Lena is a professional workaholic who has her life all mapped out. When things don’t go as planned, she ends up in a time loop that shows her many different lives, as in the path not taken. Entertaining with some good lessons. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc. Published in the US 4/2/2025.

“Insignificant Others” by Sara Jim is a unique ‘Groundhog Day’ story about a woman, Lena, who, awakens each day in a different version of her life, married to various men from her past. The story formatting reminded me of “The Winter Goddess” and was very interesting. Although the story was funny, there was some emotional depth there too. This was a delightful surprise. This would make an excellent selection for a Book Club and one I’ll be recommending.
Thank you to NetGallery and William Morrow for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I have been a huge fan of Sarah's since I stumbled across The Bungelow in 2012 or 2013. I will read anything she writes! But Insignificant Others might be one of my favorites. While this one felt different from the others, with no historical fiction aspect, I loved the time travel/moving between partners within different cities and countries. I enjoyed following Lena on her journey of self-love and being ok with herself, her independence, and not needing to rely on anyone else.

I thought this was a great concept for a book. I mean who wouldn't want to wake up everyday to another man in your bed. Especially one you have crushed on or had thoughts about. Lena is that lucky girl. She was out to dinner with the love of her life and she thought she was going to get engaged. Instead, they broke up! She was devastated and went to visit her Aunt. When she wakes up the next day she is somewhere else and with another guy. At first I was confused. I didn't realize the book was going to be about that. Once I figured it out, I went on the wild ride with Lena. The book was light and fun and flirty. I don't think I really liked the character of Lena but I did enjoy her adventures. I did like her BFF Frankie and Frankie's husband Chris. There were also some good laughs in the book. I mean who gives a baby a Frappuccino!!! If you are lookin for a light, fun read, I highly recommend this one.
Thanks to #netgalley, #williammorrow and @sarahjio for an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Lena is expecting her boyfriend to propose and ends up breaking up with him instead. She returns home to the comfort of her beloved aunt, but after she falls asleep in the guesthouse, she wakes up…in Paris, with a husband and a different life. After stumbling through the day, thinking she's going crazy, she wakes the next morning in yet another home with a different husband. Each day she wakes up in a different version of her life that could have been if she'd continued or begun relationships with men she's known in different ways. With each new life, Lena sees what could have been and begins to realize more and more what she really wants. Obviously, this bears some similarity to The Husbands, which I read earlier this year. I enjoyed it for the most part. I think it had the right ending. 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

3.5⭐️- This was a cute read. I loved the idea of seeing what your life could be like if you chose a different path. I enjoyed the characters but to me, there was no really big moment in the story that caught me. I felt like it was lacking something. I wish we would have gotten a perspective from Kevin & Lena. Overall, this was a cute read. Nothing spectacular, but a good read.

I liked this one, but I was expecting more of a romance. It was primarily a women’s fiction about finding yourself and the journey of self discovery, which is not my usual genre. It was funny and touching and I enjoyed it, but my biggest issue was with the romance, or lack thereof. I wanted more romance and the man she ended up with wasn’t one of the men from her past, so her feelings for him felt like they came out of nowhere and I didn’t feel a connection between them. Again, it was well written, I just didn’t love it.
⏰
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⏰
Read if you like:
▫️magical realism
▫️timeslip/timeloop
▫️past relationships
▫️the one who got away
▫️journey of self discovery
⏰
Thank you to William Morrow, Sarah Jio, and NetGalley for the ARC. I received an advanced copy for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I am a huge fan of Sarah Jio's books and this one might just be my favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!! I loved reading about Lena's insignificant other adventures and wondering who she'll end up with. This is by far an amazing story and you will enjoy it just as much as I did.

I loved this book so much! It was a quick read and so light and wonderful. It was a perfect romance. I love how Lena time hopped and woke up each day with another husband, learning lessons in love and what she really wants for her life. Such a happy, feel-good read!

I enjoyed reading Insignificant Others by Sarah Jio. You will fall in love with all the characters. I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and given freely. Happy Reading!

