Thank you to Net Galley and Harper-Collins UK for providing me with this ARC.

Admittedly, the first half of the book seemed to drag and I had a hard time giving it my full attention, but once I got into Erica and Daniel’s story, I was intrigued.

This book is about Erica, a woman with the unusual ability to time travel to an alternate world where she lives a completely different life. She has no control over this “Gift’” which comes and goes as it pleases. She can be gone for minutes, hours, or days at a time.
Then, she meets Daniel, they fall in love, get married and they have a son, Joshua, TRIGGER WARNING; Joshua tragically dies when he’s six months old.

Daniel and Erica are swamped with grief, and, in desperation, Erica gets the idea that slipping into her alternate existence and meeting Daniel again would mean they could start over and forget about their devastating loss.

It’s not something I’d normally read, and if you’re looking for your typical rom-com, this is not it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.

Erica never lets anyone in too close, a result of a weird phenomena that has her dropping into other times. When she meets Daniel at a party though, that changes. She shares her secret and they begin to build a life. When a tragedy occurs her will to fight the pull of leaving falters, and she has to decide whether to stay in the life she has, with all the pain, or fly away to her other self, and the unknown.

i felt the premise was interesting, and the writing kept me involved. I wish Erica had been more proactive about finding out why she had this ability, and how to better control it. That part of the story wasn't explored at all. I also wish there was a little more character development Other than that, a decent book that I would definitely read again.

I received this ARC via Netgalley and was under the impression that this would be a standard contemporary romance; it's not.
It's unusual, heartbreaking, and beautiful.
I tend to reach for these cartoon cover romances when I need a light-hearted escape, but you shouldn't make that mistake. You should read this book understanding that it is about loss and grief, but most of all love. THE START OF US deserves an infant loss trigger warning.
I requested an ARC based on the unusual premise, that Erica can slip through worlds and maybe fix her relationship. She compares her life and choices to these alternate versions of herself struggling with what might have been and how she could prevent it. While Erica's story will break your heart, it will put it back together. I wasn't expecting to love this book as much as I did.

Wow this is one of the most unusual books I have read in awhile. The idea of someone time traveling back and forth between two worlds really intrigued me and I was excited to go on Ericas journey. At times she seemed a bit dull but overall I enjoyed learning her story. I will warn you that some parts of this story are extremely sad and there was a point I wasn’t sure if I wanted to finish. However I urge you to read to the end because it is very intriguing and I enjoyed how the author concluded this story. I do wish we learned why Erica was able to travel through time but overall the plot was good and the story moved quickly. I give this book four out of five stars. Thank you to netgalley and publisher for the early read.

This is one of the most unusual books I've read in a while. Recommended for Josie Silver fans I took a gamble and dived in.
Erica is special because she has a whopping secret that hardly anyone knows, she can and does travel through time. In an instant she can go to a different time in her or families lives and see what happened in the east. She can also go onto the future.
So when she gets dumped by her boyfriend in steps Danny who is like no-one she's known before. She had made plans following the dumping to be brave and go back packing but now she's met Danny she's not so sure.
This was so well written and I really enjoyed it. As the story unfolds there is such a realness to the characters you find yourself willing everything to be ok. But the story is real and like life there are lots of highs and a very very low episode. So the book deals with grief and loss.
As Erica can time travel she has to make a decision does she stay or go back in time to alter her life's time line. What would you do if you got the chance?
This is a charming story and definitely one to get lost in. Thank you for the advanced copy Netgalley.

In this book we meet Erica who has a huge secret, she can travel through time and see flashes of memories of events that happened around her life and her family as well as the future too. After her ex dumps her at a party she meets and falls for kind, caring Danny, unlike her ex he makes her feel like she's properly in love.

Only as she plans to travel and he gets offered a job abroad, their lives swerve away from each other, can they make it work? As they progress on they experience heartache, love, loss and ultimately, Erica has a decision to make, stay in this true-life or travel into her other life and never appear to Danny again.

In a Goodnight Sweetheart-Esque style book, this was an emotional story and very moving touching on some tough subjects such as family, death and the point of living even. But for all the seriousness, there's a beautiful true love story that shows as Erica ultimately does follow her heart's desire. One not to miss giving a read!

In this book we meet Erica who has a huge secret, she can travel through time and see flashes of memories of events that happened around her life and her family as well as the future too.



After her ex dumps her at a party she meets and falls for kind, caring Danny unlike her ex he makes her feel like she's properly in love.



Only as she plans to travel and he gets offered a job abroad, their lives swerve away from each other, can they make it work?



As they progress on they experience heart ache, love, loss and ultimately, Erica has a decision to make, stay in this true life or travel into her other life and never appear to Danny again.



In a Goodnight Sweetheart-esque style book, this was an emotional story and very moving touching on some tough subjects such as family, death and the point of living even. But for all the seriousness, there's a beautiful true love story that shows as Erica ultimately does follow her heart's desire. One not to miss giving a read!



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of The Start of Us.

I'm not a fan of chick lit but I'm interested when the premise catches my eye so I was excited when my request was approved.

I was looking for a story similar to The Time Traveler's Wife, which was great, but The Start of Us was more about a woman desperate not to be alone and find a man to be with.

From the start, I couldn't stand Erica. She's dull, she's not adventurous or ambitious.

Her ability to time travel is never fully explained, and when she does travel, its nothing exciting, just watching herself with another (yup!) man and what that life might lead to.

I have no idea why she and Daniel are together. They have no rapport or chemistry to tell me otherwise. He's a nice guy but also one dimensional.

The last half of the book deals with grief and sorrow, and surviving an unimaginable loss.

Erica spends most of the time wishing for a new life to escape her grief, seeking comfort in the multi-verse to escape her grief, which is understandable but also awfully selfish. It doesn't help that I don't like her.

