Welcome to Temptation [Hardcover]

Jennifer Crusie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2000

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.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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

From Publishers Weekly

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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press; 1st edition (March 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312252943
• ISBN-13: 978-0312252946
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (237 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #768,052 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

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be Still My Beating Heart!, March 15, 2000

By 

paula_k_98 "paula_k_98" (Muskogee, OK USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Welcome to Temptation (Hardcover)

A water tower that resembles a sex organ, former con artists shooting a documentary that turns into a soft porn movie, hot sex, and murder--what more could you cram into a novel? Try a terrific, sexy hero, a strong heroine, a wonderful secondary cast of characters that we've all met at some point in our lives, and a quaint little town. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie packs it all into its 341 pages. Not only is this a sharp looking book, it lives up to its appearance. Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down. This is a delightful romp that captivates you from beginning until the end. If you're looking for pure entertainment--read this book. One word of caution for those who want a rating system on books, it's steamy not only for the sex but the language. Frankly, Temptation wouldn't have been Temptation without both.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fear and Loathing (and Lust) in...Ohio?, March 22, 2000

By 

ladybug10 "ladybug10" (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Welcome to Temptation (Hardcover)

Poor Sophie Dempsey. She's the responsible sister who's always pulling her siblings' chestnuts out of the fire and never getting to have a good time - until the Dempsey sisters pull into Temptation, Ohio, and announce their presence in a fender bender with the conservative Pillar of the Community, Stephen Garvey, and his lovely wife Virginia. A cast of characters unfolds in the wake of broken sunglasses and an increasingly pornographic video, with speed and whacked-ness that would make Hunter Thompson proud. A murder mystery wrapped up in an unfolding but slightly cracked love story set in a Peyton-place village in middle America, where people aren't what they seem, water towers imitate phallic lipsticks, and if you don't lock your kitchen door, your neighbor may just walk in and find you having head banging sex on the table...you'll feel like you're hurtling through this story only half in control of your convertible! Watch Sophie's sister, Amy, push the edge of the envelope of her irresponsibility until it tears...see Phineas awaken from the mind numbing task of being a small town mayor trying to get the town council to make important decisions like what kind of street lights to install...thrill as Sophie, the professional caretaker, loses all her sexual inhibitions...and don't miss the fading porn queen who can still seduce little boys, her long-ago flame and his Coppertone-blonde-gone-crocodile-wrinkled wife, the thoughtful, but sexy police chief, the small-town girl who wants out, the neurotic porn producer who discovers a little late that he has standards after all, the middle-aged liberal war protester, the Dempsey brother with the heart of a Robin Hood and the mind of an ex-con, and the local matriarch (who else? Phin's mother) who reminds us all that you can't buy or sleep your way into privilege. Oh, I forgot - don't miss the lacquered news anchorman who, like everybody else in this little gem, gets exactly what's coming to him...

I recommend this book, but fasten your seatbelt. You'd think a story set in a little town in Ohio would be slower, but, no, it's like petting a kitten and finding out that it's a tiger! I'll be reading her other stuff, because I liked what I found here.

By the way, whoever designed the cover is a genius. Perfectly wrought symbolism.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Temptation is HOT HOT HOT!, May 26, 2000

By 

Caroline P. Hampton (Columbus, Ohio USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Welcome to Temptation (Hardcover)

"Welcome to Temptation" bring a whole new definiton to "Sex, Lies and Videotape." This hilarious, sexy and down right enjoyable new novel by Jennifer Crusie is fabulous. Main characters Sophie and Amy take a romp into small town Ohio to make a movie. Well...they get way more than they hoped for. They get a murder, a bunch of lies, Big trouble for making a porno flick, stolen money, adultry, for some.....sex on a boat dock. This book has everything in it. It's a pure riot.

Other main characters, Mayor Fin, Police Chief Wes, the girls brother Davey, Fin's mother and his enchanting daughter. She's a real riot. I adored her character. She was sweet, SMART, and O' so charming.

This book had everything a summer novel should have. It was a fast read, delightfully entertaining and down right sexy. I loved everything about it. RUSH right to that credit card and get yourself a copy! :)