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Apr 26, 2009

Kathrynn rated it:

Loved it! I have a new favorite author. :-) This is the first book I've read by Jennifer Crusie and it will not be my last. I read most of this book with a smile on my face. What a terrific sense of humor! The print is very easy to read--double space--and the style has it flowing beautifully. This was a book I didn't tire of reading and remained engrossed in both the story and the characters.

There were actually three main characters: Nina, Alex and Fred (the dog). What a cha More...

7 comments like (9 people liked it)

Feb 03, 2009

Alaine rated it:

This was my first Jennifer Crusie novel and it was a fun easy read. It is easy to get into and Nina is a character who is easy to love. I think the thing I liked most about this novel was the realness of Nina, she is like your average woman with all the same insecurities about herself and her body.
Alex is an interesting character and doesn't seem to be your typical 30 year old hero. They are a perfect couple it just takes them a while to figure it out. Fred, of course, regularly steals the More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2008

Siria rated it:

A quick, cute read, though this is definitely an early Crusie: there isn't a plot so much as a series of convenient and rather repetitive excuses to draw the book out to its required length. I'm also beginning to wonder why it is that Crusie is so insistent that none of her heroines have or want children: trying to buck genre constraints, or something else? Still, this was very funny, Fred the depressive beagle was adorable, and it's got an older woman/younger man romance—definitely worth the co More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Feb 04, 2009

Kath rated it:

What a geat story, September 25, 2008
My first Jennifer Cruise book and I loved it. I found the audio version available at my local libary and decided to check it out. I really it less than a day finding it hard to turn off. A really nice story about a 40 year old newly divorcee, Nina looking to live a simplier life instead of the corporate life she had with her successful husband.

She meets her neighbor Alex, a 30 year old doctor, who isn't so much into long term relationships. More...

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Jan 01, 2009

bookczuk rated it:

I listened to this on a car trip, and it definitely made the drive a bit more fun. Someone told me that hhis is a reissue of Crusie's first novel. Made me want oreos and a dog. I already have the love of my life!

From the Publisher

A timeless tale from the first name in romantic comedy -- Jennifer Crusie!

Part basset, part beagle, all Cupid . . . can a matchmaking hound fetch a new love for his owner?

For Nina Askew, turning forty means freedom -- from More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 26, 2011

Paradoxical rated it:

This book was adorable. It was quick, it was fun, the characters were cute, and the underlying issues were dealt with a light hand that seemed fitting for the general tone of the book.

Anyone But You is a fast read. Nina is fresh out of a divorce, but she's content with herself and her life (for the most part), and is a rather centered person who feels rather real with her insecurities. Still, her attitude and the way she tries to make her situation better just makes me smile and roo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 09, 2011

Tracy rated it:

If I keep reading Jennifer Crusie, I'm going to have to change the statement in my profile that says, "Chick-Lit gives me a rash." After reading Agnes and the Hitman, I found that I really enjoyed Crusie's writing style (and in that book, Bob Mayer's, too). I followed that up with Dogs and Goddesses, and now here I am with a third Crusie novel in just under two months.

If you've read more than 5 reviews of mine, you'll know that humor in a book can make up for a lot of shortc More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 28, 2011

Ruthie rated it:

Okay, I get the Crusie thing now. The first book I read by her was Welcome to Temptation, which was so-so. Then Bet Me, which kept me up late into the night, compulsively reading, and inspired a blog post in which I navel-gazed in my customary fashion. I liked Bet Me a lot, though I never could put my finger on why, exactly. But oh, oh, oh, I loved this third one.

Note to anyone who ever wishes to write an older-woman, younger-man romance novel: This is how you do it. Just exactly like More...

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Jul 12, 2011

Books&Friends rated it:

I had this one sitting in my TBR pile waiting for me. I love books with humor but I have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy them. This was a cracker of a day.
Crusie has a wicked sense of humor and I love her heroines but the hero, Alex, is scrumptious. We would call him the 'nice' guy, but I won't. Nice is a generic, blah, kinda word you'd use to describe a maiden aunt or your best friend's brother. Alex is kind to animals, old ladies, women in general, and terrific at his job as an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 26, 2011

Julie rated it:

This was a very quick, very cute read. A quick run-down of the plot: Nina is forty and recently divorced, and she adopts a dog. The dog has a run-in with her cute neighbor, Alex, a thirty-year-old ER doctor. They tiptoe around their feelings for each other for a while -- she has hang-ups about their age difference and her body; he worries about her perception of their age difference and thinks their nights of hanging out and watching movies together means she isn't interested in anything else. B More...

