Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie *****

I first wrote this on 9/17/08 - now I've listened to the audio book - great narrator (Susan Erickson) and it's just as much fun the second time around!

Original Review from 2008:

Whee! It was short but fun. I have a new "love" - love books with cute pets! This one ranks right up there, although the dog in NR's Tribute might have been even cuter...

OK I did that thing where I read another book and now can't recall all the details. Let's see: we have a just-turned-40 woman, Nina. She's divorced from her life as a rich lawyer's wife and living in a tiny apartment in a new life and new job, but she needs some/one/thing warm at home with her, so she gets a dog. She's thinking perky puppy, but somehow decides a part-beagle-part-bassett named Fred fits the bill instead.

She lives upstairs from Alex, a just-turning-30 ER doctor in a family of specialized medicine doctors who is getting a lot of familial pressure to stop goofing off and declare a specialty and get married.

Nina teaches Fred to go down the fire escape through her window for his outdoor forays, and he manages to go in the wrong window - and Alex brings him home. She's immediately taken with this good-looking youngster but put off by her attraction to a much younger man. She decides he's 25 and from his own description, hasn't settled down and found a career, so isn't really her type. He's attracted to her too - but she makes it clear she's not available to him.

Alex is secretly longing for a woman who will just stay home and watch movies with him - but mostly dates ambitious women looking for a doctor husband. Nina is also trying to get back into dating - but the gray hair stiff who natters on about his life isn't as attractive as her downstairs neighbor...

Then - there's Nina watching movies upstairs with Fred. Pretty soon, Alex is spending a lot of time at Nina's watching movies but not acting on his desire for Nina.

Eventually, Nina and Alex must face their desires and decide whether or not to act on them. It was fun and funny and heart-warming, nobody died, no suspense and a great dog. 5 stars!