As many other reviewers have already noted, there's not a lot to like about Alex Dean, the main character in The Day Tripper. As a matter of fact, there's a lot to dislike about him. So, it made it very hard to care too much about what he was going through. And, as many others have already mentioned, I considered not finishing this book quite a few times. I can't quite say what kept me reading other than that I was curious how the time traveling would work itself out.

I can't say that the ending was worth the slog. I was glad for a happy outcome. But that's about it.

Thank you to James Goodhand, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This audio book was interesting, and I liked the time travel aspect. The man character was difficult to connect with as he doesn't present well initially. It is one of those stories that you have to commit to and see to the end. I certainly wanted to see where the story would go and what we would learn about his life and those around him.

The first few chapters of this book left me cold, completely unable to engage. I can't tell you how close I came to walking away and finding something else. But somehow I stuck it out, determined to persevere because the unique time traveling premise had so much potential.

Now I've just finished and I'm sobbing. In my six decades of life, only a handful of books have ever touched me like this one has. The Day Tripper realized that potential and then grew into something unparalleled and deeply inspiring. Those last ten chapters were some of the most satisfying I've read in years.

Don't let the time-jumping chaos and life wasting away on alcohol put you off. It's necessary, and all part of the unflinching process. If you're expecting something jaunty like Groundhog Day, look elsewhere. The Day Tripper offers second chances and redemption, but first we must jump through the hell of a life of addiction, an abusive parent, and misguided motivations in order to even identify where to begin.

Spring's renewal is most beautiful after enduring the harshest of winters.

Unfortunately this story was not one I enjoyed. The narration was good, I am glad to have listened to the story via audiobook.

The main character was not one I liked sadly so I couldn’t connect much to the book.

too much like the Time Traveler's Wife; writing did not hold my attention and story was too slow to get going.

I was intrigued by the premise and ultimately enjoyed this poignant time travel novel featuring MMC Alex Dean. Each day after he is almost beaten to death, Alex wakes up in a new decade further from the life he imagined for himself and his love, Holly. He works to figure out how to make small but meaningful changes in order to save himself and the people he loves. The audio version was a bit slow for me at times with a single narrator. Overall a satisfying book, despite heavy themes and a dark overtone, thanks to a hopeful/happy ending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

I loved this! It was such a unique concept to me, and I loved how Alex was given the opportunity to change.

The Day Tripper is a redemption story about a man who experiences a traumatic event and starts randomly moving through time. It focuses on addiction, our choices in life, and how to take responsibility for your actions. I'm not usually a huge fan of books structured like this, but I ended up giving this one a four-star rating because I really liked it and would recommend it to a friend, but I wouldn't read it again.

Read the publishers description first! Otherwise you will be lost right from the start.

Through a series of days we see Alex Dean's life unfold in a nonchronological way. A great tale showing how one small change can alter your future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very interesting concept how each day Alex Dean wakes up to a different time of his life. Alex has to figure out how to navigate the day and learns his actions affect future ones. I did not really connect to Alex Dean. The book starts a bit slow, so it was hard to get into. Throughout Alex is trying to reconnect with one of his ex's.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 ⭐️ range

Alex goes to bed one night, and every day forward he wakes up to a random date in his life.

On one hand when I finished this story, I was happy I had read it. I liked Alex and Holly. Alex’s journey was interesting and I appreciated the things he needed to come to terms with in a healthy way. On the other hand when in the thick of the story, I disliked the repetitiveness of the details. Over and over again Alex needs to get his bearings when he wakes up. He searches for Holly. He finds comfort in some substance of some sort for most of it.

The narration of the audiobook was good. Meunier was pleasant to listen to and the characters were well voiced. Listening to this via NetGalley was a bit tricky. This book jumps all over Alex’s life timeline. It was sometimes hard to figure out when a new chapter started to know if Alex was in the same date or not.

I love time travel stories. It’s my favorite sci fi trope. However in this case the time travel appears to be an incidental back drop to the story of Alex, focused on his love of one woman, Holly. As he’s displaced in time, his first thoughts upon waking always come back to Holly. Where is she? Are they together in this time? If not, what happened that changed his life course?

I’m not quite sure what I expected from The Day Tripper, perhaps more science fiction? It turns out that it’s just not for me. It seems to be a perfectly fine love story, but I’m not interested in romance. I’d recommend this to those who enjoy love stories with unique circumstances; a challenge which must be overcome in order for two people to be together. I can’t comment on the ending since I stopped at around 25%. It does seem to have a bit of a Sliding Doors feel to it, which is intriguing.

The narrator did a wonderful job; this just wasn’t my cup of tea. There’s also quite a bit of foul language which I thought was unnecessary; I might have finished the book, if it weren’t for that, even with the slow pace.

Thank you to Harper Audio and NetGalley for the gifted audio copy. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for the audio copy of this book.

I love a British narrator and so my morning commutes had that calming sound in my ear.

This novel did remind me of the midnight library, and I did really enjoy that novel. Time travel books are always interesting to me in how the reader will describe the happenings and the theories behind their version of time travel and the reader gets insight into their individual understanding of it.

I think any time travel book really speaks of trauma and getting over and through it and this book was no different on that accord. After a near death experience Alex wakes up in a random day in his life. He then lives his life out of order and not understanding the impacts he is making in his changed life patterns.

