Genres
Collection
Publication
Mira (2004), 256 pages
Description
Fiction. Romance. HTML: Dumped by her boyfriend and demoted from WBBB's prime-time spot, radio producer Allie McGuffey has nowhere to go but up. She plans to make her comeback by turning temporary DJ Charlie Tenniel into a household name. And if he's willing to help cure her breakup blues with a rebound fling, that's an added bonus. Charlie just wants to kick back, play good tunes and eat Chinese food. He's not interested in becoming famous. But he is interested in Allie. And after all, what harm is a little chemistry between friends? But suddenly their one-night stand has become a four-week addiction. Night after night on the airwaves, his voice seduces her...and all the other women in town. He's a hit. It looks as if Charlie's solved all Allie's problems...except one. What is she going to do when he leaves?… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member chicklitter
As a chick lit/romantic comedy writer, I've had several people suggest Jennifer Crusie's books to me as an example of how to write good stories. I'd heard such great things about her that I'd picked up this book, along with Bet Me (which I still have to read), optimistically thinking I'd have a
Instead, I found out how it's not supposed to be written.
Okay, in all fairness the book itself wasn't all that bad. To give Crusie credit, I really did enjoy her writing style and her voice. My main problem was that there was no development of the love relationship between Charlie and Allie. It was basically a case of boy and girl meet cute, boy and girl fall instantly into lust and sleep together the first night, some conflict comes up, and then one minute they're in love with each other and yet I as the reader have no idea why they love each other.
Call me crazy here, but part of the appeal of romance is seeing the romance develop, experiencing the entire act of falling in love with someone--from the first time the heroine meets the hero to the first electrifying kiss to the first time they end up in bed together to the end when they finally admit they love each other. Those are the Big Parts. The Important Parts. The things every romance writer knows she must have in her book.
But it's the little things in between the Big Parts that really make the story, that really develop the characters and the relationship between them. And for me, those little parts are the real meat of the story. We all know the characters are going to end up together, it's the HOW they end up together that's so interesting. And for me, the HOW was definitely missing a little bit of meat.
Basically, after meeting each other and sleeping together the first night (and after Charlie gives Allie the cliched "first ever orgasm with someone other than herself"), they continue to sleep together while being in a working relationship--literally. See, Charlie's the new DJ at the radio station Allie works at, and she's been demoted to his producer since her ex boyfriend has decided his new girlfriend (and Allie's protege) would be a more fitting producer for his self-obsessed morning show. Stuck in the night time slot, Allie tries to make the most of it, and is determined to make Charlie the Next Big Thing in their sleepy little town. Charlie, however, wants none of that since he's only in town to help solve a mystery for the station's owner.
After a heated argument regarding the battle of the sexes, Charlie and Allie decide to stop having sex and to actually become...wait for it...friends. Yeah, they decide now might be a good time to get to know each other (and again, in all fairness, sometimes the urge does overtake you and you sleep with someone without really knowing them). While this is all well and good, and actually makes sense, the problem is that I saw none of the "getting to know you" stuff. Instead, I read scenes where Allie would discuss the situation with her best friend (who's the station's accountant and her roommate) and tell HIM all the things that were so great about Charlie and how they were spending so much time together and getting to know each other so well... And I kept finding myself paging back, trying to figure out if changing time zones had somehow caused entire parts of the book to be lost in some weird space time continuum warp or something or other (I was flying from Dallas to San Diego while reading this). But nope, I hadn't missed anything.
It's a peeve of mine, I'll admit, but I also think it's lazy writing to tell rather than show, especially when the thing you're telling is the most important part of the story.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters. And like I said earlier, I really enjoyed Crusie's writing style and her voice, it just irked me that more attention wasn't given to the development of the romance between Allie and Charlie. I didn't want Allie and Charlie telling me why they loved each other, I wanted to SEE why they loved each other.
Overall, I wouldn't say this was a bad book, just highly disappointing. I will be fair, though, and give Crusie another chance. If she does this to me again, though, I will be more than happy to stick to the other Queen of Romantic Comedy*.
*SEP does not call herself this, but rather it is the humble opinion of this reviewer.
Show More
fantastic read and learn something about how romantic comedy is supposed to be written.Instead, I found out how it's not supposed to be written.
