This was my first time reading a novel by Sarah Jio and the premise grabbed my attention immediately.

We are introduced to Lena, who after an unexpected (and disappointing) night out with her boyfriend, decides to take a few days to herself at her Aunt's home. This leads to Lena living in a "time loop" where she wakes up every day to a new romantic partner from her past. I really enjoyed reading this FMC and loved the fact that the author changed up the scene constantly. Each new partner led to a new city, occupation, etc.

I also really enjoyed the relationship between Lena and her best friend. One quote really stuck with me and it was "Two best friends, sharing a king sized bed...under the most unbelievable circumstances. Yes, this, too is love."

However, I did not necessarily feel as if this was a romance. Instead, I took it as Lena going on a journey within herself in order to look back and ponder the "what ifs" of her life. I feel the romance aspect would have been more prevalent if there were less romantic partners encountered and more time given for them to develop. Overall, it was a nice, quick read that I enjoyed!

Sarah Jio writes such delightful novels and hence, a chance to read and review “Insignificant Others” was an unexpected delight.

Lena is expecting to be engaged by night’s end. Instead, the man who ticked off all of the boxes decides to break up with her. Reeling, Lena flees to Bainbridge Island to spend time with her favorite aunt. However, when she wakes up, she discovers she is in the bed of a man who claims to be her husband. What follows is Lena waking up with a different man (and a different life) each morning, giving her a chance to explore some of the roads not taken.

I love timeslip novels and, here, Jio presents an interesting perspective. I found the prose light and familiar, as if talking to a good friend. I enjoyed Lena’s experiences, though I wanted to see more growth. Also, I wanted to see more exploration to these different men Lena had been previously connected to—I might have preferred less men and more development with each of these relationships. And, what if the road not taken would be the one without any man at all?

Overall, I found this an enjoyable story. Four out of a five stars.

Thank you the Sarah Jio, NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel.

I have read several Sarah Jio books and especially liked Always.Insignificant Others seemed much more RomCom to me. Lena is unlucky in love so she seeks comfort at her Aunt's home. But the next morning when she wakes up she is in a different place and time with a different man. This continues to happen each time she goes to sleep - a new location and men that she has known throughout her life. Some situations are good and she knows some are just wrong. I guessed which one would be in the plot at the end, but i did race through the book to see who she ended up with! I do like plots where the time line is manipulated so that was fine with me. I also appreciated the fact that people missed her while she was "gone" - kind of verifying the happenings.

First, I want to give a BIG Thank you to Net Galley, William Morrow and Sarah Jio for letting be one of the lucky ones to get this as an ARC.

Sarah Jio created a very interesting plot. I couldn't even begin to imagine waking up every day in a new place and with a new lover/husband. I mean WOW. What I loved even more was how diverse all of these men were. To me, none of them were even remotely similar. I must say I had a couple of favorites. I really liked Spencer and their segment. I also really loved Colm. Gosh I think he was my favorite.

Lena and Frankie. I think this dynamic was interesting as well. I was sad during the part where they were not friends due to the guy that she was with in that moment. But she was always there in the end.

Sarah Jio got me in the end with the guy she goes back and finds. (no spoilers here, you will just have to read this book yourself!). He wasn't the one I was hoping she would end up with, but I'm glad it was him out of all of them.

Thank you, Sarah Jio, for a fun book. You sure did keep me wondering who/where we would end up with the next morning.

I loved this book! It is very different from Jio’s previous novels, but still so good. I imagine it will be classified as chick lit, but I appreciate that the author does not talk down to the reader, as so many do.

This story could have been very repetitive and predictable but it wasn’t. It kept me up way past my bedtime, made me think and made me feel!

not my style or preferred type of books but it was something interesting! i think the execution felt a bit unfocused and sloppy. If not for that it could have been even better

Sarah Jio does it again! A fun, flirty, and ultimately uplifting story about the different paths your life can take if you're not careful. Engaging and accessible, this story is thoroughly enjoyable.

I love a good magical realism read. They are some of my favorites to get lost in. I feel like my mind doesn’t have to stretch too far to believe them, and its just the best feeling for me. The pacing on this one is perfect. It’s not overwhelmingly fast, but it isn’t slow either, its just right. I loved how this one skipped around in time; it was a fun way to experience the story. This book is nice and lighthearted and left me with an overwhelming feeling of happiness. I love when books can do this. I also really enjoyed that this book had a deeper meaning. Figuring this out in a book is a lot of fun for me and sort of like a puzzle. With this one the message was fun and basically be true to yourself, which is always a good message. The writing was top notch and just amazing. This was my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last.

If you’re looking for a delightful and lighthearted read, then you need to check this one out.

As a longtime Sarah Jio fan, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read and review this book. And it sounded right up my alley, a Sliding Doors situation. While this book definitely gave Gwenyth Paltrow pixie 90s vibes(IYKYK), I mostly felt lacking. The overall story delivers, but I mostly wanted more. More time, more background, more follow through. And maybe that’s the beauty of this book, the glimpse through the window. But for me, I just wanted more.

