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drjoannehill's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Bought for me last birthday - I wasn't sure what to make of it at first, because the cover looks like a romantic comedy bestseller sort of thing and the title is verging on ungrammatical which is something I dislike. Not something I would usually pick up without knowing about it first. In reality, I found the first 20% quite difficult or not really me - it was slow going and the main character Tom (by his own admission as this is written in first person as a memoir) is a self-centred, failing, unliked person. However, it then picked up as the main part of the story kicked in - which boils down to time travel that sets off a major change to the timeline and Tom finds himself in a different present day. Cue lots of philosophical discussion, quantum physics, and an adventure. It's not a romance at all but speculative fiction / sci fi.
Name checking The Time Machine and drawing from a bit of the story, and also drawing from a bit of Back to the Future 2 ... For regular time travel fans I can't say if this is a decent read or not. But I found it entertaining and I read about half of the 390 pages in one day. There's some parts that could do with more detail to be convincing, but I'll leave those to other readers to find rather than picking holes in it. Close enough to 4 stars to get the 4.
Name checking The Time Machine and drawing from a bit of the story, and also drawing from a bit of Back to the Future 2 ... For regular time travel fans I can't say if this is a decent read or not. But I found it entertaining and I read about half of the 390 pages in one day. There's some parts that could do with more detail to be convincing, but I'll leave those to other readers to find rather than picking holes in it. Close enough to 4 stars to get the 4.
Content Warnings
Minor: Suicide, Car accident, and War
shoshin's review against another edition
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had to think about this one for a while before rating it. I almost gave up on it pretty early because the protagonist was terrible and the sexism was awful, but I'm surprised to say that I'm glad I stuck with it. The protagonist grew a lot, I was surprised by some of the things that happened, and I appreciated the resolution more than I thought I would. I was walking through the grocery store with a slightly dopey grin listening to the end, which confused my fellow shoppers but made me feel pretty good about the book in the end.
My biggest complaint, which even the satisfying resolution couldn't fix, was the protagonist's irrational attachment to, and inaccurate statements about, a fertilized egg. The fertilized egg in Penelope's fallopian tube would not have been detectable, and no physiological changes occur, so far as I'm aware, until implantation. I could attribute it to future magic medicine, but I think it more likely that the author has an anti-choice agenda. The sexism generally ran through the book and just wouldn't stop, even when the author tried to have the protagonist call himself out. This review covers most of it and says it well, so I'll direct you to it: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/fe29fe2a-19ba-43f1-8c64-ca46ee249a29
My biggest complaint, which even the satisfying resolution couldn't fix, was
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Suicide
Moderate: War, Terminal illness, Rape, and Sexism
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