Take a photo of a barcode or cover
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Title: Here One Moment
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Literary
Rating: 2.00
Pub Date: September 10, 2024
I received a complimentary eARC from Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted
T H R E E • W O R D S
Pensive • Absorbing • Disappointing
📖 S Y N O P S I S
If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?
Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.
Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.
How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as "The Death Lady."
Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.
A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.
If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?
💭 T H O U G H T S
Based on the premise alone, Here One Moment was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. Yes, it took me a bit longer to finally pick it up than I would have liked, but I was waiting on a physical copy being available through my library. The reflective nature of the concept of being told when and how you will die is absolutely fascinating to me.
Told through multi POV, including the 'death lady' herself, I was initially pulled into the story and the death predictions, yet as it moved along it loses its momentum. The cast of everyday characters is rather large, which suits the nature of the plot, but also made it somewhat difficult to keep track as the story progressed. Eventually I found myself bored and withdrawn from what should have been an entirely engaging plotline.
The chapters from the 'death lady's' POV often took me out of the story and made the book longer than needed. The free will versus fate concept could've easily been explored to a much deeper level, in turn making for a much more contemplative and engaging read. I needed more reflection and more depth.
And to me the ending was weak and unjust. I correctly predicted what was coming at about the halfway mark and I knew if I was correct it would greatly impact (and lower) my rating for the book as a whole. It was done with such poor taste and drives home stereotypes mental health advocates are continuously trying to work against. It left me with an ick feeling and wishing I hadn't picked the book up to begin with.
Overall, I absolutely loved the premise for Here One Moment, yet the execution fails horribly. It is by no means a mystery/thriller verging more into the literary genre than anything else. For me, there was so much potential, yet the story development is boring and how the author chooses to end the story is such a let down. One of my most disappointing 2024 releases, yet I will continue to read from Liane's work because I have enjoyed several of her other books in the past.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Liane Moriarty's work
• books set on a flight
• free will versus fate reflection
⚠️ CW: death, death of parent, child death, death of partner, grief, medical trauma, aneurysm, car accident, drunk driving, mental illness, OCD, suicide, suicidal thoughts, cancer, terminal illness, vomit, toxic relationship, domestic abuse, infertility, infidelity, alcohol, alcoholism, self harm, war
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"You never know what your last words are going to be, so try to choose them all wisely."
"But that's the thing about life: both your wildest dreams and your worst nightmares can come true."
Author: Liane Moriarty
Genre: Literary
Rating: 2.00
Pub Date: September 10, 2024
I received a complimentary eARC from Penguin Random House Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted
T H R E E • W O R D S
Pensive • Absorbing • Disappointing
📖 S Y N O P S I S
If you knew your future, would you try to fight fate?
Aside from a delay, there will be no problems. The flight will be smooth, it will land safely. Everyone who gets on the plane will get off. But almost all of them will be forever changed.
Because on this ordinary, short, domestic flight, something extraordinary happens. People learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future—age 103!—and they laugh. But for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all.
How do they know this? There were ostensibly more interesting people on the flight (the bride and groom, the jittery, possibly famous woman, the giant Hemsworth-esque guy who looks like an off-duty superhero, the frazzled, gorgeous flight attendant) but none would become as famous as "The Death Lady."
Not a single passenger or crew member will later recall noticing her board the plane. She wasn’t exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasn’t drunk or nervous or pregnant. Her appearance and demeanor were unremarkable. But what she did on that flight was truly remarkable.
A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. Soon no one is thinking this is simply an entertaining story at a cocktail party.
If you were told you only had a certain amount of time left to live, would you do things differently? Would you try to dodge your destiny?
💭 T H O U G H T S
Based on the premise alone, Here One Moment was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024. Yes, it took me a bit longer to finally pick it up than I would have liked, but I was waiting on a physical copy being available through my library. The reflective nature of the concept of being told when and how you will die is absolutely fascinating to me.
