You know that feeling you get when the writing of a book transports you to the place you’re reading about, and you imagine yourself walking through the green grass of a small Ireland town, or feeling the salty air? This is exactly what it was like reading this story. The fact that this book will be released June 3rd, but I devoured it in 2 days back in January should tell you how good it was.

Guys, I stopped reading Onyx Storm to read this one instead. If this doesn’t tell you it’s good, I’m not sure what will.

Also, did I google what living in Ireland is like? Yes, Yes I did.

This is a story about a girl (Meg) who loses someone very close to her, so she has to learn to navigate her life without that person. She decides to put her grieving aside to follow her dream of becoming an actress. What she doesn’t know though, it’s that sometimes our pain and grief make us do things we weren’t supposed to do, but we’re just blinded by all that hurt, so it seems like we’re doing the right thing.

This is exactly what happened to Meg; she thought she wanted fame, and to have a sophisticated life, but it turns out that when she gets a closer look at what her life could’ve been like if things would’ve happened differently in the past, she wishes she would’ve chosen a different path. She no longer wants the sophisticated Hollywood life. She wants to eat carbs and be happy. I honestly couldn’t be more like Meg. Also, she’s from Florida where I’m at, and it really made me smile when she mentioned Publix 🤭

Do you like reading about a parallel universe, or the feeling of Deja vu? Then this is the right story for you. Magical realism + romance sounds like such a good time, and I promise you it is.

“𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅é𝒋à 𝒗𝒖 𝒊𝒔. 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉?”

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced readers copy. 🖤

I have read a few sliding-doors novels, and I find them utterly compelling. Paige Harbison took this concept, but still gave her story a unique, fresh approach.

Lana Lord has found success as an actress in Hollywood. It was her lifelong dream to become a famous actress, but despite her leading role on a soap opera-esque show, her A-list boyfriend, and her growing bank account, Lana is unsatisfied with her life. When she decides on a whim to take a one-week break and fly to Ireland, she believes that it is just the reset that she needs. However, when Lana arrives in Ireland, she is actually Meg Bryan again (her actual name). The people in Ireland know her, she isn’t the famous actress anymore, and her best friend is alive and well in the same town of Avalon, Ireland.

While there was a fair share of comedic moments in this novel, it also deals with the serious topic of grief. Meg was never able to fully get over the death of her best friend Aimee. Everyone has their own ways of dealing with loss, but for Meg, her solution was to run away from it, but we all know that you can’t run away from grief. It will follow you until you handle it head on.

I’m not going to lie; I much preferred the main character as she was in Ireland. Gone was the polished celebrity with the too-thin body and the smoothed out, altered face. In her place was the real Meg Bryan, who would eat carbs, drink wine, and not obsess over her appearance. She had close friends, an on-again, off-again boyfriend who was more than likely the love of her life, and she had an estranged friendship with Aimee. Why was their relationship on the outs? What had transpired to ever make them not as close as they once were when they were growing up in Florida? That’s what I wanted to find out.

While Meg didn’t know how she ended up in this parallel reality, she wanted to see what this life was like. She wanted to reconnect with Aimee again. As a reader, I could completely understand Meg’s frustration of not knowing how or why she was living in a parallel life or how she could get people to believe her farfetched story.

The Other Side of Now was an intriguing read. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Meg. I wanted her to find her peace with Aimee, to let herself heal, and to find what truly mattered to her in her own life. I was fully invested. I was in it with her.

The Other Side of Now had humor, heart, and plenty of emotions to go around.

*4 Stars

Charming, heartbreaking, thought provoking. A surprisingly engrossing read, with some plot elements that definitely require the reader to suspend all of their disbelief, but in the end I think it all works really well. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this ahead of publication.

Brief overview:

Lana, a tv actress, takes a vacation to Ireland after feeling trapped in her Hollywood life. When she arrives, she discovers she is in the life she would have had, had she made one different decision. Oh yeah, and her best friend is back from the dead.

My thoughts:

This story felt like a love letter to best friendships and an acceptance letter to grief. Anyone that has lost a friend will feel for Meg and understand the guilt and grief she deals with. Not all of us run from our feelings, but we can all relate to wanting to at some point or another. I will say, for the first half it was a bit slow going, but it was absolutely worth it in the end.

One Of The Hardest Hitting 'Glimpse' Tales I've Ever Come Across. This is one of those 'glimpse' tales - ala The Family Man (the 2000s era movie with Nic Cage and Tea Leoni) or It's A Wonderful Life, and yet in its specific mechanics, it hit me harder than any I've come across before it. There are really only two books I've come across before - that I believe I've written reviews for over the years - that even come close, but revealing which two gets way too close to spoiler territory. So read this book then look back through my reviews (available on Hardcover.app, BookHype.com, PageBound.co, TheStoryGraph, Goodreads, or my blog at BookAnon.com) and see if you can make the connection yourself. :D (Ok, so *no one* is going to do that. But it could be a fun challenge for someone who is particularly bored, maybe? :D) Also, don't forget to leave your own review of this book after you read it. *Then* go look through mine. :D

But seriously, this is an utterly hilarious book that happens to have a lot of heart - both of which are hallmarks of this type of tale, and both of which are done particularly well by Harbison.

The selection of exact characterization here helps - a regular girl from Florida who has two different dreams which ultimately become two different realities one day such that she gets to live through both and see what both are really like. Yes, there is a fair amount of Hollywood name dropping and commentary, but again, I've seen that in many other books with similar characters, and it works well to establish this exact characterization early, particularly since the real 'meat' of the book is actually the *other* life.

What made this hit so hard personally was an event I don't speak much of publicly, but which has direct bearing on this book - but again, I have to be very vague here in order to avoid spoilers. Suffice it to say that my reality - assuming the one I'm typing this review in *is* reality - wound up very different from the one in the book, yet it is also all *too* easy for me to see how my reality could have been a version of this tale, all the way to me becoming a version of our lead character. (Though to be clear, *no one* is casting me as an actor. The one time I acted at all was in a HS play - Midsummer Night's Dream - and even playing a character who was *supposed* to be a bad actor... damn, I was *really* bad at even that!)

If you've never encountered a 'glimpse' tale, this is genuinely one of the better ones I've come across, particularly in the last few years, so it is a great place to start. Long time fans of the type of tale, like me, will likely enjoy this particular tale quite a bit too.

Very much recommended.

This was such a fast and easy read! In this book, FMC Meg Bryan/Lana Lord, becomes tired of her Hollywood life and ends up booking a ticket to her childhood dream destination --Avalon, Ireland. She and her late best friend, Aimee, wanted to go to a school there when they were younger but plans changed when Aimee dies.

Meg ends up in Avalon, where somehow all the people in town seem to know her. She realizes she stepped into an alternate universe where she never became an actress but instead, followed her dream to go to Avalon. The biggest surprise of them all is this is a universe where Aimee is still alive. It's too bad that Aimee wants nothing to do with her and she's not sure why! We follow Meg as she tries to see what kind of person she is if she never became an actress and if she's able to repair her friendship with Aimee.

I loved the characters in this book and the found family trope! I wish she never went back to the "real world" because Avalon seems like the place where she would've thrived! The end was a little bit spooky seeing what Avalon ended up being but I did like the ending of this book. It had a nice "second chance" type of ending and I think as readers, we needed to see that happen to Meg. She deserves a happy ending! I wish this book would continue with Kiera's story or Aimee's life in Avalon.

This book ended up being much better than I thought.
I really enjoy time travel stories and this doesn’t disappoint. I could feel Meg’s joy at seeing Aimee again and her desire not to leave. I was surprised by the ending. Definitely worth checking out.

This book had SO. MUCH. POTENTIAL.

On the outside, Meg seems to have it all: she’s a famous TV actress in Los Angeles, with an equally famous boyfriend; she has all the money she could ever want, and she lives in a beautiful house. However, on the inside, her façade is crumbling, she feels unfulfilled, and she’s still dealing with unresolved grief and trauma after her childhood best friend, Aimee, died in a car crash when they were 19. On a whim, she books a flight to Ireland for a bit of an escape… and she realizes that, here, she’s stepped into another version of her life. And in this life, Aimee is alive.

Like I said, this book had so much potential. There are themes on life and living, happiness, grief, and relationships with others. What if one small decision can change the entire trajectory of your life? What if there are actually infinite versions of your life, somehow playing out in another dimension of the universe? It’s magical realism at its finest.

Unfortunately, for me… the execution just wasn’t there. It felt very YA and also not totally fleshed out? The climax at the end felt very… rushed and, sadly, anticlimactic. A lot of the dialogue felt false, and I wanted more time with Cillian!! (And a bit more of a resolution in general.) And, despite the abundance of descriptions, the characters felt shallow.

That said, I think with a few (somewhat major) tweaks, this book could be sooooo good!!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! This publishes 6/3! ~

Paige Harbison’s The Other Side of Now serves up a hearty helping of magical realism, grief, and second chances, all set in an Irish village so charming it practically hands you a pint and a therapy session.

Our lead, Meg, is a struggling actress who’s basically a walking existential crisis. She gets a supernatural do-over to experience a life where she chose a different path and her late bestie is still alive—which is either the sweetest nightmare or the most emotionally manipulative wish fulfillment imaginable. Either way, it was fun to read and hard to put down.

The emotional depth? Spot on. The setting? So cozy I wanted to crawl inside the book and rent a thatched cottage. The character growth? Satisfying like a slow clap at a community theater play.

But let’s be honest: we’ve seen this “alternate timeline where things could have been better” plot before (hi to every movie that’s ever wondered what happens if you don’t miss the train). Still, Harbison keeps it fresh with raw emotions, well-drawn friendships, and just enough heartache to make you question every life decision you’ve ever made—while still somehow keeping it hopeful.

It loses a star because some parts leaned a bit too hard into Hallmark holiday special vibes. I half expected a golden retriever to show up and solve everyone’s emotional baggage..

Meg Bryan, also known as Lana Lane, is unsatisfied with her life as a tv star in LA. She books a last minute trip to Ireland, and when she gets there, she finds that the people there already know her, and she appears to have entered an alternate timeline - one where her best friend is still alive, and the decisions she made led her to an entirely different future.

I know this is going to be a book that sticks with me for a long time. The “alternate timelines” trope is brilliantly done in The Other Side of Now, and there are so many layers to this novel, female friendship being the most prominent. There are charming side characters, poignant moments of heavy topics like grief, and engaging writing that keeps you turning the pages.

The self awareness of the protagonist, Meg, also known as Lana, is breath of fresh air throughout the novel. Her awareness allows her a huge amount of character growth and she’s almost unrecognizable by the end. Between reflecting on herself and the ways in which she’s betrayed who she really is, and coming to terms with grief that was never resolved, I felt so deeply for Meg.

No spoilers, but books like this are hard to have a satisfying ending for, and I felt very pleased with the way everything wrapped up. It made sense for the story, and I admired the way it went.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

This book was not what I expected it to be. But in a good way. If I were to sum it up in a sentence, it would be It’s a Wonderful Life meets A Christmas Carol meets Brigadoon for Millennials. Funny enough, all three are referenced, but to avoid spoilers I won’t say what piece of them specifically this remind me of.

If we had to give it a genre, I’d say magical realism is probably what fits best, but to me it reads like lit fic.

An emotional exploration of loss and guilt and learning to live in the aftermath. At its heart are big questions. Is the grass greener? Would you make a different choice if you could?

The majority of the plot takes place in Avalon, Ireland and I don’t think the name was unintentional. A emotional, beautiful, absorbing read that I made my way through in a day and absolutely worth adding to your TBR.

In something highway, unique for fiction the author was also the narrator of the audiobook. I think this is wonderful when it’s done because the author will know exactly the new ones intended for every word. And Paige Harbison is an excellent actor who has me invested in every character we met.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison is a moving, contemporary women’s fiction novel about grief, identity, and the roads not taken. At first glance, Meg Bryan seems to have it all—her dream job, fame, and beauty—but underneath the surface, her life is unraveling. She's disillusioned, joyless, and barely holding it together. After wrapping up another season of her TV show and being told—yet again—to lose weight she doesn’t need to lose, Meg impulsively books a trip to a small Irish town that she and her best friend, Aimee, had once dreamed of visiting before a tragic accident changed everything.

