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jennstubbs's review against another edition
4.0
I won this book as an ARE through Goodreads first reads. I really enjoyed this book!
Hoping to cut all ties between her and her ex husband Andie pays him a visit to return all of the alimony checks he has sent in the past 10 years. Instead of ending things and moving on for good, North asks her for help. Through multiple deaths in the family he has just inherited Archer House, an old family mansion that was brought over from England, and also became the guardian Alice and Carter, his niece and nephew.
Andie agrees to go down there and help the children adjust in the hopes of bringing them back to Columbus to live with North. This turns out to be harder than she thought. Strange things are happening. Turns out that this old house is haunted, when it was brought over from England it bought some 200 year old ghosts with it, the original owner of the house, Peter, and a former prioress, Miss J. Peter still believes that he owns the house and doesn't like that other people are living in it. Miss J believes that Alice is the baby that she lost long ago and will kill anyone who tries to take the kids from the house. The kids Aunt May was one of those people and her ghost is now haunting the house too. Through all of the hauntings, possessions, seances and deaths Andie and North have found their love for each other again.
Hoping to cut all ties between her and her ex husband Andie pays him a visit to return all of the alimony checks he has sent in the past 10 years. Instead of ending things and moving on for good, North asks her for help. Through multiple deaths in the family he has just inherited Archer House, an old family mansion that was brought over from England, and also became the guardian Alice and Carter, his niece and nephew.
Andie agrees to go down there and help the children adjust in the hopes of bringing them back to Columbus to live with North. This turns out to be harder than she thought. Strange things are happening. Turns out that this old house is haunted, when it was brought over from England it bought some 200 year old ghosts with it, the original owner of the house, Peter, and a former prioress, Miss J. Peter still believes that he owns the house and doesn't like that other people are living in it. Miss J believes that Alice is the baby that she lost long ago and will kill anyone who tries to take the kids from the house. The kids Aunt May was one of those people and her ghost is now haunting the house too. Through all of the hauntings, possessions, seances and deaths Andie and North have found their love for each other again.
downtown_kb's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Andie stops by her ex-husband’s office to tell him to stop sending alimony and leaves with $10k and a temporary job looking after 2 children in need of a nanny for one month. Her ex inherited 2 children after their parents passed and he hasn’t been able to keep a nanny. It’s not clear why he can’t keep one, except the house might be haunted. Good thing Andie doesn’t believe in ghosts.
This was a fun 90’s style romcom in the style I have come to love from Jennifer Cruise. Andie is sarcastic but completely lovable the whole way through. There are a lot of shenanigans with ghosts in this old house but I didn’t find any of it creepy. Maybe just very mildly spooky a few times. More than anything this reminded me a lot of the 1985 movie version of Clue and it was really a hilarious read. It also has some great character development and a fun set of side characters. Even the children were fun and not obnoxious. I also felt when Andie and North reconcile I was pulling for it and North does deliver a good apology and fixes his wrongs. This was great on audio.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Sexual content
jennfgarcia's review against another edition
4.0
Wow, what a surprise this book was. I thought it would be a regular romance, but nope ... it was so much more than that. This book had ghosts, amazing kids, and a nanny. With all of that, there was a romance and not in the traditional sense. The people in love were apart for most of the story but the thoughts were there. How she was able to create such a romance with two people that are barely together is a gift. She did a great job with it and it was believable.
I fell in love with the kids in the story and their troubles. The kids are under the care of North, but he never sees them. They live in their home with a housekeeper. They've been dealing with some serious trouble on their own and they desperately need help. In comes Andie, North's ex-wife, she wants to close the door on their past, but he wrangles her into being a nanny to those kids. Boy does she do a great job and the whole time she fantasizes about her ex-husband. Oh and when they finally get past their pasts, they connect hot and heavy.
Like a bit of romance with some magical realism, then this story is for you!
