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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very sweet, fun, time-travel romance that checks all the boxes and satisfies most of the simple questions a lay reader has about the physics of time travel.
Fairly wholesome, no spice.
Fairly wholesome, no spice.
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-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
This would make an absolutely *incredible* television show/series. I saw the whole thing playing out in episodes in my head as I was reading. The themes of time, fate, and choices combine beautifully in this romance to make us question how decisions in our present affect the future that lies ahead of us. Is the future fated or do we write it one page at a time?
Joseph Green, a philosophy student at Cambridge in 2005, dreams of leaving his mark on the world with his poetry while fighting his insecurities that he will never make a name for himself. Wondering what his future will hold, he bumps into Esi. Joe then picks up and runs away with her book… a published collection of his own poetry inspired by his future muse, Diana, and revealing details about his life not-yet lived! Turns out Esi is a time traveler from the future on a tour to witness famous historical figures and Joe is as renowned as Shakespeare in her time. However, Esi has an ulterior motive on her trip through time, as she is trying to change the future by preventing the eventual death of her mother. Can she somehow intervene without interfering in her mother’s own life as a Cambridge student? Will any intervention have an unknowable butterfly effect? Can she rewrite the future she should’ve had with her mom? Can she help restore Joe’s chance at his future with Diana after exposing him to information he should never have known? Are Esi and Joe’s futures fated, or can they rewrite them to include one another as their time together changes everything?
Spoilers to come…
I really liked the blending of romance and time-travel science fiction and how it was told primarily from the MMC’s POV and a male narrator - that felt rare and fresh! I loved the way he voiced the female characters. The story felt slow at times, as it happens over the course of months, but the relationships propel the story just as much as the time-travel elements do. There’s a lot of big thinking and contemplation about the nature of love and the laws/rules of time travel.
Two laugh out loud moments for me:
- Joe jumping onto his friend’s tour boat like Frodo Baggins onto Huckleberry Ferry.
- Joe making his rooftop rehearsal scene for Diana so candle-lit he hoped it didn’t look like the Phantom of the Opera’s lair.
Joe’s roommate, Rob, is a physics major and aspiring champion in the Assassins game played around campus. I liked this side plot - especially after the reveal of its deeper purpose in the story - and found him a quality side character.
I found the ending satisfying, if a little quickly wrapped up, and loved the idea that “We’re all time travelers… just most of us don’t get to go back.” We are all moving through time into the future and memories are our only way back. Joe’s poem to Esi was absolutely beautiful and one of the most romantic “I see you” gestures of any rom-com! I would’ve actually liked to hear more of his poems.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent
I wanted to love this book because I loved Meet Me in Another Life, but this one fell short for me.
Cambridge student Joe Greene dreams of being a famous poet, but doesn't think it will happen. Then, he meets a time traveling group from the future with Vera, the leader, and Esi who tells Joe he is revered as much as Shakespeare is lauded. She also has a book, Meant to Be, which details Joe's muse and love of his life. Esi also has a motive for being in the past (2005). She is trying to keep her mother from a tragic result. As Joe chases after Diana, his supposed muse, he is finding out that everything happening in the present isn't what is written in the book that Esi has.
A time traveling romance, but it lacked the power of Meet Me in Another Life.
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Third person novels are not for me. I couldn't get into story due to The third person POV. Also, the pacing of this story was so slow in parts and incredibly fast other parts. I wish I had trusted my gut and DNF'ed after the first chapter.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes