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angelofthetardis's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
A simple choice faces Hannah; go home with a friend, or stay out and party with an ex-boyfriend. But what consequences await her? Does she make the 'right' decision? Watch her life unfold in both scenarios in a 'Sliding Doors'esque tale and consider the concepts of fate, soul mates and whether everything happens for a reason.
I've never really been drawn to this author's works as they're just not my usual genre, but she was the latest pick for my work's book club. When I looked at the blurb for this book, it seemed like the most logical choice for me; the 'what if' scenario is one I do tend to enjoy and so I hoped that would make it a bit easier for me to get through.
Generally speaking, this is a perfectly good book. Despite jumping between two alternative realities, the narrative is easy to follow, engaging and a little thought provoking. There are certainly darker moments within it, but overall it's also quite a light read. I did enjoy the examination and comparison of the two timelines and how the smallest decision can lead to far reaching consequences, while also being able to see the threads of life weaving their way through both realities.
That being said, the pairing of certain moments in both realities meant that the story was ultimately very predictable. When taking the genre of the story into consideration, it became even more so - it feels like there should have been more surprises after the major difference at the outset, but there just aren't any. It therefore very quickly became a game of trying to work out where in the other narrative particular events would happen.
I loved the soulmate element, particularly the premise that your soulmate depends on what universe you're in (yay for the multi-verse theory!). It actually fits very well with my own outlook on life - I absolutely believe there is one perfect person out there for everyone. But the choices you make might just change who that person is. I thought this was a very clever spin on the subject and I have to applaud the writer for her beautiful explanation and illustration of the theory.
But, overall there is something missing from this book for me. For a story that does deal with some quite deep ideas and themes, it feels incredibly shallow - I can't say that I engaged with the characters or felt the world coming to life around me as I read. The introduction felt like a last minute addition to serve purely as an info-dump and was pretty much entirely unnecessary, and even those moments where you should have been deeply feeling the characters' feelings were tempered by a lack of anything below the surface.
It's not that there's anything inherently wrong or bad about the book... it just didn't speak to me in the way I hoped it would.
I've never really been drawn to this author's works as they're just not my usual genre, but she was the latest pick for my work's book club. When I looked at the blurb for this book, it seemed like the most logical choice for me; the 'what if' scenario is one I do tend to enjoy and so I hoped that would make it a bit easier for me to get through.
Generally speaking, this is a perfectly good book. Despite jumping between two alternative realities, the narrative is easy to follow, engaging and a little thought provoking. There are certainly darker moments within it, but overall it's also quite a light read. I did enjoy the examination and comparison of the two timelines and how the smallest decision can lead to far reaching consequences, while also being able to see the threads of life weaving their way through both realities.
That being said, the pairing of certain moments in both realities meant that the story was ultimately very predictable. When taking the genre of the story into consideration, it became even more so - it feels like there should have been more surprises after the major difference at the outset, but there just aren't any. It therefore very quickly became a game of trying to work out where in the other narrative particular events would happen.
I loved the soulmate element, particularly the premise that your soulmate depends on what universe you're in (yay for the multi-verse theory!). It actually fits very well with my own outlook on life - I absolutely believe there is one perfect person out there for everyone. But the choices you make might just change who that person is. I thought this was a very clever spin on the subject and I have to applaud the writer for her beautiful explanation and illustration of the theory.
But, overall there is something missing from this book for me. For a story that does deal with some quite deep ideas and themes, it feels incredibly shallow - I can't say that I engaged with the characters or felt the world coming to life around me as I read. The introduction felt like a last minute addition to serve purely as an info-dump and was pretty much entirely unnecessary, and even those moments where you should have been deeply feeling the characters' feelings were tempered by a lack of anything below the surface.
It's not that there's anything inherently wrong or bad about the book... it just didn't speak to me in the way I hoped it would.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Miscarriage, Medical content, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexism, Stalking, Abortion, Animal death, Grief, Vomit, and Animal cruelty
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