Jennifer Crusie Bet Me

Bet Me

Jennifer Crusie

St. Martin's, Feb 2004, $22.95, 352 pp.

ISBN: 0312303467

In her early thirties in Southern Ohio, Minerva Dobbs still dreams of forever love stories, but currently is down on men though she still hopes to find that one male who is a good person and nice, especially to her. Her thoughts as she linger in the upscale Yuppie bar is that her latest loser David deserves a swizzle stick shoved by her into his heart though he probably wouldn't miss a beat.

Hollywood handsome Cal Morrissey has a $10,000 bet with his pals that he will bed Min within a month. Min knows about the wager and decides to play along with Cal so that he can escort her to her sister's wedding and then dump him with her sheets remaining dry. As Cal and Min compete for the upper hand and their friends interfere either by separating or pushing them together, they fall in love. However, will Min trust this slick stud with her heart especially when she agrees with Gloria Steinham that "Women's total instinct for gambling is satisfied by marriage".

The Steinham line is a great opening to a humorous off beat relationship tale as it distinctly shows the gender differences that help turn this tale into an audaciously delightful screwball comedy. Min is a delightful cynic while Cal is a charming schemer. The support cast including Krispy Cr me is an eccentric bunch, but the novel belongs to the lead couple war to implement their respective plan that makes for a fine time for readers who appreciate a wacky romance.

Harriet Klausner