I'm not usually a fan of non-realistic storylines, but this was a fun read, without too much angst.

The idea of a parallel universe was well laid out, and the idea of love winning in it, rather than the real world, was sweet. Larry and Greg are believable lovers. and it all ties up neatly in the end, what more could you want?

After reading "Parallel Larry" blurb, I was immediately drawn in by the second chance romance that feature the main character being sent to an alternate reality, which later mentioned, by his fire hazardous toaster. It was an interesting concept in general yet there were too many factors that made this a disappointing read. it was lacking in any unbelievable form of romance and the characters did not mesh well together, in my opinion. Larry was overall somewhat likable and Greg was just too bland for my taste, making it an unlikely pair. Moreso this book was a bit bizarre and was the complete opposite of what I envisioned this novel will be so it ended up failing to meet any of my expectations.

This is partly what I expected.

Parrallel Larry’s premise of a second chance romance involving a dimension jump is really interesting. Being no stranger to bizaarre and seemingly random sci-fi stories like the anime, Space Dandy, I totally buy the multi-dimensional verse, the toaster portal and the eighties obsession. I also expected it to be fluffy and cute and on those points, it delivered.

What was hard to believe was how things seemed to be too conveniently set up, like suddenly Larry had a knife in his boots or staying in the new dimension was as simple as inserting a microchip that didn’t really do anything. Don’t their government have other, more conclusive methods? While I am not really expecting something profound, I felt the story lacked a certain oomph, and its fluff and cute seemed shallow. Greg and Larry were both likable people and their romance would have been more heartfelt had it had more depth.

Overall, the execution could use some work but I think the set-up has a lot of potential and can be expanded. I am all for amping up the offbeat elements, and creating a series where multi-dimensional jumpers find love in other universes.

P.S.

I received a copy of Parallel Larry from Nine Star Press via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Rating:
2.5 Stars – far from hate but not quite a like

Soundtrack: You’re Mine
Artist: A Flock of Seagulls
Album: The Light At The End Of The World

After really enjoying Just in Time by Jacqueline Rohrbach, I was fully expecting to love Parallel Larry, which seemed like another fun, quirky book by this author.

Spoiler alert: I didn't enjoy it.

Parallel Larry was bizarre, and not in an enjoyable way. In fact, I found it to be disturbing and lacking any form of a believable romance.

I was surprised at the direction in which the author took the story. The alternate world was strange, and the alternate Larry was violent and deranged, and not in a fun way. I didn't even understand the premise for the alternate world. Was it supposed to be funny? I was so weirded out that I almost DNFed, but I decided just to buck up and finish it.

The romance came out of nowhere. I get that Larry wanted to be with Greg, but Greg was asking Larry to set him up with another dude after he left, and then Larry is declaring his love for him and risking his life? The romance made my head hurt.

Parallel Larry didn't work for me at all, which was a big disappointment after I adored Just in Time. You win some, you lose some.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to read this book after seeing the description of it and reading a blurb of it. I thought the premise of it sounded so interesting and it sounded like it was going to be a great second chance love story. I mean who wouldn't want another chance after making a mistake or losing someone that they care about.

Sadly, I just couldn't get into it, I was hoping that once it got going it would pull me in, but it didn't and I am sorry to say that I did not finish it. I am not sure if it was a dislike of the main character or if it was just not a good book match for me, but I just couldn't get going on it. I gave it a few chances, but it just wasn't for me. Maybe someday I will give it another try, but for now it just isn't a book for me.

I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It is the first book that I read of Jacqueline Rohrbach and I have to say that I liked it. Of course, you can say: "you just gave it 3 stars" but it is only because I think there is a lot of room for improvement. It is very easy to read, the overall story is fine (not the part of the toaster) and the characters are likeable (although not very remarkable). When you read the premise of the book you think "This is going to be great, it has everything it needs to become a best seller" but you keep waiting for something big to come and it never comes. The characters are plain, they do not change over the story and the reader cannot feel identified with them.

The story is about Larry, who has a crush on Greg but both are too shy to even say it to the other. When Greg is about to tell Larry he dies and Larry enters into an alternative reality where Greg is still alive. The problem is that there is another Larry, who is evil. Both Larry and Greg will have to fight against Evil Larry in order to be safe.

