changed her life. Lanny taught her everything she now believes in, all from a fairytale he'd written especially for her. The happy-ever-after ending became Tess' philosophy for life; "I had a friend a very long time ago who used to say that the only way to live life was to look for the best in every day and make sure I had a part in creating some of it. That still works for me."
Nick rocks Tess' world but she hates how obsessed he is with his job and his quest to make partnership. His social life is a means to his career goals; the theater, wining and dining clients, being seen with the movers and shakers. Tess believes in causes and she's usually the first to champion an underdog. When her job working with underprivileged kids ends because the Foundation can no longer pay her a wage, she vows to get a paying job so that she can still volunteer each day with the kids. After a six week break from Nick, he comes begging for her help. The client that will secure his place a partner in the Firm has planned a weekend event to introduce his new book about to be published. The client, Norbert Welch, insists that Nick bring his wife/fiancee. Tess can't deny she's missed Nick, so she reluctantly agrees. But when a reading of the new book begins, she's shocked because the prelude fairytale, is Lanny's fairytale about CinderTess, and then she was enraged because the fairytale was then corrupted as the Cinderella sold out after she realized that all her hard work had little payoff. Now Tess has a real dilemma; does she expose Welch as the plagiarist that she knows he is and ruin Nick's chance to become partner, or does she shut up and go against everything she's ever believed in.
I loved Nick and Tess and their conflict as opposites. For Tess there are two Nicks, one who's generous, funny and helping her fix the wrongs of the world, and then there's the one who's so busy climbing to the top he doesn't seem to care about anything else. And for Nick, he hates it when Tess turns into a crusader but he knows when she takes on an injustice she's usually right. He adores Tess and admits that losing her scares the hell out of him, even if that means he won't get his partnership.
This very early story from Jennifer Crusie was a wild fun ride! The banter between Nick and Tess is absolutely marvelous to read, filled with fun, love and honesty. Well done!
Nick rocks Tess' world but she hates how obsessed he is with his job and his quest to make partnership. His social life is a means to his career goals; the theater, wining and dining clients, being seen with the movers and shakers. Tess believes in causes and she's usually the first to champion an underdog. When her job working with underprivileged kids ends because the Foundation can no longer pay her a wage, she vows to get a paying job so that she can still volunteer each day with the kids. After a six week break from Nick, he comes begging for her help. The client that will secure his place a partner in the Firm has planned a weekend event to introduce his new book about to be published. The client, Norbert Welch, insists that Nick bring his wife/fiancee. Tess can't deny she's missed Nick, so she reluctantly agrees. But when a reading of the new book begins, she's shocked because the prelude fairytale, is Lanny's fairytale about CinderTess, and then she was enraged because the fairytale was then corrupted as the Cinderella sold out after she realized that all her hard work had little payoff. Now Tess has a real dilemma; does she expose Welch as the plagiarist that she knows he is and ruin Nick's chance to become partner, or does she shut up and go against everything she's ever believed in.
I loved Nick and Tess and their conflict as opposites. For Tess there are two Nicks, one who's generous, funny and helping her fix the wrongs of the world, and then there's the one who's so busy climbing to the top he doesn't seem to care about anything else. And for Nick, he hates it when Tess turns into a crusader but he knows when she takes on an injustice she's usually right. He adores Tess and admits that losing her scares the hell out of him, even if that means he won't get his partnership.
This very early story from Jennifer Crusie was a wild fun ride! The banter between Nick and Tess is absolutely marvelous to read, filled with fun, love and honesty. Well done!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 1, 2010
Another early (94) Crusie. I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it had been an unknown author. The story line was a bit dated. Tess, raised in a commune, is a 30 something liberal, staunch feminist, do-gooder, anti-yuppy, etc. who is inexplicably drawn to a success oriented, upward climbing lawyer, Nick. I had a hard time with Tess and found her motivations unconvincing at times. They all seemed to be based on political and philosophical beliefs, dated ones at that, even for 16 years ago. She sometimes seemed more like a stereotype than a real person. I also wasn't convinced that a fellow commune resident she knew for only a month when she was 8 could have had such a profound and lasting impact on her life.
Mostly, I was annoyed by her attitude towards Nick who was a stand-up guy, if a bit tightly wound and controlling at times. A few different times, she became either furious or terribly disappointed if he didn't agree to have sex in places where they might be discovered, even though getting caught could have damaged his career. Because Nick's career and desire for success doesn't meet her values, she can't look beyond her own needs until she is confronted by a friend. Otherwise she frets about only having sex in bed -- must be too bourgeois. It couldn't be something as simple as a kink, LOL.
