What a lovely read! Magical realism in Romance is *chefs kiss* for me and Skye wrote novel that is up there with Ashley Poston (and that is saying something in my eyes).

The Good: The imagery. I loved hearing about Madrid. I also could feel the love and tension between the main characters (even though one is in a coma!). I loved the different points of view throughout the novel. I know some did not enjoy them and found them distracting, but I felt they helped round out the main characters and added to the story. I loved the arc of the FMC, Claire, but wish we could have seen more of Matias.

The Bad: The pacing on this book seemed off. Some parts took me a while to read through, or I found myself skimming, because there was just too much detail. Other parts seemed rushed. I also felt a bit more time could have been spent on character development. The MC were almost there but I needed just a bit more.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is like the movie Just Like Heaven, but the characters already knew each other. There are multiple POVs throughout the story but all told from 3rd person. That threw me off a bit. But I liked the concept. It was a cute, easy read. This would make a great movie.

This book has such a unique plot. I thought the dual timeline really worked here. It allowed the reader to watch Claire and Matias’s romance grow and also added some dimension to the plot that wouldn’t have been there with a single timeline. I liked the dual POV, also, but thought that it was a bit odd that there were also chapters from the POV of supporting characters. There was one entire chapter from Matias’s mother’s POV that I skipped after realizing it would add nothing at all to the story.

I think the magical realism/paranormal element was handled very well. There was just enough explanation to hint at believability and I ate it up. I don’t believe in that sort of thing but I was completely drawn into this book.

I thought the pace was a bit slow and wish that there had been more action. A lot of it was rehashing pretty random dates. I also became very frustrated with Claire’s behavior when she was in Spain.

Overall, an interesting take on a romance. This author continues to surprise me in good ways and I look forward to reading more of her work.

I am a magical realism lover and when I read the summary for this book I was so excited. The concept of this story was so interesting and had so much potential. I also found the descriptive writing to be beautiful, and I loved how sweetly Matias’ character loved Claire. Reading his point of view about how they fell in love was my favorite part of this.

I found the different point of views to be too much, as there were multiple random additional povs throughout the story. This caused a lot of different people and different timelines to be followed, making the storyline a bit overwhelming.

Claire’s character had great character development. I felt so frustrated with her, which was evidently the point of her growth, but seeing her let herself fully give herself and her love for Matias’ was special.

I just felt like this concept had so much potential, and it fell a little flat with me. The descriptive writing was great but it felt like there were so many side details and anecdotes that were taking away from the main story. I found myself getting more into it in the middle of the story, but it fell off for me after that again unfortunately. The whole thing felt very dragged out, while the end felt really rushed. I felt like there was so much extra description throughout it but also holes that I felt like something was missing.

This is definitely still a fun read for my magical realism lovers and hopeless romantics looking for a different storyline!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read this arc!

I was swept up in this beautiful romance from the beginning and flew through the pages. Magical realism, second chances and the power of true love. Great read!

Star Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 (rounded up)

Claire Walker seems to be having the perfect life .. she is the lead attorney on an important merger and headed for a partnership with a top corporate law firm in Manhattan. She is in a relationship with a free spirited artist from Spain, Matías de León. But a wrench is about to be thrown into Claire’s life when a tragedy strikes leaving her boyfriend in a comma and close to death. In a split decision Claire leaves for Spain to be by his side. The next eight days will make Claire take a serious look at her expectation on life. Will her being by Matías’s side help him find his will to live? How will Windsor & Black feel about Claire’s sudden departure during very critical time?

One Year Ago in Spain takes a look at two very different people – one that seems very set in her ways, needs and wants an orderly and neat life; the other loves his chaotic artistic lifestyle and welcome new adventure. Will Claire and Matías have a second chance at making this relationship work?

I was intrigued when I read the brief summary of this story, while I enjoy the story it was just lacking something. I felt the pacing and character development was off, lack of chemistry between Claire and Matías plus I felt no connection to Claire’s character. The ending also seemed a little rushed.

Thank you, Evelyn Skye, Random House Publishing/Del Ray and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What you’ll find:
✨ A touch of magical realism
✨ Shifting perspectives
✨ A relationship between a driven lawyer and a carefree artist
✨ Scenes set in Madrid and New York
✨ Conversations about art and mouth-watering food

Content warnings:
💔 Themes of a fatal accident, coma, and death

Overall, I gave this book a 3.5/5 because it fell a bit short for me. While the premise of One Year Ago in Spain had the potential to be a cute and light read, the narrative felt too straightforward and lacked the build-up and character development that typically draw me into a story. This absence made it challenging to feel any real chemistry or tension between the characters. The little moments of budding romance between Matías and Claire were charming, but these scenes ended abruptly, leaving no lingering feelings for the characters. Just as I started to sense a spark of connection, the book concluded.

