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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I love Mike Chen. His books have consistently been four star reads for me because they are always just shy of a completely satisfying reading experience. This one is closer to 3.5 stars rounded up.
This book had me at hello. I was engrossed from the first scene and was fighting sleep to keep reading. When I picked it up the next day I had to stop reading because something broke my heart. After the heartbreak the book went off the rails and while I was still invested in the outcome, I knew I was going to be disappointed at the ending. I was right. Massive spoiler ahead. Seriously, a big plot twist is revealed. You have been warned:Nevertheless, I don't regret reading the book, even if it is not my favorite by this author.
This book had me at hello. I was engrossed from the first scene and was fighting sleep to keep reading. When I picked it up the next day I had to stop reading because something broke my heart. After the heartbreak the book went off the rails and while I was still invested in the outcome, I knew I was going to be disappointed at the ending. I was right. Massive spoiler ahead. Seriously, a big plot twist is revealed. You have been warned:
Spoiler
By the time Mariana determines she has to time travel I was done with the book. In my opinion, it went downhill from there and I was never fully invested in the plot after that.
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Read Completed 2/5/24 | 3.5 stars
I picked this one up because I had previously read HERE AND NOW AND THEN by the same author and I was ready for some more cozy sci-fi by Mike Chen, and that is exactly what I got. This had some science in it and was primarily a time loop/time travel story, but it also didn't dive too hard into the science and things were mostly light. The title may be a bit misleading as there was more to it than a love story, it's not a romance, and the love story was actually kind of on the light side, but it definitely sets up the expectations of a cozy sci-fi book.
This is one that deserves a solid 3.5 stars from me. It wasn't quite deep enough to earn that full four stars but was a really nice book to listen to, fun to spend time with, and something unique to read. I wish I had connected to the characters a little bit more and that they had a bit more depth. They just never really seemed to break out of character mode and it still just felt like a little story instead of really making me forget I was reading a book.
The ending could have wrapped up a little bit better, for me, as well. It felt like for all we went through, things happened a little too quickly and I wanted just a bit more time with our resolution. We had all of the ends tied up neatly, though.
A fun read and I'd definitely read more Mike Chen when I'm in the mood for this vibe!
I picked this one up because I had previously read HERE AND NOW AND THEN by the same author and I was ready for some more cozy sci-fi by Mike Chen, and that is exactly what I got. This had some science in it and was primarily a time loop/time travel story, but it also didn't dive too hard into the science and things were mostly light. The title may be a bit misleading as there was more to it than a love story, it's not a romance, and the love story was actually kind of on the light side, but it definitely sets up the expectations of a cozy sci-fi book.
This is one that deserves a solid 3.5 stars from me. It wasn't quite deep enough to earn that full four stars but was a really nice book to listen to, fun to spend time with, and something unique to read. I wish I had connected to the characters a little bit more and that they had a bit more depth. They just never really seemed to break out of character mode and it still just felt like a little story instead of really making me forget I was reading a book.
The ending could have wrapped up a little bit better, for me, as well. It felt like for all we went through, things happened a little too quickly and I wanted just a bit more time with our resolution. We had all of the ends tied up neatly, though.
A fun read and I'd definitely read more Mike Chen when I'm in the mood for this vibe!
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No