Faking It (Dempsey Book 2)

The real thing! Rarely am I ever surprised about a writer. You can tell dead on if they have a gift or not. Jennifer Crusie has it in spades. Fabulous continuity and character development. Where does she get this stuff from? Tilda, a wannabe "legitimate mural artist" finds herself unerringly drawn back into the larcenous past she has tried to bury-but it keeps sprouting up! Trying to keep her wacko family in check, and the family gallery solvent, Tilda scrambles to eliminate any evidence of her forger past. Enter Davy Dempsey, retired con artist and FBI consultant who thrives on the thrill. And he finds Tilda thrilling as he drawn in by his love of larceny as well as his desire for the Betty Boop wannabe she is. Extremely fertile ground being sown here with Tilda and Davy. The support characters of Gwen/Gwennie and Eve/Louise and Simon and Alex rock! There is rarely a dull moment in this book and despite most romances, its nice that Crusie draws the denouement out in a lengthy appealing thread. Readers are taken on a fun, rollercoaster ride in the art/performance world habituated with con-artists, swindles and more quirky twists than a hot pretzel! Bravo!

Her niece sixteen year old Nadine sells a fake "Scarlet" painting that Tilda was not planning to release to the public because the family art gallery has gone straight since grandpa died. Not only has the selling of a "Scarlet" painting placed the gallery in jeopardy, the artist Tilda could spend time in prison for forgery. Tilda knows she must steal back the incriminating painting from a Ms. Lewis.

Former con artist Davy Dempsey learns how a mark feels when his financial advisor Rabbit Abbott embezzles millions from him, giving the money to Clea Lewis. Davy decides to steal back his money from his former girlfriend.

As Davy and Tilda trip over each other with fumbled burglaries, they get stuck in a closet to avoid being caught. Soon they team up to abet one another in reacquiring their assets from Clea, but neither one expected that collaboration to lead to love.

New York Times best selling author Jennifer Crusie shows why she is so popular with a contemporary screwball romantic comedy. The amusing story line engages the audience through the bantering between the lead couple as each tries to outwit the other while attempting to accomplish their primary goal. The support cast is a delight as they augment the antics of the lead duet. No reader will claim Ms. Crusie is FAKING IT as she once again provides a humorous original tale.

Harriet Klausner

I have previously tried a couple of Jennifer Crusie novels, and while I have found them moderately enjoyable they have not really lived up to the praise she has received. But Faking It is, it would seem, everything Jennifer Crusie's fans have claimed. Its most distinguising feature is an easy, fluent, constant flow of clever, limber, comedic prose. Line by line the book is not necessarily laugh out loud funny but entertaining and imaginative and sharp.

The story concerns Matilda (Tilda) Goodnight, about 35 years old, a painter of imitation impressionist murals for people's walls. Her family runs a somewhat down at heels gallery in Columbus, Ohio. This family includes her mother Gwen, her sister Eve, Eve's daughter Nadine, Nadine's father Andrew, who divorced Eve when he realized he was gay, but stayed friends, and Andrew's lover, the family lawyer, Jeff. The family is in debt, partly because of Gwen's feckless, and dead, husband Tony. One thing Tony did was to have Matilda forge a series of paintings supposedly by Scarlet Hodge, the fictional daughter of Homer Hodge, who had done some American primitive paintings that he had actually been able to sell for good money. But now there is a problem -- one of the Scarlet Hodge paintings has been sold by mistake -- a painting that could easily be identified as a fake, which would possibly lead to lawsuits involving the other Scarlets. So Matilda tries to steal the painting back from Clea Lewis, the woman who has bought it.

Clea is a rather nasty 40ish woman who is trying to reel in rich Mason Phipps as her new husband, after the previous two died in suspicious ways. Clea also stole $3,000,000 dollars from a former lover, Davy Dempsey, a con man trying to go straight. Davy wants the money back, so he has abandoned his straight ways to try to steal the money from Clea -- but he runs into Tilda in the process. Standard meet cute -- and quickly they are kissing. But Tilda has basically sworn off men. And she still needs that painting.