I did find parts of the story cute and when Tess wasn't being awful to Nick, they had some great chemistry. By the end of the book, you could see them spending the rest of their lives together very much in love and driving each other crazy on occasion. The secondary characters were interesting and added to the story. Another plus was much of the dialogue is classic Crusie. Lots of fast, darting conversations, non-sequiturs, and off-beat humor. Several lines made me smile and one even made me laugh.
So, not the best by any measure but not bad. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not a big Crusie fan. If only she wrote faster these days. But then maybe her books wouldn't be so much fun.
Mostly, I was annoyed by her attitude towards Nick who was a stand-up guy, if a bit tightly wound and controlling at times. A few different times, she became either furious or terribly disappointed if he didn't agree to have sex in places where they might be discovered, even though getting caught could have damaged his career. Because Nick's career and desire for success doesn't meet her values, she can't look beyond her own needs until she is confronted by a friend. Otherwise she frets about only having sex in bed -- must be too bourgeois. It couldn't be something as simple as a kink, LOL.
I did find parts of the story cute and when Tess wasn't being awful to Nick, they had some great chemistry. By the end of the book, you could see them spending the rest of their lives together very much in love and driving each other crazy on occasion. The secondary characters were interesting and added to the story. Another plus was much of the dialogue is classic Crusie. Lots of fast, darting conversations, non-sequiturs, and off-beat humor. Several lines made me smile and one even made me laugh.
So, not the best by any measure but not bad. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not a big Crusie fan. If only she wrote faster these days. But then maybe her books wouldn't be so much fun.
January 2, 2014
The only reason this book gets a 3 is because of Tess and Nick.
I hate Park and Gina from the bottom of my heart. They are both spineless people who fell in love within a week. I am not even going to pretend to understand.
Gina is the best friend ever
She tells her friend it's a bad idea to behave the way she is behaving (she was basically being herself) because it would cost Nick his job.
She also accuses her of being selfish when she is basically changing her personality so that Nick has a better chance of becoming partner.
When Park (the guy she lurvs) insults Tess, she offers no support.
When something really hurts Tess but Park doesn't think it's a big deal and basically doesn't give two fucks she chooses a guy she just met over her best friend who is hurting.
I would have preferred a gold digger. I would have loved it if she came to her senses but she never did because she was a spineless idiot. She was every feminists worst nightmare.
Park is a wonder.
He is a 40 something year old and is still under the thumb of his parents. Anyone who makes excuses for him not having a backbone... please stop. He is 40, he is not a child. HE IS AN ADULT. HE CAN MAKE HIS CHOICES. Hell he should have to pay for his choices.
He had a complete personality transplant all because of lurv. NO. Get out. LEAVE. I don't want to be in the same room as you. I don't want to breathe the same air as you. Thank god he is a fictional character because if he weren't, I don't know what I would do.
Nick and Tess are cute though. They have an interesting relationship :D One worth reading on for.
I hate Park and Gina from the bottom of my heart. They are both spineless people who fell in love within a week. I am not even going to pretend to understand.
Gina is the best friend ever
She tells her friend it's a bad idea to behave the way she is behaving (she was basically being herself) because it would cost Nick his job.
She also accuses her of being selfish when she is basically changing her personality so that Nick has a better chance of becoming partner.
When Park (the guy she lurvs) insults Tess, she offers no support.
When something really hurts Tess but Park doesn't think it's a big deal and basically doesn't give two fucks she chooses a guy she just met over her best friend who is hurting.
I would have preferred a gold digger. I would have loved it if she came to her senses but she never did because she was a spineless idiot. She was every feminists worst nightmare.
Park is a wonder.
He is a 40 something year old and is still under the thumb of his parents. Anyone who makes excuses for him not having a backbone... please stop. He is 40, he is not a child. HE IS AN ADULT. HE CAN MAKE HIS CHOICES. Hell he should have to pay for his choices.
He had a complete personality transplant all because of lurv. NO. Get out. LEAVE. I don't want to be in the same room as you. I don't want to breathe the same air as you. Thank god he is a fictional character because if he weren't, I don't know what I would do.
Nick and Tess are cute though. They have an interesting relationship :D One worth reading on for.
October 12, 2010
Tess, a free spirit and recently out of work school teacher, is talked into posing as an uptight and materialistic lawyer's fiancée so that he can land a plumb account and assure partnership in the law firm he's employed by. When Tess's apartment in the slums is vandalized she's left with no choice but to temporarily move into the sexy lawyer's fancy house. They fall in love despite the fact that the only thing that they have in common is that neither are the marrying kind.
I was a little disappointed with this one. First off, where were the dogs?! There was a cat named Angela but she was pretty much a non-character who only appeared for a scene or two and didn't do much of anything. Bummer! The story was witty and sometimes really funny but Tess and Nick didn't thrill me. I thought they were too extreme. He was too caught up his career and appearances and she was too do-goody and caught up in the past. Both learned to compromise a bit but I left the book feeling that they didn't resolve their major differences and that they still had a lot of battles to fight out before they'd live in peace (if ever). I thought this plot worked more effectively in Crusie's THE CINDERELLA DEAL.
