Jennifer Crusie, Crazy for You

Thirty-something Quinn McKenzie is stuck in a rut. She has great friends, she likes her job as a high school art teacher, and she’s dating the football coach, whom everyone in town recognizes as a total catch. But she still wants a change, and change arrives in the form of an adorable stray dog. Quinn wants to adopt the dog, but her boyfriend doesn’t. This small disagreement soon leads to a much bigger fight, and Quinn begins to realize that her seemingly great life is based on her always sacrificing what she wants for the sake of other people. Her friends and family are initially horrified at the change in Quinn, but she eventually inspires them to make changes in their own lives. In the most exciting change of all, Quinn is beginning to look at her longtime friend Nick in a whole new light, but it seems her old life isn’t quite ready to let her go. . . .

I’ve found Jennifer Crusie’s books to be somewhat hit-or-miss, but this one was definitely a hit for me! I don’t think it’s a book for everyone, though, for several reasons. There’s quite a bit of profanity and a few pretty graphic sex scenes, so if those elements would bother you, steer clear. Also, and more importantly, there is stalking and violence against women in this book, which makes it quite a bit darker than I was expecting. However, all that said, I liked this book a lot, and it’s almost entirely due to the relationship between Quinn and Nick. I love a friends-to-lovers romance, especially when one or both of the people involved are very reluctant to act on their feelings for fear of ruining the friendship. In this case, I totally bought into the romantic tension between these characters and was rooting for them all the way. So this book worked really well for me, but I realize not everyone will feel the same!