So the story continues. Tilda makes Davy promise to get her the painting back. Mason Phipps, meanwhile, is after the Goodnight Gallery, and Gwen. Davy is after Tilda, who is attracted but can't admit it. Davy's friend Simon is after Eve, only he doesn't know it, because he only know's Eve's fake uninhibited personality, Louise. Clea seems to have hired a hit man to kill Davy, but Gwen finds herself unaccountably attracted to the hit man. Tilda realizes she needs Davy to steal or otherwise acquire all the other Scarlet Hodge paintings. Davy has ideas for revitalizing the gallery. Davy's unreconstructed conman father shows up. And so on ... A lot goes on, all quite interesting, all cleverly told, nicely plotted, and as I said very well put together prosodically. The title is nicely reiterated thematically -- fake paintings, fake identities, fake orgasms are all central ... A very light novel, to be sure, but a consistent delight.

The Goodnights have a tradition of dealing forged art. The Dempseys have a tradition of forging bad deals. Put them together, and you get a string of misadventures both families would be proud to claim.

Enter Tilda Goodnight, a muralist who brings classic art to Ohio bathrooms. Tilda has a secret, and she'll do what she must to keep it, even if that means breaking into someone's home. When she literally runs into Davy Dempsey during her amateur B & E, she finds an unexpected ally, and more.

Together, they search for remnants of Tilda's checkered past and money someone owes Davy. Not much stands in their way; just a former lover, a crooked accountant, the FBI, and a hit man. All in a day's con.

Criminal activities aside, "Faking It" is a fun romp with a dysfunctionally loving family and the friends that get pulled into it. The writing features Crusie's trademark wittiness throughout. The characters showed promise, but ultimately, Tilda was a bit of a letdown. Other characters stole scenes that should have belonged to her, as the female lead. Tilda had a martyr complex that created reader sympathy at the beginning, but it wore old by the middle. Fortunately, she pulled out of it for a satisfying end. Davy remained a fun character, even if his motives weren't always in keeping with his goals.

Although this wasn't one of Crusie's best efforts, the quality and fun nature of "Faking It" are reflective of her talent and wit. If you enjoy an offbeat cast with some light-hearted crime and romance, you'll enjoy "Faking It."

All members of the Goodnight family had secrets. The youngest daughter, Tilda Goodnight, was the one who took care of the family. She inherited the secret kept locked away in the basement of the Goodnight Gallery. Tilda had a past she would LOVE to forget. Before she could, though, she had to break into a house to steal back a piece of that past. It was during the theft that she met Davy Dempsey.
Davy's family had a history of scams. But Davy had gone straight, so he said. He met Tilda in the closet of the house where Clea Lewis had been staying. Clea had stolen his money. He wanted to steal it back. He ended up joining forces with and helping Tilda. What he learned was that all Goodnight females were dangerous, if not crazy.
This author is hilarious! This time Jennifer Crusie introduces a new set of wild and crazy characters. GWEN is bored and depressed. She "sedates" herself with Double-Crostics and double vodkas. EVE has a little identity problem. Four nights a week, Wednesday - Saturday, she gets all dressed up and becomes wild Louise. NADINE wants to help support the family. First she has to find a career that is legal, yet not boring.
So we have three Goodnight females, or four if you count Louise, who are all a bit on the warped side, thrown together with Tilda and Davy. They are all out to con many people out of paintings by the deceased artist Scarlet Hodge, especially Clea. I could not stop laughing at this bunch of zany people! I absolutely hated having to stop reading so I could deal with reality. "A KEEPER!"

Jennifer Crusie's main characters are always slightly bent (at least) and tend to fall in love unwillingly but humorously.
In "Faking It" we meet Davy Dempsey -- the brother of Sophie and Amy Dempsey who were the female progagonists in "Welcome to Temptation." Davy is a conman and a rogue who bumps into Matilda Goodnight in a closet where they have both hidden to keep from being apprehended stealing from Davy's predatory ex-lover, Clea. Matilda wants to steal a painting fake that, if discovered will ruin the Goodnight family art gallery. Davy wants to steal (repossess)the three million dollars that Clea has stolen from him.
There follows a hilarious story of the relationship the builds between Davy and Matilda (naturally she fakes orgasm the first time that them make love), and the way that dropping of all pretenses sets them free for each other.
I laughed out loud throughout my reading of this book. Some parts were so funny that I had to share them aloud with my wife. (One involved Matilda's 10-year devotion to a certain blue, plug-in appliance).
I have never yet read a Crusie novel that was not filled with quirky, endearing characters, off-the-wall humor and sheer charm. "Faking It" is no exception. I think this is Crusie's best to date.

