Mr. Alex Landragin has written a marvelous Möbius strip of a book, one that you will undoubtedly go back to, immediately after you've finished it, and in fact, one that you'll find yourself tantalized to begin re-reading even if you've not quite finished reading it for the first time (!).

In other media, favorable comparisons bestowed on this novel include Cloud Atlas, but even before any of that dawned on me, while reading the first of the trilogy contained here, I was reminded time and again of Umberto Eco's Foucault's Pendulum, that crackling enigmatic story that refuses to let you understand it, or ever quite figure out what's going on. This story begins in Paris, on the brink of Nazi invasion and subsequent imminent occupation, and as you follow the narrator through those dark, moonless and lifeless nights through the back-alleys and gutters and dungeons and bunkers of the city that Paris was at the time, you struggle to begin to like the story. Nothing much is happening, there are references to a hardly-known poet / author, and there are vague references to some backstory that is hard to see through all the dense fog that the author has generously sprinkled throughout the pages.

As you trudge through the first story and begin the second, however, some things begin to make sense, some others begin to show promise of eventually making sense, and still some others show the capacity of reaching a point enough removed from nonsense, for it to at least be worthwhile. As you continue reading, you see something that seems to be shining just beyond the dense tree-line, just beyond the horizon - you're not clear exactly what. There are overt yet obtuse references to the third story - while you're still on the second one, and you fail to see how it can possibly make sense.

And then the second story ends.

Those last few lines of the second story are truly explosive, and utterly clever. To me, that there is the true heart and core of the idea contained in this book. It is what (already!) made the book a five-starrer to me. I wasn't going to say it was impossible, but it would be well nigh incredible if the book fell in my estimation from there on.

The last story, which occupies a full half of the novel, is the real story - the one that the author has always been trying and wanting to tell you and those first two were merely covers, to dispel naysayers and quell any disbelievers. If you've made it to that third part, you're bound to finish the story, and go back to reading it - the Baroness' way (!).

A marvelous, tragic achievement of a story, that is equaled only by its literary triumph, and the mind-bending creation of what has to be a new sub-genre.

This is a wow of a novel. Ingenious plotting and setup. This makes you think long after you finish. You really have to read it!

CROSSINGS was definitely a unique read for me. Landragin's ability to develop a novel like this shows his mastery as a storyteller and an author who cares about the small parts of the tale just as much as the whole. There is heart, mystery, and magic. What more can you want?

In the preface, a Parisian bookbinder explains that Crossings is a manuscript of three stories bound together: a letter from a poet, a World War II romance, and the autobiography of a deathless enchantress. In a choose your own adventure style, you can read the book straight through and enjoy three interconnected stories. Or you can use the alternative method, skipping around in a predetermined sequence to get one cohesive novel.

Although I thought it was interesting how Landragin constructed the novel in multiple ways, the core story lacked interest with me. Too many descriptors and not enough action made this star-crossed lovers tale drag horribly, and I finally gave up at about 80% through.

Reading the synopsis of Crossings sounded to interesting. I tried to get into this I loved the idea of different reading paths. Sadly I DNF.

I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this incredibly unique journey! I have no idea the thought and writing process for this book but Alex Landragin but it is one of the most unique books I have read. The reader gets two options - traditional in order by chapter or the Baroness version which is the option I went with. Eventually I would like to read traditionally to see how different the story is.
This book is for you if you enjoy unique storytelling, a-linear timelines, a pinch of history, and a dash of fantasy!

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to review this book. I admit in my joy at joining NetGalley I may have been overzealous in my requesting numbers. As this book has already been published, I am choosing to work on the current upcoming publish date books in my que. As I complete those I will work on my backlogged request and will provide a review at that time. I again send my sincere thanks and apologies.

I was intrigued by this book - the description reminded me a bit of Cloud Atlas which I loved when I read it many years ago. However I think it may be a case of wrong time for me to try reading this and it wasn’t working for me. I definitely still recommend giving it a go if the synopsis sounds good to you because this was a case of wrong reader and not about the book. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance reading copy.

This was a unique book that I'm glad I had the opportunity to read. But I think it is also a case of the style of the book getting in the way of the story.

