Customer Reviews

Anyone But You

5 star:		(67)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

After reading Ms. Crusie's latest books, I've made it my business to search out her earlier books, and I'm glad that I've done so. I've found some gems, of which this is one. This time the twist on the romantic theme is that it involves a 40 year old woman and a 30 year old man.

Nina used to be the perfect corporate executive's wife, but after 15 years she realized that she wasn't happy, got divorced and began to finally live her own life. Alex is her downstairs neighbor, an emergency room doctor, and a serial dater. However, once he meets her, his life plans change and he sets out trying to find a way to convince her that she belongs in his life. Add to this mix Alex' brother Max (a gynecologist), Nina's friend Charity (who's about to write a book on her 12-man string of failed romances), and Fred (a part manic-depressive stray dog who's got a severe Oreo jones) and there are more than enough opportunities for the humorous scenes that Ms. Crusie does so well.

Nina and Alex are obviously a couple who are meant for each other, but before true love can triumph each must overcome their own personal obstacles - Nina's problem with dating someone so much younger, and Alex' family pressures and mistaken goals. But the story doesn't bog down with angst, and everything is leavened with humor. And, I was especially glad to see Nina's 40 year old self taking center stage, rather than being relegated to being a secondary character. It's so refreshing to read a romance that doesn't contain a dewy twenty-something <grin>. This is a fun book, and it's worth searching out and buying.

Have you ever been given dirty looks by elderly folks because you were laughing hysterically while reading a book at the county fair? No? Then you haven't read "Anyone But You"... Beyond funny, this wonderfully witty novel by the supreme Jennifer Crusie is one of her best. The unconventional love story of Nina and Alex is accented by a excellent cast of supporting characters. The most notable of these is the incorrigible Fred, who lives up to the standard set by his predecessor, Bob, the dog from one of Crusie's previous works, "What The Lady Wants". Perhaps a bit more 'adult' than her other novels, I would heartily recommend it to anyone that enjoys their romance stories with a large dose of side-splitting laughter. One warning: Do not eat potato chips while reading this book! I nearly choked to death halfway though Chapter 2...

I laughed so hard while reading this book, I had people edging away from me on the bus. Nina, newly 40 and freshly divorced, adopts a basset hound, the very unperky Fred. Then she meets her sexy, younger neighbor and sparks fly. This is probably one of the most witty, enjoyable romances I've ever read. Highly recommended!

More so than "Manhunting" or "Getting Rid of Bradley", this book shows us how Crusie has developed into the writer of such great titles as "Crazy for You", "Tell Me Lies", "Welcome to Temptation", and "Fast Women". Although written in the short format of pulp romance, the humor, the wit, the passion (yeah, lots of that), the wonderful (and believable) dialog is all there. Crusie has such a knack for taking impossible situations (and let's face it, they are all really wacky, all of the books) and making them believable and highly enjoyable. To be frank, this is the kind of book that I would NEVER read, but since it was early Crusie I did. I am so very, very glad I did. Worth finding - it's terrific.

I couldn't wait to purchase this new book by Jennifer Crusie. I've loved reading her last three books (and some older books as well) and was looking forward to reading this one.
Alas... a very small, relatively thin book arrived.
The story, sure: it's funny, it's nice that it features an older women and a younger man, but having gotten 'used' to stories like the ones in "Bet Me" en "Fake It" I was disappointed.
Does not mean you shouldn't read it, but for me; I'm going to make sure that new books are indeed néw and not old wine in new bags!

Anyone But You is a hardcover release of the paperback version that Crusie published back in 1996.

Nina is a newly divoriced woman at the age of 40. Finally with the freedom to be her own woman and do her own thing, she got a bit lonely. After some consideration, Nina decided to get herself the one thing her husband never wanted: a puppy. What she got instead was a basset hound - beagle mix with a depression problem.

Alex is a 30 year old ER doctor who is certainly playing the field and is not looking to settle down. He wants someone to simply enjoy old time movies in the confort of home with no strings attached.

As Fred works his match making magic, these slowly begin to realise that they could possible be just right for each other if they would only admit to the truth.

Anyone but you is a fun, sexy read with the most adorable dog. Fred.

