Cover Image: Maybe This Time

Maybe This Time

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Member Reviews

I am going to have to give up on this author. This is the second novel I've tried to read by Mansell and I just cannot get into her writing style. I like the cover, its bright and cheerful, but the story line didn't capture my attention. A major pass on this one.

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Maybe This Time is one of those books that is perfect to read while snuggled up warm and cozy on the couch when you have hours on hand to spend any way you wish. It envelopes you with warmth and comfort and leaves you with a happy smile on your face while reading. The characters are so quirky and fun, the towns and settings so quaint and welcoming, and the storylines so alluring and familiar. It reminds me a lot of The Gilmore Girls, which I adored and looked forward to binge-watching whenever I could. I definitely would read more about the characters in this book and would love for this to be a start of a new series!

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I enjoyed reading this book. It has some good storylines and characters. It was entertaining to read about Mimi's first encounter with the rural area where Goosebrook is. Taxies and sheepwrestling is the best! Things getting in the way of Mimi and Cal were making me frustrated. Where would we be without Cora? She's my most favourite character in this book! How I hate Charlotte and kind of also Henrietta. What about Paddy? He is such a nice guy under all the flirting. I want to find out if he ever finds true love. Hopefully he will find that in a future book.

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This is a fun summer beach read. I really enjoyed it! I was rooting for Cal and Mimi from their first meeting, and it was fun to follow all the twists and turns it took to get them together.

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​This was a really enjoyable story set mainly in a village in the Cotswolds and set over a number of years as the characters developed and their lives changed.

Mimi is the main character and initially visits the village of Goosebrook when her Father and his partner, Marcus, move there. At first they're quite wary of the villagers as they think they'll be discriminated against for being gay, but Mimi ends up dragging them down the local pub and they soon become an integral part of the community.

On Mimi's first visit there she runs across Cal and over the years their paths cross again and again, but Cal is married at first, and even when tragic events occur they never seem to get their timing right. I know they were friends throughout the years, but it was quite frustrating the way things continually worked against them.

The cast of characters were lovely and really varied. There was one major tragic event that changed the lives of a few of the villagers, but eventualy over the years everyone came to terms with it.

I did also love how Mimi worked in Puerto Pollensa in Majorca for a while with a cranky writer, as I love ​Puerto Pollensa and the description really brought me back there and definitely made me wish I was there wandering along the Pine Walk on the beach front.

So whilst I did find it a bit frustrating that it took so long for Mimi and Cal to actually get together, the story itself was really lovely and laid back with characters I really liked. Very enjoyable way to while away a hot sunny day in the garden!

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Mimi's life goes into a spin when her boyfriend/boss happens to be sleeping with her best friend/flatmate. Desperate to escape she moves to the Cotswolds to the friendliest village in the world where life revolves around the village green and the pub and everyone is lovely. Especially Cal the friend/neighbour she's in love with but who is unattainable. Cal and Mimi seem to keep missing their moment. But there's enough going on with the other characters to keep you interested while they figure it out.
Thanks to Netgalley for this copy, I'm guaranteed an entertaining read with Jill Mansell. My only issue is why have the pavements in the Cotswolds become sidewalks? That really stood out each time I read it. Aaagh.

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I love Jill Mansell and think she's one of the best of the "Aga saga" authors writing today. This book, as usual, is filled with lovable and interesting characters, and a fair bit of angst and sadness as well. But as Mansell shows, from sadness, beauty and love can bloom.

I rooted for Mimi and Cal to get together from the moment they met-- there was a palpable chemistry between them. But circumstances conspire to keep them apart time and again. It's frustrating, but I kept reading hoping that things would work out for them.

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Mimi has been betrayed by her best friend and boyfriend. She quits her job and retreats to Goosebrook to stay with her Father and his partner. Mimi falls in love with the small village and its residents, especially Cal Matheson.

This is a book that has a lot going on for the reader. We get to see the lives of the small towns residents, their tragedies, happiness and romances. The characters are all very likable. This is a perfect beach read. Thank you for an advanced readers copy from net galley.

