Bet Me

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie was a cute romance novel and exactly what I needed to get me in the mood for hunting season (otherwise known as dating season). It was also a nice transition from reading dark, depressing novels.

I didn’t love the first book of hers I read, Manhunting, but I was willing to give her a second chance since she has written so many romance novels. And I really enjoyed Bet Me.

This book stars Min Dobbs, who just got dumped by the man she was dating because she refused to sleep with him. Her friends cheer her up by taking her to a bar when she overhears her ex making a bet with the gorgeous Calvin Morrisey that Calvin cannot get Min into his bed within a month.

And so the chase begins. Min is fuming over the bet, but agrees to let Calvin take her to dinner as payback. They both realize they cannot stand each other and leave it at that, but fate or chaos theory intervenes and Cal’s and Min’s paths seem to circle one another.

It’s certainly not a fairy tale romance, but despite themselves Min and Cal are attracted to one another. Min views Cal as a Beast rather than her Knight in Shinning Armor coming to rescue her and Cal surely does not see Min as a damsel in distress.

I think I enjoyed this book better than her previous one because this time her characters had a little more depth. And for once the protagonist wasn’t some rail thin bombshell, but a regular woman who has curves and insecurities about her body like most women. And Cal helps her realize that she is a beautiful sexy woman and loves all of her.

I know that all romance stories need some sort of conflict, which generally tends to be one person chasing the other or both characters ignoring their strong feelings for one another, and geez this sure explains a lot about my skewed view on relationships and romance in general. I think it’s perfectly normal to put up with a guy that ignores you or treats you like poo because I’ve been reading this stuff since I was a little girl.

Deep down inside, I’m just like Min waiting for some handsome devil to sweep me off my feet so that we can live happily ever after.