Insignificant Others
by Sarah Jio
Pub Date: Apr 1, 2025
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
From New York Times bestselling author Sarah Jio comes an escapist novel following a young woman stuck in a “time loop” of one-day relationships with romantic partners from her past.
Not a great fit for me~ I was excited to receive the ARC but it fell flat for me.
Interesting premise, but I think this could’ve been more effective if the story zoned in on just a few characters to make the ending more believable.

Felt kind of rushed and all over the place—such a shame because I love the idea of it as a concept.

I might sound like a creeper here, but with relative frequency I checked to see if Sarah Jio has a new book coming out. I was very excited to see a new one coming out and even more excited to get the chance to read this and give my honest opinion as an early reader for NetGalley and the publisher.
It was certainly worth the wait for her newest book. Our lives can sometimes be driven by the words- What If?
Can chance meetings be the one? Can the one you talk to every day be the one? What if I had kids? What if I didn’t have kids? What if I was the mother to someone else’s kids?
The main character in this book got to look at all those chances to find out .
I would definitely recommend this book!
After this book releases, I will have to go back to periodically checking to see when the next book comes out

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me to read an ARC of Insignificant Others by Sarah Jio, in exchange for my honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! This was a sometimes funny, sometimes sad, always good story! I loved everything about it; the writing, how each chapter was a "new day", the characters, and how Lena learned more about herself throughout the book.

I would have loved to read a "## months/years later epilogue".

I highly recommend reading this, and I look forward to reading more by Sarah Jio.

Execution fell a bit flat on this. The concept was so intriguing, as someone who likes dallying on what ifs, but ultimately I don’t think this is for me.

I found the pacing off—too much focus on one man vs another, and then it would jump or skip time in a way that just made it too fast paced to establish any emotional connection with the characters. Good concept, but not so great on exposition.

This book was interesting. It was high on my TBR as I absolutely loved Sarah Jio's book With Love From London, which happens to be the only other book I've read by her. I wouldn't say that I disliked this story necessarily, but it was definitely different than books I usually read. I've read a few books that have magical realism entwined in the story, so I thought this would be a fun one to read. This honestly has the same feel as another book I've read, so I think that took from this unique storyline a little. I was comparing this to that book as I read. If you're looking for something unique and different, this might just be the book for you.

Felt like a very weak version of her earlier work. It was a quick read, fun, but I felt like the depth of her original Seattle novels was missing.

Another Sarah Jio book for the win! I really enjoyed this novel. It was heartwarming, light, fun read, and just what I needed right now. We have Lena who lives out her past relationships/chance encounters and what life would’ve looked like if she had chosen these relationships as “the one”. She lives a day in the life of these “what if” relationships/life and wakes up the next day to a new life. I highly recommend! Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for an advanced copy.

“What If…?” meets “Groundhog Day” in this magical realism women’s lit novel. It’s humorous, but it’ll hit you over the head with its Hallmark movie themes, which should be familiar to the reader.

I found it interesting how the book seemingly makes the point that there are no soulmates, and there are many different compatible matches and futures you could have, but then the ending walks that back. The initial message was refreshing.

The book, because of the plot, is like a series of vignettes, and I would have appreciated more of an overarching story or romance holding it together. It’s categorized as a romance, but I personally would not call it one. There are romantic elements, but this is definitely more of a women’s literature book.

There is forced exposition to explain each new scenario the FMC wakes up in, but I think it would have been less awkward if the reader was left to find out the context.

🌟🌟ARC REVIEW🌟🌟
I was given the opportunity to read this story early on NetGalley. I am a huge Sarah Jio fan but this one fell flat for me.

Insignificant Other is described as “an escapist novel following a young woman stuck in a “time loop” of one day relationships with romantic partners from her past.” We follow Lena on a journey similar to the one in The Midnight Library (without the suicide attempt). I was initially quite annoyed with the MC and found her to be irritating and unrelatable. Then we hit the plot twist at chapter four when she wakes up in France. Readers are then taken on a journey of what life could have been for Lena before she makes it back home to her Aunt.

It’s a lovely novel but doesn’t top the list as my favorite Sarah Jio story. I wish the “magic” of the cottage was described a little more in depth but overall a lovely story.

Insignificant Others is a lighthearted and enjoyable read about a woman in her mid-thirties who wakes up in alternate timelines she did not choose. The sliding doors trope is one of my favorites in romance and fiction, so I really liked this one. When we meet Lena, she is 35, professionally successful, and hoping to get engaged to her long-term boyfriend, who is perfect on paper.

Soon after, Lena goes to stay with her Aunt Rosie, who has raised her for much of her life. When she wakes up, she finds herself in Paris, with a man she only fleetingly remembers meeting some years before. Lena continues to wake up each day in a different life, with a man she had chemistry with, but the relationship didn’t develop or last.

The story moves how you would expect, but I really enjoyed the premise and characters. It really emphasized the importance of being true to ourselves and open to new experiences. I would recommend this if you’re looking for a comforting read and enjoy Rebecca Serle’s books.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC, all thoughts are my own.

I really enjoyed this book.
It was fun traveling all over with Lena and the men of her last, was it one man too many?