Jennifer Crusie

Jennifer Crusie ties with Lisa Kleypas for the number one spot on my “Best Romance Novelists Currently Writing” list. While the two authors may seem to have little in common (Crusie writes sharp, funny contemporary romance/mystery stories; Kleypas writes earnest historical romances) both of them obviously do their research, care about their subject, and respect the genre they have chosen to work in.

I have read all of the Crusie books currently in print and a few of her early series romances that I hunted down on eBay. While some of her earlier stuff seems a bit flimsy, even her weakest books display considerable snarky charm, as well as Crusie’s talent for screwball-comedy dialogue. (Although I have not, alas, read Sizzle, which Crusie describes as embarrassingly bad.)

Note: If you enjoy fiction where the heroine’s weight is an issue (such as Jennifer Weiner’s phenomenally successful Good in Bed), I highly recommend Crusie's Bet Me. Like Good in Bed, it deals with weight issues in an honest, intelligent way… but unlike Good in Bed, it’s not a self-indulgent clutch-the-pearls dramafest.

Aftertaste:
Just that they haven’t re-released all of her early books yet. Embarrassingly bad or not, I’d really like to read Sizzle.

Availability:
Everywhere for all of her St. Martin’s Press books and the re-releases of some of her earlier books, eBay for her hard-to-find series romances.

Other Recommendations:
The Boy Next Door, by Meg Cabot

The Stephanie Plum books, by Janet Evanovich

Anything by Georgette Heyer


Website:
http://www.jennycrusie.com -