This book got me straight off from its description, loved the premise and I really craved a beach read type of story to envelop me into that cacoon of cozy, wistful and romantic. What I got was that and more, themes of friendship, healing and finding oneself.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing this book, with my honest review below.

The Other Side of Now was driven by a concept I unabashedly love in my books, alternate lives / time travel, and while it was all done well and brought some emotional twists to boot, it just wasn’t the one for me. The story focuses on Lana (real name Megan), an actress whose show seems likely to get cancelled who just hasn’t been happy in about a decade. Deciding to take off for Ireland to visit the small town where she could have attended a college for arts (her decision to turn down her acceptance for a local college in her hometown in Florida due to her now dead best friend the tipping point for her unhappiness, in her opinion), Megan finds herself visiting her alternate life.

I enjoyed the concept of the alternate life, especially with her dead best friend alive in this one to help us figure out what happened since it seems to haunt to Megan. What didn’t quite work for me was that some of the story seemed a bit too contrived and the tone overall was trying to find the balance between serious and poignant, but hopeful moments without settling into smoother transitions that help transport versus plunk. Undoubtedly this is an appealing story and the overall concept is well executed, but the devil was in the details for me and those just didn’t flow in a way that would wrap me up.

i love au/slide into an alternate dimension narratives and this one was no exception!! it was a fun cozy read and def felt super escapist, which i needed at the time. i actually wanted more of the romance subplot; i found the male LI very cute and would read a whole sequel about him. the main critique i had was that i think the story was kind of hastily wrapped up [ with meg suddenly getting back to her "real life"? also do we know what sent her to this "fake life" anyways? was it real or just hallucination? (hide spoiler)]

however, a++ concept and fun read

This was a beautifully done story and had that element that I was looking for in this type of book. The characters were everything that I was looking for and enjoyed that they were realistic in this. Paige Harbison has a strong writing style and was hooked from the first page.

I was excited to receive an advanced reader copy (ARC) of “The Other Side of Now”. This was the first book I read by Paige Harbison, so I was not familiar with her writing. I will admit – this was a slow start for me. I did not really feel engaged with any of the characters at the beginning of the book; based on the description, I decided to at least wait until Meg took her trip to Ireland. I am glad I gave it a little more time! Once the story pivoted to the new location, I started liking Meg better, and I really liked the other characters. No spoilers, but I really enjoyed the descriptions of the people Meg met, the places she visited, and the way she processed her feelings throughout the book. I am glad I stuck with it, and will look forward to more books by Paige.

BOOK REPORT
Received a complimentary copy of The Other Side of Now, by Paige Harbison, from St. Martin’s Press/NetGalley, for which I am appreciative, in exchange for a fair and honest review. Scroll past the BOOK REPORT section for a cut-and-paste of the DESCRIPTION of it from them if you want to read my thoughts on the book in the context of that summary.

Holy cow, y’all. Sliding Doors, starring (a pre-gooped) Gwyneth Paltrow, came out in 1998.

That’s almost 30 years ago. AAAACCK.

Loved that movie. Loved it so much.

This book, my friends? It is the Sliding Doors for the 32-year-old Kristi of this modern era in which we live.

Current day 58-year-old Kristi sat down with this combination heartfelt/escapist book when it was bright and sunshiny earlier today, intending to spend a little time with it, see if it was worth reading. Did not get up from her swivel rocker on the screened-in porch until chilly dark-thirty later, when she had binged it in one sitting.

Witty, smart chick lit. Would absolutely watch it on screen, whether as a movie or a streaming series.

PS
Yes, yes, you always can count on me for the link to the movie and/or show: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120148/

PPS
Paige Harbison referenced her mother in the acknowledgements, as I hope I would have the presence of mind to do were I to ever write a book (under my own name) instead of just mouthing off about books. So I googled, and it turns out that her mother is New York Times best-selling author Beth Harbison. And? They do a podcast. (Of course they do.) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

PPPS
Mother? Would you like to do a podcast?

DESCRIPTION
A hilarious and heartfelt novel about how loves and lives are never truly lost, for fans of Rebecca Serle and Taylor Jenkins Reid.

