Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

So the past two Crusie and Mayer books have been about hit man and movies that were actually the cover of something to do with the mob. This time around, Crusie and Mayer team up and give you an amusement park….that is the prison of demons.

Yeah, that’s right, demons. These demons apparently have been in captivity since the 1920s, when the amusement park was created, and have been contained in their chalices ever since. Well, except for that one time forty years ago when they all got out and almost caused mass mayhem, but that doesn’t play in until near the end.

The characters that you are introduced to – again in the first few chapters – include:

• Mab – Dreamland’s restorer. Doesn’t like people and is more interested in her work.
• Ethan – a Green Barret (of course!) who is back at home after almost being killed in Afghanistan. Thinks his days are numbered because of the bullet near his heart.
• Glenda – Ethan’s mom and half owner of the park. Believes in the mystical.
• Delpha – the park’s ‘Oracle’ who believes she sees the future.
• Ray – Mab’s uncle, mayor of the town, and half owner of the park. Wants riches and power.

There are more characters that are all involved in what unfolds, but seriously, can we just talk about the plot of this book?

Mab gets involved in with this guy named Joe who always makes her laugh and makes sure that they only talk about happy things. Even when you don’t really know these characters well enough, you can already tell that something is up with this guy Joe. And even when it gets revealed that he’s a ‘demon hunter,’ there’s still something not right about him. Although I do give points to Crusie and Mayer for throwing in the demon hunter bit. Turns out Joe is a demon – the Trickster – and when Mab finally figures it out, it’s a little too late. She’s already slept with him and is pregnant with his child.

But it’s not the first demon possession pregnancy. No, Mab and Ethan are both creations of a demon possession pregnancy. Remember what I said about the whole 40 years ago thing? Yeah. Apparently, these demons have more on their mind than causing pain and suffering. Ethan and the other Guardia – a force that guards and entraps the demons – do put everyone back in their chalices, except for Funfluns, and all live happily ever after.

I haven’t seen such a ridiculous plot since Crusie’s other book Maybe This Time, and that one had ghosts! And these characters! Although they were definitely better than the characters in Don’t Look Down, they still had their own issues. Like Mab right before the final battle, decides its time to have sexy time with Oliver it was just ridiculous. You’re about to go stop demons from taking over the world and you’re going to go at it? Talk about priorities.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Although ridiculous, it was rather fun.

Bookshelf worthy? Support your local library.

Don’t Look Down by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

I think I finally figured out why I don’t give Crusie’s books five-star reviews. There are too many characters that are introduced in the first two chapters of each book with complicated histories and connections to other characters to keep them straight. Like take Don’t Look Down for example:

• Lucy – director of dog commercials who is brought in to finish filming of a movie on request of her sister Daisy and her ex-husband Connor.
• Daisy – Lucy’s sister and mother of Pepper. Has been following Connor around for years because she wanted to do things on her own without her sister’s help.
• Connor – Lucy’s ex-husband who fucks anything that moves. Former agent in some Australian army or something. Stunt coordinator for the movie. Seems to be up to something.
• Pepper – Daisy’s daughter and Lucy’s niece. Obsessed with Barbie’s until she gets a Wonder Woman doll.
• Bryce – a comedian who wants to be known for action movies now. Big star in film that is like Connor and fucks anything that moves.
• Althea – the female co-star and Bryce’s love interest in the movie and in real life.
• Stephanie – Lucy’s assistant for the movie that seems to be sleeping with Connor. Wrote the screenplay for the movie except for the action stunts.
• Captain JT Wilder – Green Beret who is Bryce’s stunt double. Thinks he’s on leave until the CIA gives him a call.

And you meet all those characters in the first few chapters. That’s just so much freaking information to digest that you feel like you need a flow chart.

This book like Tell Me Lies and Fast Women kind of drove me crazy, and not in a good way. On top of trying to keep all these characters straight you also have to figure out the mystery behind this movie. Because of course, there has to be something going on with this movie. Why else would a romantic-comedy get ridiculous action sequences at the end? I wish I could tell you what was going on, but the truth is I really don’t know myself. All I can say is, there was some sort of mob thing involved and Connor, Bryce, and Althea were involved.

Final Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. I’m with a lot of people when they say that Agnes and the Hitman also by Crusie and Mayer is a lot better than this book. Too much was happening in it to keep everything straight. Favorite character? Moot, the alligator, she chomps everything in sight.

Bookshelf worthy? Save yourself the 373 pages and go read Agnes and the Hitman instead. You’ll thank me for it later.

Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie and Bob Mayer

Here’s something that I really like about Jennifer Crusie other than the incredibly witty writing – the titles of these books. Seriously, I like the fact that there is no guessing about what the title means – yes, I’m looking at you City of Ashes – it’s straightforward.

Anyway, Agnes and the Hitman is about what the title suggests – a lady named Agnes and the Hitman her friend Joey calls in to help protect her when a man breaks into her house with a gun to steal her dog. I’ll warn you now, if you aren’t into a lot of dead bodies, than this book probably isn’t for you, because within the first 100 pages or so there are at least two, and all in all there are probably about ten. What did you expect from a book that has the word hitman in the title?

So, Agnes is a cook who has just bought the house from her childhood from her best friend’s mother. With help from her fiancé she was able to put down the down payment, and thanks to Brenda – her best friend’s mother – she is paying her directly for the mortgage. In the contract that she signed, though, she has to host Brenda’s granddaughter’s wedding or else she’ll default on the mortgage and the house goes back to Brenda. Considering that Brenda’s granddaughter – Maria – is Agnes’ goddaughter this shouldn’t be too much of a problem…right?

Ha. Wrong. On top of dealing with bodies because someone is trying to kill her, she also has to deal with a renovating the house for a wedding and she only has five days to do it. It doesn’t help either that Brenda is trying to sabotage the wedding.

Shane – the hitman that Joey brings in and also turns out to be his nephew – comes in to protect Agnes from the multiple hits on her life, and well…as the book progress he gets bring in for so much needed ‘recreational exercise to help diffuse Agnes’ anger.’ Considering the last two books that I’ve read from Crusie where the first sex scene between the main protagonists didn’t really end well, this one was hot.

Final Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. I liked the fact that this book didn’t end with a cliché marriage proposal from Shane. I liked the way Brenda’s character was written; she was such a melodramatic bitch. I also liked the character of Agnes; she was a strong female with a temper. Pretty fantastic.

Bookshelf worthy? Electronic or support your local library!