THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW by Paige Harbison is an entertaining novel with a parallel universe concept that includes strong themes of female friendship, loss, grief, and self-discovery. It answers a lot of “what if?” questions in a young woman’s life. It showcases the two alternate paths her life would have taken had she made a different choice right out of high school. If you don’t mind a touch of magical realism—think, Rebecca Serle—then this book will be a total hit for you.

READ THIS IF YOU ENJOY:

- Female friendship
- Reflections on loss and grief
- Actress/celebrity lifestyle
- Hints of magical realism
- Parallel universe concept
- Second chances
- Forgiveness and healing
- Slow-burning romance
- Quaint Irish setting
- Hilarious banter

I absolutely loved all of the characters in this novel. The female protagonist, Meg shows so much growth throughout but really couldn’t do it without the strong supporting cast. They were all so lovely, and the dialogue between them was fantastic!

Also, the author narrates the audiobook herself, and does a wonderful job with it! Her voice actually reminds me of a narrator I’ve heard a lot before, but I just can’t put my finger on who…🤔

THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW releases on June 3rd! 4/5 solid stars!

I couldn’t put this one down, finished it in a single day!

This story pulls you in from the very beginning, starting fifteen years ago at a carnival, where teenage best friends Meg and Aimee meet a mysterious fortune teller who hints at two paths and leaves an unsettling impression.

Both girls once dreamed of attending the Avalon School of the Arts in Ireland together, but only Meg was accepted. Bound by their “both or none” promise, they chose to remain together in Florida instead…

Now, in the present day, Meg is Lana Lord—a successful actress on the hit neo-soap Brilliance. She seems to have it all, but behind the fame is someone quietly questioning if this is the life she truly wanted. While feeling completely disconnected at her own thirtieth birthday party, Lana begins scrolling through her phones camera roll when she stumbles on a video of her and Aimee at sixteen, full of joy, laughter and the kind of fulfillment she hasn’t experienced in…well she can’t recall how long. Suddenly, an urge to escape has her searching for a getaway…why not finally see Avalon, Ireland? ✅ Booked.

This is a story about second chances, friendships that shape us, and discovering happiness on your own terms.

Perfect for fans of Ashley Poston’s The Seven Year Slip. This is one of those reads that leaves you thinking long after the last page.

Goodreads review posted 5/17/25

This is a great beach read or summer vacation book. The premise is original, and the story is well written. It is the perfect mix of lightheartedness and emotional moments. 4.5 stars!

This is a great book for fans of the movie Sliding Doors or Kilt Trip By Alexandra Kiley. Meg wakes up in a parallel life, one in which she can repair her relationship with her former best friend Aimee. She realizes she is in a different timeline, in which everything she thought would fulfil her life, fame, fortune, and being an actress, no longer exist. This book had more depth than I thought it would. Grief and guilt were explored through the friends' relationship. Meg was a complex and layered character. I was rooting for her to heal and love herself. I appreciated the strength of the female friendships in this book; all the women rooted for each other and act4ed like adults. I liked that though there is a bit of a love story, the true love story was between Meg and Aimee. This was a great adult fiction debut for Haribson. I look forward to her next book! Thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. 4 stars.

This book was a delight. I went into it not really knowing what it was about and while I did assume it as going to be more of a romance, I overall loved the whole storyline. It had such a fun sliding doors plot.

💭I absolutely loved this one! It starts off with Meg and Aimee as teenagers at a carnival. They decide to visit a psychic that reads palms. Meg learns her palm is unique and there will come a time in her life when there are two different paths she can take. Aimee’s fortune is more mysterious, after the woman reads her palm she refuses to discuss what she sees and shoos the girls along. Fast forward 15 years later and Meg is a famous actress married to a movie star with all the money she could ask for, but filled with unhappiness. She decides to book a flight to Ireland after her 30th bday party to reset. Only something is off when she gets there. She traveled almost to another life she would have led had she taken a different path earlier in her life.

This story reminded me a lot of Taylor Jenkin Reid’s Maybe in Another Life, WHICH I LOVED! So it is bo surprise to me that I loved this one as well! I didn’t want this book to end! It was raw, emotional, and perfection!

This was a hybrid read for me as I alternated between the audio and digital version.

It's a real treat to have the author of the book also be the narrator. Paige Harbison does an amazing job at narrating and her passion for the story really shines through. I really enjoyed the author's wit and sense of humor. There's a perfect mix of magical realism, parallel universe, romance, friendship, and grief.

Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and St Martin's Press for copes of the digital and audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars

From the time I requested this on Netgalley until I read it I totally forgot what this book was about. So I headed in blind, which is so much fun.

The book starts on Meg Bryan’s 30th birthday, she is a Hollywood star and out of sorts. On impulse she books a trip to Ireland and left immediately. The story begins when she steps off the plane and begins exploring her way through this acquaint little town. But something just feels off. Turns out she stepped into a alternate timeline where things that happened in the past 12 years didn’t actually happen.

