The Other Year by Rea Frey

Thank you @netgalley @harpermusebooks for this ARC releasing August 15, 2023.

This book starts off with single mom Kate and her daughter, Olivia, enjoying their first day at the beach during their annual vacation. After a moment of distraction, Kate briefly loses sight of Olivia playing in the ocean. The book then splits into two timelines: one where Olivia is safe, and another where she drowns.
One timeline follows Kate navigating raising her daughter and all the trials that come along with it, while searching for a love of her own. The other is a difficult to read timeline of loss and grief, and slowly rediscovering a new life after such a devastating loss.
I don't consider myself someone with triggers when it comes to books, as a mom with a young daughter, this was very difficult to get through the loss timeline. This book was a heartbreaking and tear-jerking tale of love and grief, and a reminder to not take your life and loved ones for granted. This is a heavy read but I definitely recommend it.
The narrator, Brittany Pressley, is one of my favorites. You could hear the difference in her voice and tone from one timeline to the other and I thought she did a wonderful job with this one.

4.5★ This is an incredibly emotional story about what it means to be a mother, how impactful that role is on an individual, and the fear of losing a child.

Through the main character Olivia, we are taken down two paths - one in which her daughter drowns in a split second of distraction, and one where her daughter reappears from beneath the water. Over the course of a year, we are shown the ways in which her life would differ depending on that singular moment.

As a mom myself, whose worse fear is described within these pages, I found the story to be eye opening, insightful and thought provoking - what would I myself do differently in any given moment - and one that will stay with me for a long time to come. An excellent read and one I would easy recommend, especially to those who are moms themselves.

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞:
•women’s fiction
•sliding doors trope
•emotional reads
•stories focusing on motherhood
•Two Lives of Lydia Bird

Thank you Harper Muse for the gifted audiobook.

Publication Date: August 15, 2023

"Not all great loves have to be romantic."

WOW. My mama heart. This book is heartbreaking yes, but it is so much more than a sad story.

We follow our Main Character Kate, and overworked single mom who takes her daughter on their family beach vacation. As soon as they get to the beach, her daughter Olivia goes for a swim. Kate decides not to, and in that moment her life is changed forever.

This story is told in two parallel timelines, the first timeline where her daughter never drowns, and the second timeline where her daughter does. While in timeline one, there is no grief explored there is an incredible amount of grief explored in the second timeline. It is truly an emotion read, but 100% worth it.

This is such a sad story, and as a mother it really makes you realize that one little thing can alter your whole world entirely, but I feel like it is something to really think about. This whole book is one big "what if" but it's beautiful to see how Kate grows and learns in both timelines.

I highly recommend this story to anyone who wants a gut punching emotional read.

The narrator, Brittany Pressley did a phenomenal job catching the emotion of this story and I don't think I could have recommended a better narrator!

Quick Takes:
- Emotionally Gut Punching
- Page Turner
- Navigating Greif
- Parallel Timelines
- "What If" Factor

Thank you to Netgalley & Harper Muse for an Advanced Audiobook!

This was such a wonderful story!! It was very unique and eye opening. There were some heart wrenching moments, but overall I really enjoyed this book.

I loved this one! It definitely had some parts but was so well written that I couldn’t put it down. I loved the Sliding Doors type of story and just had to see how both stories would end. Love her books and this one was so different!

This is a sliding doors type story told in parallel universes looking at a year in the life of Kate. In one timeline, Kate's nine year old daughter Olivia drowns in the ocean while Kate is on her phone. In the other timeline, Olivia survives.

This story has much sadness, grief, fear, and wondering the 'what if' of small decisions you make and the impact they can make. This is the type of story that reminds you to hug your kids tighter, play longer, make special memories for yourself and your kid, and to say yes to something you've been putting off. There were romance stories in both timelines which I wasn't really expecting but still intrigued to see what direction Kate's life went in.

Recommend if you enjoy:
Sliding Doors type stories
Stories about grief and loss
Mother-daughter stories

Many thanks for the author, publisher, and Netgalley for access to this text!

I highly enjoyed Frey's book, The Other Year, especially the parallel timelines. In a sense, I appreciated this technique, as it allowed me to get to know Olivia's character better. I also really appreciated Kate throughout, though could have done without the various love triangles.

Thanks to Suzy Approved Book Tours and Harper Muse for the copy of this book!

A sliding door story told in parallel alternate timelines that will leave you choked up and holding your kids a little tighter and longer. In one timeline, Kate's daughter Olivia drowns in the ocean while Kate is on her phone. In the other, Olivia survives.

