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This book was LOOOOOOONG, and had tons of characters, which usually confuses me, but I did ok keeping track of them all after a while. I appreciated the short chapters, even tho there ended up being over 100 of them! The concept of a woman standing up on a plane and predicting date of death and cause of death for everyone was super weird and unique, and I enjoyed it!

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“But the older you get, the less linear the memories, and the more everything seems to circle back to something else.”

Liane Moriarty’s novel, Here One Moment, explores the aftermath of a psychic’s predictions. The first section of the book opens on board a Hobart to Sydeny domestic flight that is delayed. Forty-five minutes into the flight, a middle-aged woman, named Cherry, stands up and begins moving through the plane delivering predictions to the passengers. The predictions have a specific format: Cherry, who is a psychic, later known as the “Death Lady” in the media, systematically delivers the cause of death and the age of death of many passengers. Some people receive “good” predictions: death at 100 years old for example, while others are told their time is short.

Some passengers, especially those with a far-off predicted death, are able to laugh off the incident, but several passengers are emotionally devastated by the experience. The book then follows how these passengers react to these predictions: There’s workaholic Leo Vodnik whose predicted cause of death is a stroke, Ethan, age 29 who is told he’ll die in an assualt at age 30, Paula who is told that her infant son will drown at age 7, Sue whose predicted death at age 66 is uncomfortably close, and Allegra, a flight attendant who is told her death will be self-harm at age 28. And guess what, she’s 28 on the day of the flight.

One theme in books and film is the idea that if you are given a second chance at life (a near death experience let’s say) what would you do? Would you improve your life? Appreciate each day more? Be nicer to people? Here One Moment is that sort of book–except that people are given warnings and some of the passengers try to alter what they see as their fate. No matter how these characters try to minimize the experience on the plane, the predictions are always in their heads, and it’s a heavy burden.

The book goes back and forth between the characters and we also learn about Cherry’s turbulent life. The book is wordy and repetitive in the beginning, and some chopping could have been done. I’ll bet this will become a TV series along with the other author’s books. I’ve enjoyed several of her books and have seen some of the TV adaptations too. Moriarty’s work adapts well to the screen and Here One Moment, an easy, light read, is perfect TV material.

review copy

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I love this author so much but this book started so good and then got SO SLOW. once I hit the halfway point it was a battle to pick it up.

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Exceptional!!!!!!

It really came as no surprise that this book was exceptional, all of Moriarty's books are exceptional.

The characters and plots are masterfully constructed, with a depth and complexity that draws you in, keeping you engaged from beginning to end.

Her books always leave you thinking about life, and this one leaves you thinking about your own fate and the fate's of those around you,

One of the best books of the year!

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I love .many of Liane Moriarty's books but this one was not my favorite. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC I do appreciate it! The beginning was riveting and grasped my attention but the amount of characters was hard to follow and did not keep my interest unfortunately.

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struggled with this one. The premise sucked me right in - the psychic on a plane that delivers your death method and date while going down the aisle. For me, the plot was mired down, and the alternating points of view between the affected people, and Cherry, the psychic, did not work well. Cherry was irritating and unlikable, and by the time Moriarty revealed the reasons why I no longer cared. I just wanted the book to be finished. thank you to Netgalley for the review copy

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An absolutely un-putdownable read from a trusted (but not always 100% consistent for me) author and I think this is up there with her best - maybe even her best yet! I will always pick up whatever Liane Moriarty publishes and this novel created a truly outstanding reading experience.

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Lovely contemplative fiction that hits on the issues of life and death.

I enjoyed this book. It hit all the right notes with the fantastic characters and their individual stories. The premise — people on a plane are given a death date — is so positively intriguing. Is it real or a hoax? When people start dying just as predicted, social media takes notice.

The writing, as always, was excellent and I was so drawn in that it was hard to set this book aside. I got so absorbed with each person as the narrative shifted in viewpoints. I so wanted everyone to be OK! The author has a knack of getting everything just right.

I was able to listen to the audiobook while following along in the e-book ARC provided by the publisher. The narrators, Caroline Lee and Geraldine Hakewill, were absolutely brilliant. The accents and the drama were perfect and I loved every minute of the experience. It made me love the book even more.

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I'm such a fan of Liane Moriarty (Big Little Lies, Apples Never Fall, The Husband's Secret) and was so excited for the release of Here One Moment. What an interesting premise! On a short domestic flight, from the predictions of "The Death Lady" all the passengers learn how and when they are going to die. For some, their death is far in the future, for six passengers, their predicted deaths are not far away at all. A few months later, one passenger dies exactly as she predicted. Then two more passengers die, again, as she said they would. At first everyone thought this was just an odd and funny story to tell, but now the realities of their own mortalities seem incredibly close and real.

