Trust Me On This

by Jennifer Crusie

Fluffy Fun

Reviewed: November 2, 2010

Genre: Light/Comedic Contemporary Romance

Series: N/A (Non-Series)

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Length: 320 Pages

Formats: Print, eBook

What I Read...

Determined reporter Dennie Banks is fired up to get her hooks on a story that will launch her from the society page and she thinks she has it when gossip about the impending divorce of a famed marriage advocate and feminist author drops in her lap. She uses some time away from her job to track down a lead and ends up in a hotel during a convention at which the author is speaking. Unfortunately, it's the same convention that federal agent and fraud specialist Alec Prentice is watching in his hunt to stop a con man he's been after for years. He knows all about his elusive quarry, Bond, even knows he works with a brunette partner to bilk the unsuspecting from their hard earned nest eggs. It's a pity, though, that he doesn't know what that brunette looks like, because when he catches Bond 'accidentally' bumping into Dennie Banks in the hotel lobby, he jumps to the wrong conclusion and sets his sights on Dennie to use her to catch her partner.

She thinks Alec's up to something and his dufus act is just that - an act - but he holds the key to finagling an interview from a reluctant author and she can work with his bumbling stupidity. He thinks she's a crook. As the attraction between them hits hard and fast and confusion turns to hilarity, one fact is left clear: being wrong never felt so right.

What I Thought...

Originally published in 1997, this cute re-release doesn't score any points on plausibility or depth, but it hits big on amusement and fun. The premise is - admittedly - far fetched at the least, yet I couldn't help but chuckle as Dennie and Alec matched wits and traded quips with the alacrity of the truly silver-tongued. There's also a sweet, and just as ridiculous but fun, secondary romance between Alec's aunt and his boss.

Dennie's a dog with a bone about her interview, but smart and savvy, and Alec is befuddled and aroused by her in turns. The dialogue between the pair are enough to keep this book from sinking into the depths of nonsensical farce. Make no mistake, though, Trust Me on This is the literary equivalent of a cheesy sitcom and should be taken as such. Hopes for anything deeper will be doomed to disappointment. There's plenty to chuckle about and I grinned through most of it, but this is nothing more than fluff. Fun fluff, but fluff all the same. I will say that in its favor and despite the original publication date, this book didn't feel too terribly dated, even with a reference or two to nineties men.

Happy Reading! ~ Tracy