It’s rare that I want to give a one word review, but this one warrants it.

Brilliant

Brilliant

Brilliant

Brilliant

A man an woman ebb and tide throughout life in many many life times until they finally start realizing what is happening and trying to solve the mystery of why, and how to stop it.
A real page turner as you try to solve the mystery. The ending blew my mind! Loved this story and it's unusual plot.
4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and theAuthor and publisher for a copy of this book. The Opinions expressed are my own.

This is a very good book. It reminded me of Kate Atkinson's Life After Life with some science fiction added. Characters were really well developed and the story was very interesting.

This book surprised me in the best way. Thora and Santi meet by mistake at a bar in Germany and after spending the night together, they become uniquely linked, meeting again and again in different lives. Sometimes they're older or younger, sometimes they're related, sometimes they're strangers - each meeting is in the same city but otherwise completely different. At first, they don't realize they know one another but eventually memories start coming through and they have to figure out what's happening and why.

The chapters that cover each encounter are almost like short stories and while I expected this to be a romcom, it
ended up being a mix of genres with a surprising amount of emotion.

Thanks to William Morrow, Custom House and NetGalley for a copy to review.

Unfortunately, this book was a miss for me. I really liked the description and was excited to get an ARC. However, I found it tedious, difficult to connect with the characters and writing style. The short story style, especially in the earlier chapters, added to the difficulty and didn’t really pick up until about 40% in for me. If this hadn’t been for a book review, I probably would have shelved it as “did not finish.”

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for this advanced reader’s eBook copy.

Perhaps part of my issue with this book is that I went in blind. I'm not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. Thora and Santi meet as college-age students and depart after one night of just flirting. Santi ends up dead, and that's the end of the first chapter. The next 10+ chapters are more "short stories" between the pair. They are father/daughter, co-workers, boss/employee, siblings, married, etc. But why?

They meet in the same city, they can't leave the city. Yet they are on a continuous loop where they die and are reborn. But why?

I'm not going to give anything away, but the reason certainly wasn't what I thought. I got Midnight Library vibes from this (living different lifes) and Addie LaRue vibes (living over and over again). I also got How To Save A Life (or other time loop books). But it wasn't any of those (and honestly, I enjoyed all three of those more than this one).

It got repetitive listening to two characters have the same argument over and over again. I didn't love the end. And I think this should have been marketed a bit differently.

Thora and Santi are living countless lives that intertwine. The chapters each deal with different times they encounter each other. Sometimes they are teacher and student, other times they are twin siblings. At times they are the same age, at other times they are decades apart. They share a connection with the stars, and they always reunite in Cologne.

I really wasn’t sure where this one was going – was it like Groundhog Day where they needed to relive a life until they had changed their outlook, or righted some wrongs? Did they need to love each other no matter what?

The ending was not at all what I was expecting but definitely made this one a unique read. I don’t want to give any more clues than that! By the end, I felt I knew Thora and Santi and it was bittersweet to close the book.

I really really wanted to love this book but it fell a little flat for me. The biggest reason is because I thought it would be a time travel story when in reality it's science fiction.I also felt like 90% of the book was spent building up to a big reveal and when it came I was left thinking "huh, that's it?" I know others have loved it so if you're a fan of sci fi or go into it more interested in the character development rather than a twist, this might be for you.

I seriously cannot stop thinking about this book. It went in a COMPLETELY different direction from what I was expecting and I’m still conflicted about how I feel about it. I can’t really write a full review or even say the genre without giving everything away so just know that it was written beautifully and the attention to detail was incredible. Eventually I might even reread it because I’m sure there are things that I didn’t catch. Go into this one with an open mind and I guarantee you will be surprised.

3 1/2 stars

This book is a series of variations on a theme. Each story has characters with the same names, set in the same general location, visiting the same places, but with alteration in their relationships to each other. Some of those relationships include: boyfriend/girlfriend, husband/wife, father/daughter, teacher/student, brother/sister. Each story, by itself, is interesting, but after reading several, they became tiresome and repetitive. The last chapter serves to tie them all together.

The book seems to focus on fate/faith vs. randomness/chaos. It’s very metaphysical, existential, transcendental. I enjoyed the characters more than the stories. Santi was my favorite. I’ll be honest, I didn’t like Thora until the last chapter. Even then, she was just okay.

This book wasn’t one I would be likely to choose off a shelf. However, it was an interesting read all the same.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank them for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

Thora and Santi keep connecting in different lives. Sometimes they are parent and child, sometimes lovers, sometimes work partners. But as each character begins to have memories of their past "lives" they must race to figure out their actual connection until their lives come to a final end.

This book had an intriguing premise, and I really enjoyed parts of it. It's a mix of literary fiction and science fiction and is well-written. It gave me definite "Recursion" vibes, which is a story that also explores characters re-connecting in different lives. I really wanted to love it, and I did love some of the early chapters especialIy. About halfway through, however, I was ready to find out what was really going on, so the middle dragged a bit before I got to the last few chapters which were riveting.

Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to readers who love science fiction.

