Some Other Time follows the story of main characters Ellie and Jonah, a couple at a turning point in their relationship as their only daughter makes the difficult transition to her next phase of life, college. Ellie finds herself challenged by this next life phase, the grief, sadness and loss it brings to herself personally as her role as a mother transitions and challenged by the difficulties her role transition brings to her marriage. The novel opens up with the reality that Ellie and Jonah have made the difficult decision to divorce and need to break the news to their family. This begins the couple on a journey through time and space, launching them into an alternative timeline where Ellie and Jonah were never married, causing Ellie to confront the realities of the life her and her husband created together. Overall the storyline had a lot of potential to be something great and I was really surprised how much I enjoyed the overall plot. This novel really fell short in the over the top adjectives and descriptor words where it was entirely unnecessary which almost caused me to stop reading this narrative in the beginning. I am glad I pushed through to read the entirety of this book. This book would have been much stronger with a more careful and expert eye in editing, the plot and characters had so much potential to be a really phenomenal novel. I enjoyed how the characters and plot points came together in the end. Additionally I felt as though the novel should have ended several chapters sooner than it did, it felt drawn out for no reason other than potentially the writers vision for brining the story full circle.

Thank you to Netgalley and Little A Publishing for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I love an alternate universe romance!!!
This was so good!

Ellie and Jonah are set to divorce. Nothing horrible happened they just fell out of love. After a weekend of breaking the news to everyone, they return home to New Jersey, still set on divorcing. The next morning, Ellie wakes up to an alternate version, one in which she and Jonah had never married.

This was such a beautiful and moving book! I loved every minute of it! I found Ellie very relatable and it was just an overall feel good book! I highly recommend!



📘: Some Other Time by Angela Brown
🗓️: February 1, 2025

Thank you to NetGalley, Angela Brown, and Little A for this ARC!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

*Reviewed on NetGalley, Amazon, and Goodreads.

I was expecting more romance but this read more like Women's Fiction. Ellie and Jonah weren't the most exciting or compelling of characters but they felt like stand-ins for your average couple. Every love story isn't meant to be grandiose or great but there's was comfortable to them, until it wasn't. Ellie and Jonah had an opportunity to explore the what-ifs and both learned that it wasn't necessarily all it was cracked up to be. This was a solid 3 star women's fiction read.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

This was a quick read about a woman who decides she wants a divorce, and the rest of the family doesn't take it all that well. Not her husband, her only child, or her parents. There was an element of magical realism which helped tell the story.

Because of the events in the books, we get to see all different sides to both Ellie and Jonah's marriage and that of her parents. There are some funny parts, but I spent the majority of the book either shouting or cheering. I found it enjoyable, and perfect for a day at the beach or poolside. I was happy with the ending.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and given freely.

thank you to netgalley for the e-arc. NO! i hate FMC's that are portrayed as the dumb woman who needs someone to do, think and feel for her because she can't live her life on her own and for herself.

During a weekend visit to her parents’ home in Florida, Maggie and Jonah are preparing to tell their daughter, who is away at college, and Maggie’s parents that they are getting a divorce. But when Maggie asks Jonah, If he could do it all over again, would he?, their reality splits. In a Sliding Doors-style twist, they find themselves in an alternate version of their lives—still carrying the memories of their past, yet meeting each other as if it’s first time in the present day. As they navigate this unexpected second chance, with Maggie being a business owner and Jonah being engaged to someone else. They realize the grass isn’t always greener. And all of the struggles are worth it. I liked how Maggie and Jonah were aware of their alternative lives during and after and had to navigate their way through as a team. This was a very enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little A for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

The highlights of this book peaked my interest but unfortunately I felt that this book fell flat for me. I couldn't connect with the characters and then the alternate reality when they returned from Florida was a bit too off for me.

Recent empty-nesters Ellie and Jonah take a family trip to Florida with their college aged daughter Maggie to visit Ellie’s retired parents. During dinner on their first night, Ellie shares that she and Jonah are getting a divorce, much to the shock and confusion of their family.

Having devoted her adult life to being a wife and mother, Ellie wonders what her purpose is now that her daughter is out of the house. After all, Maggie doesn’t share anything or talk things over with Ellie; she actually makes it clear she doesn’t want to turn out like her mother.
What would Ellie’s life look like had she never met her husband?

I rated this three stars because it was very challenging to connect with Ellie. My own daughters are finding their independence and don’t open up to me as much as they used to but that’s part of growing up! Also, I wouldn’t consider divorcing my husband merely because I felt I had lost my purpose or drive in life. The fact she hadn’t considered counseling for herself, or with her husband, or with her daughter made me greatly dislike the main female character.

Thank you NetGalley, Angela Brown, and Little A for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a candid review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a nicely written story of a woman’s struggle with identity, purpose, change, and second chances. It’s a pretty heavy topic, of the imbalance a parent experiences when their kids are growing too quick and may not need them as much as before, kind of like having a rug pulled from under you and its ensuing dizziness. It demanded patience, but the occasional humour made me crack up sometimes. I loved the snapshots of the world passing by mixed in with the narrative.

