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Maybe This Time
Автор: Jennifer Crusie
Текст читает Angela Dawe
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Andie Miller is ready to move on with her life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her. A distant cousin has died and left North the guardian of two orphans who have driven away three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs someone to take care of the situation, and he knows Andie can handle anything....
When Andie meets the two children, she realizes the situation is much worse than she feared. Carter and Alice aren't your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. Complicating matters is Andie's fiancé's suspicion that this is all a plan by North to get Andie back. He may be right because Andie's dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that's not the only haunting....
Then her ex-brother-in-law arrives with a duplicitous journalist and a self-doubting parapsychologist, closely followed by an annoyed medium, Andie's tarot card-reading mother, her avenging ex-mother-in-law, and her jealous fiancé. Just when Andie's sure things couldn't get more complicated, North arrives to make her wonder if maybe this time things could just turn out differently....
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Maybe This Time
Автор: Jennifer Crusie
Текст читает Angela Dawe
Описание
Andie Miller is ready to move on with her life. She wants to marry her fiancé and leave behind everything in her past, especially her ex-husband, North Archer. But when Andie tries to gain closure with him, he asks one final favor of her. A distant cousin has died and left North the guardian of two orphans who have driven away three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs someone to take care of the situation, and he knows Andie can handle anything....
When Andie meets the two children, she realizes the situation is much worse than she feared. Carter and Alice aren't your average delinquents, and the creepy old house where they live is being run by the worst housekeeper since Mrs. Danvers. Complicating matters is Andie's fiancé's suspicion that this is all a plan by North to get Andie back. He may be right because Andie's dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that's not the only haunting....
Then her ex-brother-in-law arrives with a duplicitous journalist and a self-doubting parapsychologist, closely followed by an annoyed medium, Andie's tarot card-reading mother, her avenging ex-mother-in-law, and her jealous fiancé. Just when Andie's sure things couldn't get more complicated, North arrives to make her wonder if maybe this time things could just turn out differently....
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Maybe This Time is a feather-light romp through romance and the paranormal. Andie Miller, a "bolter" who won't be tied down, has shown up in her ex-husband North Archer's law office to return ten years' worth of uncashed alimony checks. While there, North (strong, silent type name much?) makes her an offer she can't refuse: for one month, go to the wilds of Southern Ohio and be nanny to his two orphaned, difficult wards who have gone through three nannies in rapid succession. The payoff? $10,000. Andie can't say no. The catch? Well, the kids are, by all accounts, a little peculiar, the house is a hundreds-year-old transplanted English castle, and it may be haunted. But Andie won't bolt on this one, so she tells her (unsurprisingly) miffed fiance that she'll be heading down south and doing some babysitting.It quickly becomes clear that the situation is pretty far out of hand. Mrs. Crumb, the housekeeper, is cantankerous and rude and many other unwholesome adjectives, Carter, the boy, is wholly drawn into himself, Alice, the girl, simply falls into screaming fits when things don't suit, the castle is falling apart, and yes, it may indeed be haunted. Or maybe not. I'm not telling; that's for you to read and find out.The book is light enough; I read it on Labor Day and considered it worthy of a day of leisure. Beach reading, definitely. But Cruise tries to pack a lot in. There are a lot of characters in the novel; as the action starts to ratchet up, so does the cast of characters, leaving you sometimes asking, "now, who was that again? Where did she come from? Is he currently in or out of the house?" Things move a little slowly at first, with the reader and Andie bogged down in childcare, and then they do a 180 into out-of-control, page-turning action. The novel could have been paced a little better overall.Quirkiness is charming in characters, and there's plenty of that. However, there are points when you get the feeling that a particular character has maxed out their quirkiness potential and needs to come back down to reality a few degrees to keep things from getting too silly. The TV reporter Kelly is a good example of this; page after page of her inflected dialoge gets tiresome.The child Alice is endearing, if Carter is underdeveloped. Some peripheral characters like Flo, Andie's mother, are charming and delivered in suitable-sized doses; I wish there had been more like her.The romance angle isn't overplayed; it's there, but it's not what's driving the whole plot. I think this goes in favor of the novel as a whole, focusing on Andie as a strong, capabable woman who's in charge and who can do things on her own. For the most part of the novel, the men are concerned voices in the background, not things that threaten to drag Andie into unrelated dramas; she's focused on the children and what she can do for them, and she's a more admirable heroine because of that.A solid three stars: got the occassional snicker, didn't try to get in over its head with depth and insight, quirkiness (though sometimes too much) was appealing), somewhat predictable ending.I received this book as an advance copy from the publisher.
