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emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy
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 โข W O R D S
Pensive โข Absorbing โข Disappointing
๐ 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 futureโage 103!โand 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 wasnโt exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasnโt 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?
๐ญ 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.
๐ R E A D โข I F โข Y O U โข L I K E
โข Liane Moriarty's work
โข books set on a flight
โข free will versus fate reflection
โ ๏ธ 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
๐ F A V O U R I T E โข 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 โข W O R D S
Pensive โข Absorbing โข Disappointing
๐ 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 futureโage 103!โand 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 wasnโt exceptionally old or young, rude or polite. She wasnโt 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?
๐ญ 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.
๐ R E A D โข I F โข Y O U โข L I K E
โข Liane Moriarty's work
โข books set on a flight
โข free will versus fate reflection
โ ๏ธ 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
๐ F A V O U R I T E โข 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
challenging
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Terminal illness
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Car accident
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Minor: Infertility, Suicide, Terminal illness, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Terminal illness, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
I loved this story!! It honestly made me incredibly uncomfortable to read about death, especially being predicted the way it was for the passengers. It's such a morbid and scary thing, but this book, I just couldn't put it down. It was so well written and just an all around beautiful story and message. I really enjoyed it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol
emotional
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Elements
Heartfelt- ๐๐๐๐
Love aka Romance- ๐๐
Predictability- ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฎ& 1/2
Love aka Romance- ๐๐
Predictability- ๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฎ& 1/2
Spice- 1/2 of a ๐ถ
Tear- ๐ญ๐ญ & 3/4
Thrill-๐ฒ ๐ฒ & 1/2
Humor-1/2 of a ๐
Tear- ๐ญ๐ญ & 3/4
Thrill-๐ฒ ๐ฒ & 1/2
Humor-1/2 of a ๐
I found it pretty easy to figure out what was going on with the "death ladies" predictions by about halfway through the book. However, the journey of the book was still fairly enjoyable.
I did like the ending and the how/why she ended up doing that on the plane. As well as all the frank discussions of mental health.
Overall, it is a decent read, and quite emotional.
Narrators' Rating: 4.5 stars
My only complaint with the narrators was some of the voices they used were annoying or repetitive in different characters.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Medical trauma, Stalking, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War
emotional
reflective
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident