“One Year Ago in Spain” is a beautifully written and evocative novel that transports readers to a vibrant landscape filled with rich cultural details. The characters are well-developed, and their journeys of self-discovery are both relatable and inspiring. The pacing is strong, with a perfect blend of humor and heartfelt moments. While some plot twists may feel a bit predictable, the overall experience is engaging and immersive. It’s a lovely exploration of love, loss, and the transformative power of travel. A delightful read that stays with you!

One Year Ago in Spain follows the uptight Claire, lawyer who after loosing not only her birth parents at 8 and then her adopted parents when she graduated from school she tries to be in control of what she can. Enter Matias, an artist that sweeps her off feet in a whirlwind romance and then when she finds out he might propose on a trip to his home country of Spain she backs out of the trip to focus on a big merger she is in charge of. When Matias is in a boating accident Claire drops everything and heads to Spain where she learns more about herself and their relationship. I liked the growth of Claire's character as she comes to realize what's really important and I adored Matias. I really enjoyed this story and you will too if you want a little fantasy in your contemporary romance.

While I was looking forward to reading another romance with sci-fi elements, this book was a miss for me and I didn’t enjoy as I’d hoped.My biggest qualm with this book is that we miss most of the romance. We miss seeing Clair and Matías fall in love as it starts on their first date then jumps to almost a year later. And while Claire has to try and make Matías fall in love with her again, there just isn’t enough of it as she’s also focused on the real Matías and finding his soul. This shows her love for him but we don’t really get to see them in love and fall in love which if what I love about romance books, not the being in love but the falling in love. I also didn’t like the side character povs. It took me out of the book and didn’t add anything to the story.

Overall, I didn’t like this romance.

Claire Walker and Matias de Leon Could not be more different from each other, She with a high powered job at a top corporate law firm, in New York, and he is a free spirited artist from Spain in NYC for a job and the opening of his art show.
Despite their differences they fall madly in love.
On a visit home to Spain Matias is in a bad accident and in a coma. Claire rushes to his side, risking her position with the firm
I don't want to relieve too much of the story, but it was a creative story with a fresh view on romance. Claire must woo her lover's soul back into his body to wake him from a coma, or risk losing him forever.
To me this was a wonderful read.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for a copy of this book.

What a page turner. Has Ashley Poston The Dead Romantics vibe, magical realism. I kinda love the dual timeline when one MC is in the present while the other MC is in the past and they meet at the end to conclude the story. Hate Mail by Donna Marchetti same format and very funny. I did find the various POVs from secondary characters to be unnecessary and didn’t bring anything new to the story. But Claire and Matias were chefs kiss.

Evelyn Skye is one of my new favorite authors and if you haven’t read one of her books you’re really missing out!

Claire and Matias meet at his art show in NYC and quickly fall in love. As a busy lawyer, Claire loves that Matias puts up with her hectic schedule but after a year is forced to stay in New York to work a case instead of go on the trip to Spain they had planned to visit Matias’ family and hometown. While Matias went on his own, he got in a boating accident and is hospitalized. It is there that Claire realizes she is seeing Matias’ ghost/soul and although he doesn’t know who she is, her job is to lead him back to himself to get the real him to wake up.

Self-discovery books will never not be a favorite of mine. Claire learns so much about herself, her priorities and her love for Matias throughout this novel. Give this lovely book that takes you around Spain a chance and I promise you won’t regret it! Oh while you’re at it, read The Hundred Loves of Juliet which just happened to be a favorite of mine from last year 🙂

gorgeously romantic. unquely lovely. elegantly enchanting and so utterly sweeet. A+++ thanks for the arc

Most of the characters bothered me in some way or another. The story wasn't super unique but it was interesting enough to finish the book. I think the magical aspect was a bit confusing and tedious at times and it took me out of the story

I really liked the premise of this book, but ultimately it fell a little short for me. The two MCs, Claire and Matías, are the poster children for opposites attract. Claire is a type-A lawyer and Matías is a passionate artist. The meet at the opening of his gallery show. They hit it off and so begins a year long whirlwind romance.

I loved getting to know them and see how their relationship develops. However, the story seemed a little scattered to me. It felt like we jumped from one thing to the next without time to digest what was happening.

Overall, a good story and a good read but only 3 stars for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

I loved Skye's last book, The Hundred Loves of Juliet, and was really looking forward to her next release, One Year Ago in Spain. While the first few chapters set me up to dislike the FMC, her character developed as the story continued. Many of the main and side characters had flat, tropic personalities. All that said, I thought the story was charming and engaging overall, and I recommend it for romance readers who love opposites attract and second chance themes. Thank you to Random House Publishing- Ballantine for the ARC of One Year Ago in Spain, which is available now.

At the start of this novel, orderly corporate lawyer Claire falls for free spirited Spanish artist Matias. When he goes on a trip to Spain and gets in a horrible accident that leaves him in a coma, Claire flies to be by his side - only to find that she runs into his spirit/soul in Spain, but this version of Matias from a year before does not remember her. Can she make his soul return to his body by falling in love with her, all while balancing Matias’s family she is meeting for the first time, and her job that she has left at an urgent time?

I don’t think this description is a spoiler since it happens pretty quickly in the book, and is described in the publisher blurb. However, I went into this book blind so I must admit I was expecting a lighter book than the one I got. So it’s not really the book’s fault I that I was in the mood for something more fun - though it was still written with a light touch and a quick and easy read. Yet at the same time? As an easy book crier, it’s surprising to me that this book didn’t get even a single tear out of me. I loved Evelyn Skye’s book from last year, The Hundred Loves of Juliet, but this one wasn’t quite as good. I did still enjoy it though and would definitely read another by her.