I absolutely loved this book. It is such a fun read. I am not one to usually get emotional.
But this book had me tearing up at parts and laughing at others. I absolutely loved the journey as the character went back in time through all her love interests. As she learns what love truly is. I would highly recommend that you place this book on your tbr.

I've been reading Sarah Jio's books as long as she's been publishing them, and I still remember the feeling I had reading her debut, The Violets of March, and knowing I'd found an author whose books I'd be adding to my auto-read list. Insignificant Others is a little different from other books I've read by the author, but one thing I've enjoyed about all of her books is their versatility- they've varied widely in time period and setting. This time slip-ish book has lots of different settings, characters, and environments, but Sarah Jio manages to make each one feel fully fleshed out and captures the atmosphere. One of the things I most enjoyed is that through all the "insignificant others", Lena's devotion to her aunt and to her best friend, Frankie, and their support of and love for her, remained a constant, and Lena learned a lot about being her own person and what she really wanted throughout her journey in this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Sarah Jio. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Lena is convinced that her perfectly planned life is going just as she wants, right down to knowing that her boyfriend of two years is going to propose to her at dinner. When he instead breaks up with her, she flees back to the safety of her beloved Aunt Rosie's house on a Seattle island for a break. She falls asleep the first night in Rosie's guesthouse, only to wake up the next morning in Paris with another man. Each morning when she awakens, she's in a different place with a different man.

Haven't we all thought about the what if's? What if we would have stayed with that high school/college/first job boyfriend? What would our life look like? This novel was an absolute joy exploring that thought - it was hilarious (the baby scenes!) and poignant to watch Lena explore all these other lives she might have lived. I liked how some main characters (best friend and her husband and Aunt Rosie) were stalwarts through all her lives, just a bit different in each life story. The perfect magical realism story that will have you reflecting on just what's important in life.

3.5 rounded up

This book was a rough start for me. I didn't particularly care for Lena one way or the other, and I did not care at all for her relationship with her best friend's husband, BUT by the end of the book, I did start to like her because she grew! Lena had a lot of character development, and it came about in such an interesting manner. As someone who thinks a lot about the past, I loved the premise of Lena finding out about all these what ifs in her past relationships. It was an intriguing and very effective path of character development for her.

The hard part about this book was that--I think, based on how it has been labeled--it is supposed to be a romance. While the story does focus around Lena and the relationships she missed out on, I would not call it a romance at all. It felt more like the prequel to a romance, the part of the story where Lena starts to figure out what she wants out of life and love before she actually gets to the romance/happy ending part. Because of this misconception on my part, I kept looking for connection between Lena and these men that wasn't really supposed to be there for any longer than each given chapter. I only ever got the chance to know and care about Lena because everyone else was so fleeting.

Through the lens of women's fiction or contemporary fiction, this is not a bad thing. Each of Lena's experiences helps her grow in a certain way, and I loved that. I also appreciated how we saw Lena's relationship with her best friend change depending on the choices each of her alternate selves made. I also really liked how--after her crazy adventure--Lena didn't have an exact plan. She didn't leave her time loop knowing exactly what she wanted out of life. She was still figuring things out, but she knew there were parts of her life that needed to change. It was refreshing not having every single piece of her life suddenly fall into place but to have the openness and hope that they eventually would.

Overall, it was a unique story that had some ups and downs, but it was worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc
This was a really creative and fun romance novel! Sarah Jio knows how to keep a reader entertained. I finished this book in under a day. I loved all the different husbands, but I don't think I had a favorite. If anything, this book teaches you to live life to the fullest and cherish every moment. Additionally, if you like audiobooks, the audiobook version of this book is set to be narrated by Brittany Pressley and I love her work, so I am super excited to check it out! I look forward to seeing what Sarah Jio comes up with next!!!

Lena is looking the love of her life, her person, her significant other. After a breakup with someone who she thought was the One, she runs to her Aunt’s home to heal. She falls asleep and wakes up in a completely different place with a completely different life. This takes her on a whirlwind of reliving past relationships, wondering if one is her Significant Other or are they all her Insignificant Others?

