Dogs and Goddesses: A Novel

Brilliantly funny read. Laughed right through this book. Couldn't put it down until I finished. Was so funny that I bought another Jennifer Crusie book from the store. Then made the time to borrow one from the local library.

Not as funny as previous Jennifer Crusie books, but fairly entertaining. Why was the book set in 1992? The only reason I can figure is because it wouldn't work in today's world of cell phones. Younger readers won't see the subtlety of no cell phones, but us older folks understand completely.

I looked for this book for months! This story was in Crusie's book that I read, as a teaser. It was so intriguing that I searched everywhere. The twists and chills she gives throughout the whole book is incredible. I couldn't put it down!

Sometimes before going to sleep at night I want to read a positive, fun, female empowering book.. I have reread this book 3 times- just because after a stressful day sometimes I need light hearted empowering books!

Once again, Crusie gives a wonderfully humorous, heartwarming and romantic story. She is a must buy and I'm always eagerly awaiting any and all new releases. For any one new to the Crusieverse, I also suggest her backlist... they are laugh-so-hard-you-cry funny and I've recommended them to all my reader friends!

I love all of Jennifer Crusie's books, including this one. But what I really love is the audio version, read by Angela Dawe. She is fabulous. She uses the perfect voice for Alice, for Andie's ex-boyfriend, for Dennis, and for Kelly, the T.V. producer. Oh my heavens. Every time she reads a line by Kelly I start to laugh. This is one of my all-time favorite audio books.

I, unlike many of the negative reviewers, had not read Jennifer Crusie before, and didn't really know what to expect. All I knew was that it sounded fantasy-esque, which I enjoy, and it was on my mom's bookshelf, which is full of Jennifer Crusie. It was light and fun, and I loved it. Who doesn't love reading about talking dogs, good friends running a coffeehouse, and characters with mystical abilities and connections?
For the record, my mother, a Jennifer Crusie fan, gave it an "A-".

This book was a complete waste of time. The premise is so outlandish - that the heroine would actually drop everything and go to the middle of nowhere - and the characters are totally undeveloped and unlikable. There is no tension or suspense in this book - the outcome is predictable from the first few pages. The writing is amateurish and it would do the author good to expand her vocabulary, especially in coming up with another word for "exasperated." I was amazed this made a "top 100" list - it felt like it would never end.

Cliché characters, bad plot, repetitive actions, this book had it all. I think the authors were going for light-hearted, but ended up doing shallow and stupid. I could not finish this book. Anyone who gave this book more than 2 stars was either being very generous, or just does not read a lot.

Jennifer Crusie used to rock! Witty dialog, interesting characters, fun plots. Since co-authoring, the books have went down hill.

Dogs and Goddesses has a silly plot and choppy writing. It is way too reliant on silly gimmicks such as talking dogs and goddess powers. There are a few glimpses of the great dialog of the eartlier books, but not much.

What happened to Jennifer Crusie?

The premise looked great. However too many cooks spoil the soup is a cliche for a reason. The story was disjointed, the character development was thin and there were plot holes big enough for a truck.

Some people called this book strange, odd or bizarre, but I think this book just simply bad. Plot is boring, characters are so crazy, and language just unacceptable. Usually I donate books to local library or Army Salvation, but this one goes to recycling.

I love reading Jennifer Crusie. I love re-reading her books as well. I know that I'll be enjoying this book again and again, as the story was wonderful. I like the fact that she creates characters who aren't perfect, who hold grudges and who are all too human. You can never fail to have a good read if you pick up a book by Jennifer Crusie! Thanks, Jennifer, for many hours of getting lost in a terrific story.

I absolutely loved this book and cannot believe that anyone would quit after 10 chapters. My job is very stressful and I love a read that takes me into a cute, quick moving fantasy. I loved all the characters and the way the women came together to create the coffee shop/bakery. There were very funny scenes in the book and it is worth the read.

Okay, I love Jennifer Crusie. She's welcome for dinner at my house whenever she wants to come. I love her books and share them with everybody all of the time. I would love to write half as well... to do anything half as well. For my two cents, in the contemporary romantic fiction genre, she is without parallel. Totally in a class by herself.

That being said, this book is NOT contemporary romantic fiction. It's contemporary science fiction. And hey, I'm all for branching out and trying new things. Totally. How else do we learn? Grow? Evolve? I get that. Respect it, even.

Now, if anybody else in the world had written this book other than Jennifer Crusie... I'd still have thought it was marginal. At best. I laughed a couple of times, but the story as a whole didn't capture me, and I didn't find it terribly satisfying. But Jennifer Crusie DID write this book. Jennifer, my favorite modern writer period, branched out. Tried something new. Attempted to grow and evolve. And... as such, I admire her further... but not enough entirely to like this book.