Rating: 3Maybe This Time is a book about Andie and North ex's who haven't seen each other in 10 years. Andie's planning on getting married again and would like some closure first. North asks her to one little favor for him first. A Gothic house complete with ghosts, 2 self-sufficient kids, a Mrs. Danversish, housekeeper, along with a host of other characters makes for a fun, thriller of a read. Crusie writes characters who are quirky and vulnerable. I loved the story this is Cruisie's best book yet.
Rating: 4I'd give this book 3.5 stars. I love Jennifer Cruisie but this book seemed to be lacking something... Don't get me wrong, it's still a good book. Normally Cruisie's book contain more humour than this one though.
Rating: 3I was so excited when I heard Crusie was finally releasing a new novel. I adore her contemporaries.
This had all the classic components of a Crusie novel: Spunky heroine, witty dialogue, wacky, but interesting secondary characters and a plot that's all over the place. It was heavenly.
I did feel it moved slow in places, and I would have like to see a bit more of Andie and North together, though I loved what there was of them.
I didn't mind the ghost aspects and I thought the secondary characters really livened the story up, especially the kids.
Rating: 4This had all the classic components of a Crusie novel: Spunky heroine, witty dialogue, wacky, but interesting secondary characters and a plot that's all over the place. It was heavenly.
I did feel it moved slow in places, and I would have like to see a bit more of Andie and North together, though I loved what there was of them.
I didn't mind the ghost aspects and I thought the secondary characters really livened the story up, especially the kids.
Hooray! Jennifer Crusie is back! I have always loved Crusie novels for their off-beat kind of humor, and interesting, if not a little wacky, characters. This book had all that and more! It was really enjoyable to read a Jennifer Crusie novel again.
That having been said, I agree with others who have said that this was more "ghost story" than romance, and that the character of North seemed a bit flat. I get that he was supposed to be the one steady "rock" and the one calming influence in this whole story, but that doesn't mean he can't have more character. I liked him OK, I just wanted to really see what Andie saw in him.
EDIT:
My previous review talked about how all the 80's and 90's references made the book seem dated to me. Then, it was pointed out to me that it was supposed to be set in 1992....says it right in one of the first pages. So...I retract my original complaints about dated references.
That having been said though...sorry, it's still odd, and the story still seems dated because....well....it is. Why? The only answer is "because." Another one of those quirky Crusie things? But...this one doesn't work for me. Instead of feeling nostalgic, again, it just seems dated. I don't know...I guess I feel like a "contemporary" novel should take place in the time period it is released in. If this had been billed as some sort of newfangled "historical," and it was made very obvious it was purposely written in the past to be nostalgic, then I guess I might not have had such a negative reaction to the dated references. But, one line of "This book takes place in 1992. Because." almost makes it seem as if this was an old novel that had never made it, but was suddenly revived, and instead of going through the hassle of updating all the references, they put a note at the beginning and now it's fine. Not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying that's how it feels to me. At the risk of repeating myself: Odd.
BUT...
Despite those criticisms, I found the book to be completely enjoyable and fun and I highly recommended it for any Crusie fan.
Rating: 4That having been said, I agree with others who have said that this was more "ghost story" than romance, and that the character of North seemed a bit flat. I get that he was supposed to be the one steady "rock" and the one calming influence in this whole story, but that doesn't mean he can't have more character. I liked him OK, I just wanted to really see what Andie saw in him.
EDIT:
My previous review talked about how all the 80's and 90's references made the book seem dated to me. Then, it was pointed out to me that it was supposed to be set in 1992....says it right in one of the first pages. So...I retract my original complaints about dated references.
That having been said though...sorry, it's still odd, and the story still seems dated because....well....it is. Why? The only answer is "because." Another one of those quirky Crusie things? But...this one doesn't work for me. Instead of feeling nostalgic, again, it just seems dated. I don't know...I guess I feel like a "contemporary" novel should take place in the time period it is released in. If this had been billed as some sort of newfangled "historical," and it was made very obvious it was purposely written in the past to be nostalgic, then I guess I might not have had such a negative reaction to the dated references. But, one line of "This book takes place in 1992. Because." almost makes it seem as if this was an old novel that had never made it, but was suddenly revived, and instead of going through the hassle of updating all the references, they put a note at the beginning and now it's fine. Not saying that's what happened, I'm just saying that's how it feels to me. At the risk of repeating myself: Odd.
BUT...
Despite those criticisms, I found the book to be completely enjoyable and fun and I highly recommended it for any Crusie fan.
