Maybe This Time

By: Jennifer Crusie

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 10 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

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, he asks one final favor of her. A distant cousin has died and left North the guardian of two orphans who have driven away three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs someone to take care of the situation, and he knows Andie can handle anything....

When Andie meets the two children, she realizes the situation is much worse than she feared. 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 fiancé’s suspicion that this is all a plan by North to get Andie back. He may be right, because Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting....

Then her ex-brother-in-law arrives with a duplicitous journalist and a self-doubting parapsychologist, closely followed by an annoyed medium, Andie’s tarot card–reading mother, her avenging ex-mother-in-law, and her jealous fiancé. Just when Andie’s sure things couldn’t get more complicated, North arrives to make her wonder if maybe this time things could just turn out differently....

©2010 Jennifer Crusie (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Thoroughly Entertaining

This was my first Jennifer Crusie book ever and won???t be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed the book; we have a little mystery, a few ghost, a little romance, and lots of quirky characters. Angela Dawe as the narrator was excellent. I am quite happy with this selection.

Fun and Sarcasm wrapped into suspense

Would you listen to Maybe This Time again? Why?

No, it's a fun one time read.

Who was your favorite character and why?

My favorite character was the medium - I thought she was dry and funny and calm in all situations.

Which scene was your favorite?

My favorite scene was when Alice and Carter finally burned the last lock of hair from May and they were free.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Nothing moved me.

Excellent interprettion

The story is great, very "twisty". I've read the book many times. It is one of my favorites. Angela Dawe does a wonderful job of defining each character. They are each distinct personalities with equally distinct voices. I think the book is probably more enjoyable if you are old enough to clearly remember the 90's.

The Interweaving of Elements from Future Books?

What did you love best about Maybe This Time?

Crusie wrote it! Seriously I heart her.

What did you like best about this story?

So, I have been wondering if I'm the only one that noticed these things. Beware, spoilers ahead: The painting in the bedroom with teeth on it - is it a Gwen Goodnight (from Faking It)? The appearance of PI Gabe (from Fast Women) and Simon (from Faking It as well) - I giggled with delight at the subtle interweaving of elements from other books when these are not even a series. Crusie is just brilliant.

Wonderful, satisfying story, appealing reader!

If you could sum up Maybe This Time in three words, what would they be?

Lively, fun, satisfying.

Who was your favorite character and why?

As a reader, my sympathies were engaged most by Andi (the main character). She was resourceful, interesting, and empathic. I loved the way she connected with and defended the two kids in the story. In some romance fiction, I feel like taking the two main characters and shaking them until they TALK to one another, but Crusie does an excellent job of making the obstacles to the relationship believable, yet still resolvable. Andi's temperament was beautifully depicted. It seemed very consistent with her character both that her marriage would have gone down in flames, and that a second try (with the same guy) could work.

Which character – as performed by Angela Dawe – was your favorite?

I loved the way Dawe handled the two kids -- distinct voices that nicely matched their (difficult) personalities, and none of the sugary-squeakiness some narrators use for children.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I usually listen in the car, or when doing chores, so I'm not usually sitting, but I did find myself stacking wood for longer than I intended a couple of times!

Any additional comments?

I love Crusie's work and I'm glad Audible makes her books available.

Couldn't stop listening! Addictively Good!

Angela Dawe rocks as narrator! Having read most of J. Crusie books (all the way back to the Loveswept series), I was puzzled by her foray into the supernatural sphere of ghosts. The book has a little romance, a little supernatural fiction, and a lot of heart! Interesting story line with an incredible narrator in Ms. Dawe. I wish there was a little more romance involved in the story and I would have loved to get to know North a whole lot better. But overall, an enjoyable and fun listen, one I'm sure I'll listen to again and again! Like Alice said it was "Biuuutiful". lol

amazing

the books I typically gravitate to our chick flick like romances. This book, although has some romantic parts, it is not like a book I would typically read. However, this book had me hooked from start to finish.

Pleasant surprise

This was a great story. I love all the ghost talk from those who believe and don't believe. The narrator did a good job of separating all the different feelings going on.

Very enjoyable

This is my first listen to a book by this author. I was pleased!

The book is rather spooky. Lots of ghosts, both friendly and dangerous. However, I was able to sleep that night, so it wasn't too bad! There were very heartbreaking parts with a couple of kids having to make hard decisions and living through tough trials, but it was treated well, and triumphantly.. which I liked.

The mystery was excellent and progressed nicely throughout the book. The romance was very well done, not over-the-top and very realistically so that no one was "perfect".

I was a bit taken aback with the author's blatant stance on God, Hell, judgement, etc. It was a bit 'judge-y'. It has a very new-age-y slant.

The reader was great! Very easy to follow and had a wide range of voices.

All in all, it is a great book and I'd recommend it to anyone ... other than those with very sensitive souls.

Too Many Ghosts

Now, maybe I'm a wuss, but since we're talking about romance novels here, I can't imagine that I'm the only one who was apprehensive about this book because of the ghost factor. I listen to books mostly to keep me calm while driving and to fall asleep at night and, as much as I enjoyed the story, this book did not fit the bill.

My suspension of disbelief is strong, so the ghosts in here were a little too upsetting. I had to listen to something else before bed and only listen to this book on my morning drive. The ghosts weren't so bad that I couldn't listen at all, but just bad enough to keep the book from being relaxing like I wanted. The good news though is that the story was interesting enough that I found it frustrating that I couldn't listen to it more often.

So if you're sensitive to horror elements like I am, just thought I'd put my two cents in before you have a bad night (like I did). It's still worth the listen if you're a Crusie fan, just don't start off listening at bedtime!