I really enjoyed this book, it was witty, had some great characters and the storyline worked. The changes in her life begin to mess with her mind, because maybe she just likes this new life better.

The Other Side of Now is a story of family, friendship, grief, and forgiveness. It's about second chances and following your heart. I love the Ireland setting, yeah it’s on my bucket list.

The blurb advertises that this is great for fans of a couple well-known authors, but I think Ashley Poston would be a better comparison.

This was a hybrid read for me, the audio and the digital e-book, I highly recommend both formats.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and Saint Martin’s press for advanced copies of both the digital and audiobook.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

She thought she had achieved her dream, but as her 30th birthday arrived, Meg found herself restless and yearning to escape her life. So, she packed a bag and booked a flight for a place she *almost* called home - Avalon. The town was as charming in person as it was on the internet, and it also felt like home...and everyone knew her here...and her best friend was still alive!

"Two destinies. Two lives. You will know when the time comes to choose which life is for you."

This was what the fortune teller had imparted to a teenaged Meg. At the time, she didn't quite understand it, but now she found herself living that other life. I was so surprised by this book! I love the idea of alternate universes where we have different lives, and in Avalon, Meg soon discovered what sort of life she could have had if her best friend had not died.

I reveled in the contrast between the two lives. Avalon was such a warm and welcoming place where Meg was loved by many. There was a man who cherished her with his whole heart, a wonderful friend, and a precious pup she kidnapped often. I adored the whole small-town vibe, and the way they all knew and cared for each other.

This seemed like a straight-forward sliding-doors type story until it wasn't. This story went deeper and was about so many things. It was Meg's personal journey to find peace, closure, and her way back to herself. Being in other-Meg's life forced her to face her past and finally deal with it. This magical trip was exactly what Meg needed to get her life back on track, and it was a great magical trip filled with friendship, love, laughter, and healing.

Overall, I absolutely adored this What-If story which had me experiencing a myriad of emotions as Meg unpacked her baggage and plotted a new course for herself. With great characters, a fabulous setting, and an amazing ending, this one was a hit for me.

Such a good book! I am obsessed with the cover, I knew I had to read this book as soon as I saw it. I loved the main character and that there is an alternate universe. I found it so interesting and fun. I have never read a book quite like this one and I probably never will again. I am going to be recommending this book to everyone.

3.7 Stars
One Liner: Heartwarming!

Meg Bryan, aka Lana Lord, is a household name after her hit TV show and her relationship with Hollywood’s latest heartthrob. However, her perfect life comes at a great cost. After a small breakdown on her thirtieth birthday, Meg goes on an impromptu trip to Ireland, that one place she and her best friend Aimee wanted to visit. An accident claimed Aimee’s life a decade ago, and now Meg makes the trip alone.
However, Meg seemed to have traveled into an alternative universe where she is not a celebrity. The hot bartender is apparently her ex, and her bestie, Aimee, is alive but not talking to her for some reason. Now, Meg has to figure out how and why she broke up with her ex and what happened between her and Aimee. As she navigates through her new life, Meg realizes what she remembers about her past isn’t the complete truth. And soon, she has to decide on her future.
The story comes in Meg’s first-person POV.

My Thoughts:
Firstly, I’d tag this women’s fiction or contemporary fiction with a touch of romance. The focal point of the book is Meg’s acceptance of the past and her growth in the present.
The book starts with a prologue that gives us an insight into the MC’s relationship with her bestie. Then, we jump to the present timeline.
I like the sliding doors/ alternative setting that occurs pretty soon. No need to wait for it to happen. This gives the MC and us enough time to get used to the shift, dig through the past, and peel her character’s layers.
The side characters, especially Kiera and Cillian, are terrific. They brighten up the story when it starts to feel repetitive. The bestie, Aimee, is interesting, though I wish to know more about her.
The first-person POV works for the plot. It has dry humor and a bit of forced humor as well. The first is good, the latter isn’t, but the overall effect is nice. The MC has enough flaws, but is also a nice person, which we can see in her voice. However, it also feels quite YAish, even though she is 30. Maybe because the author is a YA writer, and this is her first adult novel.
The pacing is uneven thanks to the repetition in the middle. Maybe some of it was necessary, though I feel this could have been used to add some depth to the bestie’s character.
The ending is more on the line of women’s fiction. It is hopeful and positive, but not fully rounded. Still, it works for the storyline and leaves the reader with a smile (that’s job done right).
Given the premise, there are many references to Hollywood, celebs, movies, and related drama. Not my jam, exactly. If you enjoy this, you might like the book more.
The acknowledgments section at the end was fun to read. The author’s natural style did drip a lot into the main character’s voice, but it worked here.