Andromeda "Andie" Miller has met the man perfect for her and is almost ready to accept easygoing Will's marriage proposal. She just has a couple loose ends to tie up, one being her ex-husband, North Archer. The story starts with Andie meeting with North so she can return all the alimony checks he sent and which she never cashed. It's Andie's way of closing the door on their relationship. He reluctantly agrees to take back the checks, but impulsively asks Andie to do him a favor. He needs her to care for two young relatives of whom he is now legal guardian. He sweetens the deal by offering her enough money to pay off her debt as well as pay for her upcoming wedding. All she has to do is postpone her wedding plans for a month or so, and ultimately figure out how to rid the children's current home of pesky ghosts which are rumored to have haunted the house for over 100 years. Of course, there is no such thing as ghosts... I was actually disappointed in this book. I keep hearing how funny Crusie's books are, and I even put this book on my wishlist a while ago in response to a favorable review which intrigued me. I didn't like the heroine at all. In instances that I think were supposed to be funny, I found she was incredibly insensitive and rude to people. I found a lot of the characters very likable, including North, little Alice and Carter, and Dennis the "ghost expert". I just didn't believe that a bond could exist between any of these people with the limited and unsentimental interactions they had.The ghost story picked up near the end, and I did like how Andie and North finally resolved issues they held in dispute over the years.
Rating: 3A charming story of a divorced couple, two trouble children, and a haunted house. Loved the characters, ending was mildly unsatisfying, but overall a very sweet story.
Rating: 4Craziest book I ever read, and not one I'd recommend to people who share my tastes in reading, but this author really knows how to write a page-turner.
Rating: 3I laughed my way (in a good way) through the majority of this book. Very enjoyable. I barely noticed that the s.e.x. doesn't start until page 273. :)
Rating: 5So. Good Crusie. Glad to see her back more nearly in the romance field.
If you don't read Crusie's romances, go back and read some others first. This is great, fabulous and wonderful but I loved Welcome to Temptation and some of the others more.
Brief notes - usually Crusie is a romance and a mystery - these are romance paranormal/almost borderline horror in with the romance.
Who cares - it's a new Crusie.
Rating: 5If you don't read Crusie's romances, go back and read some others first. This is great, fabulous and wonderful but I loved Welcome to Temptation and some of the others more.
Brief notes - usually Crusie is a romance and a mystery - these are romance paranormal/almost borderline horror in with the romance.
Who cares - it's a new Crusie.
Oh, very enjoyable. I got in the mail earlier this week and spent the evening reading this book. (I think it may have arrived on Wednesday and I started reading it after my knitting class and I finished it that same evening.)
Like eating a sack of potato chips without the resulting upset tummy. I liked the supernatural aspects and the (characteristic) light tone of the books. Hmmm, no important dog in this one.
Rating: 4Like eating a sack of potato chips without the resulting upset tummy. I liked the supernatural aspects and the (characteristic) light tone of the books. Hmmm, no important dog in this one.
Entertaining paranormal story that kept my interest throughout. It had lots of humor but also sensitivity to vulnerable children and a romance trying not to repeat the old mistakes. Andie tries to get closure with her ex-husband North so she can marry again but ends up doing one more favor in watching a couple troubled kids.
Rating: 5I procrastinated reading this book, even though I'm a huge Jennifer Crusie fan, because this one sounded a bit 'meh'. But I was completely wrong. A great ghost story with a strong main character that is typical of Jennifer Crusie's fiction. This was a quick, fun read that was just a tiny bit tense at times, with not all the ghosts being of the friendly variety. I really enjoyed it and it is sure to become one of my Crusie favourites, along with Agnes and the Hitman and Fast Women.
Rating: 4A great corn candy Halloween treat from the Carl Hiaasen of chick lit.
Rating: 5Ghost story plus romantic comedy with a full set of supporting characters. What’s not to love? Scary and funny both.
Rating: 5I freely chose to review this book and was delighted to discover this unknown to me author, I will definitely look for more of her books! Andie Miller intended to be done with North for good and ten years of walking out of their marriage, she intended to give him back the alimony checks and start a new life with her new husband, but North tripped her guilty card and now she was heading south to the boonies....North Archer needed Andie to go to the southern part of the state to stay with two little kids that had so much death in their lives since he was given custody. Three nannies had already quit on him from the children's antics and he played the sympathy card to get his ex-wife to agree to a one month trial.
Rating: 5relationships, ghosts, Ohio, mystery, humor, children I love almost everything written by Jennifer Crusie, and this one is a little crazier than most. It has romance, nasty ghosts, frightened kids, a nutsy mother in law and an even nuttier mother, a convenient but clueless fiancé, and two people who still love each other and are learning to communicate. And LOTS of humor! And almost all of this madness happens in a very weird house that was brought over from England and reassembled in rural southern Ohio. No spoilers here, just go ahead and enjoy! The audiobook is very well narrated by Angela Dawe.