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Feb 17, 2011

Norma rated it:

When I read a story like this, I'm reminded why so many put Jennifer Crusie in their "favorite author" category. What a great story! I fell in love with Alex upon first meeting. Nina was a little tougher. While I could appreciate a little self-consciousness, I couldn't get past her age thing. When did 40 become old? Maybe since I'm not there yet I don't get it. But for me, age has always been just a number--for me and those in my life. I dont care about it.

Anyway, I More...

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Oct 03, 2010

Quinn rated it:

With my last couple of reads being on the darker side, I thought this one would make a nice change of pace.

It was really refreshing to see a different premise than the traditional romance fare - 40-year-old divorcee Nina finds herself attracted to her new neighbor, 30-year-old Alex.

What was ever better? The word 'cougar' was nowhere in sight. Oh, how I abhor that term.

Throw in an adorable part basset, part beagle, match-making dog, and we should be on a win More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 19, 2010

Kris rated it:

For Nina Askew, turning forty means freedom -- from the ex-husband whose career always came first, from their stuffy suburban home. Freedom to have her own apartment in the city, freedom to focus on what she wants for a change. And what she wants is something her ex always vetoed -- a puppy. A bouncy puppy to cheer her up. Instead she gets . . . Fred.

Overweight, smelly and obviously suffering from some kind of doggy depression, Fred is light-years from perky. But for all his faults, More...

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Jun 20, 2010

Kay rated it:

So after a couple of years of having an on-and-off love affair with the Bitches over at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books - I finally decided to commit. So I went with one of their must-read Romance Authors - Jennifer Crusie

I chose to start my Harlequin education with Anyone But You because I figured worst comes to worst, I would love the dog. Needless to say, Fred (the canine protagonist), made the book come to life from page 1. I absolutely loved the hero, Alex, despite the fact that he wa More...

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Mar 10, 2010

BarkLessWagMore rated it:

This was one of my favorite romance novels back in the 90's and, being all burned out and jaded, I decided to pick it up again to see if I'd enjoy it as much as I did back before I became so grouchy.

Much to my surprise, I enjoyed it from beginning to end. Though a few of the pop references are dated, the humor and the romance were both a delight to read and it brought me back to those days when I looked forward to spending an afternoon reading to my hearts content.

This book i More...

3 comments like (8 people liked it)

Mar 02, 2010

Andrea rated it:

Anyone But You is a hilarious story about a 40 year old divorcee, her dog, Fred and her downstairs neighbor, who happens to be a doctor and happens to be only 30.

The cast of characters is absolutely hilarious, from Nina and her hangups about dating a much younger guy, to her friend Charity who she convinces to write a book about her dating experiences, to Alex the neighbor she's falling for and his crazy family of doctors. Oh but the real star of the show is Fred, the bassett/beagle More...

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Sep 30, 2009

Juliana rated it:

(3.5 stars) Crusie wrote Anyone But You in 1995 and it was a great read and highly enjoyable, but it felt more like a short story than a full-length novel. Her book, Bet Me, that I just read recently and absolutely loved, was written about 9 years later and I think she has definitely come a long way between the two.

Anyone But You still has her trademark great characters (both main and secondary - loved Charity and especially Max, Alex's brother), wonderful humorous scenes, and great More...

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Jul 01, 2009

Amanda rated it:

I'm a huge fan of pretty much anything Jennifer Crusie writes and this book was no exception.

But...

I'm not apparently a huge fan of the miscommunication plot device. (Potential non-fatal spoilers follow). I had a really hard time believing that the hero/heroine could spend hours and hours watching movies and hanging out and talking together A) without jumping each others bones and B) not ever talking about the fact that she didn't ever want the big house/ambitious man thi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 24, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

Though I'm not a big romance reader, I always enjoy Jennifer Crusie because she's studied the genre (go English Professors!) and seems to having a fun time with it . This is a book originally published in 1999 but that got repackaged in 2006, and it feels like Crusie is working out some of the themes that she'll go on to do more with in later books.

It's the typical Crusie formula--the future couple meet, sparks fly, but both deny their feelings because . . . this is where each book di More...

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Aug 05, 2011

Laurie rated it:

The Barnes & Noble Review
Jennifer Crusie's many fans will be delighted to discover (or rediscover) her wonderful debut novel. It's an exuberant, romantic, and occasionally goofy comedy, with two unlikely love stories. The first is between 40-year-old Nina, happily divorced and looking for a puppy companion, and Fred, an overweight, grumpy basset/beagle spending his last day in the shelter. It's fortunate for everyone that Nina adopts him, since Fred ends up playing unwitting Cupid, introduc More...