I loved the creativity of the premise. There were MANY storylines to keep track of, I loved the different viewpoints and how each character took in the information about their impending death, how it changed them, and how they decided to live. I thought it was very nicely tied up at the end as well. When reading, I often was caught up in thinking of my own life, what is important, what I wanted to do more of, etc. -- exactly what a good book should be able to evoke in it's readers. Highly recommend!

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Another 5 star book from Liane Moriarty. I started this book having no idea what it was about and enjoyed that aspect. The first several chapters were very suspenseful. As such, I will not spoil that portion of the book for readers. I enjoy how she weaves multiple characters' lives together, touching on the humanity of each one. There are so many aspects of each character that are just so relatable to people of all ages and stages. The rich descriptions of the many places in Australia made me want to visit as well. I would recommend this to an all ages book club.

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I had trouble getting into this one. I think the initial pacing was just off for me. I know her character development in her other works has been great, but this one just didn't hold my attention.

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What a wonderful book. As always Liane Moriarty is an expert at capturing and describing her myriad of characters. This is the story of mainly one character (The Death Lady) and the people around her, whose lives she touches in very unexpected ways. The parallel story lines work very well, but you do need to stay focused to distinguish them all, especially in the audio version.
The ending was another twist, and quite unexpected, but nevertheless very satisfying.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

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I did not finish this one, but I might be in the minority on that. I got tired of reading about the different people and just wanted to know the answer to the puzzle, but couldn't bring myself to keep reading to find out. Liane Moriarty's books are usually either hit or miss for me. This one felt a little gimmicky and I just didn't really enjoy it. For context, I loved Apples Never Fall.

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Here One Moment is a top read for me in 2024. Stranger's lives on a flight are forever intertwined after one passenger makes unsolicited predictions of how and when everyone will die. It was such an interesting thought to explore - would you want to know? How would your prediction effect your choices going forward? I thought each character brought something to the story and every arc felt meaningful. It is a longer book, but it didn't feel that way for me. The reader is able to explore multiple POVs, including the lady who makes the predictions, and I was engaged with every one. For me, some of the chapters took a few sentences or two to figure out what point of view it was but overall I thought things flowed well together and the pacing was well done. Moriarty has a way with exploring deeper and harder topics, but with a level of humour and wit. 5/5 stars for me, highly recommend!

Thank you Crown Publishing for the copy through NetGalley in exchange for a review.

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The pacing of the novel is one of its strengths, keeping the reader engaged from start to finish. Moriarty's trademark wit is present throughout. It helps to lighten the emotional weight of the more serious moments with clever dialogue.

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This book is sure to strike up interesting thoughts and conversations about life, death, and relationships. It's definitely not a light read, but it was enjoyable. I especially liked the way the author tied things up in the end. The only down side I have is how long it took to get to the end. At upwards of 500 pages, this gets to be a lot, and I think it could be trimmed down a bit. I recommend for those who enjoy Liane Moriarty's works and those who enjoy a thought provoking book.

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Thank you so much for the advanced copy. I love Liane Moriarty- Her writing is beautiful, detailed, and there are so many hidden stories in the story. Her characters have a lot of depth. The story overall was unique and interesting. It was not my favorite by the author and the story was maybe just too far out there for me.

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ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

I’m a little backlogged with my ARCs but working diligently to get caught up. I really enjoy this book as a whole! It follows to lives of so many characters, all stemming from an incident with a “crazy woman” on a flight. The amount of character development that went into this book is undeniable and the story is captivating from start to finish! I found myself just rushing through it so I could be able to connect the dots, which means the author has definitely nailed the assignment! I would highly recommend to anyone who likes psychological thrillers and mysteries!

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This was my first book by Liane Moriarty and now I definitely need to go read her backlist. Here One Moment has the perfect blend of suspense, rich character development, and intrigue to keep you glued to the pages until the shocking ending. This one is a little chonky but don’t let that discourage you. The chapters are super short and there isn’t any fluff. I read this one with friends over 12 days and while I enjoyed the small sections each day, I could have easily binged this one in a day or two.

The Butterfly Effect is a major focus of the plot. But when exactly is the first flap of the wings? And how far do the ripples travel? This book will definitely have you thinking about the small decisions you make and how they can affect you and others over time.

You get to spend quality time with each character and you’re never left wondering what they’re doing or thinking. They’re all likable in their own way but I think the Death Lady is my favorite! This is a book that will stick with me for a while and I’ll definitely be recommending it to my friends and family!

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Here One Moment is an intriguing tale based on a unique premise. It weaves together the lives of all the passengers on a flight, and how they are impacted by an onboard psychic’s predictions for their fates. It definitely raises some interesting questions and will make you think.

Thank you Liane Moriarty, Crown Publishing, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

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