For this and my other reviews go to Italian Brat's Obsessions
I fell in love with the kids in the story and their troubles. The kids are under the care of North, but he never sees them. They live in their home with a housekeeper. They've been dealing with some serious trouble on their own and they desperately need help. In comes Andie, North's ex-wife, she wants to close the door on their past, but he wrangles her into being a nanny to those kids. Boy does she do a great job and the whole time she fantasizes about her ex-husband. Oh and when they finally get past their pasts, they connect hot and heavy.
Like a bit of romance with some magical realism, then this story is for you!
For this and my other reviews go to Italian Brat's Obsessions
rosaceae's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
afro8921's review against another edition
4.0
This one was a little paranormal gem. I really liked Andy's quirkeyness and also the kids were funny. Not my favorite Jennifer Cruisie,but still a pretty good read.
bibliophile24's review against another edition
4.0
After I got over the initial creepiness at the beginning, I liked it a lot. It's definitely a ghost story, with a bit of romance.
jemcam's review against another edition
2.0
I'm such a chicken that this book actually freaked me out a bit.
kblincoln's review against another edition
4.0
I've read other Crusie Romances, as well as a bunch of paranormal fiction, and I have to say that if you approach "Maybe This Time" wanting straight up romance a la Crusie you're only going to be partially satisfied.
Much of this book rests on the heroine's relationship with family. And by "family" I mean not only her ex-husband, North, her own slightly off-kilter mother Flo, but also the two very scared, very scarred children in a gothic house in Southern Ohio she's been asked to take care of.
North and Andie divorced 10 years ago as North got wrapped up in business and Andie bolted rather than try to work things out.
North inherits a house and some orphaned children who will not be parted from that house, and on a whim, asks Andie, who is in his office after ten years returning unused alimony checks in preparation for a remarriage to someone else, to stay with the children for a month.
Andie falls in love with the children and the challenge of healing them. What she doesn't know is that the children have some supernatural reasons why they can't leave.
North and Andie are great. Their relationship pushes all the right romance buttons, but as I said before, much of this book is about relationships other than theirs'.
The minor characters more than keep up the pace for me, though. At one point we have a famous medium, a famous skeptic, a reporter, North's brother, both mothers-in-law, Andie, the children, and various ghosts all together in the house which almost has a personality of its own, and entertaining mayhem and snappy dialogue ensue.
Lovely, lovely romance and entertaining ghost story all rolled up into one package.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: one of those appetizers you can buy prerolled at the grocery store and slice yourself featuring a salami wrapped in mozzerella with pesto for the delicious core of romance encased by interesting characters' relationships.
Much of this book rests on the heroine's relationship with family. And by "family" I mean not only her ex-husband, North, her own slightly off-kilter mother Flo, but also the two very scared, very scarred children in a gothic house in Southern Ohio she's been asked to take care of.
North and Andie divorced 10 years ago as North got wrapped up in business and Andie bolted rather than try to work things out.
North inherits a house and some orphaned children who will not be parted from that house, and on a whim, asks Andie, who is in his office after ten years returning unused alimony checks in preparation for a remarriage to someone else, to stay with the children for a month.
Andie falls in love with the children and the challenge of healing them. What she doesn't know is that the children have some supernatural reasons why they can't leave.
North and Andie are great. Their relationship pushes all the right romance buttons, but as I said before, much of this book is about relationships other than theirs'.
The minor characters more than keep up the pace for me, though. At one point we have a famous medium, a famous skeptic, a reporter, North's brother, both mothers-in-law, Andie, the children, and various ghosts all together in the house which almost has a personality of its own, and entertaining mayhem and snappy dialogue ensue.
Lovely, lovely romance and entertaining ghost story all rolled up into one package.
This Book's Food Designation Rating: one of those appetizers you can buy prerolled at the grocery store and slice yourself featuring a salami wrapped in mozzerella with pesto for the delicious core of romance encased by interesting characters' relationships.