Still STRANGE BEDPERSONS was a good read and I'd definitely recommend it because Crusie's wicked sense of humor carried the story for me.
I was a little disappointed with this one. First off, where were the dogs?! There was a cat named Angela but she was pretty much a non-character who only appeared for a scene or two and didn't do much of anything. Bummer! The story was witty and sometimes really funny but Tess and Nick didn't thrill me. I thought they were too extreme. He was too caught up his career and appearances and she was too do-goody and caught up in the past. Both learned to compromise a bit but I left the book feeling that they didn't resolve their major differences and that they still had a lot of battles to fight out before they'd live in peace (if ever). I thought this plot worked more effectively in Crusie's THE CINDERELLA DEAL.
Still STRANGE BEDPERSONS was a good read and I'd definitely recommend it because Crusie's wicked sense of humor carried the story for me.
August 29, 2024
Vaje vaje kaip nuobodu ir neįdomu, pagailo laiko skaityti iki galo.
June 30, 2021
Tobulai linksma
January 27, 2012
It took a lot of time for the difference between these to be solved because they were too opposite characters, with the heroine having grown up in a commune and wanting to save people and do good deeds, while the hero was crazy about his career, wanting partnership in his law firm.
He and the heroine met a year ago and became friends because the heroine liked the other Nick, the one who was fun and didn't drone about his career, but about six weeks ago the heroine was pissed at him and started avoiding his calls when he refused to spontaneously make love to her in a public place.
He comes to her needing help and missing her though of course he tries to tell himself he doesn't. It was fun seeing them figure out stuff and how some things were more important than the rest and how what you thought was right at the age of 8 may change. I also enjoyed the secondary romance.
He and the heroine met a year ago and became friends because the heroine liked the other Nick, the one who was fun and didn't drone about his career, but about six weeks ago the heroine was pissed at him and started avoiding his calls when he refused to spontaneously make love to her in a public place.
He comes to her needing help and missing her though of course he tries to tell himself he doesn't. It was fun seeing them figure out stuff and how some things were more important than the rest and how what you thought was right at the age of 8 may change. I also enjoyed the secondary romance.
August 11, 2015
Eh, like the beginning and middle, not so much the ending. Not my favorite of Cruise's books but it did make me laugh a few times, so it wasn't all awful. I just felt that the couple in this book had too much of opposite personalities and ways of thinking to make their relationship last long term. That's all.
April 4, 2019
A funny read!
November 10, 2014
So, this is not actually bad so much as, well cookie-cutter. Except for the implosion of insanity that is the last thirty pages, which is somewhat delightful, but in a baffling sort of way, as the reader tries to follow the rapidly shifting positions of several of the characters.
The first bit can be boiled down to Nick is a proper, ambitious, Republican lawyer who wants to MAKE PARTNER. He practically thinks in MONOCHROME and FOLLOWING THE RULES. He likes classic clothes and things that look expensive. Tess is a free spirit who grew up in a Commune and who wants to HELP PEOPLE and CHANGE THE WORLD. She loves COLOUR and THRIFT SHOPS and CAUSES. They really like each other and are close friends (I would go so far as to say they're in love when the book starts). But with their differing backgrounds and values they are also ALL WRONG FOR EACH OTHER. Except that Nick needs a fake fiance for a party on the weekend, to impress a potential client so that he can MAKE PARTNER. Guess who he asks?
The problem isn't with the plot, it's how cookie-cutter it feels as it's carried out, and how extreme. All of Tess's stuff is terrible! Nick wants to buy her new nice stuff! For always and not just when she's helping him shmooze to make partner! She can't bear to be conventional! SO they must have sex in public and if they don't, well, either he doesn't want her or the relationship isn't going to work because he has to follow the rules all the time! The positions on both sides are just so extreme.
And of course there's a conflict when the client Nick is wooing has written a book mocking something very important to Tess and it gives her a cause! Except she also doesn't want to screw up Nick's chance for partner. But she might have to. And also, he gave away her favourite jacket because he thought it was terrible even though she told him repeatedly that she loved it. Seriously, they're both exhaustingly extreme in their tropey personalities.
I mean, it's Crusie, so a lot of it is more charming than I'm making it sound, but still.