With a leading role on a hit TV show and a relationship with Hollywood's latest heartthrob, Meg Bryan appears to have everything she ever wanted. But underneath the layers of makeup and hairspray, her happiness is as fake as her stage name, Lana Lord. Following a small breakdown at her thirtieth birthday party, she books an impromptu trip where she knows the grass is greener: Ireland. Specifically, the quaint little village where she and her best friend Aimee always dreamt of moving—a dream that fell apart when an accident claimed Aimee’s life a decade ago.

When Meg arrives, the people in town are so nice, treating her not as a stranger, but a friend. Except for the (extremely hot) bartender giving her the cold shoulder. Meg writes it all off as jetlag until she looks in the mirror. Her hair is no longer bleached within an inch of its life, her skin has a few natural fine lines, and her nose looks like… well, her old nose. Her real nose.

Her phone reveals hundreds of pictures of her life in this little town: with an adorable dog she doesn’t know; with the bartender who might be her (ex?) boyfriend; and at a retail job unrelated to acting. Eventually, she comes to accept that she somehow made a quantum slide into an alternate version of her life. But the most shocking realization of all? In this life, her best friend Aimee is alive and well…but wants nothing to do with Meg.

Despite her bewilderment, Meg is clear-eyed about one thing: this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reconnect with her friend and repair what she broke. She finagles an opportunity to act in the play Aimee is writing and directing and as the project unfolds, Meg realizes that events as she remembers them may not be the only truth, and that an impossible choice looms before her.

4,5!

An absolute delight of a story! Magical realism is definitely one of my favourite sub genres and this book is going to the top of my favourite reads i got to this year.

This book is surprisingly multilayered. It explores grief, guilt, loss, and search for a place in the world with humor, music, an array of colorful, fully developed characters, and magical realism. At the beginning, I thought oh, here we go again. This follows the same path as Rebecca Searle's, Italian Summer. As it turned out, it was and it wasn’t. This story pushed this kind of story up a rung.

I was immersed as soon as Meg arrived in Ireland. I might not have known what was happening in her fictional world but it was exactly where I wanted her to be. The Hollywood portion was just enough to set the stage but the majority of the book took place in Avalon, an Irish village where not only does everyone know your name but they know everything about you. Absolutely the right place for someone who is adrift.

All the characters were delightful to read and well flushed out —Kiera, Cillian, the parents, Aimee, and of course, Meg. The ending was just right. Not too much or too little.

Kudos to Paige Harbison who knew when to lay it on and when to pull back, I would recommend this book to anyone who needs be uplifted.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read the advanced reading copy for review.

Such an intriguing premise and set up! I was sucked in right away. Love how this story explores the issues of grief and friendship and how to cherish the life you have. The romance is fun, especially since the characters have great chemistry. This reads a bit "young," which I guess makes sense given that the author also writes YA. But it's a fun read with a satisfying conclusion. More charming and less depressing than The Midnight Library, this should appeal to readers looking for an uplifting second chance type story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

loved this book dealing with grief and sliding door feel to this book. She is in a tv show and ends up going to ireland and finds love and friends and even see's her best friend and what would have been. Great story and romance.

I found this book extremely difficult to follow, closing some of the holes in the plot would have made it more enjoyable.

I loved this sweet story about a woman not quite in love with her life! I loved all the characters but especially Meg! Kiera and Cillian are both so great. I especially loved the quaint Irish town most of the book took place in. I don't want to give anything away but I really loved how the story unfolded. It took a couple turns I didn't expect and I just couldn't put it down! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early!

An intriguing premise. The novel is an exploration of grief and friendship with a dash of magical realism and a bit of romance. I was not quite sure how the story could possibly wrap up and this kept me turning the pages!

In terms of the writing, I do think the story could have been shorter and clearer and the characters did not seem to act their age (but much younger/immature). There are many specific cultural and fashion references that normally do not bother me but did not always feel well integrated. I wasn’t thrilled with the push-pull of Meg’s relationship with Cillian but I did think they were cute together. A charming read overall exploring the big ‘what ifs’ in Meg’s life. 2.5 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Oh my god, I absolutely LOVED this book! I’m so grateful to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for putting this book on my radar and giving me an advance copy.