Okay, in all fairness the book itself wasn't all that bad. To give Crusie credit, I really did enjoy her writing style and her voice. My main problem was that there was no development of the love relationship between Charlie and Allie. It was basically a case of boy and girl meet cute, boy and girl fall instantly into lust and sleep together the first night, some conflict comes up, and then one minute they're in love with each other and yet I as the reader have no idea why they love each other.
Call me crazy here, but part of the appeal of romance is seeing the romance develop, experiencing the entire act of falling in love with someone--from the first time the heroine meets the hero to the first electrifying kiss to the first time they end up in bed together to the end when they finally admit they love each other. Those are the Big Parts. The Important Parts. The things every romance writer knows she must have in her book.
But it's the little things in between the Big Parts that really make the story, that really develop the characters and the relationship between them. And for me, those little parts are the real meat of the story. We all know the characters are going to end up together, it's the HOW they end up together that's so interesting. And for me, the HOW was definitely missing a little bit of meat.
Basically, after meeting each other and sleeping together the first night (and after Charlie gives Allie the cliched "first ever orgasm with someone other than herself"), they continue to sleep together while being in a working relationship--literally. See, Charlie's the new DJ at the radio station Allie works at, and she's been demoted to his producer since her ex boyfriend has decided his new girlfriend (and Allie's protege) would be a more fitting producer for his self-obsessed morning show. Stuck in the night time slot, Allie tries to make the most of it, and is determined to make Charlie the Next Big Thing in their sleepy little town. Charlie, however, wants none of that since he's only in town to help solve a mystery for the station's owner.
After a heated argument regarding the battle of the sexes, Charlie and Allie decide to stop having sex and to actually become...wait for it...friends. Yeah, they decide now might be a good time to get to know each other (and again, in all fairness, sometimes the urge does overtake you and you sleep with someone without really knowing them). While this is all well and good, and actually makes sense, the problem is that I saw none of the "getting to know you" stuff. Instead, I read scenes where Allie would discuss the situation with her best friend (who's the station's accountant and her roommate) and tell HIM all the things that were so great about Charlie and how they were spending so much time together and getting to know each other so well... And I kept finding myself paging back, trying to figure out if changing time zones had somehow caused entire parts of the book to be lost in some weird space time continuum warp or something or other (I was flying from Dallas to San Diego while reading this). But nope, I hadn't missed anything.
It's a peeve of mine, I'll admit, but I also think it's lazy writing to tell rather than show, especially when the thing you're telling is the most important part of the story.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters. And like I said earlier, I really enjoyed Crusie's writing style and her voice, it just irked me that more attention wasn't given to the development of the romance between Allie and Charlie. I didn't want Allie and Charlie telling me why they loved each other, I wanted to SEE why they loved each other.
Overall, I wouldn't say this was a bad book, just highly disappointing. I will be fair, though, and give Crusie another chance. If she does this to me again, though, I will be more than happy to stick to the other Queen of Romantic Comedy*.
*SEP does not call herself this, but rather it is the humble opinion of this reviewer.
Show Less
LibraryThing member DreamingInFiction
The characters in this book were really cute :)
But the love scenes were on the awkward side and for most of the story, especially the ending, I had the feeling as if I was missing parts of the story.
But the love scenes were on the awkward side and for most of the story, especially the ending, I had the feeling as if I was missing parts of the story.
LibraryThing member MuseofIre
Enjoyed this one, but it's a little rushed. She could definitely have spun out the crusade to save the city hall into a full-length plot.
LibraryThing member siubhank
Take one disgruntled man doing a favor for his overbearing father, mix in a radio station with more dysfunctional employees than you can count and top it off with a heroine who is over thirty, slightly overweight,smart and sexy and you have yourself a good read with lots of laughs.
LibraryThing member kikilon
This is my favourite Crusie so far. I read this with a very writer mind rather than a reader one, and got a lot out of the dialogue and setup of the relationship especially. Very sweet, and quite funny. Her characters are awesomely portrayed.
LibraryThing member Irenes
Cute book, quick vacation read. Based in Ohio.
LibraryThing member risadabomb
I really liked this book and read it all within a couple of hours. I liked the chemistry between Allie and Charlie it was well written. Very entertaining story.
LibraryThing member Jebbie74
I have enjoyed every single book that Jennifer Crusie has written, and this one falls into that category. Since I normally read mysteries/thrillers, hurling myself into the chic lit group seemed a little off-kilter for me. But any chance I get to read a new Crusie I do so.