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To Me, Jill Mansell, is the perfect summer read author. Although I read this from the comfort of my home, I can imagine this would be a great sun-lounger read. Entertaining and easy reading

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Jill Mansell captivated me with this charming novel from the first chapter.
Mimi is an attractive PR consultant in London who discovers the welcomeness and charming life in a Cotswolds village when she goes down to visit her father and his new partner. She falls in love with village life and develops a crush on one of its inhabitants.
Having been cheated on by her best friend and her boyfriend,who's also her boss, Mimi packs up all her belongings and travels back to the Cotswolds to recover and decide on her future.
This book has everything romance, sad times, happy times, wonderful characters and laugh out loud moments.
Loved it.

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This review contains spoilers.
Maybe This Time, nope maybe next time. It seems that this book is perfectly titled. I felt so bad each time it happens though.
I was rather disappointed to tell the truth. It's not until chapter 48 (the final chapter) that Cal and Mimi even decide to be a couple. We never even get to see them go on one date together. There was a ton of drama too.

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Such an adorable vacation read. I love Jill Mansell's books and Maybe This Time was no exception. Such fun!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

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This is a great vacation or summer read. Light/easy read, beautifully described small town with friendly/likeable people, and a little bit of a love story (including a meet cute). Were parts of the story predictable? Sure. Who Mimi ends up with at the end wasn't a huge surprise. I would have loved a epilogue, though, to really wrap things up. To see where the budding romance leads. But I sure enjoyed reading Jill Mansell's words along the way. Fans of Jojo Moyes and Lianne Moriarity will really enjoy this book.

Now, if only I could book a trip to Goosebrook to have a pint with Mimi, Lois, Cal, Paddy, and all of the others. That sounds like a good time.

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Fantastic title ... because throughout the book you’ll ask yourself if THIS will be the time that Mimi admits she’s fallen in love - with her dad’s village, with a certain man in said village, with who she really is in her heart. Mansell takes a good look at what it means to be home and how once you’ve figured that out for yourself, everything comes up roses.

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This is the first book I have read of Jill Mansell and I am hooked. This is a wonderful romance with lots of twists and turns running through the book. Mimi shares a flat with her best friend until she catches the two of them together. Mimi leaves and goes to the country to be with her dad and step father. Mimi wants them to start to integrate with the community as they have kept themselves to themselves. The ensuing story follows Mimi through heartache, laughter and love. If you want a great love story, which is well written, then I recommend you read this fabulous book. Ideal for a summer holiday read. The characters are lovable especially Cora the young girl and her lovable dog. Congratulations Jill Mansell.

I read this book courtesy of NetGalley

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I really enjoyed maybe this time, it was my first time reading from author Jill Mansfield and have to say I truly enjoyed it.

I really wish they was more in the story between cal and mimi. I loved mimi's story but felt it was missing something and tended to jump from one year or couple months to the next And I was left wondering what was happening between the jumps.

Cal's daughter Cora I found totally adorable and I loved their dog throughout the story, then again I also loved cal's character as well.
I found maybe this time was just what I needed with romance, fun and drama and many funny moments that I laughed out loud to.
Goosebrook is one of those idyllic little villages that you instantly fall in love with and while reading the book I was secretly dreaming that I could live somewhere like this.
It was such a fun, light enjoyable read and Im definitely going to be reading more from Jill Mansfield that's for sure. 
My rating
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Jill Mansell can be counted on to deliver an entertaining cast of characters, a sweet and satisfying love story, and a ton of humor sprinkled in too. This book read a bit differently than many of her others where she switches perspectives and the people you think are supposed to be together in the beginning are not actually who you are rooting for in the end. This one has more exposition to set up why Mimi, in the countryside to visit her father, can end up with Cal, of the beautiful wife and daughter. The story has a sad beginning, jumps four years, and then gets right back into what Mansell does best-- getting readers to yearn for the stars to line up for our two lovebirds.

I love all of Mansell's work. It never fails to make me wish I could go to a quiet countryside town in England and find a no-nonsense lovely man to sweetly pine for. Highly recommend this title for fans of Josie Silver's One Day in December.

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I really enjoyed this book. Loved the characters. This book is a perfect poolside/ beach read. Highly recommend.

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I always enjoy Jill Mansell books and this one is no exception. The plot was a little predictable as the romance between the two main characters progressed but there were enough differences in the plot and pacing to keep it fresh. Jill Mansell characters are always well developed and engaging; it's easy to get involved in Mimi and Cal's relationship throughout their story and I enjoyed the secondary characters and their trials/triumphs as well.

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I enjoyed this book. There is a diverse group of characters and an intriguing storyline. A perfect poolside read.

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