Two souls, forever tied together by their love for each other, destined to meet time and time again. Shosh struggles through the tragedy of losing her best friend, her sister, and spends most of her days drinking the pain away. Evan is struggling to decide between going to Alaska for a once in a lifetime opportunity and facing his mother's mortality as she battles cancer. Despite the tragedies in their lives, Evan and Shosh are being pulled together by mysterious music only they can hear.

This book feels like poetry in a book form. Not written in any sort of poetry form, but with the same feelings behind it. I did have some trouble connecting to the characters at first due to this format, but it fits who the characters are and the overall meaning of the book. Evan and Ali have an amazing friendship, and Evan's relationship with his little brother is heartwarming. I enjoyed seeing Shosh get to become part of Evan's friend circle and realize she did not have to be alone and could, in fact, be alone together.

⭐⭐⭐

"I Loved You in Another Life" by David Arnold is a novel that blends elements of romance, science fiction, and philosophy, offering a unique narrative that attempts to explore the complexities of love and destiny. While the book has moments of brilliance, it falls short in certain areas, warranting a three-star rating.

One of the novel's strengths lies in its ambitious premise. Arnold tackles the concept of parallel universes and the idea of soulmates reconnecting across different lifetimes, providing readers with a thought-provoking exploration of love transcending time and space. The philosophical undertones add depth to the story, inviting readers to ponder existential questions.

However, the execution of this ambitious premise is where the novel stumbles. The narrative structure, which alternates between different timelines and perspectives, can be confusing and disrupts the flow of the story. While some readers may appreciate the challenge of piecing together the puzzle, others may find it distracting and difficult to fully immerse themselves in the narrative.

The characters, while intriguing, lack the depth needed to fully connect with them on an emotional level. The development of relationships feels rushed at times, and certain pivotal moments in the story lack the emotional resonance they could have had with more thorough character exploration.

The pacing of the novel is uneven, with moments of intense action followed by slower, more contemplative passages. While this variety can be effective in building tension, it occasionally feels disjointed, and the transitions between different tones and moods may leave readers feeling disconnected from the story.

In summary, "I Loved You in Another Life" is a novel that ambitiously explores profound themes of love and destiny but struggles with execution. The intricate narrative structure, underdeveloped characters, and uneven pacing prevent the novel from reaching its full potential. While the concept is intriguing, readers may find themselves wrestling with the complexities of the story rather than fully immersing themselves in its emotional depth.

I Loved You in Another Life had a very sweet premise, but it didn't work for me. Both Shosh and Evan had compelling individual storylines that I enjoyed reading. The use of the songs to indicate they are soulmates seemed like a loophole to actually giving their relationship time to develop. In theory, sharing the past lives seems cute; however, it took me a while to make that connection and realize why those stories were even being shared.

I received an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
This book was a very sweet, young adult romance. I love the different timelines and how the romance was more a slow burn. This book was emotional in a lot of spots and dealt with grief and touched on mental health quite a bit. I enjoyed it.

I was a little iffy on this one since it was a weird timeline book but also my first book by David Arnold. I’ve heard he’s a great author but mostly writes like contemporary, literary fiction but for YA readers, and that’s just not my jam. But this one was actually good and I even got a little emotional at the end.

Plot wise I understood what this was trying to do, but I didn’t feel like the time line flowed very well. I guess I wanted to see more of them in their other lives for longer. It always felt like a weird insert when they had the flashed back to them and I wanted better for them. But I did think when they were Shosh and Evan it was fine. They should have made the other lives a little longer. It would have made the book longer, but I think it would have made it better.

If you don’t know, I’m a hella emotional reader. I will absolutely cry over a book no matter where I am. So basically, I wasn’t surprised at all when I started crying while listening to this. I was basically just randomly crying while doing the laundry because of this book. Idk, the ending, the way they kept finding each other, just all of it, it was so sweet. And I don’t know why, but it just got to me. After all they had been through and they still found each other? Ugh, I loved that. I asked a couple years ago for a book with reincarnation, and to say after YEARS I finally got one (and a good one at that!) I am happy.

