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Strange Bedpersons  By  cover art

Strange Bedpersons

By: Jennifer Crusie
Narrated by: Madison Vaughn
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Publisher's summary

A heartwarming tale of opposites attracting, from the first name in romantic comedy: Jennifer Crusie!

Tess Newhart knows her ex-boyfriend, Nick Jamieson, isn't the right guy for her. He's caviar and champagne; she's take-out Chinese pot stickers. He's an uptight Republican lawyer; she was raised in a commune and thinks Cinderella is politically incorrect. He wants to get ahead in business; she just wants...him...only not the social-climbing Nick, but the sweet, caring, unbuttoned-down Nick. And Nick wants her, too, but there's no way Tess is about to play second fiddle to his obsession to make partner.

Yet somehow she finds herself agreeing to play his fiancée for a weekend business trip that could make or break Nick's career. And while he's wrapped up in convincing Tess that he needs her in his respectable world, Tess is doing her best to keep her left-wing opinions to herself and her hands off Nick.

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

Critic reviews

"Crusie seems incapable of writing a boring page or one that's not aglow with sparks of wit and romance." ( Kirkus Reviews)

What listeners say about Strange Bedpersons

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

I'm sorry!

I keep writing reviews of this book and deleting them because I love Jennifer Crusie and don't want to be mean.(What if authors have some horrible traffic accident compusion to read these reviews?)

Okay - here goes. While Welcome to Temptation makes me wish I could write, Strange Bedfellows sounds like something someone like me did write. It sounds like something written by a not very good writer who likes Jennifer Crusie.

I don't know how that happened, but whatever there is of Crusie's energy and wit here is wasted on this uninteresting story of two very uncompeling people who have zero chemistry together. I listened to the first hour thinking she still hadn't introduced the hero. But she did. He was just very very dull. (I never heard the end so maybe a new guy shows up in chapter 10 - but I doubt it.) As for the plot... it's like the hero.

Maybe it's part of the new 'romantic realism' trend. Taking the fantasy out of romance so that women develop realistic expectations about relationships.

Result for me: Kinda like spinach ice cream. Or perhaps a dust sandwich. Ew.

Re-listen to Crusie's good books (there are many - check the stars) and leave this be.

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24 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Couldn't finish it

I have been a fan of Jennifer Crusie for many years now, and this is the first one of her books that I simply could not finish. The entire premise of the book was ludicrous, and the individual characters were either whinny or just plain unrealistic. The lead characters were so mismatched that it's hard to believe that he would have begged and pleaded that she be the one to go away with him for such a career-shaping weekend. And where JC books are generally known for their wit and humor, this book was not in the least bit funny. It was very disappointing.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Ehhhh

It was okay. Very predictable. Passed a few hours while I was cleaning, but cant say much more than that. I just finished it a couple of days ago and I had to go back and read the description again to remember what it was about because it was so forgetable.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Cute story!

I like Jennifer Crusie's books - always a light, fun read! This was another such book - funny characters/comments, some romantic fare, and a satisfying conclusion - great beach or poolside book!

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie

This is a light romantic comedy and a good companion for a boring drive.

Like many of Jennifer Crusie's stories, this book is about two people physically attracted to each other, who enjoy conversations and time spent together, but whose goals and life styles are not just different but clash sharply. I enjoy reading about the way these people learn to appreciate the other person's point of view, compromise on some issues, and agree to disagree on other issues.

As another reviewer stated, Tess Newhart is annoying. But she is also interesting. With apologies to Jane Austen, Tess is something like Austen's Emma. Even Miss Austen said that Emma was someone "whom no-one but myself will much like". These young women want the best for their friends, and they think they know best. Emma wants her friend to marry a prosperous socially well placed man. Tess wants to get her friend away from a socially prominent wealthy lawyer. Unlike Emma and Mr. Knightly, however, one of the differences Tess and Nick have is that while they both like sex, Tess thinks spontaneity is essential. Although Nick doesn't require that a meeting for sex be penciled onto his calendar with his other appointments, beds are still better than the tops of grand pianos, dining tables, and two seater sport cars.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Rom Com Queen

Jennifer Crusie is my go to author for Rom Com goodness. I’ve read this and all her stories multiple times and they still make me laugh and swoon. It’s the way she does big reveals that made me love her work. They are worthy of the best screwball comedies scenes in some of my favorite movies. Just different levels of unraveling characters in increasingly hilarious scenes. Definitely a mood lifter.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Ugh, just stop!

The story drags with no real substance. And the female lead is so self absorbed for a woman that is supposed to be portraying and strong, intelligent woman who serves and helps others but is really just selfish and narrow minded, like a child, me, me, me... couldn’t finish it!
This is very disappointing from an author I love. On the other hand she has me still thinking about the book.... bad thoughts but thinking none the less.... 🤷🏼‍♀️

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Skip it

I love Jennifer Crusie’s books...except this one. I read this years ago and couldn’t finish it because it was so awful but thought maybe I was overly critical and tried it again. Nope, It’s even worse than remembered. The characters are cliched/stereotypes with every tired catchphrase used and overdone characteristic thrown in.
The female lead character is supposed to be some great selfless humanitarian instead she is narrow minded self righteous egotistical and intolerant and I can’t even listen to her at 2x speed.
This title Is listed as coming after Manhunting and before Getting Rid of Bradley—Over 20 years old and both are still fun and engaging stories—I think it’s more likely this was an early attempt that was pulled out and published when she became popular. And shouldn’t have been.
The narrator is barely average quality which doesn’t help.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great and Sexy story.

I like this author .I don't know why but she is a great story teller. you will love her books.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

The first book that made me hate the work "said"

Here's a new drinking game for you. Take a shot every time the word "said" comes up in this book. You'll be hammered before you're halfway thru the first chapter. The majority of the story consists of "Tess said", "Gina said", "Nick said", and "Park said". I enjoyed Jennifer Crusie's first book in spite of the narrator that gasped at the end of every line. I had to fight to get past that and ignore it. However, listening to this narrator say those words in a flat voice over and over and over had me remembering a book mark I once possessed that had this phrase written on it: This is not a book that should be taken lightly. It must be thrown with great force.

Tip to the author: Invest in a thesaurus.

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1 person found this helpful