And then I got to the ending. And I'm still not entirely sure what happened. It was seriously just this big collision of All!the!conflict!at!once. And for once in a romance novel, the actual romance wasn't the major source of drama (noteworthy, and kind of interesting). And the description of the world's most awkward dinner where literally everyone coped by getting horribly drunk (with Nick and Tess dropping forks under the table to have little side conversations with each other) was kind of hilarious. But even though parts of the ending were fun, I was still left with a general feeling of, "Wait? What just happened?" I'm not mad at it, nothing like that, I'm just sort of discombobulated.
Seriously, what just happened?
The first bit can be boiled down to Nick is a proper, ambitious, Republican lawyer who wants to MAKE PARTNER. He practically thinks in MONOCHROME and FOLLOWING THE RULES. He likes classic clothes and things that look expensive. Tess is a free spirit who grew up in a Commune and who wants to HELP PEOPLE and CHANGE THE WORLD. She loves COLOUR and THRIFT SHOPS and CAUSES. They really like each other and are close friends (I would go so far as to say they're in love when the book starts). But with their differing backgrounds and values they are also ALL WRONG FOR EACH OTHER. Except that Nick needs a fake fiance for a party on the weekend, to impress a potential client so that he can MAKE PARTNER. Guess who he asks?
The problem isn't with the plot, it's how cookie-cutter it feels as it's carried out, and how extreme. All of Tess's stuff is terrible! Nick wants to buy her new nice stuff! For always and not just when she's helping him shmooze to make partner! She can't bear to be conventional! SO they must have sex in public and if they don't, well, either he doesn't want her or the relationship isn't going to work because he has to follow the rules all the time! The positions on both sides are just so extreme.
And of course there's a conflict when the client Nick is wooing has written a book mocking something very important to Tess and it gives her a cause! Except she also doesn't want to screw up Nick's chance for partner. But she might have to. And also, he gave away her favourite jacket because he thought it was terrible even though she told him repeatedly that she loved it. Seriously, they're both exhaustingly extreme in their tropey personalities.
I mean, it's Crusie, so a lot of it is more charming than I'm making it sound, but still.
And then I got to the ending. And I'm still not entirely sure what happened. It was seriously just this big collision of All!the!conflict!at!once. And for once in a romance novel, the actual romance wasn't the major source of drama (noteworthy, and kind of interesting). And the description of the world's most awkward dinner where literally everyone coped by getting horribly drunk (with Nick and Tess dropping forks under the table to have little side conversations with each other) was kind of hilarious. But even though parts of the ending were fun, I was still left with a general feeling of, "Wait? What just happened?" I'm not mad at it, nothing like that, I'm just sort of discombobulated.
Seriously, what just happened?
June 28, 2023
Visiškai mano skonio romanas! Lengva, šmaikšti, romantiška, ne per daug saldi, vėjavaikiška, bet įtraukianti istorija.
Dažnai tokiuose romanuose bene visi veikėjai (ar dauguma jų) būna nuobodūs, prėski ir visai be užkabinančio „cinkelio“. O čia, net pati sunkiai galiu tuo patikėt, bet visi iki vieno (ne tik pagrindiniai) man buvo savaip įdomūs, savaip įsimenantys, su stipriais charakteriais ir priduodantys savito prieskonio istorijai. Neradau nė vieno veikėjo, kuris būtų perteklinis ar nereikalingas (kad ir kokią antipatiją kai kuriems iš jų jaučiau, negaliu paneigti fakto, kad jie išties buvo svarbūs kontrastui sukurti).
Nors intelektualumo čia nėra, bet jo ir nereikia ieškoti. „Keista pora“ – ne apie tai. Kita žinutė, kitas tikslas, kita auditorija. Ir nors iš pirmo žvilgsnio gali atrodyti, kad knyga pernelyg lengvabūdiška ar paviršutiniška, visgi paliečiamos ir lyčių lygybės, šeimos bei poros santykių temos, tad istorija tikrai nėra vien tik „tuščias vakaro skaitaliukas“.
Ir nesakysiu, kad tai tik karštoms vasaros atostogoms tinkantis romanas, tikrai ne! Nesvarbu, koks metų laikas ar oras bebūtų, esu įsitikinusi, kad „Keista pora“ ras kelią į skaitytojų širdis bet kuriuo metu. Kam nesinori lengvo, neįpareigojančio, aistringo ir kikenti priverčiančio romano lietingais rudens ar šaltais žiemos vakarais?!
Dažnai tokiuose romanuose bene visi veikėjai (ar dauguma jų) būna nuobodūs, prėski ir visai be užkabinančio „cinkelio“. O čia, net pati sunkiai galiu tuo patikėt, bet visi iki vieno (ne tik pagrindiniai) man buvo savaip įdomūs, savaip įsimenantys, su stipriais charakteriais ir priduodantys savito prieskonio istorijai. Neradau nė vieno veikėjo, kuris būtų perteklinis ar nereikalingas (kad ir kokią antipatiją kai kuriems iš jų jaučiau, negaliu paneigti fakto, kad jie išties buvo svarbūs kontrastui sukurti).
