This was not at all what I expected and I ended up loving it. The characters were great and the story was engaging. Loved the time travel/alternate reality aspect. So much so, that I finished it in a day. Will definitely recommend.

This is the story of a man who goes back in time to save the life of the president of the United States by saving the life of the woman he should marry. Well, that is supposed to be the premise. His actions are a bit more self-centered. and self-serving. Unfortunately, the story is not nearly as interesting as it could be. I was not a fan of this book. I did not care for the writing style of the course of events the author took.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley. I was intrigued by the plot, and even though I was unfamiliar with the author, it sounded worth reading. I have mixed feelings now that I have read it. I loved the plot. It was thought-provoking and memorable, with a strong dose of romance.

I don’t want to ruin the plot so I won’t go into detail. The characters were multi-dimensional, with real feelings and motivations. It was the narrative that bothered me. About one-third of the way through the book, I almost stopped reading. I found the narrative to be boring, with few conversations, descriptions of feelings rather than actions demonstrating them, and a lot of filler (in my opinion).

The story starts out from the POV of Tom Waites. For unexplained reasons, Tom Waites is omnipresent and omniscient. He not only relates conversations, he also relates the feelings of those participating. In chapter 24, the POV changes to Bruce Meyer’s. Chapter 31 is Rachel Lee. Chapter 32 is Jack Campbell. Then, it’s back to Bruce, Rachel, Jack, Katherine St. Clair, Rachel, Jack, Rachel, Frank Walsh, Katherine, Rachel, and Bruce. If that’s not confusing enough, many times when the POV changed, the same scene was described from the new POV, with the same dialogue, but different feelings expressed by the person experiencing it. Changing the POV after 23 chapters of just the one (Tom) was jarring and made me turn back to figure out what had happened. Switching back and forth was irritating. There was also the jump in time without much of a transition that took the reader from the past to the present. The reason this was so confusing was because the entire novel was told in the present-tense.

I enjoyed the theme of the book, the realization that we mere humans are kidding ourselves if we think we can change destiny. Because the narrative was so matter-of-fact, I never really connected with any of the characters and felt their pain. This was unfortunate because the idea of selflessly separated soulmates could have been a serious tear-jerker. Instead, it was just another fact of the story; nothing more. I wish the author had been able to engage my emotions. If not for the exceptionally fascinating plot, I would probably give the book only one or two stars.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

I expected something different from this book as it was categorized as young adult. I would categorize bit as adult

It is a story of a man who goes back in time to save the world, becomes romantically involved, but can not do anything about it or risk changing the future but is told from different points of view.

I found it predictable and a bit boring a times. A rather light read. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could. So I am giving it 3. It needs a bit of editing and a bit more excitement.

I love historical time travel stories - and this book is no exception. Tom Waites (Bruce Meyer) goes back in time from 2025 to 1985 to stop what could be World War 3. Rachel, a girl he met in 1985 must marry Jack Campbell, the President in 2025. But, Tom is in love with Rachel - but, she has to marry Jack to not alter the future.

This was a page-turner for me. The twist and turns kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. It is a story of sacrifices and love and making decisions that benefit more than just yourself. I highly recommend this for readers who love time travel stories!

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. Changing the course of history to right a perceived wrong or to alter an outcome is always an adventurous idea. This book grabs this concept and hangs on. The characters are interesting and their actions shake things up! I totally recommend this story to readers who enjoy time travel interwoven with historical perspective.

I really like the book. Bruce Meyer is chosen to go back in time to prevent the death of Rachel Lee, who is the first love of soon to be president Jack Campbell. Bruce travels back to when they are all in high school and soon finds himself in love with Rachel. Not only does he discover that he IS Tom Waites, the richest man in history who financed his time travel trip, but he went back because HE is in love with Rachel and SHE is in love with him. In order to prevent a catastrophic event he has to stand back and watch her marry Jack Campbell so she can become first lady and fulfill her destiny.

I was given the opportunity to read this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The premies of this book was such a neat idea. It was clever and well planned out. Unfortunately I feel like the characters lacked depth. I needed more development of the friendships and relationships between the characters as well. The novel is well paced and kept my attention. Overall I thought it was just ok.

This book had an interesting premise. I love a good time travel book, and add in a bit of romance- right up my alley! However, this was a little flat. It was a pleasant enough read, but I wasn't really engaged with the characters, and the twist was revealed pretty early and then there wasn't much more for excitement. I finished the book - which I won't do if I am not enjoying it, so I think it is definitely okay, I just would have wished for a bit more from it.

Tom Waites, aka Bruce Meyer is the wealthiest person in the world and he is chosen to time travel from 2025 to 1985 to stop events that could be a world disaster. Rachel Lee, a girl that he met in 1985, to stop her from being killed and she is make sure she marries Jack Campbell and help him on the path to becoming President, which he is in 2025.