To summarize, The Other Side of Now is a heartwarming story about grief of losing a loved one, trying to find oneself, making friends (found family), and learning that life goes on.
Thank you, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

This was a fantastic story! I didn't like the main character at first, but I think that was by design, since she didn't seem to like herself either. The life swap was a clever plot twist. The setting of the Irish village was idyllic, and I mourned right along with Meg when she had to bid it goodbye. The lessons Meg learned were illustrated sincerely and thoughtfully. Loved the twist at the end - very satisfying!

I have a soft spot for stories that play with reality—especially those that explore the "what if" moments in life. It's like a therapy session, but you're not reading about a person working through their issues with a therapist. Instead, the author gives us an everyday situation, throws in a touch of magical realism where characters wake up in a parallel universe, and they work things out by getting to see what their life could have been. This book hits that spot perfectly. It's got a classic sliding doors vibe, and while the formula might be familiar, it's still refreshing. I had no trouble sinking into the world or connecting with the characters.

The story follows Meg Bryan, who on the surface has it all—a starring role in a hit TV show and a relationship with Hollywood's latest heartthrob. But as is often the case, looks can be deceiving. Beneath her stage name (Lana Lord) and her glamorous life, Meg is a mess. The show is on the verge of being canceled, her boyfriend is likely cheating on her, and she misses Aimee, her best friend who died years earlier. A breakdown at her 30th birthday party sends Meg on a spontaneous trip to Ireland, to a little village she and Aimee had once dreamed of moving to.

And here's where the magic hits. When Meg arrives, something feels… off. The locals know her, but not as the celebrity she's become. She's got her natural hair, her real nose, and pictures on her phone from a completely different life. Turns out, she's slipped into an alternate version of her life—one where Aimee is still alive but distant, and where a sexy Irish bartender named Cillian seems to have a complicated history with her.

The relationships in this book are what truly make it shine. Meg's dynamic with Aimee is especially heartfelt. You believe in their friendship, flaws and all. It's complicated, raw, and full of unspoken regrets—exactly what you'd expect from two people with a lot of history. Cillian is another highlight. Who wouldn't want a sexy, charming, rugged Irish bartender? Their chemistry feels real, and the push and pull of their interactions kept me invested.

I really loved how you can feel Meg's longing to stay in this alternate world. I was genuinely worried about what would happen when her time was up—would she be yanked back to her old life? I really didn't want that to happen. No spoilers, but I will say that the ending is perfect. Things tie up exactly the way they needed to, and it's both bittersweet and hopeful.

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author herself. I always love when authors do their own narrations because it feels more personal. It's like you're hearing the story exactly how it was meant to be told. Harbison did a great job bringing Meg's journey to life, capturing both the humor and heartbreak.

If you love stories that make you reflect on your own "what ifs," this book is for you. The story has a bit of a Rebecca Serle vibe (think "In Five Years" or "The Dinner List"), so if you're into books that blend reality with a hint of magic and a lot of heart, this one will be right up your alley. There's an emotional depth here that sneaks up on you, especially in the last few chapters when Meg has to reconcile with her past. It's not just a feel-good read—it's one that makes you think about regrets, second chances, and what really matters. Just keep a tissue handy. Highly recommended!

This was such a wholesome read with just the right amount of magical surrealism. It was very different from most of what I've read recently with some elements of romance and parallel universes, but at its core, it was a story of friendship and self-discovery.

I really loved Meg's character, too. She was real, plagued with grief, and super lonely. But, she's also got a positive, creative spirit and brings a surprising amount of optimism to the narrative.

It made me think a lot about my life and my values without being too thought-provoking (lol, doesn't make a ton of sense when I write it like that, but whatever). Highly recommend!

absolutely wonderful, melancholic, tender, my heart is so squeezy and my oh my could i just CRY!

took a chance on this one because it sounded right up my alley and i’m so glad i did, i loved every moment

lovely writing, good pacing, and the story was full of so much heart and my goodness did i perfectly understand that feeling of the best most joyful moments being tainted with my own sadness at the realization that one day it’ll all be the past/gone

just…..yeah, gonna go cry now byyyeeee

When I saw this being compared to the writing of Taylor Jenkins Reid and Rebecca Serle I knew this was for me! I adore magical realism and romance so this book was a dream for me. I loved Meg’s character and felt so emotional for her throughout this story. I loved that friendship was at the center of it all. Can’t wait to recommend this to all of my friends and family. I think this would be fantastic for an upcoming book club! Available for preorder now and out June 3rd :) Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison
Narrated by author

Meg Bryan loves acting but had to change her name early on due to the fact that it sounds like another Meg's (the famous one's) name. So now Meg Bryan is known as Lana Lord and she's actually doing very well for herself by just about anyone's standards. Yet, Meg really isn't as happy as she "should" be even though she's living with a famous movie heart throb (arranged) and living the very good life of luxury that comes with fame.

