Welcome to Temptation

By: Jennifer Crusie

Narrated by: Aasne Vigesaa

Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

Sophie Dempsey wants to help her sister film a video and then get out of Temptation, Ohio. Mayor Phin Tucker wants to play pool with the police chief and keep things peaceful. But when Sophie and Phin meet, they both get more than they want. Gossip, blackmail, adultery, murder, vehicular abuse of a corpse, and slightly perverse but excellent sex: all hell breaks loose in Temptation as Sophie and Phin fall deeper and deeper in trouble, and in love.

©2006 Jennifer Crusie (P)2006 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A romantic comedy that adds luster to the genre, this effervescent tale will please readers who can relate to Sophie's undaunted exploration of all her desires." ( Publishers Weekly)
"Funny, sexy, and wise - it's time to welcome Crusie into the pantheon of top-flight romance writers." ( Kirkus Reviews)

Well Done!

The only thing about a listening to a great book that can be disappointing, is trying to find another great book to follow it up. My wife and I had just listened to "Pleasure To The Max" by Cami Dalton and loved it. Sexy, funny and intriguing. How do you follow up a great listen like that? You get "Welcome To Temptation". Great characters, Great story. Constant laughing throughout.

Any complaints? Just two small ones. At first the narrator seems to be speaking too fast. I felt like your typical male trying to follow a conversation between three women at full speed. It took me a few chapters to feel comfortable with it. So either I got got used to her delivery, or she slowed down. Second, the sex was 'Just ok', not steamy. But everything else was so good, that that hardly mattered in the end.

We'll definitely be purchasing a few of her other books.

Wonderful

This is a clever, witty book. The dialogue is quick and intelligent and the plot is surprising. I love the way Jennifer Cruisie writes. This is one of her best. The characters are wonderful, quirky and real life funny. I would listen to and read it more than once.

Sweet and snappy with fabulous narration

Welcome to Temptation is a great read that doesn't carry any of the angst of newer novels (no tortured heroes or heroines), with believable characters, great dialogue and storytelling. First published in 2000, there's a little bit of a dated feel (e.g., no one has a cell phone except for the mayor, who has a "car phone") but it's aging well. And, yes, it makes me feel weird to refer to a book published in 2000 as 'old'....

Phin and Sophie are our H/h. He's the mayor of Temptation, she's a newcomer from the wrong side of the tracks. Secondary characters abound and the plot is rich with details. There's plenty of sizzle, a decent amount of bacon and a whole lotta fun. Ms Crusie's lovely writing style handles all of the details without distracting from the story. As with other Crusie novels, there is a bit of a mystery (murder! blackmail! assault!) but it's lightweight. Well, unless you're the guy that bites it. Well, nobody liked him anyway.

I have one nitpicky little beef with the story. Ms Crusie relies a little on the sentence construction of "...", Phin said. "...", Sophie said. It gets a little grating when a scene starts to get long (imagine repeating he said. she said. he said. she said. over and over again). I don't know if it's ok in print but annoying on audible or what. Just saying it kept popping up to irk me. It's not enough of a problem to take off a star though.

I listened to this book (audible.com) and LOVED the narrator, Aasne Vigesaa. She made this older book come to life with her reading. I would listen to anything she narrates, she's that good. She's the icing on the cake that is Jennifer Crusie, who writes with a light hand that seems to say, "Don't mind me, I'm a bit of fluff" but who's writing is really snappy and makes you laugh, sometimes snort, all the while raising the temperature. Ms Vigesaa complements the story beautifully. Not a surprise then, that I'll finish the series and probably relisten to this. Given the memorable dialogue, I might get it for my Kindle.

Narrator needs to slow down

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Narrator. So much for relaxing read. She needs to slow down!

If you’ve listened to books by Jennifer Crusie before, how does this one compare?

Other narrator better.

How could the performance have been better?

Slow down!

What would have made this romance irresistible?

Being able to relax and enjoy the story.

Funny and sexy

This is one of my favorite books. Wonderful character development and witty dialogue. Just enough mystery to keep things moving. The narrator read a little too fast.

Galloping narration is not great

A review talked of the fast narration and I must agree, Not only fast but the narration lacked intonation. It was almost a monologue which made the book hard to listen to. It takes a lot of concentration to follow the story and I nearly gave up. The narration either improves further into the story or maybe I just got used to it.
It’s an okay story but not great. The book has a cliche happy ending which is a little too sugary sweet for my liking.
I’ll avoid this narrator in the future.

Funny even as reread

Yes, I am addicted to Crusie's books.
See publisher's blurb for clues to the plot, but the situational and conversational humor are the best part of any Crusie novel. Well, and, of course, the characters.
This is another that I started with the paperbacks until they kept wandering off, then I bought the audio.
Aasne Vigesaa has the characters and emotions down to a science, and that is great for us listeners!

very engaging!

I loved this book when I read it a year ago, and I loved the audiobook as well.

If you like Crusie, it is very different from, and nowhere near as good as "Bet Me" but it still deserves 5 stars! It has humor, likeable characters and lots of excitement!!! More passion and less romance than "Bet Me".

The narrator did the secondary characters' voices really well, too, although not so much the male lead

Classic Crusie

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I absolutely love Jennifer Crusie books and this is another winner. Funny, romantic and little bit of action and drama make this one a winner.

Loved it!

Clever, fast paced. Great use of water towers and lost dogs.
Would make a great movie.