Abandoned by Booklikes

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

So though I really enjoyed this book, the main reason why I didn't give it a favorite designation was honestly because I thought that Mansell should have Mimi with someone else that was introduced in the book. I thought all of the story-lines were very good and that Mansell did a good job of showcasing all of the stories though she doesn't juggle as as much as she usually does. For once, she stays focused on one character throughout the book with the secondary characters taking a back seat. The ending was a bit abrupt I thought, though often times Mansell's stories do kind of just end. I am a sucker for a good epilogue showing people over a good passage of time and having the author wrap things up in a more satisfactory way.

"Maybe This Time" follows Mimi Huish as she visits her father and his partner, Marcus in the new village they have moved to, Goosebrook. Mimi has what is a pretty funny meet-cute with Cal Mathieson.  Mimi wants her father and Marcus to become part of the village, so on her next trip down she meets Cal again, and then is able to introduce herself and her father to some of the villagers: Paddy (local heart throb), Lois (gorgeous), and Felix (super posh). She also has a run in in with Felix's overbearing mother, Henrietta.  Once Mimi's father is invited to participate in a local event she is glad that he is finally settling in. Unfortunately something occurs and Mimi doesn't visit Goosebrook for four years. I don't want to get into spoiler territory, but after the initial set-up of the book, I thought I knew which way that Mansell was going to go with things, but guessed wrong.

I loved the character of Mimi. She has a job doing PR which she loves and is very good at. When we see her four years later, she is still living with her best friend and has a new boyfriend she is crazy about. She eventually finds out though that what she thought was real was a lie and runs back to Goosebrook to lick her wounds. Being back there four years later has her catching up with all of the village that she hasn't seen in years. And now Mimi is having romantic thoughts about Cal though I honestly didn't see it myself. 

Mimi starts hanging out with Lois and sees how her life has changed. Their friendship was a definite highlight while reading.

Cal was just okay. I really didn't find myself invested in him. Probably because most of the time he felt like a coat rack come to life. You know that coat racks are nice to have. But if you decided to get rid of yours, would you really notice? So that's how he read to me.

I really enjoyed Mimi's interactions with Paddy and wanted more of them. It definitely seemed like there was a mystery going on there. And the way the book ended, I wonder if maybe there will be a follow-up story starring Paddy.

Mimi also gets a boss in this one, CJ, who was a hot mess. I laughed every time he showed up. 

The writing was good. I also have to say I was surprised by the turns this book took. It's not like Mansell hasn't written a book that has made me sad/cry before, see "Three Amazing Things About You." Starting off with introducing us to a lot of characters and then jumping four years later was pretty smart. And she ends up eventually moving through another full year (I think) by the time the book ends. I liked that, because it drives me nuts when a lot of books have life altering things happening in like 4 weeks book timeline wise and I go, this is not realistic every five minutes. The timeline issues still bug me whenever I re-read "The Proposal" by Jasmine Guillory. 

The flow was a little rough here and there, but not enough to impact my reading.I think that the book jumping back and forth from Goosebrook to Puerto Pollensa was one reason why the flow was a bit rough. 

The setting moves between London, Goosebrook, and Puerto Pollensa in Mallorca. The village of Goosebrook felt small to me though familiar. You quickly get used to the locals and everyone's relation to each other.  

The ending as I said was a bit abrupt. I also thought it was just okay. I wish that Mansell had gone another way with Mimi. That said, I was happy about the resolutions with Felix, Lois, Henrietta, and Paddy.