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sashana's review against another edition
4.0
If you’ve read Cruise’s previous works then you will not be disappointed in this one. This was typical Jennifer Cruise genius, filled with believable, funny, and tender characters. It surprised me that this book included ghost, something completely unique for Cruise. I thought it would be your run of the mill contemporary romance but I was pleasantly surprised.
After being divorced for 10 years, Andie visits her ex husband, North, to inform him of her upcoming nuptials and to return years of alimony checks. North surprises Andie with an offer she cannot refuse, $10, 000 a month to look after his orphaned cousins, to which Andie grudgingly accepts. Of course there were all the makings of a good ghost story; Creepy house (check!), strange housekeeper (check!), stranger kids (check!), unexplained phenomena (check and check!). Andie feels like she’s losing her mind so she calls for reinforcement. What happens next is for you to find out; I promise you won’t be disappointed :)
After being divorced for 10 years, Andie visits her ex husband, North, to inform him of her upcoming nuptials and to return years of alimony checks. North surprises Andie with an offer she cannot refuse, $10, 000 a month to look after his orphaned cousins, to which Andie grudgingly accepts. Of course there were all the makings of a good ghost story; Creepy house (check!), strange housekeeper (check!), stranger kids (check!), unexplained phenomena (check and check!). Andie feels like she’s losing her mind so she calls for reinforcement. What happens next is for you to find out; I promise you won’t be disappointed :)
gsparkle's review against another edition
2.0
wish i'd realized that this was going to scare me before i, you know, got into bed and started reading at midnight....
trish_m's review against another edition
5.0
Read it in one sitting. Didn't quit reading until 2:30 a.m.
jscarpa14's review against another edition
4.0
So as far as the love triangle romance of this goes I'm not really buying that. Andi is never actually engaged to Will because she never actually tells him yes. Most of his appearances are in phone calls and the first time he's actually present is in the restaurant where she decided to break up with him. He doesn't come to the house until after this when he decides to ignore her wish to break up with him. He's barely there and then he leaves. So yeah there's no real love triangle at all. The thing is it's not super believable with North either because for the majority of the story he's not really there either, he's in an entirely different city and has very few scenes even in his point of view. They only spend a weekend together after spending 10 year divorced and not interacting after what I think was a 1 year marriage months of which they barely interacted and suddenly they're supposed to be the solid and in love couple. I'm not even sure based on the history given they were a solid and in love couple the first time. They married after knowing each other 12 hours and only stayed married for a year. With this backstory a solid believable couple they are not.
Setting aside the romance aspect of this it was still an incredible book because while the romance doesn't really work, the ghost story is phenomenal. The interactions between Andi and Alice are probably what make this book the most. Andi's relationship with Carter is a bit lacking for most of the book, but her interactions with Alice and the ghosts create a really page turning story. Mae was one of the shining characters of the story as she interacted with Andi and we learned more about her life and death. She's unpredictable in motive and actions from her first introduction.
Overall while it's not a great romance, it is a great book that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.
Setting aside the romance aspect of this it was still an incredible book because while the romance doesn't really work, the ghost story is phenomenal. The interactions between Andi and Alice are probably what make this book the most. Andi's relationship with Carter is a bit lacking for most of the book, but her interactions with Alice and the ghosts create a really page turning story. Mae was one of the shining characters of the story as she interacted with Andi and we learned more about her life and death. She's unpredictable in motive and actions from her first introduction.
Overall while it's not a great romance, it is a great book that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.
lobo1tomia's review against another edition
3.0
A Maybe This Time-ban vannak szellemek, pityókás házvezetőn, elhagyott ház, benne fura gyerekekkel, akik mellé érkezik egy hónapra, hogy rendet tegyen és megtudja mi a gond Andie, akit volt férje kér meg a feladatra. Aztán a szellemek egyre furábban viselkednek, jön médium és paraprofesszor és még az is kiderül, hogy lehet mégse volt véletlen az a bizonyos villámházasság 10 éve. Szerettem Andie karakterét, a tipikus Crusie női főszereplőt, aki okos és gyakorlatias, vág az esze és hogy a gyerekek érdekeit tartja szeme előtt. Az is teljesen világos volt, hogy mi az, ami őt és az ex-ét annyira tökéletes párossá teszi, a szexen túl, hogy mennyire kiegészítik egymást.
Igazából azt kaptam, amire számítottam, egy szórakoztató, vicces, romantikus regényt, ami néhol átment bohózatba, de valahogy úgy éreztem, hiányzik belőle az igazi tűz, az igazi szív. Mindenesetre téli kellemes olvasmánynak tökéletes volt.
Igazából azt kaptam, amire számítottam, egy szórakoztató, vicces, romantikus regényt, ami néhol átment bohózatba, de valahogy úgy éreztem, hiányzik belőle az igazi tűz, az igazi szív. Mindenesetre téli kellemes olvasmánynak tökéletes volt.
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: Grief and Death of parent
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.