LibraryThing member suetu
More like Susan all night…
I am one of those people who can’t sleep on a plane no matter what. How sad for me that I’m on so many red-eye flights! Of course, I’m not really all that coherent either, so I can’t bring along anything too challenging to read. On a recent flight, I packed
The novel itself is a light romantic comedy about a DJ on the late-night shift and his female producer. There are all sorts of subplots, but I can’t muster the enthusiasm to write a synopsis. I’ve enjoyed Crusie’s work in the past, but this particular story started out dumb, moved on to contrived, and traveled downhill from there. The plot got more and more silly—not funny, silly—and the behavior of the characters was simply unbelievable. Oh, I finished the book, but not even the ending was all that satisfying. As you can see, I was pretty “meh” about the whole experience. Unhappy skies for me!
I am one of those people who can’t sleep on a plane no matter what. How sad for me that I’m on so many red-eye flights! Of course, I’m not really all that coherent either, so I can’t bring along anything too challenging to read. On a recent flight, I packed
Show More
Jennifer Crusie’s Charlie All Night. It sounded perfect!The novel itself is a light romantic comedy about a DJ on the late-night shift and his female producer. There are all sorts of subplots, but I can’t muster the enthusiasm to write a synopsis. I’ve enjoyed Crusie’s work in the past, but this particular story started out dumb, moved on to contrived, and traveled downhill from there. The plot got more and more silly—not funny, silly—and the behavior of the characters was simply unbelievable. Oh, I finished the book, but not even the ending was all that satisfying. As you can see, I was pretty “meh” about the whole experience. Unhappy skies for me!
Show Less
LibraryThing member beckymmoe
This one was a lot of fun to read! I loved the characters, and even though it was a bit predicatable, getting to the ending was so much fun I didn't mind at all.
LibraryThing member SunnySD
Charlie Tenniel doesn't want to be a star - he just wants to track down the source of an anonymous threatening letter and be on his way. Six weeks and he's history. But his new radio producer has different ideas. Reassigned to the late night hours to babysit Charlie, she's determined to make him a
Hot, sexy, and humorous, Crusie sets another couple at each others' throats (and buttons) in another trademark fast, fluffy read.
Show More
hit.Hot, sexy, and humorous, Crusie sets another couple at each others' throats (and buttons) in another trademark fast, fluffy read.
Show Less
LibraryThing member pidgeon92
Not as funny as some of the author's other novels, but still an enjoyable light read.
LibraryThing member Dawn772
I had trouble paying attention and was easily distracted but I did finish. The plot didn't excite me and romance was not all that believable. Allie is demoted and dumped by boyfriend so she plans her comeback with Charlie but he doesn't want to be famous.
LibraryThing member Kathy89
Typical Jennifer Crusie about a couple who meet, are attracted to one, argie a lot and lust for one another a lot. Allie loses her job as producer of a drive-time radio show and is given the late night time slot with new to town Charlie. Charlie is there undercover for the owner of the station and
Show More
wants to keep it low key but Allie has decided to make him a star. Lots of sex, miscommuniction, before the happy ending. Show Less
LibraryThing member KimSalyers
this was really a great book it was interesting and juicy
LibraryThing member KimSalyers
this was really a great book it was interesting and juicy
LibraryThing member KANwrites
Loved it! Loved the 1980's feel. LOVED Charlie,. Great book.
LibraryThing member kikianika
This is my favourite Crusie so far. I read this with a very writer mind rather than a reader one, and got a lot out of the dialogue and setup of the relationship especially. Very sweet, and quite funny. Her characters are awesomely portrayed.
LibraryThing member SharonMariaBidwell
Light summer reading, but a great deal of fun. I enjoyed the characters of Charlie and Allie, the rest of the cast, the little town they’re living in, and especially the puppy. Not sure all their disagreements were perfect, but then that reflects life. People say things they don’t mean, and can
Show More
be misinterpreted, and that shows well here. An enjoyable read, perfect for a holiday or a lazy weekend. Though not as deep as some of her later works, there’s nothing wrong with that. This is another book showing an author’s developing style. Worth it for Crusie fans. Show Less
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1995-03-18
Physical description
256 p.; 6.66 inches
ISBN
077832107X / 9780778321071
Similar in this library
Pages
256