0310–New Skool: Anyone But You, Jennifer Crusie

[Melody]

This month Jennifer Crusie introduces us to one of SB Candy's top favorite heroes in Anyone But You: Alex.

What makes Alex more than the typical contemporary hero? Well, he's a sexy ER doctor who's crazy for a Smart-Mouthed Cynical heroine. Not so different from any other hero, right? But Alex is special in "his lack of ambition to be the Most Bad-Ass Surgeon Ever in Some Impossibly Difficult and High-Demand Specialty" (BHB,72).

Who are some of your favorite "common man" romance novel heroes? Surely there's more than one out there in Romancelandia? :O)

[FlibBityFLooB]

Average rating on goodreads: 3.67

Description on goodreads:
"Nina thinks the last thing she needs is Fred--part basset, part beagle, and part manic-depressive puppy. Then Fred brings home Alex Moore, poster boy for lonely women. Nina loves Fred, but really, anyone but Alex! Original"

[~Sara~]

Who are some of your favorite "common man" romance novel heroes?

You mean they aren't all Duke's and vampires? I'm confused...

[[deleted user]]

Melody wrote: "Who are some of your favorite "common man" romance novel heroes? Surely there's more than one out there in Romancelandia? :O)


Oooh good one. Though it stretches the memory a little trying to remember past the glut of vampies and wolfies that have dominated the market recently.

All I've got at the moment is Seth from Wicked Lovely for his solid plain Jane-ness. Will rack brains and return!

[Jennefer]

Melody wrote: "Who are some of your favorite "common man" romance novel heroes? Surely there's more than one out there in Romancelandia? :O)"


Theo from He Loves Lucy by Susan Donovan. Just read it for the February pick-it-for-me. Oh he is ever so dreamy! I wanted to marry him not 100 pages in. Just a wonderful sweet but also very ambitious guy, loved him!

I also loved Chase from Lead Me On by Victoria Dahl. A respectable business owner that also happens to be a big tattooed, yummy hunk of a male....mmmmm.... Good book too, I really enjoyed it.

[BJ Rose]

Melody wrote: "Who are some of your favorite "common man" romance novel heroes? Surely there's more than one out there in Romancelandia? :O) ..."

Shawn Gallagher from Tears of the Moon by Nora Roberts. And any of the Quinn brothers from her Chesapeake Bay series, especially Ethan. And what about Jack and all the other guys from Robyn Carr's Virgin River series?!

[FlibBityFLooB]

OKay, I read this book today because the audiobook I got from the library was so short. In fact, when played at 2x the normal speed, the entire book could be listened to in 3 hours.

It wasn't a bad book. But, I disagree with the idea that he has lack of ambition.

Not sure if Jennifer Crusie has any concept of how tough it is in reality to be an emergency physician. That's one of the most stressful places you can be. (at least in my experience working in a hospital) So, I don't see him as being common at all.

[Sandra]

Sorry, my library doesn't have this one either. I'm not doing very well this month.

[BJ Rose]

I lucked out at the library on this one, and it does look like a quick read - but I have 3 other books due back in the next 2 days, so won't be starting this for a while.

[Becky]

FlibBityFLooB wrote: "Not sure if Jennifer Crusie has any concept of how tough it is in reality to be an emergency physician. That's one of the most stressful places you can be. (at least in my experience working in a hospital) So, I don't see him as being common at all."

Nina had a similar reaction when she first found out what Alex did for a living. I don't think that Crusie was really suggesting that being an ER doctor is a job for slackers. It was Alex's family, and his perspective as a member of a family full of specialists, that made his choice an Everyman-type job. He saw himself as unmotivated, but Nina's idea of who is was as a person changed completely when she saw him at work and in his element.

[BJ Rose]

This was not only an easy read, it was a delightful one - I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. Here's my review

Becky, I agree with you completely about how Alex's family made him feel common and unmotivated. My only disappointment was that it took Alex so long to realize that Nina didn't want the same thing that she walked away from. He was smarter than that, but love does strange things to people's thinking!

This was my first Crusie book, but likely not the last.

[FlibBityFLooB]

BJ -- I've really enjoyed some of Crusie's other books. I hope you enjoy them as well.

So far, I've read:


I didn't dislike Anyone But You. It was a nice, light read for an afternoon :)

[~Sara~]

I found I was distracted a lot while reading this book and I had to refocus my attention often. I agree that it was a cute, light read, but it was too light for my liking and I couldn't really get into it. I wouldn't go out of my way to read anything else by her but I'm not opposed to it either - just indifferent.
Picturing Alex in the Daffy Duck shorts was my favourite part. :)

[Hope]

At the risk of completely dating myself. One of my all time favorite heros is Eric Severson from Lavyrle Spencer's novel, Bittersweet. This novel was probably published in the 1980s, but it was the book that made me realize how much I loved reading romances. Eric is a fishman in a little villiage in Wisconsin.

[BJ Rose]

Hope, I guess we can hobble along together! I also read (years ago) and loved most of LaVyrle Spencer's books - my favorites are Hummingbird, The Gamble, Twice Loved, and Morning Glory (which I just got from the library for a reread).

[Samantha]

I didn't really enjoy this one. It was one of my least favorite by her.

[Hope]

BJ,

The Gamble is, without question, my favorite Lavyrle Spencer book. I was recently at a book swap at a romance writers' meeting and felt decrepit because there were a bunch of Spencer's books on a table available for free and none of the young people were taking them. Oh they don't know what they are missing...