Nors intelektualumo čia nėra, bet jo ir nereikia ieškoti. „Keista pora“ – ne apie tai. Kita žinutė, kitas tikslas, kita auditorija. Ir nors iš pirmo žvilgsnio gali atrodyti, kad knyga pernelyg lengvabūdiška ar paviršutiniška, visgi paliečiamos ir lyčių lygybės, šeimos bei poros santykių temos, tad istorija tikrai nėra vien tik „tuščias vakaro skaitaliukas“.
Ir nesakysiu, kad tai tik karštoms vasaros atostogoms tinkantis romanas, tikrai ne! Nesvarbu, koks metų laikas ar oras bebūtų, esu įsitikinusi, kad „Keista pora“ ras kelią į skaitytojų širdis bet kuriuo metu. Kam nesinori lengvo, neįpareigojančio, aistringo ir kikenti priverčiančio romano lietingais rudens ar šaltais žiemos vakarais?!
May 4, 2015
This book is terrible! I also read the whole thing and I don't know why! Ok, so Tess is a liberal hippie who just wants peace and justice and to teach some kids (she does very little teaching). She also grew up on a commune and radically calls her parents by their first names. Nick comes from a blue collar back ground, but has magically transformed himself into a robot. Just kidding. He is a republican lawyer who is super duper boring. And then there is Gina, who as an Italian dancer, brings the "ethnic" flavor. I'm not kidding. Gina is not the kooky fun chorus girl side kick she should be, but actually and utterly ridiculous. She does have a barf scene which is pretty cool.
Tess wants to work at a fancy school that ends at 1:00 so she can volunteer tutor some poor kids at some foundation that lost its funding. Nick wants to make partner, and they both outright use each other to get what they want. They have no chemistry, the arc of their relationship is super flat, and their arguments are superficial and stilted. And when the hero from the commune rises from the dead I wanted to throw the book across the room. The last 10 pages did have some good dialogue and there is a cat which are the two best things about this.
Tess wants to work at a fancy school that ends at 1:00 so she can volunteer tutor some poor kids at some foundation that lost its funding. Nick wants to make partner, and they both outright use each other to get what they want. They have no chemistry, the arc of their relationship is super flat, and their arguments are superficial and stilted. And when the hero from the commune rises from the dead I wanted to throw the book across the room. The last 10 pages did have some good dialogue and there is a cat which are the two best things about this.
dnfed
September 19, 2019Update: I skim read a lot of the book and I really hate some bits. I hate the side/secondary romance. Gina is too doormat and Park is an asshole and why the hell is Nick friends with him! I think the heroine is annoying as well. Why can't she understand one simple thing!? How many times does he have to tell her before it gets through her thick skull? Did she miss the entire book or what? And the book is all over the place- I don't understand what the message is!? What about her career? What she is doing then- politics or teaching?
Orginal: Stopped reading at 25% but might come back later if someone can tell me that the hero actually falls convincingly, genuinely and madly in love with heroine. I just can't see that happening.
Okay our male MC, Nick, is not actually that much of an asshole, he's just a very unlikable hero at least at the beginning and I can't be bothered to read ahead to see if he changes.
He's NOT abusive or cruel or anything like that. He's just that typical ex boyfriend we all have who is selfish, fake, only really cares about himself and who would screw you over for his career anytime any day. He's the kind of guy who will be overly charming, say fake surgary lines he doesn't mean for his own benefit.
"And that afternoon, life had been especially good: an important and unexpectedly swift victory in court, a grateful client and an afternoon that was suddenly his to spend any way he wanted. If the lettering on the door had only said Patterson, Patterson and Jamieson, life would have been perfect".
This is after they have broken up for a month and clearly he doesn't seem give a shit about her. Forget about being sad, his life is great, it would even be perfect if got made partner. He doesn't seem to he miss her at all and her absence doesn't seem to effect his life in anyway. Which would be fine if they had just met but they had already been dating for months. If he hasn't liked her enough by then, he's gonna suddenly be madly in love with her by the end of the weekend? No way. I don't buy that.
Even more annoying- he tells Tess his life has been empty without her! Which is obviously bullshit because as you can tell from the quote above, he's doing great. He's only buttering her up so she will agree to be his fake fiance to get some important contract that will finally make him partner in his law firm. I really dislike fake people.
"She was tactless and undignified and spontaneous and out of control." They have known each other for months and he still thinks like that about her...how romantic.
"He liked her a lot, but he’d cheerfully dump her in a minute if it meant making partner in that damn firm"
Our girl, Tess, basically described it perfectly. Actually, one tiny mistake- from where I am standing, i think he only likes her slightly NOT a lot. Well I am sure he likes her body a lot.
