I could not put this book down. It was a real page-turner. I was so invested in these characters. I ran the gamut from laughing to crying, to joy and hope. It was well written, the characters were developed, and the premise was unique.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So the alternate reality switch premise isn't exactly new, but it is always interesting to see how it's executed. This book came off a bit amateurish but it's hard for me to discern if it's the plot or the writing style. The first few chapters were so clunky. The dialogue was very cheesy and stilted. I wasn't really certain that I was going to be able to make it through the book. After a few chapters it seemed to find it's pace and improved.

The overanalyzing that each Josie does of her "other self" could be a bit much at times. Like girl, it IS you! And then to accused your husband of cheating. With YOURSELF! wtf Rob is too good for either version of Josie. Not to mention, ya f*cked Peter you self righteous hypocrite.

I enjoyed that everything came full circle for both Josie's in the end. Like a nicely wrapped present. Not sure if the multiverse would really work that way. What if one Josie had made it back, and the other was stuck in some other Josie's life. That would have been f'ed up! lol but guess you wouldn't go that way to get a HEA.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
I am conflicted about this one. I really enjoyed parts of it but the last part really didn't work for me. I enjoyed the Me Josie perspective a lot more than the her Josie and probably would have enjoyed the book more if it was only her POV.
I felt in the middle that it was building to them both being happy in their other lives but I didn't think it would go that way because that's not how these stories go. Even still I didn't feel like that was fleshed out enough so the climax felt very abrupt.

I really wanted to love this book, but it missed the mark for me. I’m hopeful that some of my gripes with this ARC might be cleared up in editing, which would significantly improve the reader experience!

What I loved:
1. The premise! What a great concept, switching lives with your alternate self at a certain point in your shared history.
2. The writing itself (aside from some of my nitpicks below) flow nicely.
3. I liked the POV change from “me” to “her” and how each was written in that respective voice — a subtle touch, but effective!.
4. The sentiment, stated explicitly near the end, that people you lose may be living an alternate timeline somewhere else, with experiences they never got to have “here” (my heart!).

What I disliked:
1. The pace was quite slow for me.
2. The fact that the characters included a “baby” or “honey” or “my love” in nearly EVERY dialogue exchange almost caused me to DNF this story. It was that distracting. Especially in the second half.
3. The fact that Josie is a British woman but doesn’t speak any British English? She says “apartment” for gods sake — I’ve never met a Brit who didn’t say “flat.” Nothing about Josie screamed British to me.
4. I wasn’t emotionally invested in the characters, really, and some of their lengthier conversations and arguments bored me in their minutiae.

I’m not really a huge fan of the romance genre, so I may be harsher than most. If this book sounds like something that would interest you, please read it! I don’t regret doing so, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m a devil about the details.

Thank you to CJ Connolly, Joffe Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC!

3.9⭐️
0.5🌶 (not quite young teen friendly, but not spicy either)

This book was so interesting and trippy lol it was unlike any book I’ve read before and got me really thinking and questioning life🤣

This book read really slow for me and took me several days to get through, which normally would have only taken a day or two. I’m not sure why, it just didn’t grip me like I wanted it to.

It was a fade-to-black spicy novel, which I think also contributed to the speed of my reading. Ya girl likes the spice, OK!?🫣

Overall, I enjoyed it and thought it was a very interesting plot line!

It releases in a week from today! Go getcha a copy🤩

DNF. This was all dialogue, no world-building. Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an e-ARC of this novel in exchange for my review.

I really enjoyed this book.

The entire premise of it was so interesting to me. Multiverses and the idea behind them has always interested to me. So, the fact that this was set in one(or two?) was cool. I loved the characters. Both of the Josie’s were great characters to me. I did find The Other Josie a little selfish, but it wasn’t so bad that I was annoyed. I especially loved the brother, David.

Overall, this was a super quick read that drew me in from the very beginning. Lots of conflict and problems that needed solving.

Read this one if you’re interested in parallel universes and dual POV romances!

