While I don't particularly like Halloween, I think it's great that we do end the month with a bang :) Makes it more exciting, I guess. In any case, I'm just happy the month is over. It's been a really tough month and I want it behind me :P
For this month's Re-Read challenge, I'm cheating a little bit, because Trust Me on This is not a re-read per se. See, I bought this book by Jennifer Crusie eons ago. At that time, I've just discovered Ms Crusie and tried to get my hand on all her backlist, but especially this one since apparently, it was hilarious. I remember reading somewhere that Trust Me on This was so good that the person thought she should buy a second copy and put it in a safe in a hermetic seal, open it 20 years later and make a fortune out of it, LOL. So after much efforts and money (I think I paid about 25$ on ebay ^_^;) I got the book, skimmed through it and put it on the shelves ^_^; I think that at the time, I was afraid to be disappointed because of too high expectations... and seriously, the cover wasn't that appealing as it turns out ^_^;
This month, Trust Me on This was re-released; I bought it and finally read it :) While I never truly read it previously, I have skimmed through it... and I have had years for my expectations to cool down. With such a history, I think Trust Me on This could be considered a re-read :P Well no matter, that's what I'm going to do...
Trust Me on This by Jennifer Crusie
published by Bantam Books in June 1997
Dennie Banks is an investigative reporter chasing down the biggest story of her career. Alec Prentice is a government agent working undercover to catch an elusive grifter. When they meet by accident, it's a case of mistaken identities at first sight. What they don't mistake is the instant attraction they have for each other, an attraction they'll do everything in their power to resist-because Dennie thinks that Alec is running interference for her interview subject, and Alec suspects that Dennie is linked to his swindler. As the confusion grows, so do their feelings for each other, and what begins as a romantic comedy of errors may just end in the love affair of a lifetime.Genre: contemporary romance, category romance
Series: none
The Story: The book starts off with Victoria Prentice, a college professor who has dedicated her last 40 years to her career, feeling old. At 62 years old, Victoria feels the need to rejuvenate herself and decide to spend time with her favorite nephew, Alec Prentice, at a literature conference.Alec is delighted to spend time with his aunt and might as well combine pleasure with work. Alec works for the Bureau of Fraud and with a pair of glasses, has practiced to be the perfect mark. While his field agent days are over and he sits behind a desk... Alec misses being in charge. Alec and his boss, Harry, are currently after Brian Bond, a conman who sells real estate to college professor, and his brunette accomplice. Alec figures there is a chance he'll find Bond at the literature conference and that'll put some excitement back into his job.
Dennie Banks is a brunette whose life has been stagnant. An investigative reporter, she's been covering the socialite events, dating men she could wrap around her finger and stayed at the same job because she knew how to handle her boss. Realizing she's been taking the safe path for too long, Dennie decides it's time to take some risks... To land a job at a better newspapers, Dennie has a plan: interview Janice Meredith - the expert on relationships and marriage - about her upcoming divorce. Luckily, Dennie knows just where to find Mrs Meredith... at a certain literature conference.
However, things don't work out as planned for Dennie. Instead of getting the interview she's hoping for, she is warned away for stalking. However, she quickly figures out that she can get to the Janice woman through Victoria through Alec...
My Opinion: Put together a lot of colorful characters and a few misunderstandings and in true Crusie-style, you get mayhem... and the best kind LOL.
Frankly, I felt like Trust Me on This was a wee superficial. Superficial in the sense that we never went deep into the characters as the storyline was very focused on what was happening during the literature conference (Four Fabulous Days! Three Glorious Nights!). All I know was that all these characters were dissatisfied with their current lives. I don't feel like I got to know Alec or Dennie very well and as a result, didn't connect with them very much. It doesn't help that the timeline of the book was very short, so the relationship was developing very quickly and sometimes, too quickly to be believable.
Still, Trust Me on This was a fun book. It's really a book that you take at face-value, the kind that you read to have fun. It'd actually be the perfect book to adapt into a romantic comedy movie :P What with the colorful characters, their hidden agendas and the misunderstandings. Throughout the read, I had a huge grin on my face because after all, this is a Crusie book. However, there were never really LOL moments, never a passage that I had to re-read again because it was so funny or read out loud to someone because I just had to share it.
In the end, I think it was a good thing I let years go by before really reading this book. I think that I enjoyed it more now than I would have in the past, when I've just binged on Ms Crusie's backlist. Still, what I want to remind everyone is what Ms Crusie writes is comedy romances and humor is very subjective. I might not find this one as funny as others, but you might find it more funny :P The writing is there, the characters and the situations and surprisingly, I thought that Trust Me on This withstood the test of time very well, it doesn't feel date at all. I mean, there are a few 80 and 90s reference... but the characters, their clothes and the settings are quite timeless :)
My Grade: B. Not my favorite Crusie book, but I am still glad I read it :)