The ending is predictably happily ever after, after a not surprising revelation when Erica wonders if she had taken another path to find Daniel, would they have still met?

I didn't like The Start of Us, but others might.

I don’t usually give instructions to readers, but for this book I must give you this imperative. If you read it- you have to read it through to the end. You may feel upset, unbalanced or discombobulated as you read, but you must push through your sadness and finish the book!

The Start of Us is the atmospheric and evocative story of Erica. Erica has the disconcerting ability to be able to go back and view scenes from her life. One minute she is in a café in Blackpool and then suddenly she is back in her childhood home in Yorkshire, watching herself talk to her father. She can’t interact with her other self, and the people she sees don’t know she is there. Since the age of twelve, she has visited many “episodes” of her life. As she reaches her late twenties, she realizes that she is actually seeing herself in a parallel life- a life that shows what would have happened if she had made different choices. What if she had been braver and had travelled the world? And then tragedy strikes and in her grief, Erica wonders if she can go back and “rewrite” her life.

Erica tells her story in the first person. Since she is not firmly grounded in one life, she is shy and quiet. But, you will never forget her. She is involved with two men who are opposites- the earnest and nerdy Daniel, and the devil-may-care Mike. Erica lives in an old, neglected house in Blackpool, a home that once was a grand place. Like Erica, the house has had many lives and memories.

The ending of the book will jolt you- but everything will finally make sense. Have you ever asked yourself, “What if?” “What if I had gone with my friends to Thailand” or “What if had left the party early?” This book is an intriguing look at the moments that form the puzzle of our lives. This is a moody and melancholy read that will fascinate you.

Thanks to Net Galley and HarperCollinsUK, One More Chapter for an advance review copy. This is my honest review.

I really enjoyed the premise and plot of this book. Yes, it did remind me of "the Time Traveler's Wife" but it was written differently. Each time Erica has an episode of viewing herself at a different time of "do-over/do it differently" and tries to find Daniel again. Daniel helped her at a party when her boyfriend dumps her.

I loved that this book kept you at the edge of you seat wanting to know if Erica and Daniel's relationship survive and lasts. It also wasn't predictable which is a huge positive! The other side characters add to her story without distracting that her and Daniel are the focus of the story.

I would definitely recommend this as a different kind of thrilling somewhat romantic read. Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 7/31/20

I liked the premise of being able to jump to a parallel world. It was intriguing, but you also have to be in the right mindset to get through it. I think we have all wondered at times what would happen if we got a do-over of certain events in our lives? Would we take that risk? If we had the power to erase our tragedies, would our lives be the same? If these questions are haunting you at the moment, perhaps this book will feel like a bit much, but they are interesting questions to explore.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A sincere thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing me an ebook copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This is not my usual genre, I’m more of a crime/thriller reader however this story intrigued me. I absolutely loved it, truly one of the best books I have read. I am extremely pleased and grateful to both for opening up my mind to something totally different.

Trigger Warning: Death of an Infant

"All endings are horrible. If you only ever thought of the end of something, you'd never start anything, would you?"

SYNOPSIS | Erica has the ability to slip between worlds and observe a parallel life she has never lived before made up of decisions that she didn't take. She has been able to do this since being a little girl and her first episode was on the day that her mum and dad split up and she was forced to moved out of her childhood home. She doesn't know why these episodes happen or how long she is gone for when she slips into her other life. In her late twenties, tragedy strikes and she decides to actively use her gift for a second chance at happiness.

MY THOUGHTS | This story felt very similar to The Two Lives of Lydia Bird except the writing was not as strong as Josie Silver's. The ability to slip between worlds wasn't particularly well explained and all of the characters felt two-dimensional where I didn't root for any of them in any of the timelines. I liked the core message of "the grass isn't always greener on the other side", but that is about it.

Great book, perfect escape!

I have devoured this book in just one sitting.

This has been one of those reads which does leave you wanting more.

Such a beautiful book that stole my heart. I loved every minute and cried bucket loads. Thank you to the publisher for asking me to read and review

I struggled with the format and spacing of the book, and because of this it took me a bit to get into this book, but once I was used to the formatting, I couldn't put this book down! It was a whimsical story full of love, travelling and adventure. I enjoyed getting to know the two main characters, and the author did an amazing job of describing Blackpool and made it sound like a place I would like to visit! Had a little tear at the end of this book and would recommend this as a slow burner.

Really liked this story- the idea of being able to see another way your life could have been lived but realizing that your reality is the one you’d choose is an awesome concept. I love the way the story unfolds and the real-ness of the characters and how they handle grief and difficult times in their lives. A bit predictable in some aspects, but other things threw me for a loop! Would recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc!

One of the joys of receiving advance copies of books on Netgalley is the opportunity to read books that I might not have otherwise picked up. In this case the story concerns Erica, who has the ability to travel to alternative time lines and her previous history. She has no real control on where and when she goes, which gave her real issues when she was younger as she could disappear for hours whilst on her travels.
After splitting with her boyfriend's she meets with Daniel and starts a new relationship. When they experience a tragic loss she wonders whether she can find a way of avoiding this tragedy.
This does seem to be a "Marmite" book, personally I found that I was drawn into the story and ended up finishing it in a late night session as I just needed to find out what happened in the end. Overall a book that I did enjoy and would recommend if you want to try something a bit different.
Thanks again to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity of reading an advance copy of this book, however this did not influence my review.

I've been excited about this book since I first heard about it, and it did not disappoint. The characters sucked you into the story and the story kept you turning pages as fast as you could. I devoured it in a day. I loved it.

This book wasn’t really what I was expecting. I think it’s a great book for a reader who wants to escape their reality but....it was very sad. It wasn’t something I would pick up again.