Well. This was different. I really enjoyed this author's last book, Just In Time, and thought this would be another delightfully quirky book. The synopsis certainly makes it sound like one. But it's a bit darker than I'm comfortable with, and I did not really find this as charming and sweet as I thought I would. I liked the wackyness of it all, and look forward to the author's next book, but this wasn't really my thing.

So. When "good" Larry ends up in a parallel universe where Greg (a guy he crushed on and fantasized about, but never dared to approach) is still alive, he thinks he'll get his second chance. Unfortunately, this reality's Greg has already dated Evil Larry, a man who verbally and physically abused him (which isn't explicitly shown, but certainly alluded to). So far so good. But the fact that "good" Larry just shows up and Greg fell into insta-love with him despite all that happened to him with the evil doppelganger just didn't sit right with me. All of Greg's doubts and issues were just too easily set aside for my liking. I would have loved to see this actual conflict develop, and Greg to gradually learn to trust a stranger who looks like his worst fear. For all the difficult topics, it was just too short in exploring all of them enough for my taste.

Well, that was certainly... something.

When I read the blurb, I was excited about a second chance romance, after the second MC got hit by a car and died, when the first MC "somehow" traveled to a parallel universe.

However, the premise that the dude's decade-old [ 2-slice TOASTER (hide spoiler)] was somehow powerful enough to displace space and time to send him to an entirely different UNIVERSE? Oh, boy. Not a good start for the possibility of me fully engaging with this story. : (

"I was just making breakfast and *BAM*, dafuq is this shit?"

I did like both Larry and the somewhat-meek Greg. And I wanted to believe that Parallel Greg's crush on Larry and Larry's sudden revelation that he 'should' have noticed non-parallel Greg pre-death would be enough to sell their feelings, but that wasn't the case.

Instead, this read as more insta-love and I felt that, instead of *only* fade-to-black steam, the story might have *greatly* benefited from allowing the reader to experience some genuine, on-page, hearts-and-flowers steam. In my eyes, it might have helped sell the feelings, and that's coming from a very steam-optional kind of reader.

As for the villain, Evil Larry, OMG, talk about being right up there with the "It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again" nut-job from Silence of the Lambs.

Tres creepy. And also a bit too over-the-top for my mild-mannered tastes.

They eventually defeated Evil Larry and I liked the logistics of how they tricked the authorities into allowing Parallel Larry to get his second (first?) change with to be with Greg long-term, even though the precise details weren't ever 100% explicitly spelled out on-page.

But overall, I wasn't entirely sold on either the far-fetched sci-fi details or the feels, so this book only rated around 2.5 stars for overall enjoyment.

If you loved the movie Sliding Doors, then this book is for you. Two sweet heroes and one diabolically evil doppelgänger = a great twist on a second chance romance. Loved this book and will definitely seek out other books by them.

The blurb for this book really drew me in - an alternate universe where two men get a second chance at love, an evil twin who needs to be stopped, and there's the slight possibility that reality can be changed and a HEA found. I really like the premise of this story and the way the author creates the uncommon plot.

However, while I liked the idea of this story, the execution is a bit more problematic. We meet Larry and Greg for a hot minute or two in their current reality, with Larry totally oblivious to Greg's interest in him. Tragically, Greg dies after being hit by a car while running to catch up with Larry so he can give him his number. One bizarre incident with a defective toaster ("It's just the toaster has three settings, and the manufacturer's instructions didn't say alternate reality was one of them") and Larry finds himself jumping from earth (or Alpha 900-200B as it's called) to an alternate universe permanently stuck in 80's mode.

When Larry discovers by accident that Greg is still alive in this parallel world and that his own alternate personality (Evil Larry) is truly a scary psychopath bent on finding and hurting Greg, this sets into motion a whole convoluted series of events that run from strange to humorous to just plain weird.

While I admire the author tackling a challenging premise, there is little character development, Evil Larry reads like a caricature and at times I found the writing style hard to read and understand. 3 stars for "Parallel Larry" but I would definitely read the next book by this promising author.

Short but sweet. Wacky in the right places, with threats of violence, friendship and a second chance at romance.

Larry spends a lot of time in the café, dreaming about connecting with Edger, the handsome doctor across the street. He spends a lot of time sketching him in a series of fantasy scenes with himself. He always chats to the cute waiter, Greg but doesn’t realise how much he likes him until its too late. Or is it? He is transported into an alternate reality where he has another chance to connect with Greg, however, in this reality he is evil. Quirky and fun with cute characters. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.