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Looking for more. Just read Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie, my first romance read
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First time posting here. I am looking for recommendations for books I may like and that might be similar to Bet Me. I could not put this book down, I am definitely not the target audience for this book being a male in his 20s.
This is my first true romance read. I read a couple romance books in highschool but they honestly read more like realistic fiction instead of romance if that makes sense. This book was the first true romance genre book that played with the tropes associated and wasn't afraid to be steaming hot.
What I liked: (spoilers-ish)
FMC: Min was such a fun character to read she was witty, smart, and stubborn but super cute when she let her self be. I also love her description and body type.
MMC: I found cal to be relatable, funny, flawed, not a horrible person, and not too unrealistic. I don't think I would like books with anything blander/over idealised for an MMC.
Other characters: I liked that the other characters felt like they had their own lives and at the start of the book I felt uninterested but by the end I really enjoyed their influence on the story.
The Hotness: I was drooling everytime this book did a great job with those parts but also specifically enjoyed the contrast between her soft body and his hard body. I would love to read books that aren't afraid of fat/chubby/plus sized FMCs and their bodies. I won't lie, I also enjoyed the food play a lot and would read anything that had some of that in it as well haha.
The Writing: The natural humor of this book and its characters are definitely one of my favorite parts. It didn't feel dated or unrelatable. The characters were fun and witty and created such a natural banter that I absolutely loved. I also really really enjoyed the open discussion of dreams and passions. In the book it was done through magical thinking which I love but I would also love any book where dreams and passions take a leading role especially if they are more specific too.
What I didn't like:
The alcohol consumption was probably my least favorite aspect of the story. It became tiresome and honestly unbelievable at times. I am sober, I respect the choice to drink but really dislike popular media glorifying liquid lobotomies. I would love to read about sober characters or the struggles of socializing/dating as a young sober person. If you have any recommendations let me know.
I would also enjoy any recs to be honest, I am a beginner here and would love to change that.
Thanks
Top Comment: It’s wild how many people get pulled into romance by Bet Me, Crusie used some special sauce on that book. If you feel like listening to a romance podcast do a long thoughtful episode screaming about how great it is, Fated Mates can be a great resource for recommendations and deep dives into the genre https://fatedmates.net/episodes/2020/5/12/s0236-bet-me-by-jennifer-crusie I think Talia Hibbert is one of Crusie’s spiritual successors. The Brown Sisters series has a lot of your criteria. Get a Life, Chloe Brown has a scene where the heroine thinks she wants a drunken night out but realizes the reality holds no appeal, I dont recall other substance use in the series but could be wrong. Mating the Huntress is a (light contemporary fantasy with werewolves) short novella with food stuff. Heaving Bosoms Podcast did a Mating The Huntress episode if you want to listen to a recap first to check if it's your thing: https://www.heavingbosoms.com/episodes/mating-the-huntress Alisha Rai’s newest book, Partners in Crime is a very fun, tightly plotted, heist romp. Rai’s older books were a little wilder. Glutton for Pleasure has a chubby chef who has a HEA with 2 brothers who she serves at the family restaurant. It’s on a lot of WTF lists but also weirdly sweet? Everything Katrina Jackson writes is hot and thoughtful. Layover is a love letter to Oakland wrapped up in a short novella. Grand Theft NYE is about a FMC who wants to rob the rich and the super rich MMC who wants to be robbed by her. Private Eye is a sweet novella about a Spy and a Cam Girl. Office Hours is the most realistic portrayal of academia I’ve ever seen yet somehow achieves a satisfying HEA. Playing It Cool by Amy Andrews If The Dress Fits by Carla de Guzman Bet on It and White Whiskey Bargain by Jodie Slaughter Sierra Simone and Julie Murphy's A Merry Little Meet Cute is about a fat porn star who *for romance reasons* is starring in essentially a hallmark Christmas movie with her former boyband crush. Hijinks ensue. Simone is known for her high heat wild premises (Priest was her breakout novel and she has a new short based on that incest Folgers Coffee commercial😂) but A Merry Little Meet Cute feels more like a wholesome Christmas movie that happens to bang. You may also want to try Simone’s Misadventures of a Curvy Girl. Another romance resource (besides the unasked for podcasts) is Smartbitchestrashybooks.com -one of the only places on the internet where you always want to read the comments. Good luck!
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie Cover Rebind
Main Post: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie Cover Rebind
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I LOVE that you went with donuts for the motif. Perfect choice!
Looking for non-paranormal books with a whimsical vibe like Bet Me
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{Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie}
I absolutely love love LOVE this book. It gives me such comfort and I’ve read it so many times I’ve lost count. It just has this kinda whimsical vibe because the way the MCs fall in love has this lowkey slightly-supernatural-but-not-really type of element that almost feels like magic to me. Like, the way the author describes everything, and the way the universe kind of kept nudging the MCs towards one another even though they weren’t sure at first about each other, I just loved it a lot. Also loved the MCs and how competent they both are and how well they have each other’s backs the whole time against the world (even defending their partners against the partner’s own families).
This turned into more of a gush post about this book than a request post lol, but please give me similar suggestions if you have any! Thank you in advance!
