Bet Me

By: Jennifer Crusie

Narrated by: Deanna Hurst

Length: 12 hrs

Publisher's summary

Min Dobbs knows that happily-ever-after is a fairy tale, especially with a man who asked her to dinner to win a bet. Cal Morrisey knows commitment is impossible, especially with a woman as cranky as Min Dobbs. When they say good-bye at the end of their evening, they cut their losses and agree never to see each other again.

But Fate has other plans, and it's not long before Min and Cal are dealing with a jealous ex-boyfriend, Krispy Kremes, a determined psychologist, chaos theory, a mutant cat, Chicken Marsala, and more risky propositions than either of them ever dreamed of, including the biggest gamble of all: real love.

©2004 Jennifer Crusie (P)2004 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Hurst's voice contains an energy and exuberance that leaves little doubt that she's the perfect narrator for Crusie's heartfelt comedy of errors....[A] zesty, vibrantly told tale." ( Publishers Weekly)

Becoming a Huge Crusie Fan

If you could sum up Bet Me in three words, what would they be?
A real hoot

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
When Cal sang to Min, and she got emotional, I had tears in my eyes. Love Harry too, what a sweetheart


Any additional comments?
My first Crusie book was Maybe this time, under a special romance promo of Audible, and have fallen in love with Crusie. So much going on, and lots of humor with a good love interest.

Another fun one from Jennifer Crusie!

You can't help but root for Minerva Dobbs, the main character in this fun romantic comedy by Jennifer Crusie. Her wacky but supportive friends are great and it is fun to hear about her overbearing mother and her burgeoning relationship with ultra-handsome, playboy Calvin Morrissey. I laughed out loud many times and really enjoyed learning about these fun characters. Overall, a fun, sexy novel. Recommend for sure!

Indulgent, like chocolate covered strawberries

If you could sum up Bet Me in three words, what would they be?

Fun, Sexy, and Yummy. The characters bring in all the fun from the sexy vixen Liza's purse slapping humor to Elvis the music loving cat. Then you have the sexy ways in which the moments of intimacy are described and it all rounds off to one yummy chocolate Krispy Kreme doughnut.

What did you like best about this story?

It is a feel good story which drags you in and makes you want more. The characters are so likeable even the mean ones that create the drama in Min & Cal's life.

Which character – as performed by Deanna Hurst – was your favorite?

Cal. I know it's Deanna reading his character, but he sounded very sexy at times. Hands down the best male narration from a female I have heard thus far.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me hungry for some Chicken Marsala and doughnuts.

Any additional comments?

I rarely read/listen to fiction books. But once in a while I will find a gem like this and can't put it down. I literally had it playing on my Android in the car, PC at work, and laptop at home because it was like a bag of chips that you cannot put down. Loved it and I am looking forward to more indulgent moments enjoying Jennifer Crusie writing.

It was okay

I have read other books by this author which were much better. This book while somewhat entertaining was on a scale of 1-10 a 5 for me. Some of the characters were incredibly annoying and not well developed. Even the main characters name was annoying.

This truly was a great book:)

Bought on Audible

What I Loved: Minerva Dobbs is a fantastic lead character. She is funny, snippy, real, and just downright screwed up as the rest of us. I laughed a lot reading this book and I even cried at some points. I probably would have done exactly what she did if I was in the same predicament. At 33, perpetually single, she is a good reputation of most single women in her 30s. Calvin was a fantastic leading man. He was stubborn, charming, screwed up, and gets into plenty of situations that put him into hard situations. Those two together are the most fantastic couple I have read in a long time. I love Liza, Tony, Bonnie,Emilio, and Roger they were fantastic friends to Cal/Min. David/Cynthi were great "villains" and perfect thwarts along the way. The parents will just crack you up and the siblings are a big part of their life too. Everything meshes together really well.

What I Liked: Everything! This truly was a great book:)

Complaints: None :)

Audiobook specific review: The narrator Deanna Hunt did a fantastic job. She did a great job with the book :)

Why I gave it a 5: I liked everything about this book. It was such a fantastic read from beginning to end. You would not go wrong reading this book if you like romance, fun, and great couples!

Who I would recommend this too: Contemporary, Chick-lit, and Romance readers would all love this!

Too cute!!!

It's always good to read a HEA with beautiful real size women with hot men!!! Loved Min and Cal.

You can bet this is an amazing book!

This book may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was definitely mine. I could relate to the main character in many ways. This book was whimsically fun to read. I enjoy the story-line (whine it is brief as this was just meant to be a single story, a snap shot in the lives of these characters) and I LOVE the characters. I love the wittiness of the characters, and the fun the author had with this book.

There is so much I want to say about this book, but it is more in the way to the friend I made read this book, so I can talk about all the bits and pieces I love. Or how I feel connected to the main character. I often put this book on to fall asleep to (the audio book), and have read this book over and over so many times, that I don't even have a number of how many times.

The person who does the audio portion of this book does an excellent job. She has a wonderful voice, did different voices for the characters and read at a realistic and steady pace. I LOVE THIS BOOK!!

I wish there was more like it, or it was a squeal, but at the same time I can see why it was meant to only be one. I really wish she wrote other books like this one. While I haven't read all of her other books, of the ones I have read, this is my favorite, and it is one of my favorites out of the majority of romance books I have read. <3

Love this book

This was my first time to listen to it, but I've probably read it 5x. The listen was just as fun. If you don't love Jennifer Crusie, you're not one of my people.

Cute, fun, lighthearted

This is a fun, mind-candy type of book. If you are looking for something "deep" this is not it, but boy is it fun.

Brilliant book, very good narration

This is by far my favorite Jennifer Crusie book and is really truly excellent. You cannot go wrong with this title. Romance, humor, friendship -- it has it all.

I felt as though the narration was very good -- an especially well-matched voice for Min, Bonnie, Liza and Tony. My only very small complaint is that the narrator does not change her voice much for other characters -- sometimes it ends up being a tad monotone. Still, for the excellent job done with Min (one of the main characters) and a pretty good job for Cal (the other main character), you just can't go wrong.