And I don't dislike it because it doesn't follow Crusie's broadly drawn yet terribly enthralling and effective romantic formula of boy-meets-girl, boy-and-girl-fight-constantly, boy-and-girl-survive-through-myriad-impossible-challenges, boy-and-girl-decide-to-stop-fighting-and-have-lots-of-enthusiastic-sex. I don't dislike it for lacking ANY of the basic Crusie hallmarks (the eccentric best friend... the dog... the career... the maverick, beauty-impaired main character). Crusie is a talented writer, and she has many tools in her arsenal, too many to rely on stock. I don't dislike it because it's not, primarily, modern romantic fiction. I don't dislike it because it's science fiction, even.

I dislike it because it utterly lacks depth.

Crusie's modern romantic fiction stories have amazing depth in a genre not known, generally, for its finely tuned characterization or commentary on social imperfections and ramifications. They are really, truly stories, if stories where people wind up "deshabille" near the end. But the characters, especially in her novels near the beginning of this decade, were whole people made from whole cloth, and they had histories, proclivities, desires, and motivations that she crafted so brilliantly it was possible to SEE the people AS people in my mind. They lived and breathed, laughed and loved... they even murdered with a conviction that was possible to understand from the impeccible complexity of the story so completely supporting them.

This book doesn't do that.

There is Andie. She's okay, funny, spunky, etc.etc.etc., but she seems to have sprung, fully formed, like Cupid off of Venus' head, no history, no context, and not a whole lot of investment. Same with her cypher ex husband, the ostensible savior of the story. The children in this creepy tale are dysfunctional in the extreme and pretty hard to like, even by the end (What a lost opportunity for Crusie to explore some depth, as these characters came out of her brain onto a silver platter; she could have done something momentous in this story with them -- but didn't -- and WHY are they they way they are? What do they have to SAY about why they are the way they are? What do they really want? Let them scream for themselves, and not just idly).

I don't know. This book reads more like a first novel than the upteenth novel from a celebrated artist; I hope in all sincerity that Crusie's not going back to the beginning to conquer another genre. She doesn't have to. But if this is her latest, maybe she does have to start at the beginning? Anyway, yes, I gave it two stars for sheer inventiveness of the story (the house itself merits a star) and another for the fact that I did, to be honest, laugh out loud a couple of times. Neither factor wholly redeems the book, but perhaps Crusie's upcoming book, Trust Me on This, will show what this immensely talented writer really can do.

A fabulous read! I loved everything about it. The character development was there, the story was there and the laughs were there. Loved the seance! In fact, the story was so entertaining, I kept thinking about it while sailing in San Francisco Bay. Could not wait to get home to my kindle and see what happened next. Thanks, Jennie!!! Give us another one soon!!!!

I love Jennifer Crusie books. They are fun and easy to read. I was reluctant to read this one, due to some of the reviews. I liked it, it was also fun. No the characters were not as deep as she usually has her characters, but honestly some authors give way too much info on characters to the point you don't have to use any imagination. My only real "gripe" was there was A LOT of sexual content. I am not a prude, but my kids, who tend to pick up and read my books whereever I leave off, I was worried they would read it! Sometimes, the content went a little overboard, to the point it was more of a harlequin romance type book. But in the end, I am glad I read it. It would be fun to see it in a movie.
LOVED the animal dialogue!!! My dog is just like Baily.

So I absolutely adored this book. Is it like Jennifer Crusie's others? Well, I just started reading her books, and have only read two others (The Cinderella Deal, which I also adored, and the one with the dog and the ER doc and the older woman, which I also liked). Is it as quippy as her earlier books? No. But this book isn't the quick, one-plot-line books those other two were. This one was multi-dimensional (in more ways than one). And I LOVE reading books where a couple has fallen apart and find a way to come back together. And North??? Um, dreamy! Any guy who basically gets you what you need when you just hint at it is dreamy. (Anyone who doesn't agree is too young to appreciate how wonderful this kind of personality trait in a man is!) A really wonderful book--and after reading the lesser-starred reviews, I have to say none of those gripes have solid legs to stand on (too literary? not enough quips?? Are these the kind of people who got sad when Santa got you a pink bear rather than a purple bear???). This books keeps you reading as you try to figure out is there or isn't and and will they or won't they.

After listening to this novel, I can readily understand why the Title was chose, but I would have had one that was more in tune with spookiness, but perhaps that would have given it away.

I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The talent of a good writer is to grab you with an immediate hook and that is just what Ms. Crusie did with this novel.

In a nutshell Andie (woman) is about to remarry, she wants to return ten years’ worth of alimony check to her former husband in order to break all ties. (She must have had some good money of her own because that is some serious cash and she doesn’t need any of it?)
Right away you know there are unresolved issues. He agrees to accept the checks if she will do her one itty-bitty favor. She has to go take care of his wards (a young girl and a teen-ish boy) for one week at an Old (transported from England) located in a most desolate and barely reachable area.
Immediately you are introduced to spooky kids, a spookier housekeeper and then there are the ghosts. I listen to most of my books in the evening, and there were parts of this book that really had me looking backward for a second or two. The more the main character reiterated that “there are NO SUCH THINGS AS GHOSTS” the more I looked behind me.

