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A review by brittanica_bold
Twice in a Lifetime by Melissa Baron
3.0
Rating: 2.5 stars
Trigger Warnings: Death, Suicide
Review:
Unfortunately, this did not work for me. While the book was technically well-written, it did not resonate with me in either an emotional or romantic way.
HOWEVER, if you were a fan of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library, you will probably love this book!
What I liked about the book:
1. Our main character, Isla, provides a good representation of living with anxiety and depression, showing some of the little things that us people inflicted with these tend to do and think that would never cross others’ minds. I appreciated this.
I also appreciated the moments of growth we did see, though they were too far into the story for my taste. I’m basically a child. I need bits of payoff throughout, even if they’re really small, not just a payoff at the end after I’ve lost interest.
2. I enjoyed Ewan’s humor. It was sarcastic, but in a gentle way, if that makes sense. I also enjoyed his constant highlighting to Isla that she wouldn’t think the things she thinks about herself about a friend, so she needed to be kinder to herself. That hit home for me.
3. I enjoyed seeing a couple of random chapters from "current" Ewan's POV. I wish there were more of these.
What could have been better:
1. While I liked the representation of someone struggling with anxiety and depression, I felt like too much of the book, especially in the first half, was focused on this in an unsatisfactory way. Reading emotions and tough subject matter is not a problem for me, if the execution is there. Instead of feeling emotionally drained and like soul sisters with our MC, I unfortunately left feeling exhausted and unsatisfied, which only further adds to my own emotional baggage. That’s not what I’m looking for when I try to escape within a book.
2. The weak relationship on the pages couldn’t bring me out of the funk the book placed me in. While I enjoyed our MCs well enough, I didn’t really enjoy them together. I didn’t see how the love grew there, nor did I like what the author did to Ewan. The author seesawed with my patience and the book irrevocable crashed down for me.
3. I just felt something was missing throughout the whole book. I felt pivotal parts of what could have been a heart wrenching story were not traversed, and, as a result, left me wanting.
Ultimately, what caused me to rate a 2.5 versus a 3 was that the book was marked solely with the genre "romance", but there was a lack of romantic connection for me. I definitely did not see that as the main theme, nor did I feel it hit the points I would hope a romance would.
Thank you to NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Melissa Baron for the opportunity to read this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.
Trigger Warnings: Death, Suicide
Review:
Unfortunately, this did not work for me. While the book was technically well-written, it did not resonate with me in either an emotional or romantic way.
HOWEVER, if you were a fan of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library, you will probably love this book!
What I liked about the book:
1. Our main character, Isla, provides a good representation of living with anxiety and depression, showing some of the little things that us people inflicted with these tend to do and think that would never cross others’ minds. I appreciated this.
I also appreciated the moments of growth we did see, though they were too far into the story for my taste. I’m basically a child. I need bits of payoff throughout, even if they’re really small, not just a payoff at the end after I’ve lost interest.
2. I enjoyed Ewan’s humor. It was sarcastic, but in a gentle way, if that makes sense. I also enjoyed his constant highlighting to Isla that she wouldn’t think the things she thinks about herself about a friend, so she needed to be kinder to herself. That hit home for me.
3. I enjoyed seeing a couple of random chapters from "current" Ewan's POV. I wish there were more of these.
What could have been better:
1. While I liked the representation of someone struggling with anxiety and depression, I felt like too much of the book, especially in the first half, was focused on this in an unsatisfactory way. Reading emotions and tough subject matter is not a problem for me, if the execution is there. Instead of feeling emotionally drained and like soul sisters with our MC, I unfortunately left feeling exhausted and unsatisfied, which only further adds to my own emotional baggage. That’s not what I’m looking for when I try to escape within a book.
2. The weak relationship on the pages couldn’t bring me out of the funk the book placed me in. While I enjoyed our MCs well enough, I didn’t really enjoy them together. I didn’t see how the love grew there, nor did I like what the author did to Ewan. The author seesawed with my patience and the book irrevocable crashed down for me.
3. I just felt something was missing throughout the whole book. I felt pivotal parts of what could have been a heart wrenching story were not traversed, and, as a result, left me wanting.
Ultimately, what caused me to rate a 2.5 versus a 3 was that the book was marked solely with the genre "romance", but there was a lack of romantic connection for me. I definitely did not see that as the main theme, nor did I feel it hit the points I would hope a romance would.
Thank you to NetGalley, Alcove Press, and Melissa Baron for the opportunity to read this book for free. I am voluntarily leaving my honest review.