I’ve read all but 3 of Sarah Jio’s books, so I jumped at the chance to read this one. The cover hints at a lighter read and it didn’t disappoint! Filled with magical realism, this is such a fun read. Fast paced, well written, great characters. I felt for Lena, just wanting to find her soulmate. So many lighthearted moments, and close calls. I enjoyed the storyline, but would have preferred one or two less ‘others’. So relatable, who hasn’t wondered at some point in their life… What If? Lena has the opportunity to live it. If you are looking for something different from your regular go to’s, I recommend this book.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS – Sarah Jio
William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0063371156
April 1, 2025
Contemporary Romance

Bainbridge Island, Washington – Present Day

Lena Westbrook thought her life was perfect, with a great job and a boyfriend she knew was about to propose. Dinner at an exclusive restaurant in San Francisco has her convinced that Kevin (her boyfriend) plans to pop the question during their romantic dinner. He arrives late, and nothing happens. Lena finally asks him about the proposal, and he tells her that she isn’t the one whom he sees spending the rest of his life with. Stunned, she walks out. Making a sudden decision, Lena decides to head to Bainbridge Island to visit her beloved aunt. There she can lick the wounds of rejection. The first night, Lena heads to a vacant guesthouse on her aunt’s property, where she falls asleep. The next morning, she finds herself in a world of “what ifs.” What if she had married a man from her past? It seems so real, but each night she goes to sleep and wakes up in a different world with a man from her past.

Of course, Lena is confused when she wakes up the first time and she is with a man from her past. Some are men she easily recognizes, while some she has to think hard about. She quickly learns that her new “life” isn’t all a bed of roses. There is her life in Paris where both she and her husband cheat on each other. There is the husband who is a dreamer who sits at home all day while she works. Not all is bad. She runs into a couple of men from her past that show how she could have had a good life. Oddly, in INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS, she runs into a male friend from her past who is not romantically involved with her. That may or may not prove significant in this tale. Along the way, Lena learns a lot about herself. This tale is a big journey for her. Will it change her future when she finally gets off this seemingly endless merry-go-round?

At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS because of the oddness of this tale. However, by the time I reached midway through, I was hooked, and I had to see where Lena ended up next. Then there was the final chapter. Will Lena finally be home, or will she be stuck somewhere in the past? Her Aunt Rosie and best friend Frankie play small parts in the story as they are her anchors. Lena even sees the changes in them, and it’s not always good. By three-fourths way through, she accepts that she will wake up each morning in a different life, but she needs to get home. How will she finally stop this weirdness of a revolving life?

INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS is an intriguing tale that will capture your interest and have you wondering how it all ends. Don’t miss it.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. Sarah Jio is a must read for me. I’ve read every book of hers. This was certainly the most different from any that I read. I’m not going to lie,‘I had a hard time getting into it, but I really enjoyed this. I liked the idea of seeing where our paths could lead if we would have made different choices.

This story is a whirlwind that takes exploring the butterfly effect to a whole new romcom level! Our FMC, Lena, is heartbroken after her longtime boyfriend doesn’t propose as she’d hoped. She flees home to her Aunt Rosie and after falling asleep she wakes up in Paris married to a man from her past. This crazy pattern continues as Lena sees what her life would’ve been like if she had stayed with different men she had dated. Stuck living single days in each new life, Lena experiences all of the ups and downs that life can throw at you. This is a wonderful story that will surprise you at every turn and keep you guessing on how her life will turn out until the end! Definitely check this book out when it releases on April 1, 2025!

"You used to say you could never be with someone who didn't love books."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Insignificant Others is a contemporary time travel romance that tells the story of Lena - a workaholic who is just checking off all of life’s boxes and forgets to take time to enjoy love along the way.

The story is fast paced and whimsical. Imagine waking up each day with a new partner. Each one being someone from your past which allows you to see what life might’ve been like had you stuck together.

Lena goes through a whirlwind, and each part of her journey is so heartfelt as you watch her learn things about herself. I really wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, but it was such a fun and beautiful journey.

Thank you to the team at William Morrow Epic TasteMakers for the gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.