Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie + Contest!

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

The New York Times bestselling author of Bet Me, Tell Me Lies and Welcome to Temptation delivers her long-awaited novel.

Andie Miller is ready to move on in 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 before they go their separate ways forever. A very distant cousin of his has died and left North as the guardian of two orphans who have driven out three nannies already, and things are getting worse. He needs a very special person to take care of the situation and he knows Andie can handle anything.

When Andie meets the two children she quickly realizes things are much worse than she feared. The place is a mess, the children, 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. What’s worse, Andie’s fiancé thinks this is all a plan by North to get Andie back, and he may be right. Andie’s dreams have been haunted by North since she arrived at the old house. And that’s not the only haunting.

What follows is a hilarious adventure in exorcism, including a self-doubting parapsychologist, an annoyed medium, her Tarot-card reading mother, an avenging ex-mother-inlaw, and, of course, her jealous fiancé. And just when she thinks things couldn’t get more complicated, North shows up on the doorstep making her wonder if maybe this time things could be different between them.

If Andie can just get rid of all the guests and ghosts, she’s pretty sure she can save the kids, and herself, from the past. But fate might just have another thing in mind…

Review:

The adult genre isn't my usual genre to read, but when I heard about this one, I just couldn't resist. Lucky for me Maybe This Time was not only was a fabulous ghost story with just the right amount of romance and funny to keep just about any chick-lit reader happy, but it has officially landed Jennifer Crusie on the top of my list of authors to watch for.

Maybe This Time tells the story of Andie Miller; a woman who wishes her ex-husband would finally let go of her and let her live her new life. And after an engagement proposal, she finally decides the time is right to cut of her last tie to him- the alimony checks he keeps sending. She does just that; she drops by his office and gives him the checks, but something comes of it she just wasn't expecting, a favor. A favor that leads her on her way to a supposedly haunted South Ohio mansion and into the lives of two very emotionally messed up children who have managed to run off all their previous nannies. Her mission: to figure out a way to help them before it's too late. And as she expects this turns out to be one hard task; thanks to the fact that the children want nothing to do with her, her fiancée thinks North wants Andie back, and the fact that this house might just be housing a force that may kill Andie if she doesn't fight back, but when she does will worse happen to her than she could have ever imagined? Only more time and more pages will tell in this witty new addiction in ghostly chick-lit.

One of my favorite parts of this story was its setting, a beautiful, crumbling, and haunted mansion. I loved Jennifer's descriptions of the house because it always managed to have the house, along with its residents, float of the page and come alive.

Another part of the story I enjoyed was the characters, Andie in particular. Andie, a girl who moves to "Layla", was funny, charming, and always a character I rooted for 100%. I especially loved the scenes she shared with the children because it made it appear even more caring and likable. North was another character I adored as well. While he seemed distant at first, it's easy to see he uses his distance to hide the fact that he truly does have quite the big of hearts, especially when it comes to Andie. And Andie and he were completely adorable together. I loved their squabbles and the way they brought the best (and worst even) out in each other. Another character I really enjoyed reading about was the charming Southie.

The plot of this was never failed be well thought-out and fun. Crusie's excellent story telling always had me on a brink of different emotions ranging from laughter to sadness to suspense. I enjoyed the way she made the ghost story aspect of this be unique and intriguing, and the way she always had a new twist to complicate things on step further for the characters and have you guessing at what would occur next.

In all, Maybe This Time is a delightful ghost story. One that I'm sure fans of The Tale of Halcyon Crane (another fabulous ghost story) and paranormal chick-lit will eat right up!

Grade: A-

Maybe This Time is now out!

Source: Publisher/Publicity firm. This Nicole/St. Martin's Press!

And now for the part you all have been waiting for: THE GIVEAWAY! :)

Thanks to Nicole and St. Martin's Press, I have ONE copy of Maybe this Time to giveaway to one of my U.S. or Canada readers.

To enter, please fill out the following form. Though as with any contest there are rules:

~ Must be 13 years or older to enter. (Though please be aware that this is an adult read and does contain references to sexual activities and (present but very mild) sex scenes, as well as a range of colorful language at times.)
~ Open to US and Canada only.
~ This giveaway will close on September 14th at 12:00 PM Eastern.

*THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER.*