He starts out unlikeable but Alex grows on you as he lives and learns and understands the importance of relationships and their impact on him and his impact on them.

It was a good read, but not quite top notch

Thank you to NetGalley, James Goodhand & Harper Audio for an audio ARC of The Day Tripper in exchange for an honest review.

The plot of this story was very intriguing. The story ended up being just “ok” for me. I am rating it as 3/5 Stars.

I likely will not make it a point to recommend this book.

Alex is involved in a brutal fight in 1995 & wakes up the next day in 2010. This continues on. Each day, he will be in a different year & is having to piece his life together from what happened after the fight where this all began.

I love time travel tropes, but this one missed the mark. The time travel into random years each chapter could get confusing and it just didn’t blend very well. Further, the story just immediately starts. There’s no world building or anything that prepares the reader for what is to come. Nothing to get us invested.

It was a great concept, but not executed very well in my opinion. Sorry!

A deeply moving story to remind us that change is constant but not inevitable if we don’t push for ourselves. An insightful combination of The Catcher in the Rye and Oona Out of Order, we see our protagonist grapple with his own self fulfilling prophecy of destruction until he reaches out a hand and asks for help.

4.5 stars...thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this audio arc...it was a great story. I enjoy a good time travel story and this one definitely delivered. I felt all the feelings listening to this book. I laughed, I cried...a few times, I felt like I was on an adventure through time. I am glad the author gave the protagonist the choice to better his life after the main event that threw him into a time travel paradox. I would definitely recommend this book for sure.

Rating: 4.25⭐️
Audio rating: 5⭐️ British narrators are always my favorite!!

1 sentence review: This explores life, actions, and consequences in a really profound way.

I really, really adored this book. The moral of this story is that all of our actions have consequences and even changing your mindset can change your entire life and the lives of those around you. This made me cry on multiple occasions and there was such complexity to the story. I loved the MC’s character development and his relationships with the side characters were both heartbreaking and inspiring.

My only critique for this was that the time travel concept had some plot holes for me, but honestly the concept of time travel in general blows my freaking mind so this is probably a me thing lol. Overall, I know this book is going to stick with me for a LONG time.

Read This if You Like:
⏱️ The Midnight Library (probably lol)
⏳ Time travel tropes
🕰️ Reading about trauma, consequences, and greater purpose

I really enjoyed the ending of this book. At the beginning, it was slightly hard to get myself invested in the novel (the pacing was slow), but it did bring me in about halfway through. Alex Dean gets a head injury from a horrible beating and after that his life is turned upside down. The days / years that Alex experiences are not in order, and he is unhappy with what he sees / experiences. Can he alter the future by changing the past? Time travel is one of the only science fiction troupes I enjoy. This was a character drive story where although Alex was unlikable, once he started trying to change things, I did have empathy for him. I loved that the title for each chapter was a song title that kept me guessing what would happen in that chapter.

I love a good time travel loop story, so I was excited for the chance to read The Day Tripper. I went into it hoping to love it. Sadly, by the end my feelings were far more lukewarm. There were decent elements to this story, but there wasn’t really enough setup, and, the biggest flaw, the main character, Alex, was terribly unsympathetic. I really struggled with his personality (or lack thereof?) and his overall attitude. Things did improve some by the end, but I was still relieved to be finished.

James Meunier did a decent job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you James Goodhand, Harper Audio, Harlequin Audio, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you liked exploring the hardhitting themes focused on dogged self improvement of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY or nonlinear time structures of OONA OUT OF ORDER, I think you should check this out. This does deal with difficult subjects so please look up trigger warnings. Despite exploring traumas, this is ultimately a feel-good story.

Alex Dean was just a regular dude until a near death experience leads to a supernatural series of events. Every morning he now wakes up on a random day of his life. He lives his life out of order, seeing the effects without knowing what caused it. Marrying a woman who he doesn’t know instead of the love of his life when he was 20. Or waking to find himself sleeping in a car, homeless and alone.
I went into this thinking it would be mostly science fiction but its more a commercial book with time travel shenanigans. The author did include a bit world building that fascinated me in that Alex is not the only person to experience “asynchronous consciousness” due to a severe head trauma or near-death experience.. I like what we got and want more about how this phenomenon affected others as well.

Alex started out unlikable. He’s an alcoholic who never took responsibility for his actions. Due to the head trauma which catapulted his “asynchronous consciousness” he sees what a sad and pitiful life he ends up having. Busking with his guitar to earn a bit of money, only to squander it on booze. He meets a mysterious character who knows about “asynchronous consciousness” and gives him advice that if he wants to improve his life, he just has to go against the headwind, make different choices, and have better consequences. Because he hops around in time, he can make different choices in the earlier years and then see the ripple effect of that change later on. That part definitely reminded me of the movie “The Butterfly Effect” (with Ashton Kutcher)

The relationships are what really elevate this story. How they change over time and how our daily choices profoundly affect them. Treating your loved ones better before you lose them.
Overall, I recommend this to you if you like heartfelt stories about a person learning from their mistakes with a fun “time travel” element.

The Day Tripper will be published March 19, 2024. Thanks to Netgalley for my ALC (advanced listening copy)