I like how the author created a flawed hero but not so flawed that he could not be and who sorely wanted to be redeemed. Of course there were a couple of silly (and what I call “filler” parts) but I enjoyed the characterization, My favorites are Dennis and May. (spoiler alert) I loved the IN THE BEGINNING “MAY” not the end “MAY”. I was hoping the author would keep her dare I say nice and not the evil entity she eventually became all because she felt she died too young.
All in all this was a long (11 and ½ hours) read, but quite enjoyable

Maybe this time

I’ve read this before, and still enjoy it. A little scary, a little spooky and a lot of fun.

Andie Miller goes to see her lawyer ex-husband to return the ten years of uncashed alimony checks. She never got over North Archer but has decided to marry someone else. North needs help with some orphans and sends Andie to take care of them until a proper nanny can be hired and to bring them back to Columbus. He offers her $10,000 a month which will help pay for her wedding. She agrees, glad to be debt free when she marries.

Major trouble greets her there. The housekeeper and the kids hate her and old house is haunted. The kids won’t leave the house because everyone that tries to take them out dies.

If you light your paranormal light, give this one a shot.

My Goodreads status update at 74%:

"Loving this book! Wishing I hadn't let it sit on my shelf for so long but happy that I finally made time to read it."

I bet you can guess that I loved Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise.

The mystery about the ghosts propels the story forward while all the main characters work their way towards a second chance at happiness.

The main character, Addie Miller, is ready to put her past behind her. To do that all ties to her ex-husband must be cut. Unfortunately, she arrives to say her final goodbye just when his young cousins have caused another nanny to quit. North is in desperate need of help with the two children that he is now responsible for and he knows that Addie would be perfect for the job.

Addie finds herself...

---Accepting the ridiculously large sum of money in exchange for a month of teaching and caring for North's young charges.
---Living in a haunted Gothic mansion complete with creepy housekeeper.
---Discovering more about herself and the kids.
---Realizing that there is more to life (and death) than meets the eye.
---The ghosts are not the nice Casper the Friendly Ghosts types and the problem of getting rid of them falls into Addie's hands.

Maybe This Time includes seances, hauntings, humor, baking, characters with large personalities, love, possessions, mystery, action, heart touching moments, and second chances.

Why it is a five star for me?

I'm not a critical reader, I read for enjoyment, and if a book engages me enough that I have a hard time putting it down then it will usually rate five stars from me.

When I wasn't reading Maybe This Time I was thinking about reading it. I didn't have issues with the characters, pacing, or dialogue and at the end I was thrilled that I had read it.

If you enjoy non-scary ghost stories with a backstory of romance and second chances then Maybe This Time might be just the book you're looking for.

I really enjoyed this book. I was interested in both the romance and the ghosts/kids plot and there was enough action on both fronts to keep the story interesting.

We begin the story with the heroine, Andie going to visit her ex-husband, North, to return over 100 un-cashed alimony checks that she never wanted. The pair obviously still have feelings for each other so when Andie accepts North's spur of the moment offer of a job, you pretty much know where the romance is headed. I did find it to be extremely contradictory that Andie refused to accept North's alimony checks all these years, but didn't bat an eye at accepting $10,000 from him for 1 month's work. I know it was just a plot device to get the story rolling, but it didn't make much sense.

Andie heads down to a spooky old house that's been done up like a castle and even has a moat, so she can tutor North's two wards and try to get them to agree to move up to Columbus, OH. The two kids have lost everyone in their family to accidental deaths and have managed to drive away three different nannies. When Andie arrives, neither the kids, the housekeeper or the resident ghosts want her there and she has to contend with all three.

One of the things that Crusie does really well in her books is to show the gradual progression of relationships, and this book is no different. I thought the development of Andie's relationship with the kids was very realistic, as was her renewed infatuation with North and her transition to believing in ghosts. Nobody just woke up one morning and started acting completely differently from how they had the day before. Everything moved along at a believable pace.

Along the way we got some interesting and quirky characters and quite a few chuckles as well. All in all it was a very enjoyable read.

I freely chose to review this book and was delighted to discover this unknown to me author, I will definitely look for more of her books! Andie Miller intended to be done with North for good and ten years of walking out of their marriage, she intended to give him back the alimony checks and start a new life with her new husband, but North tripped her guilty card and now she was heading south to the boonies....

North Archer needed Andie to go to the southern part of the state to stay with two little kids that had so much death in their lives since he was given custody. Three nannies had already quit on him from the children's antics and he played the sympathy card to get his ex-wife to agree to a one month trial.