Sizzle (Great Escapes) (Stolen Moments) [Paperback]

Jennifer Crusie (Author)

Book Description

Series: Stolen Moments | Publication Date: February 1, 1994

Business takes a back seat to romance when accountant Richard Parker encounters Emily Tate, an advertising executive running a new ad campaign for a sensual new perfume called Sizzle.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harlequin (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373832710
• ISBN-13: 978-0373832712
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,124,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jennifer Crusie was researching her dissertation on the differences in the way men and women tell stories when she got sidetracked into writing romance novels.

Her first book was published in 1993 (which pretty much finished off any hope of her getting that PhD) and her twenty-second book, Maybe This Time, came out in August of 2010, all of which she considers a minor miracle, especially since she is also a New York Times, USA Today and Publisher's Weekly bestseller and a two-time Rita award winner.

Jenny is currently working on her new Liz Danger mystery series. She is a very happy woman.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sizzle fizzles..., August 23, 2000

By 

amf0001 (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sizzle (Great Escapes) (Stolen Moments) (Paperback)

I didn't realise, when I bought this book, that it is actually a novella - it's only about 90 pages long. I love Crusie's work, but this was the first romance that she ever wrote, and it feels it.

It's too short to really get into the characters or their love affair, and Emily's ideas on how to make the perfume 'sizzle' sounded a bit strange to me. She had some good marketing lines (it's the sizzle, not the steak that we are selling here) and I liked her character, but I felt all the characters needed a bit more time and thought.

It's a fun read, but not a great one, and seeing that it can be hard to get and thus quite pricey, it's not really worth it..

Sorry. Don't mean to be negative. I love all her other other stuff!

50 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Crusie, funny, sexy & smart romance, March 25, 1998

By 

BarkLessWagMore (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Sizzle (Great Escapes) (Stolen Moments) (Paperback)

Emily Tate, a marketing manager who has a heck of time keeping her projects in line with the company's budget, is assigned a partner to keep her spending in line. Even though she makes millions for her company -- it's not enough for them. So they hire Richard Parker, an anal as can be budget advisor to keep her spending on track. She despises him sight unseen. But he's an irritatingly handsome guy who manages to charm his way into her heart. So what's an independent and intelligent woman to do when she learns that the one man who she wants to spend the rest of her life with has an annoying habit of ignoring everything she says? She turns the tables on the oaf and what follows is one of the sexist, smartest and wittiest little books I've ever read. And it most definitely lives up to its title!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ridiculously Expensive But Worth Reading If You Can Find It, May 31, 2002

By 

mayfayre "mayfayre" (New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Sizzle (Great Escapes) (Stolen Moments) (Paperback)

The whole story is only 92 pages long, so I guess that classifies it as a novella. This is apparently a very early work by her, but even so, all of her classic elements are there - intelligent women, a gorgeous guy, witty dialogue and a sexy romance.

Emily Tate is a brilliant marketer and is in charge of a new perfume campaign. Her last project, though wildly successful, went way over budget so (gorgeous and extremely sexy) Richard Parker has been hired by the firm as a number-cruncher to keep the various projects under budget. Also involved in the story is Emily's best friend/secretary Jane, who's been with her since their school days, knows all the skeletons, and who helps to keep her on track. Needless to say, there is immediate attraction between Emily and Richard, but there are also some major obstacles, such as his stubborness and seemingly inablility to listen to her.

This book mainly consists of dialogue and witty repartee between the various characters. Example: "You're looking very chipper this morning." "Thank you." "Your underpants are on your desk." "What?" "The cleaners found them in the conference room and put them on the lost-and-found bulletin board. Real clowns, those cleaners." "Does anybody know?" "Absolutely not. I was the first one here. And I only knew they were yours because I bought them for you." "You get a raise." "Thank you. I deserve one. Who was the lucky man?"

I rated this book four stars instead of five because the story is only told from Emily's viewpoint - we never share Richard's thoughts. I guess that that's one of the drawbacks of the short format, and one that isn't present in Ms. Crusie's later books. If you're a fan of Ms. Crusie's writing, then this is one that's definitely worth searching for. If you've never read her before and the cost of the used version is too high for you, then try her in-print books - you're sure to enjoy them too.