As a teen, Meg had dreams of attending university in a quaint Irish village with her best friend Aimee but things didn't work out the way Meg dreamed and then Aimee died. The death of Meg's best friend destroyed Meg and she dropped everything to move across the country to (shocker) find fame in a TV series. Meg has never gotten over the guilt and heartbreak she feels for losing her best friend and then going on with life.

After a thirtieth birthday party breakdown, Meg impulsively purchases a ticket to the place she'd dreamed of attending university and the village is wonderful. Her little rental cottage seems so "her", it comes with a dog that loves her, people are so friendly they act like they've known her for years, and they all seem to think the hunky bartender is her on and off ex boyfriend. Biggest surprise of all is that Aimee is alive and more than doing well in this Irish village.

So, if this is a sliding doors kind of thing, Meg is all in, but how can she keep this new other life? Meg may not be a working actress in this life but there are things she would never want to lose (again). All she misses of her old (real?) life is her dog from that life. How can she fix some things in this other life that need fixing? How can Meg not mess up this "other" world.

Meg is in new territory and it was interesting trying to figure out things with her. At some point, I stopped trying to figure things out because they don't really hold up to my understanding of weird happenings and what ifs. There are some great characters here and I was as afraid as Meg that she might lose them when things "poofed" back to her old life. The author/narrator, Paige Harbison, knows just how she wants her characters to sound and we get all the accents and silliness she wanted in the story along with a mountain load of grief that must be faced rather than avoided. I think the story ends the best way possible when the impossible might still be impossible. Lots to discuss with Jayme and DeAnn in this interesting story so look for their reviews to see how they felt about Meg's new and old lives.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ebook and audiobook ARCs.

THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW is a cozy alternate reality story that strikes a thoughtful balance between lighthearted charm and emotional depth.

Meg Bryan seems to have it all. She’s the lead actress on a hit TV show and living the glamorous L.A. life. but under the surface she’s unraveling. In the middle of a quarter-life crisis, Meg escapes to a quiet Irish village… and wakes up in a life she doesn’t remember choosing. In this version of reality, she moved to Ireland as a teen and her deceased best friend is somehow still alive.

What follows is a heartfelt journey about second chances, letting go, and realizing that the life we thought we wanted may not be the one we truly need. I adored every page.

READ THIS IF YOU:
-appreciate a satisfying, full-circle ending
-dabble with a bit of light magical realism
-want nostalgic, swoony The Holiday vibes

PUB DAY: June 3, 2025
RATING: 4/5

Many thanks to the publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:

Meg Bryan (not to be confused with Meg Ryan) always dreamed of becoming a Star! She is now the lead Actress on a soapy show called “Brilliance” and she is living with one of Hollywood’s hottest leading men-THE Grayson Gable!

But, fame hasn’t brought her the happiness she thought it would, despite changing her name to Lana Lord, changing her nose, changing her hair, and depriving herself of all of the foods she has loved to lose weight.

Finally on her thirtieth birthday she realizes that what she really needed to change is her life, and she books an impromptu trip to Ireland. She and her high school best friend, Aimee, once planned to attend the Avalon School of the Arts there together-before an accident took Aimee’s life.

But, when she arrives, Meg discovers that she has somehow slipped into a parallel universe-one where she isn’t a Star-she doesn’t looks like “Lana” but rather like an older version of her high school self-one who hasn’t made all of the changes that Hollywood “suggested” she make-and most importantly Aimee-the best friend she has never stopped grieving-is still alive!

But, Aimee doesn’t want anything to do with her.

Her trip was booked for ONE WEEK-and it will be a week of self discovery and second chances. Can she right any wrongs?

My thoughts:

First-I would never have requested this book if it wasn’t for the enticing reviews of several Goodreads friends, as the book cover is very unappealing to me (sorry!)

And, for about the first 25%, I wasn’t sure if this book would get me out of my book slump-as I felt like the author was trying too hard to be funny, as we learned about Lana’s superficial life in Los Angeles.

But, when Lana slid into her parallel universe in Ireland and became Meg, the book shifted for me as well.

I was suddenly engaged by the entertaining small town life with its requisite PUB, its bartender Cillian-who is also Irish MEG’s enviable love interest-and the wonderful, supportive female friendships! 🥰 I found myself invested in the outcome, and anxious to see how this would all turn out.

The book is advertised as “for fans of Rebecca Serle or TJR” but Ashley Poston would be a more accurate comparison. If you can open your mind to this concept without explanation-I think you will enjoy this heartfelt book too!

Available June 3, 2025

Thank You to St. Martin’s Press for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!

Part woman-finding-herself, part magical realism, part love story. It was fun! It had a cozy, small Irish town! It had fun characters!