Spring Fancy

What a fabulous little oldie that was! I'd say it was more of a 4.5 than a 4. It was just a bit too whirlwind for a 5. It's hard to accept someone throwing over a fiance and marrying someone on a 3 month acquaintance, though Spencer really does a great job of selling me on it.

The sexual tension is through the roof in this book. I was visualizing arc lightning between the hero and heroine whenever they were near each other. From their first meeting, where Winn is the maid of honor in a friend's wedding and Joseph is the best man, the charged looks, constant flirting and illicit touching between the two sends the book temperature soaring. Running and racketball have never been so sensual.

She makes it quite clear that athletic, energetic show more and down-to-earth Winn is much better off with Joseph the forthright car mechanic than Paul the distant computer programmer, I just wish she didn't rush Winn and Joseph into a wedding. The fiance, Paul, and her mother could also have been better fleshed out. They felt flat against the dynamic Winn and Joseph, yet they're supposed to have been two very important people in Winn's life.

The fashion and technology descriptions are hilarious. At one point the hero and heroine are playing racketball, which is delightfully retro in itself, and the author describes the hero's attire - short shorts, a t-shirt with the arms and midriff cut off, tennis shoes and white socks with the color bands at the top pulled up to mid-calf. That's one sexy working class hero. /rowr show less

From Amazon:

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, North asks one last favor: Since the death of a distant cousin, he's become the guardian of two orphans who have already driven away three nannies. North needs someone to take care of the situation--and he knows Andie can handle anything. 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 fiance's suspicion that this is all a plan by North to get Andie back. He may be right because Andie's show more dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house, and that's not the only haunting. As Andie copes with the ghosts of her past and present, she begins to see that what she wants is the same thing that everyone in the house wants--a second chance--and that maybe this time she'll get it.

My Thoughts:

Writing a ghost story must be very hard....writing a ghost romance that isn't cliche must be extremely difficult...but Jennifer Crusie has seemed to pull it off.. She manages to create believable the ghosts...if there is such a thing...while explaining the different types of ghosts and not coming across as corny. The setup at the house is quite Gothic. In fact, one feels as if one has stepped right into a prototypical Gothic historical romance, except for the very modern characters and the snappy, humorous dialogue. You have everything a good ghost story needs... ghosts, murders, a creepy housekeeper, fading children...the whole deal. That should all work well, but the light and witty writing style, and the addition of the kooky characters of Andie's mother, the extraneous medium, just don't quite pull it together. Overall not a bad book...just not a 4 or 5 star one either. show less

Andie and North have been divorced for ten years. Andie wants to cut North out of her life completely before marrying her new fiance, Will, but North has one last job for her: taking care of his wards, Alice and Carter. The catch? The house they're staying in is said to be haunted, all the nannies they've had have left screaming. And the last nanny? She died. Welcome to Maybe This Time.

The book is pleasantly creepy, incredibly funny, and deeply infused with the best of Crusie's style. A fun retelling of The Turn of the Screw, this book comes off as more literary than the other Crusie books I've read; it's less chick-lit, and has a far deeper plot than simply 'getting back the man.'

I really look forward to reading more of her stories, show more this one had me grinning and laughing. Not such a fluffy light read, but not at all a bad or serious one. show less

Maybe This Time is 4 1/2 stars.

I haven't read a Jennifer Crusie novel in far too long and really wish that she would write more and this book reminded me of why I appreciate her writing so much.

Stepping into Crusie's world is definitely not like stepping into the world of most chick lit writers today. Her characters seem very real and their adventures different.

Maybe This Time is a lot ghost story (Turn of the Screw) and a little bit romance. It has humor, intellect, and style. Crusie doesn't rely on cutesie to get her job done, but maybe a little bit of quirk.

Why just 4 1/2 stars then? I found that the book ran a little long. While I was very happy to be in Crusie's world again, the last twist may have been just one too many.

Anyway, show more fun read. I would definitely recommend to other readers who enjoy humor, romance, and mystery mixed with the supernatural. show less

Every time she comes out with a new book I am skeptical and ask myself "Can this be as good as her last one?"

Well, I think this one is just as good, if not better than her last.....

Jennifer Crusie is delving into the paranormal and unlike the last author/book I read, she does it quite well.

Andie (Andromeda) & North have been divorced for ten years....he just got too busy with work and so Andie left as well. It is now ten years later and Andie has come to return ten years worth of uncashed alimony checks...so that she can move on & marry Will.

North is guardian to two children Alice & Carter who live in a haunted mansion. The mansion had been brought over from England stone by stone with all of its original contents...including two very show more old ghosts.

All the nannies have quit and North offers Andie the job......so it begins.

There is: a cranky housekeeper, the ghosts (all 3 of them), a fiance, an ex-brother-in-law with a nastily ambitious girlfriend, two protective mothers, a medium, a skeptic, the children, Andie & North....

I liked this book very much....it was well written, entertaining, fulfilling (nothing lacking here), well edited, and well ended. I stayed up all night to finish reading it.

Happy! 8-P show less

This is promoted as a romantic comedy; I found some situations and comments mildly amusing, but it's more of a regular romantic drama than comedy in my view.

Andie and her husband North haven't interacted since their divorce ten years ago, but she agrees to take care of two orphans he's become guardians of (for a large sum). She and the children are stuck in a haunted mansion in the boondocks, full of secrets.

Even if it wasn't very funny, it was surprisingly absorbing. There's romance and plenty of suspense (Will they be able to get the children away from the ghosts and will the kids become happy, normal children? Will they be able to stop the obnoxious journalist from reporting on the kids? ) and mystery (Are the ghosts real? why are show more they keeping the children in the house? Which of the ghosts is the most dangerous? ). Also, it was interesting to see the characters change and mature. show less

I really liked this book. The characters were well written as well as the story. It made me want to know more about the characters and read more from this writer.