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A review by becca_thegrimreader
The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book has been on my to-read list for over a year, and I was really looking forward to finally reading it. Unfortunately, this book fell flat for me. There were many things I enjoyed, but overall there was very little that kept my interest.
Now, that already sounds very negative so I’m going to try and add some positivity into this review. The premise for this book is intriguing and showed a lot of promise. Oona is celebrating New Year’s Eve and her birthday with her boyfriend and friends. At the stroke of midnight, she is transported to another year of her life yet hasn’t aged internally. She finds out that every year at the stroke of midnight she will wake up in another year of her life, transporting her back and forth in time. Interesting, no? Now, where this fails is that it grows very tiresome. Oona repeatedly makes terrible decisions, and though she is warned by herself from the previous year, she still goes ahead with them. Then as the book progresses there are combining plot points and cliches that just seemed over the top and unbelievable. (Cos time-travel is totally believable?)
Then we move on to our characters. Oona isn’t a likeable person, she comes across as very selfish and self-pitying. We keep hearing about the wise older version of Oona throughout the book, yet we never get to meet her. Any friends that she makes along the way are brief as hanging on to them while jumping through time would be impossible. Yet having said that, Oona has multiple relationships and never with nice men. The only two characters I did like were Madeline and Kenzie, who Oona did not appreciate at all and it infuriated me how badly she treated Madeline. If I’m being totally honest there were a lot of things Oona did in this book that made my blood boil.
I hate giving negative reviews, but there was a lot to be said after reading this book. It was one that I think could have been executed a little better. There were some lovely moments, but they did not make up for the many glaring issues the book had.
Now, that already sounds very negative so I’m going to try and add some positivity into this review. The premise for this book is intriguing and showed a lot of promise. Oona is celebrating New Year’s Eve and her birthday with her boyfriend and friends. At the stroke of midnight, she is transported to another year of her life yet hasn’t aged internally. She finds out that every year at the stroke of midnight she will wake up in another year of her life, transporting her back and forth in time. Interesting, no? Now, where this fails is that it grows very tiresome. Oona repeatedly makes terrible decisions, and though she is warned by herself from the previous year, she still goes ahead with them. Then as the book progresses there are combining plot points and cliches that just seemed over the top and unbelievable. (Cos time-travel is totally believable?)
Then we move on to our characters. Oona isn’t a likeable person, she comes across as very selfish and self-pitying. We keep hearing about the wise older version of Oona throughout the book, yet we never get to meet her. Any friends that she makes along the way are brief as hanging on to them while jumping through time would be impossible. Yet having said that, Oona has multiple relationships and never with nice men. The only two characters I did like were Madeline and Kenzie, who Oona did not appreciate at all and it infuriated me how badly she treated Madeline. If I’m being totally honest there were a lot of things Oona did in this book that made my blood boil.
I hate giving negative reviews, but there was a lot to be said after reading this book. It was one that I think could have been executed a little better. There were some lovely moments, but they did not make up for the many glaring issues the book had.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Death and Infidelity