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A review by melodicfate
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
3.0
3.5 stars.
I'm having a phase lately, where I want to read about heroines who aren't thin and who actually look like real-life people. I heard that this book was a cute chick lit story, so I figured I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did, because some things about this book were great. Others, I didn't really like.
The good parts were Min and Cal. They were amazing, fully-developed characters. I loved Min because she was down-to-earth, rational, and would do anything to protect her friends and family. She had issues with body confidence, which is great because that's such a real thing. I definitely felt like she could exist in real life. The same could be said for Cal, too. Sure, he was the typical good-looking hero, but he was also dyslexic. Plus, he had triggers having to do with being called stupid, and it just gave his character some much-needed vulnerability. Of course, he did have some fantastic qualities such as loyalty, kindness, and he really cared about people in general. The two together just made a really nice couple.
As for the side characters, I really liked Cal and Min's group of friends. I mean, it started out with Liza and Bonnie being Min's friends and Tony and Roger being Cal's friends. But of course, they all banded together to form one group pretty quickly, and I loved how much they really looked out for each other. Then, there was Min's sister Diana. I'd say she was the least-developed character in the story, but I did like how she stood up for Min against their mother, whom I hated. As a matter of fact, I hated both Min and Cal's mothers since they really treated their children badly. Min's mother went on about Min's weight, and Cal's mother and father both kept complaining about how he didn't go into the family business. Finally, there were the exes, Cynthie and David. They were just really annoying. They did anything they could think of to break Min and Cal up, and I really didn't like reading from their point of view.
The plot of the book was interesting. David dumped Min because she refused to sleep with him, so he bet Cal(or tried to bet Cal)ten thousand dollars to get Min into bed. Cal, who had just broken up with Cynthie because she wanted marriage and he didn't, did everything he could to get out of the bet, and he was sure that David accepted that. But then, there was a previous bet made for ten dollars for Cal to get Min to go out to dinner with him, and Min knew about both of them. It was a pretty intricate story, since we followed almost everyone's point of view at one point in the book. I loved the Min/Cal relationship though, as well as the support they each got from their friends. I also loved the part where Cal really convinces Min that she's not fat, and how she began to accept that. I didn't like all the plotting that David and Cynthie did to break up Min and Cal, though, and I also couldn't stand switching point of view so much.
In the end, I liked this book. It wasn't a favorite, but it did make me hungry with all the mentioning of chicken and doughnuts. It had a very healthy romance and friendship, which I enjoyed greatly. Plus, there were some laugh-out-loud moments. In the end, I would recommend this. I didn't love it, but it wasn't bad. It kept me interested, and I'm glad I took the time to read it.
I'm having a phase lately, where I want to read about heroines who aren't thin and who actually look like real-life people. I heard that this book was a cute chick lit story, so I figured I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did, because some things about this book were great. Others, I didn't really like.
The good parts were Min and Cal. They were amazing, fully-developed characters. I loved Min because she was down-to-earth, rational, and would do anything to protect her friends and family. She had issues with body confidence, which is great because that's such a real thing. I definitely felt like she could exist in real life. The same could be said for Cal, too. Sure, he was the typical good-looking hero, but he was also dyslexic. Plus, he had triggers having to do with being called stupid, and it just gave his character some much-needed vulnerability. Of course, he did have some fantastic qualities such as loyalty, kindness, and he really cared about people in general. The two together just made a really nice couple.
As for the side characters, I really liked Cal and Min's group of friends. I mean, it started out with Liza and Bonnie being Min's friends and Tony and Roger being Cal's friends. But of course, they all banded together to form one group pretty quickly, and I loved how much they really looked out for each other. Then, there was Min's sister Diana. I'd say she was the least-developed character in the story, but I did like how she stood up for Min against their mother, whom I hated. As a matter of fact, I hated both Min and Cal's mothers since they really treated their children badly. Min's mother went on about Min's weight, and Cal's mother and father both kept complaining about how he didn't go into the family business. Finally, there were the exes, Cynthie and David. They were just really annoying. They did anything they could think of to break Min and Cal up, and I really didn't like reading from their point of view.
The plot of the book was interesting. David dumped Min because she refused to sleep with him, so he bet Cal(or tried to bet Cal)ten thousand dollars to get Min into bed. Cal, who had just broken up with Cynthie because she wanted marriage and he didn't, did everything he could to get out of the bet, and he was sure that David accepted that. But then, there was a previous bet made for ten dollars for Cal to get Min to go out to dinner with him, and Min knew about both of them. It was a pretty intricate story, since we followed almost everyone's point of view at one point in the book. I loved the Min/Cal relationship though, as well as the support they each got from their friends. I also loved the part where Cal really convinces Min that she's not fat, and how she began to accept that. I didn't like all the plotting that David and Cynthie did to break up Min and Cal, though, and I also couldn't stand switching point of view so much.
In the end, I liked this book. It wasn't a favorite, but it did make me hungry with all the mentioning of chicken and doughnuts. It had a very healthy romance and friendship, which I enjoyed greatly. Plus, there were some laugh-out-loud moments. In the end, I would recommend this. I didn't love it, but it wasn't bad. It kept me interested, and I'm glad I took the time to read it.