This was the sweetest story! I couldn’t put it down. I loved both characters and their never-ending trials to figure out this stationary world they’ve found themselves trapped in.

Thora and Santi seem to meet over and over again, but each time in a different way and in another time, but always in the same city they can’t escape. What is going on and why do they keep jumping into different versions of their lives? How do they make it stop?

Normally with quantum-leap or life-jumping stories I find myself bored in the repetition, but not this one. Maybe it’s because each life they enter is so different. Or maybe it’s because the characters are so enjoyable. Either way, this book is definitely a great read!

Thank you William Morrow and Harper Collins for the advanced e-copy.

A little bit "Groundhog Day", and little bit virtual reality.
Thora and Santi meet in college, and discover they have a lot in common - namely an intense interest in astronomy and space. Then Santi dies.
In the next life, Thora and Santi meet again. And again. And again. Every meeting teaches them something new about each other. At times they are teacher and student, co-workers, a married couple, mentor and mentee. Their lives are always linked, but they don't know why.
How well do we know the people in our lives? If we had a chance to live our lives over, what would we change? Thora and Santi have the opportunity to share their best and worst selves with each other and with those around them throughout their multiple lives. In the end, what they have learned about each other will decide whether they will live or die.
Very interesting and thought provoking read. Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

Meet Me In Another Life was a very unique and thoughtful take on multiple lives. At first glance, I assumed it would be a romance, but it isn't. Or rather, it isn't always. There is love between Thora and Santi, that is undeniable. But the type of love they share varies from life to life. The constant is, they always find each other, somehow.

It's quite mysterious, because Thora and Santi don't know any more than the reader does why they keep reliving their lives, and how they manage to find each other no matter the circumstance. I was definitely eager to find those answers myself, and I found that when I did, the answer was quite satisfying to me.

This has to be a vague review, because some of the things I found most lovely about the book are spoilery, but I will say that I loved getting to know Thora and Santi, who were such a complimentary pair. A few of the lives they shared were perhaps not quite as enthralling as others, but I enjoyed most immensely. Their stories are, as real life is, often sad, especially at the end (again, as life's end tends to be). But they grow and learn so much, that it makes it hopeful, too. And when we find out what it all leads up to, well, my mind was blown.

Bottom Line: A lovely, albeit melancholy tale of two people destined to meet in life after life.

Meet Me In Another Life by Catriona Silvey is an interesting and different book. Thora and Santi are retold again and again. At first, I thought it was maybe a collection of short stories suing the same names. Then I thought it was a collection of stories about the characters in different timelines, maybe different dimensions. There were other characters too, who reappeared. Not always, though. When it was finally explained I am not sure I still understood. That is not to say I didn't like the book.

It was an enjoyable book, full of good stories, and likable characters. Although they weren't always the same, their basic personalities were. It was catchy. Silvey is a good storyteller. I enjoyed the stories, and the book, Even if I didn't understand. Science Fiction? Don't know. Maybe you will when you read it.

I was invited to read a free 3-ARC of Meet Me in Another Life by Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #netgalley #meetmeinanotherlife

I received Meet Me inAnother Life by Catriona Silvey from NetGalley in change for an honest review. I expected this book to be a romance with time travel, but I was surprised. It is unique. I never read a book like it.
I was confused at first, but with each chapter, the story unfolds. What a storyteller. Pieces fall into place and I realized the clues interspersed in previous chapters.
I hope this book shoots to best sellers lists.

Meet Me in Another Life is mystical in its quest for one's true self, purpose, and love. An original.

This book is not at all what I was expecting. The beginning sets up like a sappy love story, two people destined to be together, but I was so happy to see it went beyond that. It explores the ways that people are connected, beyond romantic love, and how those connections can change you and carry you through lifetimes. You honestly can't start this book and have any idea where it's headed. It lags a bit in the middle, but it's worth pushing through for a truly incredible ending. An excellent genre mash-up that may, or may not, give you a mini existential crisis.

Thank you so much to NG, William Morrow and Custom House for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Meet Me in Another Life provided a very unique and enjoyable reading experience. I knew very little about this debut novel when I began reading, which I recommend, so I won't share too much.

⭐️ Main characters: Thora and Santi
⭐️ Setting: Cologne, Germany
⭐️ Genres: Mystery, Literary fiction, Romance, and Science fiction
⭐️ Symbols: Stars, clock tower, cat, scarf, and pocket knife.

The first half is a series of ‘micro stories' featuring Santi and Thora - always connected but in very different ways. The second half slowly reveals the greater story, and it's fascinating and surprising. I need to discuss the ending with someone! I'm not a fan of science fiction but enjoyed this novel, so if SF isn't your thing, don't let that put you off. Thank you to the publisher for the review copy; all thoughts are my own.

Books involving time travel are not my usual reads, but I received a copy of this one from NetGalley, and I am glad I did! Meet Me in Another Life tells the story of the many different lives of Santi and Thora. The two characters have different relationships throughout the book-- parent/child, teacher/student, etc. I found the characters to be engaging, and the ending was very different than what I expected, but it made sense, or at least as much sense as a time travel novel can make! I enjoyed this book and recommend it!