Charlie All Night

This felt like one of Crusie's lazier efforts—it doesn't have even the same level of banter as her other earlier works, the plotting is limp, and there's almost no character/relationship development. The sex scenes were also, well... a little cringe-inducing, the dialogue especially. It read almost as if she'd written it quite some time before its 1996 publication date, and while I read it through to the end, Charlie All Night didn't really keep me sufficiently entertained to stave off late ni...more This felt like one of Crusie's lazier efforts—it doesn't have even the same level of banter as her other earlier works, the plotting is limp, and there's almost no character/relationship development. The sex scenes were also, well... a show more little cringe-inducing, the dialogue especially. It read almost as if she'd written it quite some time before its 1996 publication date, and while I read it through to the end, Charlie All Night didn't really keep me sufficiently entertained to stave off late night work boredom. show less

Light summer reading, but a great deal of fun. I enjoyed the characters of Charlie and Allie, the rest of the cast, the little town they’re living in, and especially the puppy. Not sure all their disagreements were perfect, but then that reflects life. People say things they don’t mean, and can be misinterpreted, and that shows well here. An enjoyable read, perfect for a holiday or a lazy weekend. Though not as deep as some of her later works, there’s nothing wrong with that. This is another book showing an author’s developing style. Worth it for Crusie fans.

As a chick lit/romantic comedy writer, I've had several people suggest Jennifer Crusie's books to me as an example of how to write good stories. I'd heard such great things about her that I'd picked up this book, along with Bet Me (which I still have to read), optimistically thinking I'd have a fantastic read and learn something about how romantic comedy is supposed to be written.

Instead, I found out how it's not supposed to be written.

Okay, in all fairness the book itself wasn't all that bad. To give Crusie credit, I really did enjoy her writing style and her voice. My main problem was that there was no development of the love relationship between Charlie and Allie. It was basically a case of boy and girl meet cute, boy and girl fall show more instantly into lust and sleep together the first night, some conflict comes up, and then one minute they're in love with each other and yet I as the reader have no idea why they love each other.

Call me crazy here, but part of the appeal of romance is seeing the romance develop, experiencing the entire act of falling in love with someone--from the first time the heroine meets the hero to the first electrifying kiss to the first time they end up in bed together to the end when they finally admit they love each other. Those are the Big Parts. The Important Parts. The things every romance writer knows she must have in her book.

But it's the little things in between the Big Parts that really make the story, that really develop the characters and the relationship between them. And for me, those little parts are the real meat of the story. We all know the characters are going to end up together, it's the HOW they end up together that's so interesting. And for me, the HOW was definitely missing a little bit of meat.

Basically, after meeting each other and sleeping together the first night (and after Charlie gives Allie the cliched "first ever orgasm with someone other than herself"), they continue to sleep together while being in a working relationship--literally. See, Charlie's the new DJ at the radio station Allie works at, and she's been demoted to his producer since her ex boyfriend has decided his new girlfriend (and Allie's protege) would be a more fitting producer for his self-obsessed morning show. Stuck in the night time slot, Allie tries to make the most of it, and is determined to make Charlie the Next Big Thing in their sleepy little town. Charlie, however, wants none of that since he's only in town to help solve a mystery for the station's owner.

After a heated argument regarding the battle of the sexes, Charlie and Allie decide to stop having sex and to actually become...wait for it...friends. Yeah, they decide now might be a good time to get to know each other (and again, in all fairness, sometimes the urge does overtake you and you sleep with someone without really knowing them). While this is all well and good, and actually makes sense, the problem is that I saw none of the "getting to know you" stuff. Instead, I read scenes where Allie would discuss the situation with her best friend (who's the station's accountant and her roommate) and tell HIM all the things that were so great about Charlie and how they were spending so much time together and getting to know each other so well... And I kept finding myself paging back, trying to figure out if changing time zones had somehow caused entire parts of the book to be lost in some weird space time continuum warp or something or other (I was flying from Dallas to San Diego while reading this). But nope, I hadn't missed anything.

It's a peeve of mine, I'll admit, but I also think it's lazy writing to tell rather than show, especially when the thing you're telling is the most important part of the story.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the characters. And like I said earlier, I really enjoyed Crusie's writing style and her voice, it just irked me that more attention wasn't given to the development of the romance between Allie and Charlie. I didn't want Allie and Charlie telling me why they loved each other, I wanted to SEE why they loved each other.

Overall, I wouldn't say this was a bad book, just highly disappointing. I will be fair, though, and give Crusie another chance. If she does this to me again, though, I will be more than happy to stick to the other Queen of Romantic Comedy*.

*SEP does not call herself this, but rather it is the humble opinion of this reviewer. show less

Probably my favorite Crusie book so far. The mystery was interesting enough, and the humor out in force. All the characters were likable, and the conflict, while not too tense, was still very good.

Also? I want to hug that puppy.

Typical Jennifer Crusie about a couple who meet, are attracted to one, argie a lot and lust for one another a lot. Allie loses her job as producer of a drive-time radio show and is given the late night time slot with new to town Charlie. Charlie is there undercover for the owner of the station and wants to keep it low key but Allie has decided to make him a star. Lots of sex, miscommuniction, before the happy ending.

Rating: 2 stars

This one was a lot of fun to read! I loved the characters, and even though it was a bit predicatable, getting to the ending was so much fun I didn't mind at all.