The inclusion of multiple POVs outside of the main couple felt like an odd choice and did little to enhance the central story. These additional perspectives seemed unnecessary and distracted from the focus on Matías and Claire.

While I appreciate a good opposites-attract trope, Claire’s fussiness and rules that bordered on OCD annoyed me. However, I did enjoy the vivid descriptions of both the art and the food in the book. They were particularly engaging and made me hungry!

While the story’s premise is enjoyable, the lack of emotional attachment to the characters was disappointing. A stronger connection could have made the story much more engaging and impactful.

Thanks to @randomhouse - Ballantine | Del Rey and @netgalley for the #ARC of One Year Ago in Spain by @evelyn_skye.

When I saw that One Year Ago in Spain, by Evelyn Skye. is a contemporary romance about second chances and includes magical realism, I immediately requested it. The characters were great, but while the novel was enjoyable, it seemed pushed at times and didn't flow smoothly.  The short chapters were a plus for me as they pulled me through the story as I read just a few more pages, over and over. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Claire and Matias are complete opposites but fell in love anyway, she is a buttoned up, very organized corporate lawyer and he is a chaotic and free spirited Spanish artist. A year into their relationship, Claire begins to question the longevity of their relationship, but then tragedy strikes and Matias falls into a coma while in Spain. Claire drops everything and rushes to his side. While in Madrid she realizes that while he’s in his coma she can talk to a manifestation of his soul from a year ago before they met. She learns that in order to save him, she needs to make his soul fall in love with her all over again.

As soon as I saw that the author had a new book out, I jumped for it since I loved her last one (plus… magical realism). I was interested in the question can you make someone fall in love with you twice, what if it was just situational or other factors the first time, or is it fated. In general I enjoyed this one, but some parts were a bit slow for me and the novel didn’t always keep my attention because some parts of the novel went a bit long while other parts should have had more attention paid to it. I also never truly felt the connection of the characters because I felt it was more told to the reader than shown. That being said there were certain parts of the novel that I did enjoy and I did like the premise. This is a cute novel and I’ll still wait for her next.

3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Del Rey for the ARC to review

What an unexpected emotional journey! This story follows Claire, a big apple lawyer, who is focused on her career and making partner at the firm she works at, and Matias, an artist who came to left his home in Spain to showcase his art in America. They fall in love, but then tragedy strikes when Matias was out on a boat day with his buddies in Spain. In the middle of a career-making merger, Claire rushes to be by his side. As she processes the emotions of it all, she realizes it is up to her to help guide Matias' soul back to his body so that he will wake up.

Evelyn Skye did a great job at making me feel the emotions of the characters! The story was told from multiple different perspectives but all in 3rd person POV. It did jump quite a bit from different characters perspectives and through different points in time, which was a little hard to keep track of, but as the story went on, all the little anecdotes through time made sense. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to read a romance filled with emotion of hope, loss, grief, love, and relief, with a touch of magical realism tossed in.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing (Ballantine), and Evelyn Skye for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.75/5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book, it was pretty fast-paced and I got quite emotional for both main characters and the family that I ended tearing up throughout most of the book.
We have both POVs of Claire and Matías, I guess you could say it was in dual timeline, with Claire in the present and Matías’ POV starting a year before when they started dating. Honestly, I’m a sucker for a dual timeline and reading Matías’ thoughts about Claire and how much he loved everything about her and the admiration he had for her was lovely. We also get some POVs of Matías’ family members, a small glimpse into their thoughts and how their dealing with having Matías in the hospital, I felt like they tied into the story even when the POV would switch in the next chapter.

The imagery of Spain was quite lovely, I felt like I could vividly imagine it when Matías and Claire went on their trips throughout the book.

I thought it was quite interesting how different Claire and Matías were but yet quite perfect. I think Claire always wanting to have a sense of control was quite relatable and yet Matías was always there for her to fall, to sort of learn to live a little more. Matías was chaos, yet he made an effort to always be a person that was reliable to Claire, because that was just him, he was passionate for what he loved and gave it his full attention. I loved that, throughout her book, on her mission to get Matías back, not only did she fall in love all over again, but grew to appreciate him more and let her walls down that she kept up for so long to keep her heart safe.