"How much of a liability was Tess going to be at this party? The more he thought about it, the more depressed he got. Asking Tess had been dumb, and sticking her in an expensive black dress was not going to help things much. Not unless he got her an expensive black gag to go with it"
Wow so much respect!
"While he waited, he thought about Tess and all the ways she could screw up his life, particularly this weekend"
Wow so much faith!
He clearly hates her personality, her fashion sense, the way she talks, the way she behaves...do I need to go on? He only seems to love her body. And I don't want to on reading about how he oh-so generously manages to overlook and tolerate all her "flaws" just so he can have great amazing sex with her every day because he is insanely in LUST with her. Look I would get this if this was an enemies-to-lovers story. I would understand that he hates all this about her because it's all a misunderstanding, he doesn't know her well or he doesn't realise there's more to her. But actually they are not enemies. They were friends! Then they were a couple! Now they are exes yet he still feels this way about Tess. So it's not an misunderstanding or ignorance or jumping to conclusions and assuming stuff. He actually knows exactly how she is like and he doesn't like it (majority of it anyway). So I don't get what's gonna change.
'I just want to make partner.' He thought for a minute. 'And a lot of money.'
I love lawyers, I really do, I have a thing for lawyers. Because they should be passionate for the truth, they should be crazy about ensuring justice is carried out, because they should care about doing the right thing- defending the innocent and punishing the evil. But I hate the kind of lawyers who are only in it for the money and don't seem to have any principals. Blah.
And the side characters are freaking annoying! Can they go die, please?
Orginal: Stopped reading at 25% but might come back later if someone can tell me that the hero actually falls convincingly, genuinely and madly in love with heroine. I just can't see that happening.
Okay our male MC, Nick, is not actually that much of an asshole, he's just a very unlikable hero at least at the beginning and I can't be bothered to read ahead to see if he changes.
He's NOT abusive or cruel or anything like that. He's just that typical ex boyfriend we all have who is selfish, fake, only really cares about himself and who would screw you over for his career anytime any day. He's the kind of guy who will be overly charming, say fake surgary lines he doesn't mean for his own benefit.
"And that afternoon, life had been especially good: an important and unexpectedly swift victory in court, a grateful client and an afternoon that was suddenly his to spend any way he wanted. If the lettering on the door had only said Patterson, Patterson and Jamieson, life would have been perfect".
This is after they have broken up for a month and clearly he doesn't seem give a shit about her. Forget about being sad, his life is great, it would even be perfect if got made partner. He doesn't seem to he miss her at all and her absence doesn't seem to effect his life in anyway. Which would be fine if they had just met but they had already been dating for months. If he hasn't liked her enough by then, he's gonna suddenly be madly in love with her by the end of the weekend? No way. I don't buy that.
Even more annoying- he tells Tess his life has been empty without her! Which is obviously bullshit because as you can tell from the quote above, he's doing great. He's only buttering her up so she will agree to be his fake fiance to get some important contract that will finally make him partner in his law firm. I really dislike fake people.
"She was tactless and undignified and spontaneous and out of control." They have known each other for months and he still thinks like that about her...how romantic.
"He liked her a lot, but he’d cheerfully dump her in a minute if it meant making partner in that damn firm"
Our girl, Tess, basically described it perfectly. Actually, one tiny mistake- from where I am standing, i think he only likes her slightly NOT a lot. Well I am sure he likes her body a lot.
"How much of a liability was Tess going to be at this party? The more he thought about it, the more depressed he got. Asking Tess had been dumb, and sticking her in an expensive black dress was not going to help things much. Not unless he got her an expensive black gag to go with it"
Wow so much respect!
"While he waited, he thought about Tess and all the ways she could screw up his life, particularly this weekend"
Wow so much faith!
He clearly hates her personality, her fashion sense, the way she talks, the way she behaves...do I need to go on? He only seems to love her body. And I don't want to on reading about how he oh-so generously manages to overlook and tolerate all her "flaws" just so he can have great amazing sex with her every day because he is insanely in LUST with her. Look I would get this if this was an enemies-to-lovers story. I would understand that he hates all this about her because it's all a misunderstanding, he doesn't know her well or he doesn't realise there's more to her. But actually they are not enemies. They were friends! Then they were a couple! Now they are exes yet he still feels this way about Tess. So it's not an misunderstanding or ignorance or jumping to conclusions and assuming stuff. He actually knows exactly how she is like and he doesn't like it (majority of it anyway). So I don't get what's gonna change.
'I just want to make partner.' He thought for a minute. 'And a lot of money.'
