Wild Ride is the most successful of the Jennifer Crusie/Bob Mayer collaborations to date: fast, fun, and deliciously weird. Admittedly, we still prefer Crusie's solo work, but how could anyone hate on a book that features a murderous troop of demon-infested It's A Small World-style mannequins?

As with their previous collaborations, Wild Ride is told from two perspectives—one from each author. Crusie's heroine is Mary Alice ("Mab") Brannigan, an antisocial, workaholic painter who specializes in restoring carnival art. Mayer's contribution is Ethan Wayne, a former Green Beret with a too-dangerous-to-remove bullet inching ever closer to his heart. Mab just wants to do her work in peace, and Ethan just wants to drink himself into a stupor, but when they discover the faded Ohio amusement park they're both working on is actually a holding tank for five powerful demons, their personal problems have to take a back seat to the monsters roaming the park.

Wild Ride is closer to Crusie's style than Mayer's, although it has fewer romantic elements than straight comedy ones. (In an unusual move, Mab and Ethan are not romantic partners, and hardly interact in the first half of the novel.) Mab's storyline—which includes, but is not limited to, possessed clown statues, half-demon babies, several crazy mothers, and considerable personal growth—is so gleefully over-the-top that Ethan's pales in comparison. His early sections dragged, and his love interest was a total snooze (at least until she acquired a possessed stuffed animal), but by the second half of the novel I was almost as invested in his storyline as I was in Mab's... but not quite.

However, both storylines are really just window dressing for the true joy of this novel: its setting. We have no idea why there aren't more novels set in amusement parks, but there definitely should be. Mayer and Crusie invoke all of the color, noise, and inherent creepiness of these classic pieces of Americana, and it makes their already-enjoyable romantic comedy infinitely more memorable.

And when you add in those creepy Small World dolls? That's pure gold, people. Pure gold.

[Review based on publisher-provided copy.]

Labels: Bob Mayer, Book Reviews, collaborations, Jennifer Crusie

Well, here's the cover art for Jennifer Crusie's upcoming collaboration with Bob Mayer, Agnes and the Hitman:


And here's the official publisher's description:

"Agnes Crandall, a food columnist better known as Cranky Agnes, is working on her second bestselling cookbook (More Mob Food) and getting ready for the big society wedding that's going to be held in her back yard when a guy with a gun breaks in and tries to kidnap her dog. Agnes accidentally kills him. Shortly after that, a big grim guy named Shane (just Shane, like Madonna) shows up to protect her. That's good because things just keep getting worse until it's pretty much Agnes and Shane against the world, at least the part of it that's armed and coming for Agnes."

Sounds pretty cute. Although didn't their last collaboration feature two possible covers--an Art-Deco-y one for Crusie's fans and a more manly affair for Mayer's? This thing looks 100% girly--you should complain, Mr. Mayer.

Labels: Bob Mayer, Book Cover, Jenny Crusie

With all of these trips to New York & D.C. I have spent plenty of time waiting in airports. This has resulted in many new additions to my book collection--so many, in fact, that I will either have to go shopping for a new bookshelf or make a trip to the local used book store for some serious trading. Here are a couple of the books that I have picked up over the past few weeks... all of these are great books to take with you on your next trip!

Don't Look Down
Remember me mentioning (a few times) the release of Jennifer Crusie's collaborative book Don't Look Down? I read it shortly after it was released, and I can completely recommend it as a hardcover purchase. There's the awesome alligator cover art, PLUS the book is great! Crusie and Mayer do an amazing job of blending their writing styles into one seamless story. I can't wait to see what they have planned next.


The Care and Feeding of Unmarried Men
I am fairly sure the last time I did a bookshelf update I was talking about An Offer He Can't Refuse. Well, now the second book in the Caruso sister series has come out. The Care and Feeding of Unmarried Men is centered around society columnist Eve Caruso. The whole cast of characters is back--and most of them (including members of the mob and the SEC) seem all-too-interested in Eve's affairs.




The Barefoot Princess
I picked up this book in a moment of desperation at the airport when I realized that I left my plane-reading book of choice in the car and had just checked my bag with all my other books. Amy, an exiled princess, has made her home on Summerwind Island. Seeing that the villagers are being forgotten by their lord, she comes up with a crackpot idea to kidnap Lord Northcliff and chain him up in her basement. Then she tries to blackmail his uncle into paying a ransom to the village, which, of course, backfires. I haven't read anything by Christina Dodd in a long while, but I figured with a plot like that we had no where to go but up. I was really surprised that I enjoyed the book as much as I did, and I will be looking out for the others in the "Lost Princess" series.

Labels: Bob Mayer, Christie Ridgway, Christina Dodd, Jenny Crusie

Okay, so I have to admit it- I was skeptical when I heard that Jenny Crusie's next book was going to be co-authored with Bob Mayer. I had never heard of him, and after doing some research I decided that his books didn't really seem like my kind of Wordcandy. But after checking out their joint website I am happy to discover that I was so wrong... I can't wait until this book comes out!

And how did this unlikely partnership come about?

"One evening in Maui, Jenny Crusie was watching the sun set over the Pacific when Bob Mayer sat down beside her and said, "What do you write?" Jenny said, "Well, basically, in my books, people have sex and get married." Bob said, "In my books, people have sex and die."

Naturally they decided to collaborate.

Nine months later, Don't Look Down was done."

I know I have mentioned this book before (okay, maybe a few times) but after I discovered their website I knew I had to pass it along. Make sure you click on the book spine to read the hilarious first chapter and definitely check out their joint blog. If the book is anything like the website then we are in for a great ride!

Labels: Bob Mayer, Jenny Crusie, website