Trust Me On This

Trust Me On This
Crusie, Jennifer.  Trust Me On This.  Bantam Books:  New York, USA, 2010.

Trust Me on This (Loveswept)


Book's Description:  Dennie Banks is an investigative reporter chasing down the biggest story of her career.  Alec Prentice is a government agent working undercover to catch an elusive grifter.  When they meet by accident, it's a case of mistaken identities at first sight.  What they don't mistake is the instant attraction they have for each other, an attraction they'll do everything in their power to resist -- because Dennie thinks that Alec is running interference for her interview subject, and Alec suspects that Dennie is linked to his swindler.  As the confusion grows, so do their feelings for each other, and what begins as a romantic comedy of errors may just end in the love affair of a lifetime.

See http://www.bantamdell.com/

Trust Me On This is authored by Jennifer Crusie, who has a delightful "Jenny Info" page on her website telling her "how I became a writer" story.  Her books often depict strong female characters who maintain their own identity, even after falling in love with a strong and understanding male character.  (Ahem.)  To see more of what she's written, navigate around her website from the "Jenny Info" link I posted earlier.

Crusie's title is a catchy summation of her romantic story line.  The main characters, Dennie and Alec, have little trust in each other, each assuming the other presents a roadblock to professional goals.  The tension created by their inaccurate reading of each other falls short of thrilling, but it does create incredibly ridiculous situations.

Alec attends his aunt's seminar at her invitation and because he suspects a criminal he's hunting will appear at the seminar to fleece naive and trusting college professors.  Dennie attends to meet the same professors, but her goal is not to stop a crime; she wants to report the truth about the failed marriage of a reputable marriage expert.  Said marriage expert contributes a new twist to the story when she, annoyed with Dennie and the demise of her own marriage, accuses Dennie of stalking.

Alec and Dennie meet the day they arrive at the seminar and each engages in behavior fueling the other's suspicion.  Yet, as in any romance worthy of the label, neither can deny the strong pull of attraction to the other.  Alec's aunt and boss find themselves with the same sort of attraction to each other, and resolve it much more quickly than the younger couple. 

Ultimately proving to be two of my favorite characters, Alec's aunt Vic and boss Harry, conclude their affaire de coeur with their own O. Henry-Gift of Love moment.  If only all stories could end so well!

Alec and Dennie manage to achieve a happy ending for themselves, but not before Dennie realizes she's always taken the safe route, the road most traveled, and decides she cannot commit to a relationship with Alec until she proves she can successfully maintain her own independence.  You go, girl!

I read this book as a welcome-home gift to myself when we returned from our 20th anniversary trip to Hawaii Sunday.  While certainly not a mentally taxing read, I enjoyed the novel.  The characters are entertaining and the plot a bit silly.  It was exactly what I needed to reenter life in Minnesota.

Happy reading.
★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ (5 of 10 stars)