3.75 stars

Claire is a corporate attorney living every moment of her life for her work. It mostly works for her as she craves order and her career is literally measured in billable minutes. She is looking for a partner in life, but thus far hasn’t found one for which she has the “spark” with. Then she meets Matias at the opening of his gallery show and wow, their chemistry is incredible. He is in the US to show his work and as a visiting professor. In essence, he is the yin to her yang. They bring out the best in each other. When Claire bails on a trip to visit and meet his family in Spain at the last minute, he goes alone and tragedy strikes. She knows the very second something is wrong and knows she needs to get to him. A wonderfully written story about what love does to and for us, how it can change us to the very core and what we will ultimately do for it.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.

One Year Ago in Spain is a magical story about getting a second chance for love. Claire and Matias find each other and then Matias is in an accident. Claire has to fight for their relationship. I loved the Spanish culture in this book as well.

Thank you Net Galley and Del Rey for this arc!

ONE YEAR AGO IN SPAIN was perfectly sweet and perfectly .... okay. But that's not what I'm looking for when I pick up a romance, especially by an author that I am trying for the first time. I think Evelyn Skye has some really good ideas, plots, and characters, but she needs to do a bit more to distinguish her work from the over-saturated romance market.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is the second book that I've read by this author and I really enjoyed this one as well. I will definitely give this author's adult books a chance in the future, Especially if she continues to have this magical realism feel in her books going forward. I am always looking for more books with magical realism in it.

This was a very sweet story of a woman falling in love all over again (and even deeper) and allowing her walls to finally come down.

Plot
Claire is a lawyer at a top Manhattan firm who falls in love with Matias, a Spanish artist. After a year together she begins to question if they can last long-term because they are so different. When Matias has a horrible accident that leaves him in a coma in Madrid, she rushes to his side. There she finds his soul and can talk to him. But she is the only one. And, to make things even more complicated, he doesn’t remember her. In order to save him, Claire is will have to make him fall in love with her a second time.

His family doesn’t understand why she is not spending more time at the hospital with him waiting for him to wake up and they do not believe her when she tries to explain. Now she must find a way to bring Matias back to her. Can they fall in love again?

Why Jackie loves it
This is such a unique and fun opposites-attract love story. Claire is so pragmatic, she has such a hard time trusting her feelings and Matias is impulsive and carefree. They compliment each other so well and while their first meet-cute was instant, I loved watching them fall in love a second time.

An opposites-attract romance featuring a successful lawyer and her artist boyfriend. It's a case of love at first sight for these two but when the passion cools down they have to face the problems caused by their personality differences and when Claire's boyfriend Matías ends up in a coma after a boating accident, she's left feeling helpless until she realizes that she can see his soul - and he doesn't remember her in that state. So she kinda had to make him fall in love with her again so that he can return to his body😂
Definitely an interesting premise and I was hooked based on that alone! I found the relationship between Claire and Matías believable and Claire's character growth was amazing. But the pacing was a bit off with the changes in the timeline(past/present) and the addition of family member povs😂 like ik the intention was to add depth to the story but it just ended up being distracting 😅

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Evelyn Skye for allowing me to review this cute and mostly wholesome 2nd chance romance. This is the second book I have read by this author and I have enjoyed both. This one would be a 5 star for me if not for two things. I felt the pacing was a bit off which made it difficult to connect with the characters and follow the flow of the book. The other aspect of this book that I was not a fan of at all was a scene discussing baby photos. Perhaps I am a bit too modest or sensitive to stuff like that, but it felt inappropriate to me that there would be a discussion about a baby photo in that way. If I had known that would be in the book it would have kept me from reading it. It’s a shame that those two elements were part of this book as the overall story was very wholesome, sweet, and enjoyable. I will try this author in the future but please no more baby photo discussions. Thank you again for allowing me to review this book.

This book had a lot of potential. I LOVE a magical realism book (Ashley Poston does this so well!) but this one just fell a little flat. I think the premise is great—I just think the execution was too rushed and I did not have a true stake in their relationship. More time spent on some character development would have been helpful. The point of views from side characters were not necessary and there needed to be more build up to Claire and Matias’s romance. Overall a solid read, just not my favorite!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Being a successful New York Lawyer, Claire has always lived her life practically versus with passion but she is ready for a change. Claire was not prepared to find the love of her life when she met an aspiring artist, Matias. As the two form an intense relationship Claire is still holding back, unable to make a lasting commitment. While Matias, on the other hand, is ready to take their love story to the next level. However, Claire’s world comes to an abrupt halt when Matias is involved in a fatal accident leaving him in a coma. She must travel to Spain for the one she loves, before it is too late.
Finding herself in Spain, Claire contemplates what Matias really means to her and is surprised when his soul appears to her and only her. Matias must fall in love with Claire all over again if he is ever to return to his earthly body, but the problem is that he has no idea who she is. Can Claire prove her love to Matias, and in return gain his love all over again?
Overall rating 3/5
This was a great concept to the fairytale love story that we all want and wish for. I do find the concept of finding one's soul and having a full blown love relationship with it complex and unbelievable. But being as this is a fictional book it is an interesting concept to have not only one fall in love with you but to have their soul fall for you as well is endearing. I do feel as if the storyline was a bit slow and was hard to read at times. But if you love a true love story with struggles and a happy ending then this book is for you.

*Thank you to Evelyn Skye, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Del Rey and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.