Reading in Reykjavík

I first read Bet Me in 2005, and it has been on my list of regular rereads ever since. As I have been moving towards multitasking while I "read", I decided to get the audio version, and I have no regrets. This is actually my second listen - I also listened to it back in 2018 when I first got it. This is just to add some notes on the narration, as I have already reviewed this novel. Read my original review to see what I thought of the book. The narrator, Deanna Hurst, does a good job of the reading, and one never confuses the characters, as she gives them different enough voices that once you get used to them, you never have any problems telling them apart, but she also doesn't exaggerate them, which is good, because while this book has some funny moments, it isn't a comedy in itself and I have occasionally listened to audiobooks where the narrator exaggerated thins so much that it sounded like slapstick. Her voice is well-fitted to the often rapid-fire dialogu...

Authors: Jennifer Crusie, Anne Stuart & Lani Diane Rich Genre: Supernatural romantic thriller Year of publication: 2009 Setting & time: Ohio, USA, contemporary Three women, Daisy, Abby and Shar, meet at a dog obedience training class and are given a mysterious drink that makes them able to understand the speech of their dogs and releases powers they didn’t know they had. They discover that, along with four other women, they are the chosen priestesses of an ancient Assyrian goddess. As if discovering they are demi-goddesses themselves wasn’t enough, they also meet Sam, Noah and Christopher, three very sexy men who all have some connection to the goddess, who has plans to take over the world. But things have changed in the four thousand years since her cult was last strong, and the goddess has to contend with free will and a goth priestess who wants her all to herself. This is an entertaining supernatural romp of a romantic thriller which doesn’t take itself too seriou...

Genre: Romance, paranormal thriller Year of publication: 2010 Setting & time: Ohio, USA, 1992 Andie Miller is trying to tie up some loose ends in her life before accepting her boyfriend's proposal of marriage, but when she goes to see her ex-husband, North Archer, to return to him 10 years worth of uncashed alimony checks, he surprises her by offering her a hefty sum of money to go and look after his wards, two orphaned children, in an isolated house for a month. The children seem afraid to leave the house and the last nanny who went to look after them fled, claiming it was haunted. Andie immediately clashes with the creepy housekeeper and discovers that there are indeed ghosts in the house. When various people, including North, a ratings-hungry TV reporter, a sceptical parapsychologist and a psychic, descend on the house with different purposes in mind, the ghosts get restless, and it is going to take more than just a séance to put things to rights. This is not the ...

On a gloomy March afternoon, sitting in the same high school classroom she'd been sitting in for thirteen years, gritting her teeth as she told her significant other for the seventy-second time since they'd met that she'd be home at six because it was Wednesday and she was always home at six on Wednesdays, Quinn McKenzie lifted her eyes from the watercolor assignments on the desk in front of her and met her destiny. Since this is a romance novel, you might think her destiny was tall, sexy and gorgeous, but, this being Jennifer Crusie, the next sentence goes: Her destiny was a small black dog with desperate eyes, so she missed the significance at first. And so begins a by-turns funny and suspenseful romp, but with a very serious side story about stalking. This was my first Jennifer Crusie book and although I stated in the review that I had no intention of rereading it, I have done so at least twice. In fact, I finished re-reading it yesterday for (possibly) the third t...

Year published: 1993 Genre: Romance, contemporary Setting & time: USA, contemporary The Story: Business consultant Kate goes on holiday at an expensive country resort, determined to snag a husband. Not just any husband, but one who fulfils the conditions set out on her list: distinguished, rich (so heiress Kate can be sure he’s not a gold digger), driven, business-minded, etc. - basically what a cynic might term "the average rich yuppie female’s husband wish list". But then she meets Jake, the resort’s head-handyman, an ex-tax lawyer who decided to drop out of the rat race and spend his life relaxing and enjoying the simple things in life. Kate and Jake hit it off immediately, but convince themselves their interest in each other is just friendly. Divorced Jake doesn’t want to tie himself to another driven female, and Kate wants to tick off her list. There are plenty of prospects, but somehow her dates with them always turn out disastrous, because what Kate really wants...

Year published: 1996 Genre: Romance Setting & time: USA, 1990s Have I mentioned I'm a Jennifer Crusie fan? I am. Every time I open one of her books I know I am guaranteed a funny read, even when the story itself is disappointing (not that this one was). The Story: Nina endured a long marriage with a social climber and finally divorced him. One of her gestures of independence after she is free is getting the dog he always denied her. However, when she goes to the pound to find a suitable puppy she spots Fred, a middle-aged, ugly and sad looking bloodhound-bassett mix who is about to be put down. She rescues him and takes him home, seriously doubting her own sanity, but happy that she has saved a life. Fred soon brings her into contact with her sexy younger neighbour, Max. The result is instant attraction on both sides but since Nina thinks Max is too young for her and Max thinks he isn't sophisticated enough for Nina, they become friends. We all know how it will end, but...