I love lawyers, I really do, I have a thing for lawyers. Because they should be passionate for the truth, they should be crazy about ensuring justice is carried out, because they should care about doing the right thing- defending the innocent and punishing the evil. But I hate the kind of lawyers who are only in it for the money and don't seem to have any principals. Blah.
And the side characters are freaking annoying! Can they go die, please?
March 28, 2013
I liked the style writing and the humour, but I just can't get over what a self-centered, arrogant b*tch the heroine was.
The hero is a ambitious lawyer and as the heroine is a bit of a free-spirited hippy, this makes him the enemy. For no reason whatsoever. At all.
The only redeeming quality was the secondary romance between Gina and Park. And even that was a bit insipid.
The hero is a ambitious lawyer and as the heroine is a bit of a free-spirited hippy, this makes him the enemy. For no reason whatsoever. At all.
The only redeeming quality was the secondary romance between Gina and Park. And even that was a bit insipid.
August 23, 2011
Nice, pleasant read. Not really similar to The Cinderella Deal in plot as one might infer from the description. This was a quick diversion with interesting characters and funny dialogue.
June 29, 2021
Na, šios knygos reikaliukus sutvarkysim labai greit. Nes čia ilgai nėra ką ir išsiplėsti. Buvo geriau, nei tikėjausi, bet prasčiau, nei autorė galėjo parašyti. Ot, taip.
Istorija turėjo visus duomenis, kad krizenčiau kiekviename puslapyje, bet ne kartą aplankė toks jausmas, kad autorė nori pati tai įrodyti ir prispausdama prie sienos kužda: "dabar privalai šyptelt, supranti??". Bet, ne, blogai tikrai nebuvo. Tiesiog, manau, jog tekstas trupučiuką perspaustas.
Ir vis tik, nors knyga ir lengvutė - tiek formatu, tiek turiniu - bet autorė nenužingsniavo į minčių atostogas tiesiausiu keliu, laikydamasi tik tuščių dialogų linijos. Man patiko, kad pagrindinė herojė drąsi moteris, net kiek ir aršoka, bet nepametusi humoro jausmo. Ir net jei vietomis ji pabrėžtinai erzinanti persona, kurią, dievaži, norėtųsi papurtyt, bet, vis tik, didžiąja dalimi žavėjausi jos užsispyrimu ir atvira širdimi. Tuo naiviu, bet ir kalnus verčiančiu tikėjimu savimi bei savo vertybėmis. Net, drįstu teigti, įkvepia. Štai, mielieji, jums ir banalus "pliažo" skaitinys - įkvepiantis. Bent jau svajoti, tai tikrai.
Rekomenduoju tiems, kuriems dar nėra atsibodę "jis turtingas, o ji - Pelenė" tipo istorijos, bet norėtųsi daugiau humoro nei erotikos (nors ir jos čia užtenka). Tiems, kurie vyksta atostogauti ir neturi daug vietos lagamine - perskaičius nebus gaila palikti "lengvų minčių" puslapius kitam skaitytojui. Rekomenduoju, jei norite įsitikinti, kad smagiai susuktos istorijos nėra pavaldžios laikui - šiam pasakojimui beveik 30 metų, bet tikiu, kad džiugins dar tikrai ne vieną romantikos ir lengvumo ištroškusią širdį. Tokios jau tos pasakos - susuktos ant to paties kurpalio, obettačiau - nemirtingos.
Istorija turėjo visus duomenis, kad krizenčiau kiekviename puslapyje, bet ne kartą aplankė toks jausmas, kad autorė nori pati tai įrodyti ir prispausdama prie sienos kužda: "dabar privalai šyptelt, supranti??". Bet, ne, blogai tikrai nebuvo. Tiesiog, manau, jog tekstas trupučiuką perspaustas.
Ir vis tik, nors knyga ir lengvutė - tiek formatu, tiek turiniu - bet autorė nenužingsniavo į minčių atostogas tiesiausiu keliu, laikydamasi tik tuščių dialogų linijos. Man patiko, kad pagrindinė herojė drąsi moteris, net kiek ir aršoka, bet nepametusi humoro jausmo. Ir net jei vietomis ji pabrėžtinai erzinanti persona, kurią, dievaži, norėtųsi papurtyt, bet, vis tik, didžiąja dalimi žavėjausi jos užsispyrimu ir atvira širdimi. Tuo naiviu, bet ir kalnus verčiančiu tikėjimu savimi bei savo vertybėmis. Net, drįstu teigti, įkvepia. Štai, mielieji, jums ir banalus "pliažo" skaitinys - įkvepiantis. Bent jau svajoti, tai tikrai.
