Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Jennifer Crusie: Maybe This Time

Maybe This Time
Publications Date: August 31 2010
Pages: 344
My Rating:


Summary from Goodreads:
Andie Miller is ready to move on in life. She wants to marry her fiance 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 before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything…
When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, 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. What’s worse, Andie’s fiance thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting…
What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-in-law, and, of course, her jealous fiance. And just when she thinks things couldn’t get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them. 
If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she’s pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind…


My thoughts:
I love Jennifer Crusie, can I get that on record. Then again if you have been reading me the last few weeks, you know that she is my favorite author. Anyway, this book was a lot different from her other books. She still had a mystery in it and romance. The romance was a little lacking, but the plot was so good that it didn't matter.  Andie had a passionate personality and it was a riot reading about her talking to the ghosts in the house. The children were spooky little kids, especially Alice. I had a hard time placing what age Alice was in the book and maybe that was the point. Carter was easy to place in age. North is her ex husband whom she hasn't spoken to in 10 years since Andie walked out. However, he is still hung up on her and is doing his best to not think about her.
The book is mostly a ghost story. Andie is trying to get rid of the ghosts and get them to cross to the other side so she can get the children out of the  house. The only way for her to get out of there alive with the kids is to get the ghosts gone. However, she is dealing with three ghosts who do not want to go. She is also dealing with a whole house full of people who think they know what is going on. One of the ghosts enjoys possessing some of the guests.
I liked the story and if your a Jennifer Crusie fan, you will thoroughly enjoy this fresh tale. If you like a good ghost story, this is also for you. Basically, this book is for you! And after read this try to contain your excitement for her next book that will be coming out in late October, Trust Me on This. I hope I can contain my excitement! 

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I knew you would love this book. I thought it was great. I try to read one classic novel a year and I haven't done so yet. I think that Maybe This Time has inspired me to pick up Turn of the Screw.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I'm a new fan of Crusie. This novel sounds like such a fun read. Thanks for reviewing it!

Jess said...

Thanks for stopping by my blog today! I definitely agree about the lack of romance in this book. I absolutely loved Annie and found her very funny. I also loved the Clue-like turn when everyone has to stay the night in the creepy house because of the storm. It was great fun and I am glad that you enjoyed it too. Have you read Agnes and the Hitman? It is one of my all time favorite books.