I Never Fancied Him Anyway

I Never Fancied Him Anyway by Claudia Carroll

Cassandra can see the future with 100% accuracy . . . for everybody except herself.

Ever since Cassandra was a little girl, she’s had a remarkable psychic gift. Now a successful columnist for a weekly magazine, she predicts the future with uncanny precision. And thanks to her stunning co-worker Charlene—and the latest love of Charlene’s life, hot television producer Jack—Cassandra’s moving up . . . to Daytime TV! The trouble is, whenever Jack’s around, the hapless seer’s second sight goes dim—something that always seems to happen when a desirable single male is around. But despite a truly abysmal dating record, she believes Jack is the one for her . . . though Charlene might strongly disagree. Is true love or outrageous catastrophe right around the corner? Cassandra doesn’t have a clue. But it seems even being able to foretell the future can’t protect her from what destiny has in store . . . and sometimes fate won’t allow you to look before you love.

--I Never Fancied Him Anyway by Claudia Carroll, Copyright © 2007 by Claudia Carroll and HarperCollins Publishers


My Review:

If you’re not into Chick Lit, even a little bit, then don’t read this story. At all. Put the book down and walk away and find something else to read.

I am not a huge fan of Chick Lit, but the stories I’ve read, I liked. Plus I liked the psychic angle, so I picked it up and read it. This was a good story and I did enjoy it, but some aspects were a bit off-putting.

Cassandra has been having visions all her life, being able to predict the future for people with very little difficulty. Sometimes the news is good, sometimes it’s bad. Knowing that people don’t want to hear bad news, she has a hard time conveying bad news, but she’s usually able to sugar-coat the bad stuff. She works for Tattle magazine as their psychic columnist and when an opportunity comes along to do a guest spot on a morning television show, she nervous about it but makes the appearance thanks to the prodding of her friends.

These friends—spoiled, self-entitled Charlene, activist and down-to-earth roommate Jo and the obligatory gay friend, Marc—add their own dramas to Cassie’s life making her already crazy life even crazier. Add to that her attraction to Charlene’s latest “boyfriend” Jack and her life goes from crazier to insane. There’s got to be a happy ending for everyone…if only she could see it.

One of the things that bothered me about the story was its length. At over 400 pages, it’s a quick and easy read, just long. Cassie’s mind has a tendency to ramble, something I liked at the beginning of the story, but it began to and continued to bother me as the story went on. Another is Cassie’s scattered-brainyness. She and everyone else in their office tend to think of their boss only as the “Dragon Lady” and when Cassie is face-to-face with her, she fumbles a bit to remember her real name. Every. Single. Time. I had some snarky nicknames for some of my previous bosses but I never had any trouble remembering their real names when talking to them face-to-face. I also hated the way she “ummed” and “erred” half the time when talking to people she was nervous around. Granted, it’s realistic, but gets tiresome to read after a while.

I also think the writer could have done a little bit more (just a little bit, not too much) to impress the setting on the reader. The story takes place in Dublin, Ireland, and if it weren’t for the fact that she occasionally says they’re in Dublin, they literally could have been in any major city.

I Never Fancied Him Anyway is a good story, a light-hearted fun read and Chick Lit enthusiasts will enjoy this story. It’s apparently going to be made into a movie and I may go see it when released. I liked this story, and will keep Claudia Carroll on my reading list.

I give this story THREE STARS.