Book - Maybe This Time

Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie

This review was written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers.

Engaged to a nice man who adored her, Andromeda (Andie) Miller just wanted to make a fresh clean start, meaning she had to sever all ties with her ex-husband North Archer, including returning his ten years worth of un-cashed alimony checks. Every time he saw her, he still knew that she was the only one he would ever love, hearing she was going to re-marry through him and so he did the only thing he could think of to do, he hired her. It was more of a spooky, creepy castle than any home she had ever been in and it was complete with a mote and a rumor of haunting, but the two young children had lost their mother, then their father, and now their aunt, leaving North their legal guardian and he had only been sending nannies to do the job. Finding a way to convince the kids out of the house was going to be tricky, they needed to trust someone and maybe Andie could be that someone. Less than a month into the deal, Andie realized that she had been dreaming of North and not her fiance. Thinking that might be a bad sign, she broke it off with Will but was still not sure of any future with North. It could have been the ghost that had continually put North on her mind, she had been visiting Andie lately, no matter how hard she tried not to believe in them.

Comedy, Drama, Horror, Suspense - yep, it’s in there. The characters are great, including the ghosts, and their interactions with each other are even better. Jennifer Crusie does such an amazing job of combining contemporary romance with a hit of supernatural. The pre-existing relationship between North and Andie is an emotional rollercoaster - seeing through memories of hers and his the good and the bad of their original relationship and then them coming together (not a spoiler - the romance was predictable from page one). It is partly the romance, but it is also the uninvited guests and the ghosts that make this book so much fun. ( )

flag Sep 1, 2010