Be sure to read "Welcome to Tempation" before you read this book. While the story stands on it's own, you get much insight about the character Davey, who is Matilda's love interest in this story.

It's a great story about a family that has owned an art gallery for generations and has quite a few secrets to hide. There's certainly not a lack of subject matter for a great story with some great supporting characters. The most intersting part of this story is that most of these characters are not "straight laced" as typical Cruise stories (usually there are just a few). There's Davey - a con man that only rips off the bad guys, but is really an overall good guy, Matilda - an art forger, Eve/Louise - the sister who has two separate identities, Mitilda
s flighty and somewhat confused mother, Michael - Davey's way crooked father, Simon - a crooked friend of Davey's, Eve's gay ex-husband and all around nice guy and others....

The only thing that was a bit disappointing was the relationship between Matilda and Davey. Throughout most of it, Matilda is very frigid because of the secrets she is afraid she'll reveal. Because of this, the attraction that Davey has for Matilda seems a bit false at times. Perhaps I am a bit biased because I loved his character and hoped for more for Davey. Matilda is sweet, but not as lovable as the characters that Crusie seems to bring to life.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but think it's only worthy of 3.5 stars.

This is a novel about art, love, fakes and forgeries, and it ties the themes together in an interesting way. Forged paintings are actually the least interesting "forged" or faked" part of the lives of the Goodnight family. Even better, none of the characters are predictable and the family dynamics realistic and easy to identify with.

This is the second of Crusie's novels that I have read, and I liked this one much better than STRANGE BEDPERSONS, although that one was good as well. This romantic-comedy is well-written and well-developed; the characters are unique, memorable, and likeable; and the book has a very nice mix of romance, comedy and suspense. I purchased this book in hardback for about $5 on a bargain table, and I enjoyed it so much that I would actually have been willing to pay full price for a new copy!

Davy Dempsey and Tilda Goodnight meet in a closet. Davy needs his money back, and Tilda needs her forgery back. Clea, a treachorous blonde, is staying with Mason, the owner of the closet.
As Davy follows Tilda home, secretly, he ends up renting an apartment from Tilda's mother, Gwen. He then meets Andrew, Nadine, Jeff, Ethan, Eve/Louise, and so on. It takes a while to get the characters straight. And then Simon comes visiting, and the dog's name is Steve. Also, there's Ford, Rabbit, and Thomas and Phin pops in, and there are others.
It says something when my favorite character in the book and most memorable one is Clea, the bad girl; I could at least see her purpose, and the reasons for the things she did. I did like Davy and Tilda, but their charcterizations were on the light side. Mostly you read about their attempts at a physical relationship, and their attempts at recovering their missing items. Also, there were the movie titles and song titles, and...
This book had some really good moments, and Ms. Crusie's writing is very clever. But, I consider FAKING IT a very "light" read.

Tilda, the daughter of a family of painters that owns a gallery carries the weight of a family secret she wishes to have disappear. Davy, a reformed con man trying to stay on the straight and narrow. Different reasons for their turn to crime end up in building a relationship from a kiss in a closet. Secrets and sex... restraint in feelings, but as they say.... The truth shall set you free. Once the cat is out of the bag.... there is no "faking it", it was a fun read!

Plenty of characters made it hard to grasp the story at first, but once they all tied in together.... it became a joy of a story to read. Quirky, sexy, and smart is all I can say.

FAKING IT is back to the WELCOME TO TEMPTATION tradition of humor, crime, and a little romance. I loved this one. It was fun, it was sweet and sour, (not as spicey as WWT). The humor was dark, maybe even twisted at times, which you'd expect from those Dempsey morals. The characters were neurotic (consider a household comprised of one forger, two conmen, one thief, one hitman, one depressed painter with a psycho cat, a sister with a [cheap] alter ego, her gay ex-husband and his absolutely normal, sane, and down-to earth partner, their daughter who keeps trying to date her career, and a matriarchal figure obsessed with double-crostics and a thing for tiny umbrellas). The plot was interesting and fun, think Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole in HOW TO STEAL A MILLION. For all you WTT fans, Clea is back, and Davy Dempsey is soooo sexy! He can deal 3 Card Monte at my table any time!

