“[Revenge Gifts is] … a fun read with an original premise, and a memorable, and sassy main character. There’s a wily, devil-may-care authorial voice that reminds me of Janet Evanovich, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Cruciger makes a real name for herself in romance” — Karin Gillespie,  Author of Bet Your Bottom Dollar.

“The weekend I moved, you could have visibly seen the yanking grin on one side of my face from where the plot and the character of this book hooked me. This book arrived the day I moved, and I had it sitting in the window seat of my house, literally the only thing unpacked in a house full of boxes. I kept hiding behind the boxes to keep reading it - this book seriously hooks you so bad you’ll have a rictus curl in the side of your face.”

  — Sarah, Smart Bitches Who Love Trashy Books

From RT BOOKClub Magazine Sept. ‘05

Four and a half stars TOP PICK

Flat-out fabulous, this novel is one-of-a-kind. Cruciger’s original, funny voice is cool and wise. The deftly plotted debut from RT’s former Path to Publishing columnist features Tara, a retired computer programmer living in Key Largo, Florida.

Tara tends an oceanside bar and runs Revenge-Gifts.com, a popular Internet store that sells several types of revenge trinkets, including pillows stuffed with cat hair for the allergic. Life is simple, until someone wants her dead. And then someone else wants to get closer than her comfort level allows. Tara’s a sarcastic, tough loner with a huge heart, but she’s sweet deep inside. She skillfully deflects affection with snide humor. It’ll take a Mack truck to drive through her armor and, when one special guy tries, souls collide and sparks fly.

Sexy romance, seamless supernatural elements and a comic supporting cast make Tara’s crazy days in paradise feel real. And maybe they are, a Keys resident herself, Cruciger gets the details of the tropical setting and everything else just right. (Sep. 352 pp., $6.99) Cindy Harrison