Crossings can be read in two different ways: front to back, as a collection of three interrelated short stories OR "The Baronesses' way, which jumps between the three stories in a way that resembles a novel with changing points of view. This is definitely a cool concept, because there are parts of the story's mystery that are revealed at different point depending on how you read it. I chose to read it the Baronesses' way, and I'm honestly not sure I would have liked it the other way. I found that the parts of the mystery revealed in the first and third stories so essential, especially from the third, that I can't imagine reading it without these revelations.

The story takes place mostly in Paris in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, spanning several different lifetimes. Two of the main characters are historical figures: the poet Charles Baudelaire and the theorist Walter Benjamin. However, Landragin twists their real stories by adding in the concept of the "Crossing", the ability of two souls to switch bodies. As the stories progress, you learn more about this concept and the implications on the people who cross. This is where I found the third story to be particularly vital, as it fills in a lot of these details. The concept of Crossing brings up moral questions that several of the characters address. I found this to be an interesting aspect to the story.

For the first two thirds of the book, I was intrigued by the story of all the Crossings that have taken place through the history of these characters and the mystery that was unraveling. But by the last third, I found myself tiring a bit of the premise. I think this book could have been shortened slightly and still had the same effect.

I think this book is a great choice if you enjoy stories set in reality with a little bit of fantasy mixed in. Book lovers will also find the bookish aspects of the plot intriguing.

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

DNF - did not finish. I decided not to keep reading this one. It was not for me. Thank you, publisher and NetGalley for the early copy.

While the story was interesting and the method of writing is somewhat unique, I found this to be a cumbersome read. There are three separate "novellas" that you can choose to read in any order. I suppose how you choose would affect how you enjoyed the story but I found it odd and detrimental to my enjoyment of the ride.
Thanks to Netgalley for giving me the galley free on exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This book has an exciting and novel concept, sounding like it will be a Choose Your Own Adventure for adults, but I never fully connected with it. It is meant to be read in two different ways, but reading it "The Baroness" way felt cumbersome with an ecopy, though maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I had followed that route. Instead, I felt somewhat confused and it fell flat for me. I never had a solid grasp of the characters, and as I'm someone who requires at least one character to connect to in order to be fully invested, this one just didn't work for me.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary advance copy. This had no impact on my review.

I think that this is a CLEVER, CLEVER book. This debut novel is both mind-bending and genre bending. It has elements of Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, and Memoir genres. The book can be read in a couple of ways. The three novellas can be read in order straight through, or you can read it By hopscotching back and forth between all three stories. Hopscotching actually added another element of mystery. I loved this book. I highly recommend it.

Very interesting and intriguing but I got distracted and couldn't get back into it. The idea that you could read it three different ways was not an appealing aspect for me. It made me feel like this is just a trick book, more suitable to someone who likes puzzles.

I wish there was a way to read this out of time the way that you can with the physical edition! Such an interesting concept.

The scope of this book is massive and honestly the intention was great, but I really struggled to get through to this book. I enjoyed the concept and the mystery of the first and second book but ultimately it left me confused.

I was intrigued by the premise of this book--intertwining story lines that span hundreds of years and come together to create one cohesive story that can be read in two different ways. Not quite like a Choose Your Adventure book, but something similar!

It seemed like an impressive undertaking for one story, and there was a lot that I liked. It was neat to see all of the stories come together as the pieces of the puzzle connected. As the story progressed though, I had an increasingly harder time following the plot and connecting with the characters. I think it was a good effort to do something new and unique, but I wonder if it was too much.

Admittedly, I only read it straight through and did not try reading it the other way. It's possible that the second option could have made more sense and may have been easier to read, but by the time I finished it, I wasn't up to a re-read so soon.

This wasn't for me, but if you're looking for an interesting story, it could be worth it to give this book a try!

Thank you to the author Alex Landragin, the Publisher St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for my unbiased review.

What an excellent and novel book! This is a book that can be read two ways: as three separate, but intertwined books or as chronological story. The only challenge I had was that I could only read this one way, as the ARC electronic copy was not jumping correctly.

It is mystery, it has intrigue, it is a love story. It is an epic battle of good vs. evil. It travels over 100 years through multiple different characters as the original characters "cross" from one body to another all the while searching for each other.

It is such a creative premise for a book and a fascinating read. I highly recommend!

One of the best things for me in the last few years are the inventive books being written and I for one love it! So clever and engaging. This was well written but needed a bit more editing.