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book. The author writes brilliant and witty dialogue, the characters are highly amusing, and the plot is mildly intriguing.
Admittedly, sometimes the plot and the motivations are a little thin, but the interaction between the characters (and what interesting characters they are!) more than makes up for this.
I like very much that these people are different; having known quite a few artists in my life, I find the quirkiness of the characters to be very true to life. These people are not plain vanilla, and that's what makes them so much fun.
The absolute best thing about this book is the witty repartee. Crusie really knows how to write humor, and in more than a few places, I laughed out loud. I especially liked her take on how to con people in five easy steps, but that is just one of many hilarious passages.
Highly recommended!

Faking It is the story of Tilda, who is gradually sinking under the weight of her family's darkest secrets. When she meets con artist Davy in someone else's closet in the middle of the night, neither one of them is in a position to take the moral upper hand. From this is born one of the most entertaining relationships in contemporary fiction.
Faking It is the best of Jennifer Crusie's books so far. It has all the stuff Crusie fans love--lots humor, good sex, food, art, snappy dialogue, likable characters & good friendships. But it also has something that we've seen Crusie move toward in her latest two novels--a strong plot. This book would make an excellent movie. There are so many twists and turns in the plot that I was constantly engaged and could never get a step ahead of the story. Loved it!

This book is the sequel to Welcome To Temptation, which was about Sophie and Phin. Davy had a smaller role in that book and now this book is about him. The plot didn't make sense to me. Someone paints pictures and signs them with a fake name in the way someone uses a "pen name" to write books. The painter in this story felt she might go to jail if anyone found out. That didn't make sense to me since the name she signed wasn't a name used by anyone else. Davy is a reformed con man who meets the painter and more events happen. I didn't enjoy the plot or the characters that much. Nothing surprised or delighted me. Only once did I chuckle at something humorous. I read this because I loved three other books by this author which are "Bet Me,' "Welcome To Temptation" and "Anyone But You." I do not recommend "Faking It." Sexual language: moderate. Number of sex scenes: three. Setting: current day U.S. Copyright: 2002. Genre: contemporary romance.

Matilda Goodnight leads a predictably boring life recreating famous works of art on dining room walls for the rich. She supports her mom, sister and niece and therefore cannot afford to pursue her true passion of painting her own original works. However, Tilda's boring existence is turned upside down when she is forced to steal a painting from the home of a wealthy art collector so as not to expose a long time family secret. This is when she meets Davy Dempsey a professional thief who after one brief meeting in a dark closet is sure to turn Tilda's life upside down in more ways than she ever anticipated.
"FAKING IT" is charming and witty with a cast full of off the wall characters that will keep you wanting to read more.

This was the first Jennifer Crusie novel I ever read. I almost stopped reading after the first chapter, because there were so many different characters involved, I couldn't follow the story. However, I soldiered on, and by the time I finished the book, I loved it! I am giving the book 4 stars because of the plethora of extraneous characters. If the book had less extraneous characters, I would have given it 5 stars.
The one liners in this book make this book worth reading--they are hilarious! After reading this book, I went out and bought 3 more of her books, two of which I have already read and thoroughly enjoyed. I like that her books have a little romance and a lot of mystery. Her books are very entertaining, which is all I really ask for in a novel.

This book still had all of the trademark quirky humor, characters, and dialogue that make up a true Jennifer Crusie book. With that said I must admit that I just did not feel as connected to this story as I have to past books by this author.
I don't think there too many characters. In a real life situation many people surround themeselves with family and friends. This story demonstates that concept. Eve, Nadine, Tilda, Davy, Simon, Clea, and let's not forget Steve the dog, as well as other characters not mentioned helped in my opinion to move the story along. I at least did not have the trouble that other had of keeping them all straight in my mind. If you have a problem with a multiple character story, this book is not for you. This is a light hearted romance with the gallery intrigue regarding art was very interesting. Tilda and Davy's romance was a bit choppy, but it was still fun to read.