The music also made this what it was. I saw that it was original music by the author and that’s just so fire to me. I really liked that. And the narration was also good. I LOVE a good full cast audio. And this one had one of my faves (Michael Crouch) in it, so I knew I was going to have a good time with this one. It was a great performance for all of them.

My only problem was it seemed a little slow in some places. And, like was this supposed to be a roamnce, or was this just supposed to be the story of them finding each other again? Because while that’s a good story, it just felt like it didn’t go anywhere. I wanted to see them together. To see them happy and doing things together. To finding out more about the other and doing things together. I wanted to see them happy together. And like, I know we do get a glimpse of Shosh and Evan being together, but I just wanted more. Like if that wasn’t the goal, what was the reason of the last scene?

This was a hella interesting book and I am so happy I was able to read it via audio. It was definitely an experience. I’m not sure I would have rated it as high if I had read it with my eyes. I would have missed the music and the amazing performance by some of my favorite narrators. Definitely made me go back and request all his other books as audio as well.

I was surprised by the fluidity of David Arnold's writing, I loved it so much. It was so simplistic yet perfect for this fantasy world. However, the book lacked something for me, something with more depth and no real connection to the characters. For me, I love characters, and while I certainly liked Shosh and Evan I never truly felt a connection to them. The storyline was good, but at times very slow and I found myself wanting to skip pages (which I didn't) to hurry the book along.

If you are looking for a poetic fun read this is the book for you!

Thanks to NetGalley and to Penguin Teen for letting me enjoy this title early in exchange for my honest review.

I Loved You in Another Life is said to be perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Matt Haig, two authors who write beautiful but depressing stories - and I think that’s the problem I had with this one, I was not in the mood for something depressing when I read it, so therefore it was really hard for me to finish it.
I enjoyed the writing, I thought it was written beautifully. Arnold’s account was poetic and haunting. That’s about all I liked though, because I found the plot a bit slow and boring and I was not sold on the characters POV’s that we read.
I will try David Arnold again in the future though, this one just wasn’t for me.

Thank you netgalley for sending me this arc in exchange for my honest review

Rating: 4 stars

I resonated with this characters so much with two different kinds of grief, death and a parent leaving them by choice. I think this emotional story was beautifully written for anyone to really tie in with or enjoy. I was so excited to read this and I was not let down. I want to reread this book soon and feel these feelings all over again.

This book is a slow burn YA romance, which I really enjoyed. It deals with some heavy topics such as mental health and grief. I enjoyed the poetic, lyrical writing style. This book would be good to annotate in physical form as there are many good quotes throughout the story. I don't want to give much away, but give this one a chance. Thank you, NetGalley, Penguin Teen, and author David Arnold for the e-arc. 4 star

I Loved You in Another Life

One of the most beautiful, coming of age romance stories. It wrapped my heart in a warm hug and I just wanted to hang on to the characters for a while afterwards.

Shosh is dealing with grief after the death of her sister. Evan lives with his mom and younger brother, after his father left them.

Connected through time, and a song that they both continue to hear, this friendship to love story is beautiful and heartbreaking. I loved the relationship between Evan and his brother Will, who loves everything E.T., and my heart aches for Shosh, knowing personally how hard it is as a family to deal with grief.

A serendipitous connection, and a chance for them each to refocus and follow their dreams. 💫

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Geoup for this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

Pub date: 10 October 2023

Sosh is lost and angry at the world for the drunk driver that killed her sister. Stevie and Sosh were more than sisters, they were the best of friends - Sosh looked at Stevie like she was her moon. Evan’s struggling with his dad walking out on his family and his mom’s breast cancer diagnosis - but mostly, he’s worried about how to take care of his younger brother William, a sensitive seven-year-old, who wears the same red hoodie, covers himself in bandaids, and watches E.T. every Tuesday night. Both are trying to figure out their next step in life when they begin hearing a mysterious singer no one else seems to hear. How will the melody bring them together?

The characters of Sosh and Evan were a little harder to get into at the beginning but they were closed off, which was understandable. It was almost like meeting a friend for the first time - the more you got to know them, the more they opened up and shared their struggles.

I don’t read a ton of romance, but this book is most definitely a slow burn romance. Did I get the “love you in another life” part? Not really - sure there were tidbits here and there of other characters in a different time, but I had a hard time connecting them to Sosh and Evan.

What I really did like about this book, that wasn’t the romance, was both the family dynamic of Evan, his mom, and his brother, and the therapy positive outlook they had on there. Oh - and Sosh and her teacher’s relationship, because that’s what I always wanted for my kids when I taught - was for them to feel safe enough to talk about their stuff and for me to hopefully give them a positive outcome.

Overall, I enjoyed this mostly for the character’s individual’s journeys over the romance portion of it. Romance was okay, but that’s not why I will be recommending this book when I do.

*Thank you Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

Really enjoyed this emotionally wrecking book! I could relate to this feeling of being in love and chasing love, losing love, wanting love. Gorgeously written, full of with heart. Beautiful story of fated lovers and an accurate portrayal of grief and trauma,

Thank you so much PenguinTeen and the Publisher for sending me the eArc!

Thank you so much to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for sending me both an ARC and a physical copy of this book!

I was really intrigued by the description of this one as I am a sucker for a fated lovers storyline and it sounded like a beautiful story. And at some points it was - it just seemed like it took a hot sec to get there. Starting out I was very confused by the writing style and plot line of this book, and while it did get better, it wasn’t until about halfway through that I didn’t have to force myself to read it. It seemed like a lot of times it just kind of randomly jumped back in time, and when that did happen a whole storyline was told in usually about 2 pages. I guess I just expected this one to be more of a romance, and while the main characters’ storylines aren’t bad, it wasn’t until 60% through the book that they even really interacted (I remember- I checked). I will say this book did improve in the second half. Overall, it was not my fav but had pockets of beautiful and insightful writing that redeemed it a for me. Rating: 2.75/5⭐️

This was a lovely story that goes through topics of grief, soulmates, and trauma.

Evan and Shosh both hear songs no one else can. Evan is dealing with his mom's diagnosis, his father leaving, and being the best brother he can be to Will. Shosh is dealing with the trauma of losing her sister when she was supposed to prepare for her dream in LA. Throughout their journey, we also hear about different stories throughout history about two strangers coming together in mysterious ways.

I will say, it took me almost a month to get through this because the pace is slow but it truly was a beautiful, poetic story. Some trigger warnings: cancer, drunk driving, alcoholism, and the death of a sibling. This can be a bit heavy for YA, but I feel like they were well-written and can be very beneficial for some readers. I would totally add this to my classroom library.

Thank you to Penguin Group and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest opinion and review.

This was a phenomenal book. The thoughts of the characters trauma and inner dialogue were so well thought out. I felt a need to stop multiple times just to reread and highlight sections.

I did think it took me about half the book to really feel like this was a romance novel. As someone who went in blind, I was a little confused to the direction of the novel until about that half way point! Although it was beautifully done, I do wish the the characters paths crossed sooner so we could’ve gotten them together more. I understand why the author didn’t do this, to highlight more of the characters back stories and highlight how much they grew.

I thought all the intersections timelines and stories was just really special. And the thought of soul mates always finding each other just made me want to reread all over again! Such an inspirational read. Felt like realistic magic we could all believe in.

Plan on posting my social media reviews in a couple days! Will come back and add links. Thank you for the advanced copy!

3.5 stars

This is a pretty emotional story, dealing with grief, mental health, and how to move forward. The characters have come together again and again over the years in different incarnations. They are pulled together through various means, but usually involving a song they both hear. I liked the little side stories of the past lives and also that it wasn't necessarily the main focus of the plot.

Everything flows well, switching between Evan and Shosh's points of view as well as the past (and future) lives. I loved Evan's little brother Will and his obsession with E.T. and how Evan's mom pushes him to do things for himself and not sacrifice his future.

Despite the "soulmate" thread, I kind of thought Evan and Shosh might be better off as friends. They didn't have that spark I wanted and several of the past lives didn't last long to see if things would actually work out for them.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to Viking Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the copy.

This young adult romance hit hard in the romance which made up for the lighter punch in plot. The book is a slow burn and took me a while to really get into it. I get where it was coming from with the inserts of other timelines but I didn’t really need them and another format may have fit better? I did like the characters, obviously Will was a favorite of mine. Evan and Shosh were harder for me to connect to (which made sense, their characters were massively closed off to start) but once I did this was definitely a story that made me cry in the end. I loved the imagery of the music they were hearing and loved the artistic representation in this one. Evan and Shosh don’t know each other but they are both adrift in a strange point in their lives, Evan is considering putting his dreams on hold since his father left and his mother has breast cancer and he worries about his younger brother. Shosh’s sister died and she doesn’t know how to go on without her. While they don’t know each other when they meet it’s like they do. A sweet love story. Overall I gave this one 3.5 stars rounded up for the well done emotional aspect.

Dreamy, romantic, lingering, and complex. Honestly everything so love in a nice dark chocolate and a good book.

At times it was confusing keeping track of everything that was going on, but that made the story that much more fun to read. If you’re looking for something light and fluffy, this probably isn’t the best choice, but if you like spending time in feral bed goblin mode surrounded by loads of crumpled tissues, I Loved You In Another Life will be your best friend.

Many parts of this book were very beautiful. It has the potential to be very captivating and lyrical. Unfortunately, for me, I was left wanting more. I found much of the middle to be monotonous and slow, and the ending wasn’t able to pull it all together. This author writes very cool and different books, so I will continue to keep reading his works in hopes something will land for me.

3⭐️

I LOVED YOU IN ANOTHER LIFE - David Arnold

THOUGHTFUL - 3.5 stars

Plot - 3.5 stars - Evan Taft has plans. But after his mom’s unexpected diagnosis, as Evan’s plans begin to fade, he hears something: a song no one else can hear, the voice of a mysterious singer. Shosh Bell has dreams. But when a drunk driver takes her sister’s life, that star fades to black. All that remains is a void—and a soft voice singing in her ear. Over it all, transcending time and space, a celestial bird brings strangers together: from an escaped murderer in 19th century Paris, to a Norwegian kosmonaut in low-earth orbit, something is happening that began long ago, and will long outlast Evan and Shosh.

Writing - 4 stars - I enjoyed the prose created by this new-to-me author. He wrote in an easy way that put me into the minds of Evan and Shosh, providing insight into their feelings and reasoning for their actions. At the same time, his descriptions were often beautifully lyrical.

Characters - 4.5 stars - The main characters and their relationships are where this story shone for me. Evan is a dependable, solid teenager, but he didn't come across as stodgy or unimaginative. I liked his thoughtful decisions and could appreciate the way he'd overthink and explore every possibility. Shosh is unbearably unhappy without her sister, and as a teenager, her reaction was totally reasonable. What I liked about Arnold's writing was that he created this unhappy situation, but the characters felt hopeful to the reader. Evan had an underlying sense of confidence that kept him close to family. And he was smart enough to find friends who accepted him as he is, recognizing each person's value. And Shosh had her music and drama inside her that would hold her together and show itself from time to time.

Title - 3 stars - The title makes sense, but I honestly felt that this portion of the story was secondary to the love in the present between the characters.

Cover - 4 stars - A lovely cover that draws the eye. Now that I know the connection to Norway, the snow-covered ground and mountains makes sense (although the view reminds me more of New England than what I picture as Norway).

Overall - 3.5 stars - The premise of the book was nice, but the writing of it didn't quite meet my expectations. Positives: I was pleasantly surprised by the present-day characters and situations. Evan is a wonderful main character. His relationship with his mother and (especially) his brother is heart-warming and loving on a very basic level. Shosh's family is also caring, but it makes a lot of sense that she (and they) were struggling with their feelings as they tried to deal with Stevie's death. Negatives: The meeting between Evan and Shosh seemed unnecessarily contrived. They could have easily met in school or through mutual friends. The connection between them through Nightbird seemed overly complicated. And the flashbacks to previous connections was distracting and disruptive to the story line.