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for the advance read of this book.
Wow, what a well written debut! I can't wait to see what this author writes next! I really enjoyed part 1 and instantly loved Rob.
I read this book in parts as it flowed better that way. It was a quick read. I really enjoyed it. Wow it really makes you think of the possibilities of our life choices
⭐⭐⭐⭐

Oh Josie. Talk about a choice! Josie finds herself in the multiverse after an accident. Is she the woman who lives in a. walk up and has a radio show or is she the wife of Rob with a fancy apartment and a job in communications for a real estate empire? She knows something is wrong- well both Josies do- so they write a diary documenting their lives. The problem for Josie is that if she chooses to stay in her upscale life, she loses her brother and cousin but if she choses downtown, she loses Rob. But there's someone else waiting for her downtown isn't there? This got a little repetitive in spots (only natural given the premise) but it was an interesting read. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I know what my choice would have been.

Absolutely lovely book! I was in a horrible reading slump during June and this book really helped pull me back into my reading without making it seem like a chore.

Such a great spin on Sliding Doors, it's the question we all ask ourselves, what would my life be like if...
Refreshing writing style, detailed and descriptive to suck you in and help you build a vivid image in your mind of the characters and their surroundings as the story unfolds.

Definitely an author to look our for in the future

With thanks to netgalley for allowing me to review. The love of my other life.

Sadly this book was a did not finish.

The love of my other life, sounded like a really good premise, but it just didn't hold my interest and I felt that I couldn't continue to read the book.

When I read the blurb from this book, I knew I wanted – no needed – to read this. And I was hooked from the beginning.
Josie wakes up in a completely different version of her life. Suddenly she is married, has a different job and she looks different. I loved the fact the book was written from both the Josie’s perspectives.
This book makes you think about what kind of choices you would make. Would you go back to your own life, if your new life seems to be everything you ever wanted?
This story shows how a life may seem perfect, but could be everything but. The way the author wrote this, with the different perspectives kept me addicted from start to finish. And it also broke me a little bit. The way Josie has to choose, the way she has to choose for herself to be happy was so well written and did so many things to my heart.
Though this book was different from any other book I have read, it also didn’t really feel new? While reading I got the idea that I already read this some time. I still loved the story and it was the perfect summer read, but I didn’t experience a complete wow-feeling, if that makes sense.
I would totally recommend!

*I received a free copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

I'm pretty picking when it comes to alternate reality, time difference stories, and this one did not disappoint. It was a really unique take on the idea of the multiverse and I enjoyed both versions of Josie a lot. The author did an incredible job giving them individual personalities while keeping them the same person, which is a big feat to pull off. I found myself rooting for them both and wondering where their lives would go. The whole David portion was so heartwarming in one universe and heart wrenching in the other.

I will say that while I enjoyed a lot of the pop culture references, those things tend to throw me out of my suspension of disbelief so it was a little distracting at times but overall not too bad.

The Love Of My Other Life by C.J. Connolly delivered a fresh and fun twist to the alternate universe trope! I really loved the dual POV and getting to see the lives of both Josie's. Josie is a relatable and charming character in both timelines and the book touches on a hard question for any of us, choosing between your family and the love of your life. I can't wait to read more of C.J. Connolly's books and would definitely pick up a sequel to this one if there ever is one. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Joffe Books for granting me access to an ARC for The Love Of My Other Life by C.J. Connolly in exchange for an honest review.

I will never say "I read this book in one day because it was that good" about any other book ever again because this was it for me! The best writing style and flow I have ever had the pleasure of reading. This is C.J. Connolly's debut novel and it was the parallel universe romance I did not even know I needed. I will be buying this book as soon as it hits the shelves and gift it to my mother and friends.

What a wild ride this book was, providing lots of travel (UK, Australia, Italy, the States) and lavish real estate parties with flowing alcohol and delicious sex scenes, but the fashion also had me drooling! Connolly does a great job of differentiating the two Josie's by writing the first Josie in the first person and the "Other Josie" in the third person. She also does a great job of giving them slightly different voices while ultimately having a similar way of thinking.