After reading Welcome to Temptation I was not realy too excited to read Faking Itbecause I liked Davey but I couldn't picture him as the hero. Well I was wrong and I'll admit it, still not as good as the prequal, Faking It is funny witty and exciting. The premis is that Matilda is not the type of person anyone would think is a thief, or as the Dempsy family would put it, she isn't bent, but thanks to daddy and hr family tree she has a history as and art forger, i think i got a little confussed what the term was, and to safe herself and family from jail she must recover the paintings that she faked and in doing so breaks into Clea's house to steal her painting. Davey is a reformed con man who is trying to steal back the money that Clea stole from him, and meets up with Matilda in the proscess.

I should warn you that there is some strange behaior among the Goodnights, Matilda's family, her sister has an alter ego so that she can balance her Mrs. Clever side with her sluty side, and her mother is desperatly unhappy, but this just adds comedy.

As for Matila and Davey, she has a hiden secret that will clear help the reader understand why she has issues "leting go" when she's with a man, and my only complant is that the reader doesn't know about it until the end, its not the worst thing in the world but it is pretty mean.

As for the whole bunch of other charecters do not expect Clea to be a bad guy, I did, but the author does not want us to hate her so if you plan to don't expect her to get her punishment in the end, also I liked Ford, and was pleased that Micheal Dempsy, Davey's daddy who I wanted to see in the first book showed up here, plus you get a chance all be a brief chance to revisit Temptation. Which reminds me, heck of a lot of Genisis the two books

I'm a first time Jennifer Crusie reader - I picked up "Faking It" in a drugstore to have something to read. One hearty recommendation from this reader to you - don't start this one late at night. Not unless you want to be furiously turning pages as the sun comes up, as I did.
It's a clever, self-aware tale that doesn't make the mistake of taking itself too seriously, and is clearly a wild work of fiction deeply rooted in the principles of reality. I loved that there were so many characters. In life, everyone around you has their own story, and a big part of THIS one was the many people around Matilda who drove her to the brink of insanity. I loved that the characters were flawed. Eve/Louise with both of her personalities, Andrew's conflict over new men in the lives of the ladies, even though he ultimately had no say, Nadine being completely her own person no matter what the cost, which is something rare and beautiful in a 16-year-old. I loved that Davy looked past Eve's perfect face to get to know Tilda, the woman that intrigued him. I loved that Tilda didn't look like a Playboy bunny. Most of all, I admired Crusie's ability to tell a story of love that was clearly meant to be, but not easy to obtain. She's made a reader for life.

This book is fun, fast paced, engaging, and twisted with an
intermingled plot line, sex, romance, family loyalty, and intergenerational wisdom. Let three generations of women in this family teach you to tell if your man is a muffin or a donut!
The first twenty or so pages turned me off and I almost closed this book, but the rest turned me on so I couldn't put it down. The conclusion is like a great rollercoaster that picks up speed as the characters careen in unexpected ways. A well-written, frentic and witty read. (and for the best results, read it after Welcome to Temptation---ah-hah factor!)

If you read WELCOME TO TEMPTATION then you will know that this is Davy's story.

Enjoyed this book better than WTT. The characters are much more way out there then in the other book. You have the mother who wants to spread her wings - the sister who works in her ex's cabroiet club as a singer with another persona - the ex bro-n-law who came out of the closet and employ's his ex - the hit-man who is after the hero - the heroine who tries to hold the family together and try to keep ahead by painting masters onto peoples walls, the hero who is a con - man and they all live above the gallery.

I just loved this book and the character developement. I would've loved to see a book written about Davys friend/partner.

Great fun read all around --- thank you JC!

It must be said, right at the beginning, that Jennifer Crusie is a marvelous author. That said, I find her stories very uneven. Some of her books are marvelous and some seem downright silly. FAKING IT is in the latter category.
In fairness, FAKING IT is a story well told. As with all of Crusie's novels, the writing is excellent. The allusions to classic films are clever and the background detail about fine art is interesting.
I realize that, in romances and movies, the opening to hook the paying customer is required to be extreme. Here, the hero and heroine literally bump into one another while hiding in the closet of a house that they each separately are attempting to rob. This device of "meeting cute" is too silly to make the rest of the plot seem viable.
FAKING IT is uneven at best.