This is hard subject matter and every parent's worst nightmare, but it is done so well. It's an exploration of "what if" and how small moments can make a big impact. It definitely had me thinking through how I live my life and is a concept that will stay with me for awhile.

Highly recommend the audio of this one - Brittany Pressley is one of my favorite narrators!

3.75 ⭐️

The store is told in two separate timelines. Kate and her daughter Olivia vacation at the same spot each year. In one, Olivia gets lost in the waves and resurfaces and in the other she doesn’t. In each timeline you find out how Kate has to learn to move forward while dealing with divorce, her attraction to her best friend Jason, being a mother and decisions she makes that impact her life.

As a mother of a 9 yr old girl, this was a tough read. I could connect to the story in that aspect but didn’t care much for the characters beyond the daughter Olivia. You can understand her grief and things she goes through though because both parts of the story are well told.

This was my first book by Rea Frey and I’ll be trying more of her books.

Thank you Harper Muse for my ARC of The Other Year in exchange for an honest review.

This book will be published August 15, 2023.

Name of Book: The Other Year
Author: Rea Frey
Narrator; Brittany Pressley
Publisher: Harper Muse
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Pub Date: August 15, 2023
My Rating: 3.4 Stars!
Pages: 352

This starts with the author’s note. She tells us it is a story about grief. I almost stopped right there. However, this is my third [author: Rea Frey]. I read and love [book: Until I Find You} so was somewhat sure this was going to be a good read.

Story is told in the sliding door style timelines. ~ Sliding Doors was a 1998 movie were the sliding door of the train either closes or stays open and movie shows the effect of both - here is the trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da-Mizk86AE

Kate Baker is an Agricultural Engineer and a single mom. She and her nine-year-old daughter Olivia (Liv) are on vacation at the beach. Kate is watching from her spot on the beach as she isn’t wearing her swim suit.
Olivia is having a great time but then disappears. Kate fears the worst doesn’t know what she would do if something happens to her daughter. She scans the ocean and sure enough Olivia pops up out of the waves.
Next the alternate circumstances happens and Olivia does not pop back up.
Story explores the two lives Kate might lead if she lives her life in either world.

Timeline #1 - With Olivia
Timeline #2 - Without

In Timeline #1 ~We deal with Kate’s personal life as she is trying to decide to if she should go back with Michael her first husband and Olivia’s father or embrace her friendship turned to something more with Jason.
In Timeline #2 ~ we go through Kate’s grief with her. Needless to say, Timeline #2 is very emotional. Michael is pretty much out of the picture but Jason still has feelings for Kate but she also is attracted to a new guy. Both are interested in Kate’s affection.

Readers will be pulling for one guy. Hmm might we all be voting for the same guy?

I have read several other stories that were along this same idea. My first was Taylor Jenkins Reid’s "Maybe in Another Life". It was selected for my book club. We had a lively discussion and I am guessing this story just might invoke the same kind of a discussion.

Want to thank NetGalley and Harper Muse for this early Audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for August 15, 2023.

This book was such a good reminder that life as we know it can change in an instant. The
alternate timelines throughout the book were the perfect way to illustrate how different life could be based on the outcome of a single happening. My heart was in my throat during the incident that took place early on and the story continued to be a page turner until the end. This compelling book is a must read in my opinion.

I was expecting a beautiful, heartbreakingly emotional tale. This felt wholly manufactured, rather than something that poured from one’s heart.The story reaches toward melodrama, sucking the life out of what should have been a deeply felt narrative.

That wasn’t my only issue, though. The characters felt synthetic. Yes, I know they are inventions of the author’s imagination, but they should have felt like they could be real people.

There was so much in this that made me cringe, as well: The unnecessary comments about Olivia’s body in the beginning, almost everything Jason had to say, the white savior vibe, and more.

This book really felt like it suffered from trying too hard to impersonate someone else while having no true identity of its own. It’s a great and highly original concept, but the poor exploration of that concept was insufferable.

I am immensely grateful to Harper Muse and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

An emotional gut-punch of a women's fiction novel that explores every parent's worst nightmare in a sliding door style that alternates between two realities - one in which single working mom Kate's nine year old daughter Olivia drowns at the ocean while on a beach vacation and another where she doesn't.

The book is a beautiful mediation on grief and guilt over losing a child in a way that could have been prevented and the strength that's required to forgive yourself and move on afterwards. It's also a great look at love and friendship and figuring out what role people play in your life.

Perfect for book clubs and great on audio narrated by my forever fav Brittany Pressley. Highly recommended for fans of books like Karma Brown's Come away with me or The possibilities by Yael Goldstein-Love. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

CW: accidental death of a child from drowning