Rating: 5Andie and North divorced 10 years ago after being married only a year. But, just before Andie is planning to get remarried, she has some unfinished business to clear up with North. While taking care of that, North asks if she will go stay with his niece and nephew, now orphans, who have had a really hard time. North is hoping Andie can convince the kids to leave the house they have been living in to come stay with him. But, when Andie gets to the house, there is much more there than she bargained for! Not only does Andie fall in love with those “troubled” kids, there are.. spirits... who don't want to let the kids go. I ended up really enjoying this. I listened to the audio, and am happy to say it was very rare for my mind to wander. I don't like kids, but Carter and Alice grew on me. I loved the ghost story in this book, and that was mainly why I picked it up, as I'm not always a romance fan (but I can get “into” some of them). This one was easy to get into because it was heavier on the ghost story and lighter on the romance. There were also some great characters in this book.
Rating: 4I wasn't sure what I would think of this one, and it's definitely true that this is on the adult side of things. But it's also mostly a nice ghost story and a fun, light read.
Rating: 3Great story - lots of romance, humor, paranormal activity, and really likable characters.
Rating: 5Sweet story--not terribly realistic at times, but a fun vintage Crusie story. Much better than her recent collaborations, which all seem to be lacking a bit of her usual zest.
Rating: 4Solid effort from Crusie although not as funny as some of her others. More focused on the ghost story which was a little heavy for my post holiday reading. But as always she nails characters and their interpersonal relationships in very realistic way.
Rating: 3I do not read many straight up romance novels; they're just not my style. I make an exception for Jennifer Crusie, who Katelyn introduced me to my freshman year of college (Welcome to Temptation). Her novels are light, funny and generally have a bunch of awesome pop culture references.
Maybe This Time is a bit different than her other books because of the fantasy element (or is it?). The ghost plot line left me a little cold (pun, haha, get it?). That was the overarching plot of the book, so you couldn't take it out, but it just didn't work for me somehow. I also had some trouble accepting North as a name. I mean, come on!
Jennifer Crusie fans will still want to read this one, but it isn't her best. If you haven't read any Crusie yet, I recommend Welcome to Temptation or Fast Women.
Rating: 4Maybe This Time is a bit different than her other books because of the fantasy element (or is it?). The ghost plot line left me a little cold (pun, haha, get it?). That was the overarching plot of the book, so you couldn't take it out, but it just didn't work for me somehow. I also had some trouble accepting North as a name. I mean, come on!
Jennifer Crusie fans will still want to read this one, but it isn't her best. If you haven't read any Crusie yet, I recommend Welcome to Temptation or Fast Women.
I really like the humor in Jennifer Crusie's books - I don't know why I haven't read more of them. Since we read The Turn of the Screw in high school I was particularly amused by the references to it throughout the story as well. A fun romance with ghosts thrown in for good measure, this was perfect brain candy for me.
Rating: 4For me this felt like a return to the Cruisie of Bet Me, or Faking It. Its not right up there with her best, the pace flags a little bit once in awhile, but its good fun, and there are whole sections filled with the kind of champagne light, whip smart dialogue that makes her such a joy to read when she's really on.
Rating: 3I missed Crusie's trademark wonderful one-liners; in this book they were too few and too far between. There was a lot of f-ing this and f-ing that, without a lot of f-ing -- just potty mouth. Alice's temper tantrums were annoying, and the reader's voice for Mrs Crumb reminded me of Jon Stewart's GWB. Anyhow, it was fun for an audio book in the car!
Rating: 3I was so disappointed. I always count on Crusie for a laugh, often to laugh-out-loud. Unfortunately, I grabbed this one even though I sensed it was going to be about ghosts (I'm not a paranormal fan). And that seemed to be all that this book was about - the romance and humor were vaguely there. I finished it because it was compelling enough to want to see it through but this is one novel I will not reread as I have many of Crusie's others.
Rating: 3Enjoyable and full of genuinely quirky, charming people who don't make terribly good choices on a regular basis. Stayed up and read this in a single session.
Rating: 4Fun, romantic fiction with ghosts and mediums and haunted houses in rural Ohio. Jennifer Crusie delivers another fun novel with interesting characters and an exciting plot. Kind of predictable but that is what I liked about it. Recommend it.
Rating: 4I don't normally get into the para-normal, although I do enjoy some lightly haunted ghost stories (Charlaine Harris e.g.) but this one got a little bit deeper than I normally would read. By the time I realized this was as ghostie as it was, I was hooked on the romance and the rest of the story, so I soldiered through. I was surprised that at the end I could say I really enjoyed it, although I hope the rest of her stories aren't quite so weird. I really don't want to spoil the story, but will say it's vintage chick-lit on steroids: strong female in love-hate relationship with drop dead perfect gorgeous stud, interesting side kicks, heart-pulling orphans, Victorian haunted houses, nasty housekeeper, imperious mom-in-law, ditzy relatives, etc etc etc. Fun fun fun, in spite of my normal aversions to ghosties.
Rating: 3