Rekomenduoju tiems, kuriems dar nėra atsibodę "jis turtingas, o ji - Pelenė" tipo istorijos, bet norėtųsi daugiau humoro nei erotikos (nors ir jos čia užtenka). Tiems, kurie vyksta atostogauti ir neturi daug vietos lagamine - perskaičius nebus gaila palikti "lengvų minčių" puslapius kitam skaitytojui. Rekomenduoju, jei norite įsitikinti, kad smagiai susuktos istorijos nėra pavaldžios laikui - šiam pasakojimui beveik 30 metų, bet tikiu, kad džiugins dar tikrai ne vieną romantikos ir lengvumo ištroškusią širdį. Tokios jau tos pasakos - susuktos ant to paties kurpalio, obettačiau - nemirtingos.
November 5, 2017
Not really the right time for me to read about republicans being the most reasonable. Except where the clothes are concerned, because fuck him. Also probably a reread.
January 28, 2018
Romance and humor is such a happy combination. This is how life should be: you laugh all the time, surrounded by the people you love.
I liked this book. Tess and Nick felt like two real individuals. This isn't a book where two people meet and fall in love. These are two people who have met, fallen in love but find that may be love isn't enough. They find their way back to each other and this story is about them adapting to the other, of making their relationship work, about giving their love another chance.
There were plenty of funny scenes in the book and I enjoyed them greatly. I thought Tess in general was hilarious. She's had an unusual upbringing and has unconventional life philosophies and is no doubt the most entertaining of the lot. The scene near the end, the Drunken Dinner as I like to call it was hysterical. All those forks dropping and insult swapping, older, drunk ladies and genuflecting waiters. I was confused for most of it the first time I read it, but it was the nice kind of confusion. The I'm-laughing-but-I'm-not-sure-why confusion. Good times.
I usually love the secondary couple; may be because theirs is the side story, with not as much page-space and that makes me more hungry for little tidbits about them. Gina and Park were cute, but predictable. Gina was sweet and naive, and Park was - well, I thought Park was a total douche. Can we not forget that he would have been perfectly willing to juggle two women - if not more - at the same time, hoping that no one would find out about the other? He chose her in the end, but the entire time that they were getting to know each other, he was seeing other women! Bad, bad Park.
There is one character that I really, really like in the book and that's Christine. She is The. Bomb. She is insightful, unconcerned, gorgeous, fashionable and extremely talented. She is the perfect woman. I so, so want to be like her.
I liked this book. Tess and Nick felt like two real individuals. This isn't a book where two people meet and fall in love. These are two people who have met, fallen in love but find that may be love isn't enough. They find their way back to each other and this story is about them adapting to the other, of making their relationship work, about giving their love another chance.
There were plenty of funny scenes in the book and I enjoyed them greatly. I thought Tess in general was hilarious. She's had an unusual upbringing and has unconventional life philosophies and is no doubt the most entertaining of the lot. The scene near the end, the Drunken Dinner as I like to call it was hysterical. All those forks dropping and insult swapping, older, drunk ladies and genuflecting waiters. I was confused for most of it the first time I read it, but it was the nice kind of confusion. The I'm-laughing-but-I'm-not-sure-why confusion. Good times.
I usually love the secondary couple; may be because theirs is the side story, with not as much page-space and that makes me more hungry for little tidbits about them. Gina and Park were cute, but predictable. Gina was sweet and naive, and Park was - well, I thought Park was a total douche. Can we not forget that he would have been perfectly willing to juggle two women - if not more - at the same time, hoping that no one would find out about the other? He chose her in the end, but the entire time that they were getting to know each other, he was seeing other women! Bad, bad Park.
There is one character that I really, really like in the book and that's Christine. She is The. Bomb. She is insightful, unconcerned, gorgeous, fashionable and extremely talented. She is the perfect woman. I so, so want to be like her.
May 13, 2013
A tad bit too over the top funny to take too seriously, but it was enjoyable in a cute sort of way and It made me laugh out loud quite a few times. I don't usually like getting back to together romance but the way this one was done was entertaining, so I forgave the too funny by half outlandish comedic aspect that went a little too far at times. The heroine was frustrating to say the least, but I can't say the girl was dull. She had personality in spades. The interactions between her and the hero were very entertaining. They had really great chemistry that kept you rooting for them to get together.
What really got on my nerves though was the heroine's indecisiveness regarding the hero. In one sentence she would despise and love him all at once. It was annoying at times. I did love when they both finally said their I love you's. It caught me by surprise because I wasn't expecting it at the time. I like surprises in my romance. It keeps you on your toes, lol. This was my first JC and I will try her again.
What really got on my nerves though was the heroine's indecisiveness regarding the hero. In one sentence she would despise and love him all at once. It was annoying at times. I did love when they both finally said their I love you's. It caught me by surprise because I wasn't expecting it at the time. I like surprises in my romance. It keeps you on your toes, lol. This was my first JC and I will try her again.
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