Charlie All Night

By: Jennifer Crusie

Narrated by: Sandra Caldwell

Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

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?

©2004 Jennifer Crusie (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Jennifer Crusie "has a wicked sense of humor, keen insights into the complexities of modern relationships, and a way of making her characters seem genuine and her stories real." ( Booklist)

So good I listened to it twice in a week

I love Charlie, and I love this book.

The characters are well written and very likable. Crusie lets you draw your own conclusions about the individuals by the way they treat each other...and especially by how they take care of the station puppy!

Charlie haunted me...so I had to listen to it again. Charlie had an impact on me because of the way his feelings for Allie developed; how he embraced his admiration for her, his attraction to her, and his loyalty to her. Even though he was not looking for a long term relationship, he did not put up walls to keep her out. He let himself feel his feelings and he celebrated Allie as an unexpected gift.

This may be the best crafted of the Jennifer Crusie books that I have listened to. It was written earlier in her career than most of the Crusie titles I've listened to...so perhaps she had to work harder on her writing before she got popular. The very likable characters develop in stages, the action has a good pace and the story stays focused on the necessary progression (no blind alleys).

Sandra Caldwell's performance was good. She kept the action moving and her reading in no way interfered with my enjoyment of the story. She succeeded in creating one voice for Allie and another for Charlie...but there were a couple of fast-paced conversations where it became difficult to tell which of those two characters was speaking. Otherwise her performance was very good.

I’d read Crusie All Night

Not my first reading of Charlie All Night it’s one of my Crusie collections. I love it and Allie and Charlie tremendously. If you like Crusie you’ll enjoy this. If you like spunky women with real bodies, you’ll love Crusie and the heroes that fall for her heroines.

A Cute Story but Uninspiring Narration

I think this is a cute story with many of the same Crusie trademarks as her other books. What I didn't like was the narration. It didn't have much difference in character voices between the hero and heroine. I also felt the tone of the characters wasn't being properly portrayed in the narration. So pretty good but definitely could've been better narrated.

Synopsis doesn't get it...

While the synopsis is factual, its not accurate. And while this is an early Crusie, this book is a great example of how good Jennifer Crusie is. Allie is demoted, she is dumped; and we know she is not the looser this makes her look like because the book opens with every person at her radio station asking for and receiving her help and advice. Crusie does not have to say Allie is a smart, strong, dependable woman, because people depend on her and she is strong enough to support them. So when she is told to produce a late night talk and music show, with an oddly inexperienced D J the reader can settle down understanding how this make sense.

Even though this book is light, it is not completely predictable. The supporting characters are truly supportive with personalities of their own, not just cardboard cutouts for the main people to "talk at".

Very few books as early as this one holds up as well, and reading this and a few of her early books there is a glimmer of her more mature work.

Crusie is one of my favorites

...she gives humor, fun and good plots-everything I want in a feel-good book. Try Agnes and the Hit Man next.

Quirky and light

An early book in the mythical city of Tuttle with unusual and quirky characters. Funny and light and sweet.

Loved it!

I love reading Her books. They make me laugh and feel good. Anyone who likes a good romantic comedy would enjoy her books. I do not think I have gotten through all of them, but I know I have read a good bit of them and love them all.

Great story - but...

I liked the originality of the story. But, Jennifer, you could leave something to the imagination. Way too graphic with your sex scenes. I prefer a PG rating in my books-not an R.

Bad narration

I didn’t enjoy the narrator at all and will avoid all books read by her in the future. The story overall was good but would have been 10x better with a different narrator.

One-Note Narration

This story isn't as engaging and exciting as most of Jennifer Crusies novels that I've read. However, the narration is what really ruined this for me. The narrator seemed bored, and, as a result, bored me. The characters aren't given distinct voices, and there just isn't much life breathed into them.

As for the story, the B plot seemed to be somewhat of an afterthought. Not the well-thought-out, funny "mystery" I'm used to from her books.