Told through multi POV, including the 'death lady' herself, I was initially pulled into the story and the death predictions, yet as it moved along it loses its momentum. The cast of everyday characters is rather large, which suits the nature of the plot, but also made it somewhat difficult to keep track as the story progressed. Eventually I found myself bored and withdrawn from what should have been an entirely engaging plotline.
The chapters from the 'death lady's' POV often took me out of the story and made the book longer than needed. The free will versus fate concept could've easily been explored to a much deeper level, in turn making for a much more contemplative and engaging read. I needed more reflection and more depth.
And to me the ending was weak and unjust. I correctly predicted what was coming at about the halfway mark and I knew if I was correct it would greatly impact (and lower) my rating for the book as a whole. It was done with such poor taste and drives home stereotypes mental health advocates are continuously trying to work against. It left me with an ick feeling and wishing I hadn't picked the book up to begin with.
Overall, I absolutely loved the premise for Here One Moment, yet the execution fails horribly. It is by no means a mystery/thriller verging more into the literary genre than anything else. For me, there was so much potential, yet the story development is boring and how the author chooses to end the story is such a let down. One of my most disappointing 2024 releases, yet I will continue to read from Liane's work because I have enjoyed several of her other books in the past.
📚 R E A D • I F • Y O U • L I K E
• Liane Moriarty's work
• books set on a flight
• free will versus fate reflection
⚠️ CW: death, death of parent, child death, death of partner, grief, medical trauma, aneurysm, car accident, drunk driving, mental illness, OCD, suicide, suicidal thoughts, cancer, terminal illness, vomit, toxic relationship, domestic abuse, infertility, infidelity, alcohol, alcoholism, self harm, war
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"You never know what your last words are going to be, so try to choose them all wisely."
"But that's the thing about life: both your wildest dreams and your worst nightmares can come true."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Medical trauma
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, War
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility
death of partner, aneurysm, drunk driving, OCD
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Such a fun book that feels dark on the surface, but is actually incredibly insightful and optimistic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Vomit, Death of parent
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Pregnancy, War
Minor: Toxic relationship
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
What would you do if you knew when and how you’d die? Try to prevent it? Accept it and live your fullest life?
Here One Moment explores how people react when faced with the realization that everyone’s time on earth is limited. An elderly woman enters a trance-like state on a flight and, unprompted, predicts age and manner of death for passengers. When a few of her predictions appear to come true, a frenzy ensues. Some characters attempt to change their fate, some sit in worry, some are content in the “knowledge” that they’ll live long lives and die of old age. In the end, Cherry’s predictions are revealed to be nothing more than guesses.
The story is told with dual timelines: one covering Cherry’s life and the other the lives of plane passengers after the flight. I enjoyed Moriarty’s writing, but the plot progressed slowly and the book felt too long for the story it told. I enjoyed the questions she explored and the content made me think a bit.
I’d recommend it!
Here One Moment explores how people react when faced with the realization that everyone’s time on earth is limited. An elderly woman enters a trance-like state on a flight and, unprompted, predicts age and manner of death for passengers. When a few of her predictions appear to come true, a frenzy ensues. Some characters attempt to change their fate, some sit in worry, some are content in the “knowledge” that they’ll live long lives and die of old age. In the end, Cherry’s predictions are revealed to be nothing more than guesses.
The story is told with dual timelines: one covering Cherry’s life and the other the lives of plane passengers after the flight. I enjoyed Moriarty’s writing, but the plot progressed slowly and the book felt too long for the story it told. I enjoyed the questions she explored and the content made me think a bit.
I’d recommend it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
I almost quit the book when it was 6-8 chapters in before the big event that set off the rest of the plot was revealed. Overall, I found the pace to be extremely slow and the book to be way too wordy—this book could have been 200 pages shorter. I did appreciate the character development as you felt like you knew each of these people intimately. The narration switched back and forth between third person and first person for the character Cherry, and while I found her to be corny, she did offer some lightheartedness to a plot that lended itself to thinking about heavier topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Stalking, Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Self harm, Car accident
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death of parent
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident
Minor: Child death, Domestic abuse, Self harm
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy