Hands down one of the strangest books I have ever read. There were at least seven instances while reading where I went “What?!” out loud. Even at 95% into the book I still had no idea where the plot was going or who the main love interest was supposed to be. It was that wild.

Based on the title, the blurb, the cartoony cover, and pretty much everything about the marketing, I was expecting a romantic comedy. I think that’s the conclusion anyone would come to. Instead what I got was something approximating a very chaotic time-traveling thriller with two very strange romances at very different stages mixed in.

One thing I did enjoy was the representation. This might be the first book I've ever read in which a male love interest (rather than just the female protagonist) is fat. One romantic candidate is a middle-aged former linebacker turned state senator from the present, the other is a skinny Jewish gangster from the 1920s.

With stories about time travel—and I don’t mean stories where one person travels to another time once, as a fluke, but rather stories where time travel is integral and common—I'd say there are three options to avoid complete narrative chaos.
1. The predetermined angle: Every event in history is set in stone. You can try to change the events of the past, but the timeline will correct itself regardless of your efforts.
2. The multiverse angle: Any attempt to change an event of the past will create a new dimension, leaving two dimensions—the one with the change and the one without the change. Once the change is made, you can travel back to the future, but you’ll be stuck in the new timeline, and no one will remember the old world except you.
3. The butterfly effect angle: Anything you try to do in the past will have ripples that irrevocably change the future, causing incredible harm and leading to collapsing timelines and apocalypses.

Leigh Heasley has opted for a secret fourth option I didn’t know existed, which is: all of the above, or perhaps none of the above, or whatever you feel like at the moment, who knows?

The author never really seems to make her mind up about whether or not trying to change the past will harm the future or whether you even can change the future by going to the past. In fact, not even the law enforcement in this universe she’s created can make their minds up about this. Trying to mess with the past and save people who were meant to die is punishable by life in prison, yet somehow, it’s legal to set up a dating agency that sends modern people to boink people of the past?

Even without the time travel stuff, the plot was just incredibly chaotic. I couldn’t tell who the actual love interest was supposed to be—her ex boyfriend, or her new flame? The FMC waffled back and forth like crazy in her feelings about both.

Then there were the constant twists in the plot. One thing I’ll say in favor of this book is that I saw pretty none of the twists coming. A plot point that happened at 97 freaking percent in the book had me absolutely flabbergasted. (spoiler here) With 3% to go, the author just says "Hey, by the way, I know I haven’t even hinted at this anywhere in the entire book, but KILLER ROBOTS EXIST AND THEY’RE COMING TO MURDER YOU! Okay bye!!”

So, in conclusion, what the heck did I just read?!?!?!!?! and also thank you to Netgalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Time travel is a thing. Would you be willing to go back in time if it meant finding someone you could fall in love with? Ada has not had good luck with love in the modern era. She believes she will have better luck in the Regency Era. However, there is a mixup that send her to the 1920s, and she realizes this may have ended up being a good thing.

No explicit sex scenes.

**Please be away that I read an ARC, so some things may change with the final published copy**

Contains the following representation:
- Racial (white, Jewish, & Puerto Rican)
- #LGBTQ (#gay and #dragqueen)

⚠️The following content may be triggering to some people:
- Fat phobia
- Racism
- Breaking & Entering
- Stalker
- Affair

⚠️The following words may be triggering to some people⚠️
- Boob/rack: 3 times
- Hell: 36 times
- Damn: 22 times
- Bitch: 6 times
- Shit: 27 times
- Fuck: 3 times (sometimes combined with
another word)
- Ass: 14 times
- Bastard: 3 times
- Cock: 1 time
- Whore: 1 time
- Slutty: 4 times
- Douche: 1 time
- Dick: 1 time
⚠️The following was not used in a religious way
- Lord: 1 time
- Jesus: 3 times
- Christ: 1 time
- God: 35 times

Written by @leighheasleywrites
ARC provided by @netgalley

#romance #romancebooks #timetravel #fiction

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free book*

"The Once and Future Fling" is a story about time-travel dating. If you've always wanted to find your own Mr Darcy, why not travel through time and date some rich but scornful bachelor? I enjoyed the premise, I really did, it sounded quite trashy but also like a lot of fun.

Sadly the execution was lacking. I disliked the protagonist and found her utterly naive and gullible, I did not enjoy any (!) of the romances or relationships (so many red flags!) and I found the ending ridiculous. The world building also did not convince me at all and felt inconsistent. Overall I was quite disappointed and while there was some queer rep, it felt stereotypical. In general, the entire book was filled with stereotypes and I really could not enjoy it.

2 stars

Time travel romance with some twists, a lot of fun, and overall enjoyable.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was quite the ride. I was intrigued by the premise of a time travelling matchmaking agency and was ready for some fun cultural/time faux pas. However this book took some twists and turns I did not expect (stalker! Murder!) and was more tense than I expected. For this reason it took me a while to get into the swing of the book. The time travel laws were also…. Confusing. That’s normal for time travel but there was so little explained that I was confused how to feel about the ending.
All in all a fun read, though it’s difficult to say what kind of reader I would recommend this to. It’s not really romance, not really sci fi, not really women’s fiction.

I really enjoyed so many things about the book. The FMC I found enjoyable and honestly if I was her I would jump at the opportunity too! I did struggle with the pacing but I really think this was a me problem and not so much the writing itself.

[b:The Once and Future Fling|65211961] is as much a time travel caper as it is a romance.

Ada has given up on looking for love – at least in her own time – and decides to go looking for her very own Mr. Darcy in actual regency England using a time travel matchmaking service. She accidentally gets sent back to 1922 instead, and meets Henry, gangster and musician. In 1922, she also runs into Sam – her ex, a married politician who let her take the public blame as a home wrecker when the news of their relationship was splashed across the front page.

I respect the ambition of [b:The Once and Future Fling|65211961], but I don’t think the author completely sticks the landing. The story bounces back and forth between 1922 and the Ada’s present day. There’s a rather messy plot about temporal financial crimes, mobsters, and the unpredictable effects of time travel, which I’m not sure I fully grasped, especially as it tangles up with the love triangle plot. But I had a lot of fun, as long as I didn’t look too closely at any of the details.

[b:The Once and Future Fling|65211961] by [a:Leigh Heasley|15172108]
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
🌶️ Presumably Ada and Henry get to share a bed… eventually
🎻 I wish we got to see more of the artist side of Henry
🃏🎲🏇🦋 Somehow it makes sense that regulation of time travel for business came way later than for social reasons
🔑 Could have done without the whole stalker plot

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and W by Wattpad Books for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.</i>

A messy opposites attract with time travel and morally grey characters!

In a futuristic society, Kairos Dating Service provides a clientele pool spanning centuries via time travel!

Needing a break, Ada decides to give it a try, but after an unfortunate event in Regency England, she finds herself in 1920s New York for her next date.

I think the best past is that every character is capable of questionable actions that add to the complexity of the plot.

And I hope Cel gets her own book!

This book just wasn't for me. I grabbed it because I love time travel and the plot sounded interesting. But I couldn't get invested in the characters. I skimmed huge parts in the middle just to finish it and still understood what was happening, so the plot twists weren't really twisty. And the old, possessive politician sugar daddy wasn't likeable at all, even after the author tried to redeem him.

The synopsis for this book is so unique and interesting, plus with such a gorgeous cover I jumped at the chance to read this. Sadly, this book is a bit of a disappointment. First, Besides the amazingly colorful cover, the thought of a time travel dating agency romance just sounded so good. I was hoping we'd get a couple of chapters about this and just how Ada can't seem to find her groove before we got to the meat of the story but sadly that didn't happen. The first chapter grabbed a hold of me and I was so invested but eventually, as I got to know Ada and read more of the story I just kept getting frustrated.

As must as I wanted to like her, Ada just did not seem that likable. She was flat and seemed really immature, in fact, most of the characters and dialogue just seemed immature. Also, it could have benefitted from more description because there were plenty of times that I was just lost. I couldn't quite picture any of the scenes in my head and I had to go back and reread to grasp what the hell was going on.

Overall, this just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wattpad books for a copy of this ARC.

I DNF’ed at 26%. Honestly? The writing took me out. There was no character depth, no pause, no believability of the story. I just didn’t care what happened to the main character. The concept is so cool, time travel dating. But it all fell flat for me. I did like Henry though. He was the only semi-decent part for me.

An incredibly promising and intriguing premise, but lacked in execution. I so wanted to love this one but I was definitely left wanting more. Characterization was not super strong, and I just found myself struggling to really become invested in the story.

Based on the premise, I was super excited about this one: time travel is a thing, and a company called Kairos has figured out how to use it to set people up on dates. Want a fling with a prince? Kairos can make that happen.

But I could not get over the execution. I think I was hate reading this by the end. I'm sorry--this one just wasn't for me.

So, this is one I was very excited for, but in the end the promise of the premise just wasn’t fulfilled. One big thing for me was the weight comments, which had no real resolution. This is an element which can work within a novel, but here it was just really triggering. Additionally, the pacing just felt slow and had a few holes.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, for the chance to give this one a try!

An absolutely fantastic speculative romance. I was hooked from page one! Highly recommended for anyone looking for a fresh take on romance.

It was very different and original! I don't think I've read a book like this before. It was fairly quick to get through.

Leigh Heasley does a great job in writing a great fantasy genre. I was engaged with what was happening, the characters felt like they were suppose to and worked with the plot.

There are alot of us that feel like we were born in the wrong time and that we wish we could go back there. This book allows the main character Ada do that to search for her true love. This was so good. Definitely a keeper.
I just reviewed The Once and Future Fling by Leigh Heasley. #TheOnceandFutureFling #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

There are too many gaping potholes to be ignored here. Ada travels back in time to meet eligible men, but there is no explanation of how she gets invited into the correct parties in a small upper class circles rather than working as a servant.
Most importantly, the lack of details to this reality - indoor plumbing? No medical? K, go find Mr. Darcy but enjoy dying from a mild burn.
Not that those details really end up being all that important to the overall story since the pacing was off because very little of the story is spent dating in the past. 10% in she runs into Sam and he then becomes a central character.
The characters are older but the story was written for a younger audiance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Wattpad Books for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The idea of a time travel dating service was intriguing but ultimately I just couldn’t get into this story. The wiring style wasn’t engaging, the large amount of fat shaming comments directed at and by Ada, the heroine and the lack of editing that this story really could have benefited from as the story was all over the place and hard to track.

This was a miss for me.