For as long as she could remember, Meg Bryan (yep, that’s her name) wanted to be an actress. She’s finally achieved stardom on a soap opera-type show called Brilliance under her stage name, Lana Lord.

But while the fame can be great, having to worry about every calorie she consumes and when she’ll need work done again gets tiring. Why doesn’t achieving the goals she has set, getting to live her dream make her happy? After a bit of a breakdown at her 30th birthday party, she decides to run away for a bit, and books a trip to the Irish village where she and her best friend Aimee had planned to attend acting school.

Avalon is everything she dreamed it would be. But strangely, everyone seems to know her here—as Meg. She has a best friend, a dog who seems to know her, and there’s a sexy bartender who is flirty yet irritated with her. When she looks in the mirror, she sees her old self—before plastic surgery, weight loss, and hair styling changed everything.

In Avalon, Meg doesn’t act—she works in a shop. But she often wonders about the path not taken. And when she discovers that in this life, her best friend Aimee—who died when they were younger—is alive, she’s thrown completely. She has no idea how she got here or how long she’ll stay, but is this the right path?

I tend to love these Sliding Doors-type books, but this one just wowed me. Maybe I’m overly emotional because I met one of my best friends 31 years ago today and he’s been gone for nearly three. Whatever the reason, this was amazing.

The book will publish 6/3/2025.

First, thanks to NetGalley for the early read of ‘The Other Side of Now’. This book reminded me of a cute YA Fantasy RomCom version of ‘Sliding Doors’ movie sprinkled with ‘The Holiday’ movie, living in an alternate universe, where perhaps you get a do-over in life. Could easily see this made into a Hallmark/Netflix movie. The book grabs you from the beginning & is an easy quick read. The author immediately pulls you in with interesting twists, questioning what’s real, pop culture references to make you want to read in one sitting. If you want a light RomCom weekend book, look no farther. Kind of predictable but that doesn’t take away from the writer’s charm. Every page was delightful to read and makes the reader invested to follow the actress’s (Meg) life journey. The author, Paige Harbison, shows lots of promise moving from YA to adult storytelling. Looking forward to her next story.

Twisted read. Meg is an accomplished actress that is running from the sorrow of the death of her best friend Aimee. Life gets twisted when she takes a spontaneous trip to Ireland on her 30th birthday. What is real and what is fiction? Heartwarming and heartbreaking read. Friendships, healing of wounds, love and growth of characters. Good read. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

What appears as a cute, quick rom-com read from the blurb, “The Other Side of Now” has more than meets its eye. While providing lots of laughs, it switches tones and strays a bit too far into a tell-don’t-show therapy session in the last third. It is a quick read that will keep drawing you back in to see where the plot is going.

It was refreshing in that it didn’t play into the typical traps that “second chance” books can do sometimes. Everything isn’t immediately good or bad. The drive for the reader is to see how the author, Paige Harbison, plans to end it. It is truly all about the ending, or perhaps new beginnings, with a book like this.

This is Harbison’s first adult novel. I have not read any of her YA books. It can come across a bit YA. Do not expect a lot of spice – this is not that kind of book. It is more about friendship, trauma, and blame.

I do want to spend more time with some of the characters. For example, I would totally read a sequel with Kiera and Cillian.

Okay, I absolutely LOVED THIS BOOK!!! It was everything I didn't know I needed. I've been in a rut with my physical/ebooks where I get halfway through and I just want it to end. But not with this one 👏👏 I couldn't get enough. It grabbed me right away.

I loved everything about it especially the characters. I loved the cherish the life you're in message it had in it. Plus the ending! It was SO good!!!!! Highly recommend adding this to your TBR. It's not out till June but I can't wait to reread it. REALLY hope the audiobook has some Irish accents cause I was all about the Ireland setting!!!! It gave me major The Seven Year Slip vibes which I also loved!!!! So sad it's over!!!

I am a sucker for alternative reality romance stories, and this novel is the perfect example of those! This love story will give you all the feels, and you will thinking of the conclusion long after you’re done reading!