Welcome to Temptation [Format Kindle]

Prepare to be absolutely charmed by Jennifer Crusie's riotous tale of two slightly twisted sisters and a town chock full of hunks, coots, and petty politics in Welcome to Temptation.

Sophie and Amy Dempsey are just two wedding filmers trying to hop to the next level of their careers when they agree to produce a documentary of aging film star Clea Whipple's return to her hometown of Temptation, Ohio. And when the local mayor, Phin Tucker, and the police chief, Wes Mazur, proffer themselves as willing subjects for quick flings, Sophie and Amy aren't the type to object. But things are never easy in rural Ohio, and what starts off as an esoteric art film project soon evolves into potential porn--and that's just the relationships, let alone the documentary. Clea's husband Zane turns belly-up, the race for mayor turns dirty, and Sophie and Phin turn on the heat full steam.

With hot sex, clever characters, and Crusie's trademark wit, Welcome to Temptation will keep your eyes glued to the page and your stomach aching with laughter. --Nancy R.E. O'Brien

Crusie's saucy feminist romp stars a heroine who captures her man's heart, and then goes after his job, meanwhile enjoying "headbanging sex," filming soft porn and acquiring both a house and a dog named Lassie. A car crash welcomes Sophia Dempsey to Temptation, Ohio, as she arrives from Cincinnati to help her hot-tempered, smart-mouthed sister, Amy, film a video with a washed-up local actress. Sophie's misgivings about small-town Temptation increase when she sees the town's rusted welcome sign: "We Believe in Family Values." Yet unconventional Sophie soon ditches her boyfriend (who is also her ex-therapist) and falls for Phineas Tucker, Temptation's macho mayor, scion of the town's premier political family and single father. News of the Dempsey sisters' film prompts the prudish town council to institute an antiporn ordinance, which Phin is obligated to uphold while he inspires Sophie's experiments with sexy camerawork. Crusie adroitly mixes the outrageous and the practical, modern feminism and old-fashioned romance, and adds a liberal dose of razor-sharp humor. Sophie's effort to enact the mayor's favorite sexual fantasy is thwarted by interruptions by various townspeople confessing to murder, while, in one hilarious highlight, Sophie's costume for the evening falls victim to the laws of gravity. Minor characters offer more humor and romance: the police chief and the ex-juvenile delinquent, Sophie's scheming brother and his ex-wife, the porn king and the town debutante, Phin's daughter and his mother. Like a stand-up comic, Crusie (Crazy for You) charms with her brisk, edgy style, and the repartee between Sophie and Phin keeps energy and sexual tension high. A romantic comedy that adds luster to the genre, this effervescent tale will please readers who can relate to Sophie's undaunted exploration of all her desires. Agent, Meg Ruley. Author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.