Connolly also references Outlander, Sliding Doors, The Wings of the Dove, The Lives of Others, Life after Life and Fringe, as well as her own personal experiences with the men in her life to base characters on the book which was neat. There was nothing I could find to dislike about it except wondering what happened to Peter, but I will get over it. Other than that, I cannot say enough great things about the writing style and overall enjoyment I had while reading this book next to my glass go wine. This needs to be your next romance book club pick, you will not be disappointed!

Thanks to C.J. Connolly, Joffe Books and NetGalley for the ARC; this was one of my favorite reads of the summer!

✨On starting this I immediately thought how will this be any different from films like Freaky Friday and 17 Again…. surely this plot has been done too many times but no, this is DIFFERENT!

✨I absolutely loved reading it from the dual POV and felt it added SO much to the story. It was so interesting learning what was happening to each version of Josie.

✨Josie was so likeable and it made me think how would I react if it was me in this situation. How would you choose between family and your one true love.

✨The story makes you realise that the grass isn’t always greener, and even if you had everything you wanted something could still be missing.

✨I was praying that it would end as it did and I can only hope for a sequel to find out how their lives go! Would they switch again?!

✨Before starting this I was in abit of a book slump and everything I picked up I couldn’t focus on, but this I read in less than 24 hours!

✨Thank you to @netgalley, @cjconnollybooks and @joffebooks for sending me an E-ARC. I wish you every success with this brilliant, heartwarming book!

"The Love of My Other Life" is centered on the "waking up in a coma dating another man" trope, but with a twist. Josie, a single woman in Brooklyn, is in a bad biking accident and wakes up in the hospital with a husband she's never met. Her last memories include her working at a radio station and beginning a "flirtmance" with a friend. But now, she has a wonderful husband, lives in a penthouse, and has a privileged lifestyle. While she recognizes how wonderful it all is, she misses her previous life as well. Can she figure out a way to get back to her old life, or should she settle in to this new life of hers?

The difference between this book and others with a similar storyline is that this book focused on several multiverses. It was a little confusing at times, and I was unsure with the ending of this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

C.J. Connolly's debut The Love of My Other Life has transported her to the top of my instant buy author list! What a debut!

The Love of My Other Life introduces us to Josie, a single radio show host living in Brooklyn, on the verge of a romance, when an accident enroute to her 36th birthday dinner transports her to another life - a life that split to a different branch three years previously. Josie wakes to find herself living in a different place, with a different job, a different smaller and more luxurious body, oh and a husband...but with one key person missing in this new world. But if Josie is here in this new world, what happened to the other Josie from this world?

The parallel/alternate universe story-line is a new favorite of mine and I love the take that Connolly takes with this one. The Love of My Other Life is a beautiful journey of getting to know oneself by becoming another version of oneself. A page turner that had me up WAY past my bedtime!

I received a copy from NetGalley, but the review is my own. “The Love of my Other Life” by CJ Connolly is a story of parallel universes, like the movie “Sliding Doors” or many other books and movies. This is not a trope I get tired of exploring, so I really liked the book. It is not the fluffy (and highly enjoyable) ‘rom-com’ books like “The Proposal” or “Mr. Wrong Number”, but is more in keeping with the work of Emily Henry or Mhairi McFarlane. It was an entertaining read that I could not put down, as I needed to know what was going to happen! Our main character ends up switching alternative versions of her life and must navigate new but somewhat familiar settings with different family, friends, work, and lovers. I really liked switching back and forth between the two different worlds -- each time you felt settled and happy for one Josie, there was a gut-punch for the “other” Josie, and vise versa. This did not lead to a roller coaster of emotion as the narrative was balanced enough, a sign of good writing and editing. I was anxious for how the author would end the book (would they switch back or not?) and how the love story would resolve. If I did have a criticism of the book, I would have liked to have spent more time with both the main romantic couple (how Josie falls in love with Rob) and with each Josie in the epilogue, as I felt as though one Josie (the original) had a “better” outcome than her counterpart, which I do not think was the intention of the author but was the result of the choices made by the characters and the fallout thereafter. I definitely recommend this book 4/5.