...and I almost did but my two year old would have rather me read `HOP ON POP' a thousand times over. So I happily obliged and then as soon as he went to bed picked up this delightful short novel by Crusie once again and finished it off before the night was over.

`ANYONE BUT YOU' is the story of Nina Askew a forty-year-old divorcee trying to make a new life for herself. She has a new job, a new apartment and a newfound independence, now all she wants is the cute little rambunctious puppy that she has always dreamed of having but instead she gets Fred. Fred is part basset, part beagle who is way past his prime and far from the perky little pup that Nina had dreamed of but on his "last day" at the pound Nina knows she must rescue this languid dog from certain death. As it turns out adopting Fred was the smartest decision she ever made, not only does he quickly ingratiate himself into Nina's life but he also introduces her to Alex Moore her sexy, YOUNGER downstairs neighbor. Nina and Alex have a lot of common interests and are clearly attracted to one another but Nina, being ten years older than Alex, knows that they can never be more than friends, for how can she compete with those perky twenty something's that he is used to dating?

The friendship that develops between Nina and Alex is sweet and touching, something one only hopes to have with a significant other. And the sex scenes were some of the hottest and most romantic that I have read in a while. I believe Crusie's focus on the friendship between Nina and Alex made them one of the best-matched couples I have ever had the pleasure of reading about!

It's the story of recent divorcee Nina who gets a dog to cheer up her life, and then meets her studly neighbor Alex. Now, he's thirty and she's forty, and she thinks he's just a boy toy, but he's a doctor, and a sweet one at that. I'd heard a lot about JC and she did not disappoint.

Written over 10 years ago, it was well worth bringing this one back to print, and I'm glad I got my hands on a hardcover. This is not only one of Crusie's best early efforts, it's one of her best.

Nina Askew has her whole future before her as she turns 40, recently divorced from an overachieving husband. Nina left her hated suburban mansion behind for a third-floor apartment in a converted Victorian. She has a job she likes, though she chafes at having her ideas ignored, and when the story begins, she's at a shelter looking for a perky puppy. What she falls for instead is Fred, half beagle, half basset hound, a droopy, sad-looking bag of bones.

Nina and Fred bond immediately, and once she teaches him to use the fire escape, he introduces her to her downstairs neighbor, Alex Moore. Alex is just turning 30 and growing more and more fed up with family pressures. Himself a doctor, from a family of doctors, Alex just wants to be an emergency room surgeon while his family wants him to pick a specialty so he can make lots of money.

Alex is having bad luck dating young women and is immediately attracted to Nina, but she keeps him at arm's length. Nina finds Alex very attractive, but she's afraid he'll be disappointed with her imperfect 40-year-old body. They fall hard for each other, privately burning with lust as they bond over Oreos and movies with Fred. Eventually, at the urging of her best friend and his brother, they wind up in bed together and fall even deeper in love. All is not roses, though, as Alex decides to give in to family pressure so he can give Nina her old life back, but Nina doesn't want it. They have to get over their hang-ups to find happiness, and there are wonderful characters and lots of laughs along the way.

I have a lot in common with Nina, and I loved Alex. He was great at his job and still enjoyed not being at work. Their age difference meant nothing because Alex loved Nina for who she really was, not her appearance. The side characters were well-drawn, too, particularly Fred and his condescending glares. Max and Charity are also great, and I wouldn't have minded seeing more of them.

As usual, Crusie has penned an intelligent, fun, mature, and outright funny romance the way only she can.

Nina, 40 years old and recently divorced, decides to get herself a puppy to cheer herself up, but her trip to the pound leads her to Fred, a languid basset hound who she takes home instead. Through humorous circumstances, Fred facilitates an introduction between Nina and her downstairs neighbor, Alex, a 30 year old ER resident who is fed up with dating women who are just looking for a good catch. Nina and Alex are perfect for each other, of course, but each of them finds reasons to resist their growing attraction.

I haven't liked some of the previous Jennifer Cruise books I've tried, but when I saw the adorable dog on the cover, I couldn't resist. Fred, in a supporting role, steals the show, but the other supporting characters--including Charity, Nina's best friend who is writing a book about her own exploits in love, and Max, Alex's womanizing older brother--lend quite a bit of of humor as well. This novel is a fun, quick read that I'd rate 4 1/2 stars; definitely recommended as great light reading.