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Jun 08, 2010

adventurat rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

1 comment like

Sep 23, 2009

Shawna rated it:

5 stars – Contemporary Romance

40-year-old divorcee Nina is feeling free at last, but a little bit lonely, so what does she do? She adopts a part basset, part beagle, fully morose, and middle-aged dog from the pound, but surprise, surprise, her woman’s best friend Fred turns out to be cupid in disguise and exactly what the doctor ordered. After all, without Fred, she wouldn’t have met her hottie ER doctor neighbor Alex, and that would have been a damn shame ‘cause the yumtastic hunk More...

24 comments like (11 people liked it)

Jul 23, 2009

Laurie rated it:

Anyone But You was a wonderful fun read that is perfect for the summer. Nina Askew is a divorced 40-year old living on her own for the first time in years. A bit lonely, she heads to the animal shelter and finds Fred who is everything she wasn't looking for in a dog. Fred is droopy, less than energetic and looks depressed most of the time but Nina falls in love and brings Fred home. Training Fred to use the fire escape for bathroom breaks leads Nina to meet the neighbor donwnstairs. Alex is More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 31, 2008

Lighthearted rated it:

Okay romance between a recently-divorced older woman and a skittish younger man. Alex is skittish because women automatically start making wedding/baby plans when he asks them out—and, yes they make their intentions clear to him—does this really happen on a regular basis to doctors??? He loses points (with me) because he comments that he would never get serious with a woman who had sex with him on the first date—he’d have sex with her, sure, but he couldn’t respect her. His love-interest, Ni More...

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Apr 23, 2011

Karen rated it:

Divorced for a year and newly out from under the mausoleum of a house her ex-husband insisted they buy, forty-year-old Nina Askew is ready to live life on her own terms. She's got her own job, a cute apartment in an old victorian house, and she's going to go out and adopt a sweet, perky puppy to keep her company. Well, that was the plan, anyway. Then Nina saw Fred. Fred is a middle-aged, overweight, perpetually depressed basset hound/beagle mix and he sighs his way into Nina's heart. Fred also m More...

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Jul 14, 2010

Jintana rated it:

สนุกมากกกก ชอบคาแร็คเตอร์ทุกตัวเลยค่ะ ยิ่งเจ้าเฟรดเนี่ยน่ารักน่าหยิกจริง ๆ เฮ้อน่าอิจฉานีน่าที่ขนาด 40 ยังแจ๋วกินเด็กอายุ 30 ได้ อ่านแล้วคิดถึงตัวเองค่ะว่าจะโชคดีอย่างนี้บ้างมั้ยน้อ เฮ้อแต่อีตาแม๊กซ์พี่ชายตัวแสบพระเอกยังว่างอยู่นี่นะถ้าไม่โดนยายแชริตี้งาบไปซะก่อน มุขตลกของเจนิเฟอร์ก็ยังโดนใจ หลายครั้งที่ต้องกรอกลับไปฟังซ้ำแล้วซ้ำอีก ทำให้การขับรถเป็นเรื่องไม่น่าเบื่อเลยค่ะ ยิ่งรถติดยิ่งชอบเพราะจะได้ฟังนาน ๆ ชอบเล่มนี้ของเจนนิเฟอร์มากที่สุด More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 28, 2008

Trin rated it:

The interwebs seem to agree that Jennifer Crusie writes above-average romance novels, so after reading several books that were very srs bsns, I decided to finally give one a try. This started out great: liked the snarky dialogue, liked the unusualness of an older woman/younger man pairing, thought the characters all seemed agreeable enough. The plot was really thin, however, and what little there was totally goes off the rails at the end—I’m not sure I get the logic of writing a romance novel wh More...

1 comment like

Jul 01, 2008

Oceana2602 rated it:

Right. Something about a single woman wanting a dog. Because the middle of New York is such a good place to get a dog. At least she got an old beagle instead of a young puppy. Which didn't help her much in getting over her bad taste in men, or the fact that if you feel too old to date someone younger, you probably ARE too old to date someone younger.

One day I will learn that romantic comedies only work in the movies.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 14, 2010

Lynn rated it:

Nice, lite read. Nina Askew, newly divorced and experiencing life her way for the first time, is struggling a bit against loneliness and having recently turned 40. In an effort to solve her first problem, she adopts droopy Fred, a part-basset hound, part-beagle lump of unconditional love. Things are a bit more complicated when she forms a friendship with her downstairs neighbor, Alex. Alex is pretty close to perfect. He's a doctor. He's handsome with a fabulous body. He's laid back and loves to More...

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Feb 18, 2010

Willow rated it:

Very cute, amusing early Crusie. Nina is a 40 year old recent divorcee whose downstairs neighbor is laid back 30 year old ER doctor Alex. The two are immediately attracted to each other and begin a friendship, watching old movies together, jogging and just hanging out. Though she finds Alex incredibly sexy, Nina is riddled with insecurity about her body and belief that the age difference between them is too great. Alex has no such worries but deals with his own insecurities that he is not am More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)