Top Comment: I also love Bet Me, Jennifer Crusie's books are all comfort reads for me. Ashley Poston writes romance with magical realism, The Seven Year Slip and the Dead Romantics both have it. Her books are a little less lighthearted, but I think she's a great author writing imaginative stories and you might enjoy her too.
More Books with a Bet/Dare
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I read Icebound Rivals by Hayden Hall recently and loved the premise of the whole relationship starting because of a bet/dare and not having the MC know.
I would love to read more books like it with all the delicious angst and steam. Please comment if you have any recs! (Also a sucker for sports romances, so drop your faves)
Top Comment: Betting you by T.Ashleigh The infamous park Avenue prince by Ella frank and Brooke Blaine Bet you by neve wilder Also, the Barbarian duet by Keira Andrews fits this I guess, it's not a bet/dare but the Mc1 is used as a political pawn by Mc2 but Mc1 doesn't know that.
MEGATHREAD: THE BET
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Welcome back to our weekly megathread post!
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THE BET
This week's megathread is dedicated to The Bet trope - where a character is bet that they won't or can't win over / date / hook up with another character. In romance, that character will inevitably end up developing genuine feelings, and the object of the bet will just as inevitably be pissed off when they find out about the bet (assuming they were only seen as prize or object, or perhaps undesirable or unlovable, etc). Trust is lost, creating a perfect dark moment and opening up possibilities for groveling.
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Comment below with books you loved that fit this topic and tell us why you love them!
Helpful details to include are how a recommendation fits the megathread, the sub-genre, pairing, tropes, etc.
Here is a link to all Themed Megathreads. You can use the Megathread Resource post to find other megathreads to browse or leave recommendations on, or add your suggestions for future topics!
Next week’s Megathread will be GUARDIAN / WARD
Top Comment: I specifically love the microtrope: The bet to get with the chubby girl {Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie} {The Dare by Elle Kennedy} FMC gets dared to make out with MMC. She's the curvy odd duck in her mean girl sorority. MMC is surprisingly happy to play along. {Ruthless Knight by Ashley Jade} FMC is the chubby church girl, MMC is the QB of the high school football team. {Block Shot by Kennedy Ryan} - The bet is a part of a prologue that doesn't have much to do with the main plot. MMC is the hot guy on campus whose pledging into a fraternity. His last task is the "fuck a fat girl" specifically the FMC. FMC is fat and genius smart. MMC is already smitten with her because of her brilliance. He refuses to go through on the bet, but FMC finds out about it anyway and chaos ensues. The main plot of the book is about the MCs finding each other again as adults.
Bets made with the FMC…NOT a bet about getting with her behind her back
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I loved how in beautiful disaster (guilty pleasure book fs), Travis made a bet with the FMC so that she lives with him and that alone pushed the relationship so much further and blurred the lines of their “friendship.” I was searching for recommendations of other books that have bets incorporated into them but could only find bets MMC make with their friends about sleeping with the FMC or getting her to fall for him. I’m NOT looking for that.
Im looking for a bet between the FMC and MMC. The bet can be anything but it should further their relationship eventually. Any recs would be much appreciated!
I’m into any genre really I’m just not into cheating between the two MCs, why choose, and pls no high school.
Top Comment: Chestnut Springs #5 {Hopeless by Elsie Silver} They bet whether or not she can actually make it / get a job despite the whole town, hating her family.
Courting to Win A bet
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ok this might be a weird one but: looking for romance novels where the hero is perusing the heroine in order to win a bet/wager because she is such a wallflower... any recs?
Top Comment: Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie. ❤️
Looking for a book about a girl who goes to a bar with a group of friends and there’s a group of men there. The group of guys bet one of their friends he can’t get her to sleep with him within a certain time frame but he ends up falling in love with her. She finds out about the bet and they break up
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remember very little about this book. I read it when I was about 13 (26 now) and I have no memory of the name. There was a "fat girl" who loved cats (I think). Her friends drag her to a bar and there's a group of men there (all friends). There's a very handsome guy in the group and one of the friends dares him to make the "fat girl" fall in love with him, or maybe it could be a bet to see if he could get her to sleep with him? Not too sure. It starts out as that, but he ends up falling inlove with her. The secret gets spilled about the bet and I don't remember anything after that, except that they end up together in the end. I have been searching for YEARS, So hopefully it will be found, so I can enjoy it again.
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It sounds like Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie.
ISO books with a bet to "bang the fat girl"
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I have read "Bet Me" by Jennifer Crusie.
"Block Shot" by Kennedy Ryan also has this, but it's a small part of the plot in a flashback.
Looking for other books where MMC and FMC meet because of a bet from MMCs idiot friends because FMC is fat and therefore laughably undesirable. However, joke's on them because they actually hit if off.
Bonus points if FMC is still on a self love journey and not completely confident. She is kind of in disbelief about the whole thing.
Top Comment: Following 👀 another trope I didn’t know I needed in my life. Did you like the two books you did read with this in it?
What's that one book you've read a thousand times and still makes you smile?
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For me, it's Bet me by Jennifer Crusie. I've read it some many times and I still love it and laugh with it like the first time!
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Hey All! Don’t forget to take the annual RomanceBooks Census before the survey closes on Friday, Oct 13th at Noon CST!
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