Because it was so fast paced, I did feel that it ended quite abruptly, I wish we had more time with them being in a relationship after the accident. Even when we caught glimpses of the past, which I actually loved for because again the way he viewed her like she quite literally changed his life, they felt rushed. Don’t get me wrong we got our happy ending, but maybe including a couple extra details in the epilogue would have been nice, at least.

Overall, it was a lovely read.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

One Year Ago in Spain ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you ng and Random House Publishing for this eARC!
This book is full of magical realism, hope, love and second chances. It has multiple POVs and jumps back and forth between two timelines. The chapters are short and it’s easy to binge this one. I think I struggle with magical realism because this seemed a bit far fetched to me. I’m a huge fantasy reader/lover but for some reason I don’t go into magical realism books with the same mindset as fantasy. It’s is fantasy but isn’t as the same time if you know what I mean 😅
Publish date is July 30, 2024!


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One Year Ago in Spain is perfect for lovers of Ashley Poston, second-chance romance, and Spanish culture! I loved this sweet love story so so so so much. Thank you, Evelyn Skye, for writing another amazing magical realism romance that has the perfect mix of bitter and sweet.

I think there was a bit too much of telling rather than showing in this book in regards to character development, but I loved it all the same!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I think I may have gone into this with my hopes too high. It sounded like the perfect contemporary romance with some magical twists. Unfortunately, it did not quite reach my expectations. It was enjoyable, the characters were great, but the story itself just did not flow as smoothly or quickly as I would have liked. We skipped around a lot, some of the best parts of the romance story too, making it hard to feel connected to the couple, their relationship and how things turned out. I did really enjoy the twist about how in order to save her boyfriend, she must figure out how to get his soul reconnected to his body - by making him fall  in love with her. I just wish that we got a little more from their story and from them as individuals to feel more connected.
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy

One Year Ago in Spain was unlike any romance I have read before. This was a quick read and I really wish there was more character development throughout, everything was just happening so fast. I loved the magical realism aspect of it though and have realized from this book, I enjoy stories that include it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for sending me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the synopsis, this had some much potential to be the next magical realism story that could fill my void from reading Ashley Poston novels.
But the story was lacking for me in many aspects such as:
One of the main issues is the pacing. The narrative feels very straightforward and in-your-face, with no build-up or character development. This lack of development made it challenging for me to feel any chemistry or tension between the characters. While the little moments of budding romance between Matías and Claire were adorable, these scenes cut off very abruptly, leaving no lingering feelings for the characters.

The plot progression is another aspect that could use improvement. It moves directly from point A to point B, with most of the journey skipped through fast-forwarding or time skips. This eliminates the opportunity for any meaningful development in between, which was sorely needed.
The inclusion of multiple POVs outside of the main couple felt like an odd choice. These additional POVs did absolutely nothing to the central story and were unnecessary.
Overall, while the premise of the story is enjoyable, the lack of emotional attachment to the characters was disappointing. This missing connection could have made the story much more heart-wrenching and impactful.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

There were several things I enjoyed about this book: the food, the communication between the main characters and the elements on Spain throughout. I enjoyed the opposites attract part and related strongly to Claire wanting control and things happening as she’d want them to, while Matías pushed her outside of her comfort zone.

The ending was sweet, but something about the plot was a bit lacking for me. I like the overall idea of this book, but I do think parts were drawn out where other parts could have maybe been extended a bit.

Overall, 3 stars for a sweet and enjoyable, easy read.

A captivating blend of romance and magical realism which is sure to tug at your heart. I loved the emotional journey of Claire and Matias and the lyrical writing, which I found to be very engaging.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, Del Rey, and Random House Publishing Group for this advanced copy. You can pick up One Year Ago in Spain on July 30, 2024.

I had high hopes for this book, as I've enjoyed some of Evelyn Skye's books in the past. But the decision to introduce the love interest within the first few pages and have them fall in love and hook up quickly first really threw me off. I understand the premise of the book, but I think my reading mood wasn't quite right for this story. I wanted something with a different pace and writing style, and ultimately, I had to put this book down about 10% in. Maybe I'll pick it back up again after it publishes, but it will definitely depend on my reading mood.

If you like magical realism stories with a heartbreaking but hopeful twist, I think this story is for you!

Lovely story of a couple who meet in NY at a gallery. He's an artist from Spain. She's an attorney headed for partnership. The relationship goes on for 11 months when he asks her to come to Spain to meet his family. She has work to do so declines. He goes, but then there is a terrible accident.