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thefullbronte's review against another edition
3.0
Review haiku:
Three stars for the book,
Five stars for Fred, basset-hound
and sad superstar.
Three stars for the book,
Five stars for Fred, basset-hound
and sad superstar.
tatyanavogt's review against another edition
5.0
I've read this before in the past and loved it but because it's and age gap romance and I wasnt doing reviews or tracking the first two times I read it (the dates I have here are random guesses), I was afraid that I was remembering this book incorrectly. So finally I got around to re-reading it and I loved it. No, I dont think this is an amazing romance BUT I really enjoy Jennifer Crusie's writing and had a great time with it still
cathiedalziel's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. What's not to love about this?! A cute depressed looking loveable hound mix beagle named Fred and a sumptious single hot looking male who lives one floor down (and he's a Dr. to boot!). This was so funny in places I was laughing out loud. I think I have me a new favorite author!
tani's review against another edition
3.0
It's definitely easy to tell that this is early Crusie. It's got all the elements of her later stuff, but less of the plotting and pacing that she needs. Still, if you like the formula, it's a fun little read.
dmwmtgal's review against another edition
2.0
She wanted a perky puppy. What she got was a depressed dog; half beagle, half basset hound. She named him Fred because he looked like her uncle. Can I just say, I love Fred? If he wasn’t fictitious, I’d want him for myself. What a character. And any dog who loves oreos can’t be half bad, right? Although, technically not supposed to feed dogs chocolate. Probably wasn’t a well known fact at the time of the original publishing.
I liked Nina. She’s 40 ~ and she has all of the insecurities that go along with getting older. She’s self-conscious about her body, about her life. She’s hung up on her neighbor, Alex, who happens to be 10 years younger. I love the fact that she was real. Well, as real as a fictitious character could be.
Now, Alex. What to say about Alex. Fred likes Alex. I liked Alex up until the last 25 pages of the book. Then I thought he drank too much. And he was trying too hard to prove a point. He was trying too hard to take care of Nina who (hello!!) doesn’t need to be taken care of. Around page 208, I thought he was too stupid to live. Yes, that’s right. A hero ~ Too Stupid To Live. I almost stopped reading right there. For a wedding present, he wants to buy a house...in the ritzy neighborhood that she lived in with her ex-husband, who still happens to live there. I mean if she wanted a life just like she had when she was married, wouldn’t she still be married? If I were Nina, I’d dump him right then and there. I think he needs to go to Oz and get a brain.
I also noticed that both times anything significant happened ~ she initiated it. He was always waiting for the right time. Once again, Too Stupid To Live.
I liked the side characters ~ Max, Alex’s brother, and Charity, Nina’s best friend. I sensed some undercurrents there and was surprised that there wasn’t a book written with them in mind. And I’m a little disappointed. I would have liked to learn more about Max. I loved Norma Lynn ~ I’d like being her a neighbor. She’d kick my lazy butt into shape real quick.
I’d say the book is somewhere between Okay and Good. Yes, it’s choppy and yes, it seems Crusie skips around a lot. But, for a first novel, it’s not half-bad. And it’s not meant to be a Nobel Prize winner. It’s meant to be a light, fluffy read ~ and at that, it succeeds.
I liked Nina. She’s 40 ~ and she has all of the insecurities that go along with getting older. She’s self-conscious about her body, about her life. She’s hung up on her neighbor, Alex, who happens to be 10 years younger. I love the fact that she was real. Well, as real as a fictitious character could be.
Now, Alex. What to say about Alex. Fred likes Alex. I liked Alex up until the last 25 pages of the book. Then I thought he drank too much. And he was trying too hard to prove a point. He was trying too hard to take care of Nina who (hello!!) doesn’t need to be taken care of. Around page 208, I thought he was too stupid to live. Yes, that’s right. A hero ~ Too Stupid To Live. I almost stopped reading right there. For a wedding present, he wants to buy a house...in the ritzy neighborhood that she lived in with her ex-husband, who still happens to live there. I mean if she wanted a life just like she had when she was married, wouldn’t she still be married? If I were Nina, I’d dump him right then and there. I think he needs to go to Oz and get a brain.
I also noticed that both times anything significant happened ~ she initiated it. He was always waiting for the right time. Once again, Too Stupid To Live.
I liked the side characters ~ Max, Alex’s brother, and Charity, Nina’s best friend. I sensed some undercurrents there and was surprised that there wasn’t a book written with them in mind. And I’m a little disappointed. I would have liked to learn more about Max. I loved Norma Lynn ~ I’d like being her a neighbor. She’d kick my lazy butt into shape real quick.
I’d say the book is somewhere between Okay and Good. Yes, it’s choppy and yes, it seems Crusie skips around a lot. But, for a first novel, it’s not half-bad. And it’s not meant to be a Nobel Prize winner. It’s meant to be a light, fluffy read ~ and at that, it succeeds.
bikes_books_yarn's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the bones of this story, but the characters left me a little cold. The best friend was pretty harsh. The main character Nina was pretty insecure ... actually this whole book was filled with insecure people who were stumbling through life. I guess you need character growth and you don't get that without flawed characters. But I did think a few times that people needed a little smacking. Still - Enjoyable.