Bruce falls in love with Rachel but does nothing about it as he can't because it would change the future. There are a lot of plot twists and turns that keeps the reader turning the pages. I was always rooting for Bruce and hoped that he would get his lady, Rachel. Jack was obsessed with getting a scholarship and having a relationship with Rachel and had no plans for becoming president but that is what Bruce is there to see that that does happen. Jack becomes arrogant and resentful as president.



I really enjoyed the book, it was not what I was expecting, the ending really blew me away, but then It Was Always Her. This is a story of not only of sacrifices and love but of choices that can change things. Time travel, love and a compelling plot. What else is needed for a great read? I highly recommend it!

The premise is a bit Back to the Future meets Camelot the Kennedy Years. Bruce is a cadet at West Point during WW3 that breaks out after a pandemic (COVID) and a group of people are interested in assonating the President of the US because they blame him for the was and lack of action on behalf of the US. Tim Waites suggests an alternate plan, send back someone to 1985 to change the course of history by saving a young lady that will assist in guiding the president in policies. The book brings up some interesting premises in terms of the changes, love denied and forcing people to do what you believe will change outcomes. Quick and easy read.

4/5
A fan of both time travel stories and romance, I absolutely adored this book, and cannot wait to buy my own copy!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review.

It is rare to find a novel that merge genres and themes successfully. Yet,
Author J.L. Witterick has accomplished exactly that. Her clean and comfortable writing style effortlessly weaves a romantic story with science fiction. The plot moves along from beat to beat seamlessly - chapters are short, sweet, and purposeful.

The flow of this story is balanced with keeping it tightly bound together. Purple prose, something that drags down so many other works I've read in recent times, is notably absent here. Having perspectives from different characters also gives depth to the story. Bruce, Rachel and their love which spans two lifetimes take the stage front and center…as it should. Time travel can be a tricky topic to explore, but it's done in a very approachable and accessible manner here.

This novel reminds me of why I love to discover new books. It Was Always Her captures "feel" in a memorable, and brilliant way.

This was 100% mis-categorized by NetGalley. It got thrown into YA & Teen and shouldn’t have been there. The teen section isn’t what carries the book. It’s adult fiction. So I’m already annoyed.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, this book could have been 2 stars. The premise was interesting. The writing was simple enough. But the story never carried any weight. I never cared about any of the characters and every POV had the same cadence, the same information, the same boring, plodding tone.

There was a lot of promise here. The premise sounds interesting. The first chapter I read before downloading the book caught my attention. Unfortunately the first chapter is the only interesting chapter.

The remainder of the book follows 3 main characters. Bruce, Jack and Rachel. They do nothing interesting for 90% of the book. We’re told about basketball games in high school and family dinners but we don’t experience these dinners. There is a distinct lack of emotion and details on every page. I don’t think the senses are ever engaged. We don’t read about pounding hearts or nervous laughter. We don’t smell the family dinner or hear the lilt of their accents. It’s all bland. The whole book is like this. We’re told the story as if it’s been censored by a prison guard who doesn’t want us to have any joy in daily activities.

Even Bruce’s big reveal to Rachel is anti-climatic and boring. She takes it well and they move on. There’s no moment of questioning. There’s no lightheartedness of joking about him having a fever or being delusional. It’s all blank faced acceptance.

The story skips ahead and we’re left with mundane details of the President’s life. We’re so detached from the story it’s boring. We’re just waiting to see what happens and when the big thing happens I found myself mentally shrugging and saying ‘who cares’.

There’s no emotion when there’s an affair happening. There’s no emotion when old friends are visited. There’s no emotion ever. No one gets mad. No one cries. No one laughs. No one does ANYTHING throughout the entire book.

The story just plods on and on and then it’s over. Little is resolved. Nothing has changed from the first few chapters. There has been no character growth. No defining moment where you sat back and said ‘Wow. I want to talk to someone about this book.’ There’s no substance here. It’s like someone turned the TV on for background noise and every once in a while you look up and see a scene that catches your attention for a few seconds, but it’s not interesting enough to keep you watching.

Despite all that I had been prepared to give this book 2 stars. It wasn't that bad. Despite being boring it was well written. Until it wasn't. Showing the same scene from different POVs is pointless when you don’t divulge anything new in those scenes. Putting this tactic in your story more than once is an auto 1 star from me. Sorry, not sorry.

I don’t know if this is an early and rough version of the story (I’ve come across that before on NetGalley with independently published novels - which this novel is) but it needs a lot more. More fluffing of scenes. More emotion. More heart. MORE ANYTHING. Goodreads tells me this was a 326 page novel. It could have used another 50 to beef it up and make it have substance.

I'm a huge fan of time travel stories, and romances, and this book combines both. I absolutely loved every second of this twisty story, and am excited to buy a copy for myself!