The characters were fun and rounded. I loved each one’s quirks. Bunny. Frank. Eccentric neighbour Shelia. I liked Jonah. He seems like a catch. I understood Ellie's reluctance to accept change. Still, my patience with her wore thin around three-fourths of the way, but I’m glad she finally began taking responsibility. I worried that the Maggie arc would be left incomplete, but it came full circle and that warmed my heart.

I wasn’t keen on the continuous breaks of the fourth wall, and the constant trains of deep thought. I suppose it’s the blessing and bane of literary fiction. If this is your favourite genre, then you love wordy internal monologues. As someone with a preference for comedy, crime-y books, I didn’t much care for Ellie being in her own head so much, brooding over the aftermath of her actions. Still, the unhurried pacing worked to let the weirdness continue, and for Ellie’s character to experience growth.

Overall, nice book. I’m tentative, but I’ll continue my exploration of the literary fiction genre. 😄

I received an ARC from NetGalley, and this is a voluntary review.

I unfortunately had to DNF this as I just couldn't get into it. I immediately didn't like any of the characters, and something about it (perhaps how the mom talked about the daughter) made me feel like the entire book was going to take the point of view of a boomer looking down on a younger generation. I think I probably could have liked this if I stuck with it, but I was just not having a good time and could tell this wasn't for me.

DNF at 45%.

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Duration: 10 hours 45 minutes

I had a hard time getting into this and really tried to push through especially since I was doing the audio. The magical realism aspect was already in play but even that couldn't keep me interested. Ultimately, this wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought Madame Bovary was the most annoying person I’ve encountered in books. Until I met Ellie… It’s a classic case of a bored, married woman who wants a change so she decides she wants a divorce only to later realize she had everything she always wanted (I would assume; I never made it to the end). The only fascinating thing was the alternate universe she finds herself in; but this is confusing because she consistently talks about her real life so it all gets jumbled up. It also gets repetitive, with Ellie repeating things over and over in her mind. I couldn’t relate to her at all so this didn’t work for me. I skimmed towards the end but still even couldn’t get through that.

I loved this story. As a SAHM there a moments where it feels like I don’t have an identity outside of my kids. The author explores the struggle of “empty nesters” to find themselves and bolster their relationships after kids leave home. I look forward to purchasing this book for further re-reads!

I liked the theme of what if’s and second chances, and I think it was executed well especially in the second half of the book. Ellie’s character did take a little time before I found her as someone I could sympathize with, but I could really feel the emotion regardless. I loved the magical realism aspect. It really made Ellie reflect on her choices and made her much more relatable and I loved her growth. There were many thought-provoking moments. I was hoping it would end a certain way, but it was never predictable to me. Ellie’s feeling had me questioning the choices she was going to make. I enjoyed the journey.

Thank you @angelabrownbooks @suzyapprovedbooktours @netgalley for the gifted copy.

Ellie thought she needed to change her life when her daughter leaves for college so she decides to tell her husband she wants a divorce. After telling her parents in Florida the news, they fly home. When Ellie wakes the next day she's in a different version of her life. Will she change her mind. I did enjoy the characters though I felt the book could have been shorter.

interesting time loop of a what would have happened in a marriage and finding their way back to each other. loved the family and that they were able to fall in love again.

Some Other Time by Angela Brown is a thought-provoking and engaging story.
Such a well written story.

Ellie Baker is about to take the next step in her marriage: divorce. She and her husband, Jonah, are heading to Florida to break the news to their families. There’s no dramatic story to tell—after twenty years together, they’ve simply fallen out of love. It’s as straightforward as that.

But for their college-aged daughter, Maggie, it’s anything but simple. She’s heartbroken. And Ellie’s father, Frank, reacts with the cool detachment only a retiree in Orlando can muster. As for Ellie’s mother, Bunny—she flat out refuses to listen. After a difficult weekend, Ellie and Jonah return to New Jersey, still determined to go their separate ways. But everything changes the morning Ellie wakes up to a completely different reality—one in which she and Jonah never married.

Over the course of a surreal week, Ellie witnesses how the world—and the lives of everyone she cares about—might have unfolded along an entirely different path. And in this new version of reality, everything could change once more.

Aw, I really enjoyed this. It’s on the slower side, but there were such thoughtful and insightful discussions on motherhood and marriage. I found myself highlighting so many quotes!

After twenty years of marriage, Ellie is set on divorce. Her relationship with Jonah is filled with constant arguments, and the love they once shared feels distant. With their daughter off to college, Ellie is grappling with a deep sense of loss. Her entire identity has been tied to being a wife and mother. So now, who is she? What is her purpose?

But then Ellie is thrust into an alternate reality, one where she never married Jonah. And of course, everything in her life is completely backwards, forcing her to confront the path she didn’t take!

I loved that it showed that each reality, no matter how different, had its positives and challenges. It’s about Ellie learning to appreciate the simple joys of life and rediscovering a love that might have been buried but never truly left. It was a sweet reminder that it’s also the small, everyday choices that shape our lives!