There may not be another writer of contemporary romance with a gift for sparkling dialogue to match Jennifer Crusie. She is endlessly fertile, continually hilarious, and never repeats herself. Every book is delighful. If Crusie were a 1930's screenwriter, she'd be writing for Carole Lombard and Rosalind Russell. You will laugh out loud at the impossibly absurd situations and quirky characters. How does she keep doing it? If I were a writer I'd hate her guts while I tried my best to copy her style.
This is a sequel to Welcome to Temptation, but you needn't read them in order to enjoy Faking It. Did I say enjoy? I meant relish, savor, devour, like a dense, dark chocolate confection. Delicious!

but I found myself skimming through so much of it. I just could not get into it at all until the very end. I usually can't put down any of Crusie's books and read them straight through - this one I put down several times. I finally pushed myself to get through it. I loved Tilda and Davey together, but there didn't seem to be enough of them together. There were so many other characters in this book. I didn't get confused and I kept up with who everyone was (and their split personalities) but it was just too much in my opinion.

I still love Crusie's books, this one just didn't do it for me like her others have.

Clear your calendar before you pick up this book, as you won't want to stop for anything else once you start reading. FAKING IT is reminiscent of the best of the old madcap romantic comedies of the Cary Grant era, updated for the 21st century. Witty repartee, charming con men, confused identities, and misunderstandings abound, all wrapped up in a fast-paced,laugh-out-loud package.
One of the things I love best about Jennifer Crusie's books is that her characters are human. Sometimes the heroine is too distracted by life to have mind-blowing sex, even with a hunk of a hero, and only the villianness has a perfect figure. I particularly loved the three generations of women in this book. Quirky and yet down-to-earth, they are women I can imagine having as neighbors and friends. Just watching Gwen, Tilda, Nadine and Eve learn to balance their obligations to the family they love with their growing awareness of their own needs as individuals would have made this a worthwhile read.
Jennifer Crusie doesn't stop with memorable characters, however. She makes you believe in Happily Ever After, and she adds non-stop capers, a delightful sense of humor, and sparkling writing to create a tour de force of modern romantic comedy. Don't miss this book!

Jennifer Cruise took me back to Temptation and I reveled in it...I kept waiting to get to a slow part in order to put the book down, but there wasn't one...Her sense of humor and wit take the reader into the rarely viewed and never truly written lives of women..."If you can't be a good example be a horrible warning!" "I'm knocking over a Clue game. Miss Scarlet in the hall with an inhaler." The female characters are gutsy, sexy, funny and true to themselves--the way women should be, but seldom are. Thank you Jenifer for another truly great read!

Best-selling author Crusie is back again with a witty novel replete with steamy love scenes and a humorous look at the ups and downs of relationships. Matilda "Tilda" Goodnight is struggling to keep her family art gallery afloat as she is commissioned to paint murals for various private patrons.
Enter Davy Dempsey, con man extraordinaire, who wants the money that former lover, Clea Lewis, stole from him. As Davy rents an apartment from Gwen, Tilda's mother, he and Tilda hit it off from their first encounter in a closet. Tilda is at the home of Mason, a friend of her deceased father's, to locate a painting she forged years ago. And Davy is there looking for his money that Mason's squeeze, Clea, snatched from him.
Sounds zany-it only gets better with Tilda's sister, Eve, or "Louise", her alter-ego, that sleeps with Davy's fellow con-man and thief, Simon. And there is Ford a "hit man" who is after Davy upon orders of Clea. But Ford seems interested in Gwen, even though her teen-aged granddaughter, Nadine discovered that he was under contract to take Davy out.
Ms. Crusie's latest is another in a long line of fabulous reads filled with quirky relationships amidst a roller coaster ride of plot twists and turns and spicy bedroom scenes. This one is definitely not to be missed.

...look to Jennifer Cruise. Hers is a voice that sparks up the reader's interest in an instant. Her dialogue is crisp, funny and insightful. I loved Fast Women and I love this one! The fine mess the protagonist gets herself into when she decides to assume the identity of a famous artist's daughter in order to maintain her family's art gallery is one of suspense, romance and thrill rides. I shall continue to look to this author for a fine reading experience. Ms. Cruise, I applaud this marvelous effort...

At first glance, Crusie's books appear to be just chick lit, but when I began reading, I quickly discovered an intricate plot-line and very real/likable characters. It's hard to choose the bad guy in this book, since everyone has done something they shouldn't, and I was kept guessing about who would take the real heat until the very end. I was only disappointed when I had to close the book at the end. I wanted more.

Move over Janet Evanovich! This is a delicious cream puff that is so well-written and studded with memorable characters that you might end up gulping it whole in one night, rather than saving it for a depressingly disastrous week. Enough said. This is a book to save for a depression or when you need a lift. Better than your usual beach book. That's all I'm going to say - - read it! It's wonderful entertainment.

LOVE the new Crusie! My husband grabbed it before I could get my paws on it and he's a slow reader so I only finished it for the first time yesterday. He kept laughing, darn him. Taunting me.
This is madcap ensemble comedy at its best! Nobody else is writing it these days. Fast Women was slower, more emotionally intense. This one goes for the Noel Coward effect...with hot sex! More more more please!

I canNOT understand how anyone could give this hilarious little book a bad review! It was totally fabulous and very well written. The plot was ingenious, IMHO. I loved the artsy Goodnight family with their shady past. Each quirky character left an indelible imprint on my mind. My favorite family ritual was the "Poor Baby". You must read the book to fully appreciate a "Poor Baby" event! I love all of Crusie's books and this one is my favorite so far. Keep up the good work, girlfriend!

I enjoyed the characters so much!
The secondary characters are just as interesting as Tilda and Davy whose romance is tinged with crime ...
I would really like to see a take off with Nadine's mom and Simon ... now that would be interesting ... plus I have an affection for accents ...
What you get with this book is a lot of humor, romance, and crime ... a spicy mix!

I love Jennifer Crusie's books and had been waiting for this with much anticpation. "Fast women" had been a bit of a letdown, so I had high hopes of this one. What a disappointment! Other reviews have said it all - too many characters, sketchy character development, too many names to remember, a plot that doesn't make much sense. As another reveiwer said, it reads as if Crusie is trying to emulate a Hollywood "screwball comedy", but it doesn't work. It tries too hard to be funny. I had to force myself to finish it. I couldn't believe I would ever find a Crusie book boring, but this one came close. Where is the zany ebullience, the sheer joi de vivre that made her earlier books such a delight? Give me "Getting rid of Bradley" or "Manhunting" or "Tell me lies". They were full of the joy of living and read as if Crusie had a ball writing them. "Faking it" reads as if it was a real grind to crank it out. Please, please, Jenny, take your time and don't try so hard next time. I'm willing to wait. Quality takes time.

Jennifer Crusie is a new author for me to explore. This was the second of her books I read (Bet Me, being first). In this story I was amazed at the world of Art Masterpiece and intrigue which I never really considered before. I enjoyed the dialogue and steamy sex scenes. There are many "laugh-out-loud" moments. The book took a few chapters to get into, but then I was hooked. Those of you just beginning to discover Jennifer Crusie, I suggest you read Welcome to Temptation first. It is not necessary though.

If you like hot fudge sundaes, witty dialogue like "The Philadelphia Story" and the sensuality of "To Catch a Thief," you'll find yourself lost in this book. My husband and I read this to each other on a long car trip. At one point, he laughed so hard that we almost steered off the road. I continued reading silently so that he could keep driving, and I've never seen someone fume so much as he watched me giggle and chortle to myself. This is a re-reader!

I didn't like the beginning and kept reading, hoping it would get better and meet the authors usual standard, it didn't get better.

Too many characters, too long a book. Boring.

I love some of this authors other books (Manhunting, Anyone But You) and liked others (Bet Me). Every author can pen a "clunker" and this is Crusies.

Rated two stars because the English was readable, appropriate grammar etc.

Bottom line, this plot is a loser, especially compared to other books by this author. Don't bother... but find another book by Jennifer Crusie.

The thing I like most about Jennifer Crusie's books are her characters. The Goodnight and Dempsey families are chock full of engaging, hilarious characters. If you like light romantic comedies this book is for you. It kind of reminded me of an old-fashioned screwball comedy. It was the perfect mid-winter vacation beach read!

Zany! Crusie kept me laughing all through the book. I woke up at 4 am, couldn't sleep, and finished the book by 8 am. I'm just sorry it's finished. This book is a definite keeper, and I look forward to many wonderful reads of it, as I do her other books.

"Bet Me" was the Jennifer Crusie book that turned me into one of her biggest fans, but out of the four Crusie books I've read thus far, "Faking It" is a close second. While this book seems to take a little while to get started, this is a great read and is worth getting past the somewhat-slower-than-normal beginning.