But when Meg arrives in Avalon, reality shifts. Suddenly, she’s not a TV star—she’s just a local woman who recently broke up with the town's swoon-worthy bartender. And more shockingly, Aimee is alive. Meg has no idea what’s happening or how she ended up in this version of her life, but one thing is clear: she’ll do anything to spend just a little more time with her best friend.

I absolutely adored this book—I couldn’t put it down. It opens with Meg at a breaking point: she's just celebrated a birthday she didn’t enjoy, suspects her boyfriend is cheating (and finds she doesn't really care), and feels completely disconnected from her life. Believing she just needs a break, she takes off for Ireland… and steps into an alternate reality.

The story has shades of It’s a Wonderful Life, offering Meg—and readers—a poignant look at how one decision can shape an entire existence. What if Meg had followed Aimee to college in Avalon instead of staying behind? This version of her life may not come with fame, but it has something Meg has been missing for a long time: purpose, presence, and real connection. As she navigates this strange new reality, piecing together clues from her phone and the people around her, she must also confront the grief she’s long avoided.

Harbison beautifully weaves together themes of love, loss, and self-discovery. The writing is immersive, the emotional beats are genuine, and the supporting cast—from a charming ex to a quirky new best friend—adds warmth and depth. The small-town Irish setting is atmospheric and grounding, the perfect backdrop for Meg’s journey.

Meg and Aimee were inseparable as children and teenagers. When Meg gets into the acting school in Ireland they both applied to while Aimee is waitlisted, Meg ultimately decides to remain in Florida with her friend. A horrible tragedy upends their lives, and Meg flees to Hollywood, eventually achieving what she always dreamed of--a hit show, a famous boyfriend, adoring fans. But on her 30th birthday, she spontaneously books a trip to the Ireland town where she dreamed of studying.

She arrives jetlagged and confused. Why does the hot pubkeeper not only seem to know her, but to be angry with her? And why does a random woman act like she's her best friend?

Meg realizes she's entered an alternate reality where she did move to Ireland, but trying to convince people she's a famous actor in LA makes her look insane. As she navigates this other life, she makes some startling discoveries.

I loved this book. Early on, I commented that it reminded me of Brigadoon, a rarely performed musical, which of course Meg performed in high school. This is a story of friendship as much as it is a romance. I wanted to be friends with the characters, too. #TheOtherSideofNow #NetGalley

The Other Side of Now:⁣
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Thank you @macmillan.audio #MacAudio2025 and @stmartinspress for my gifted copy! ⁣
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“Because it was too hard to see my world for its good when its bad was so much louder and more distracting.”⁣
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My favorite kind of magical realism is a timeloop or sliding door. It itches that curiosity of “what if?” The Other Side of Now is a sliding door with Meg or Lana (depending of if she’s famous TV star, or just shop worker in Ireland). This book tackles the “what ifs” or a “simple” life, and how it can be so much more that what we think it is now. ⁣
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There’s a lot of discussion of grief and loss, and I found it to be perfect. This book showed Lana what it would be like without all of Hollywood’s pressures of being thin, plastic surgery, etc and I really felt it was done it a great way. ⁣
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The author, Paige Harbison, narrated the book and I truly enjoyed the audio. I remember thinking I wasn’t going to like this book, but once that first chapter hit on audio, I could not stop listening. It sucked me in the best way, and is one of my favorite books of the year. It gave really great perfection and left me with a lot of thinking. ⁣
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Also, this books gives a good 90s/2000 movie vibe with New Radicals playing in the background as the credits roll. Seriously.

This one is a huge surprise for me. I would never have selected this to read, until it landed on my radar months ago in a marketing email. I'm not exactly sure why I took it, as I'm not much of a fiction reader, nor do I gravitate to flights of fantasy and such. So imagine me shaking my head last night, unexpectedly winding up with my first Fiction 5 Star read of the year! As it stands today, I will definitely vote for this one in the 2025 Goodreads Awards.

The crux of the book is a story about two girls who were the closest of friends growing up- Meg and Aimee. As teenagers they talked endlessly about going to an arts college in Ireland that specialized in acting. However, circumstances prevented them from going and they went to college locally- and then Meg's world shattered when Aimee suddenly died. Now Meg is 30, a successful actress in a kind of smarmy but successful episodic show called "Brilliance", but there is a certain emptiness and shallowness to her life, despite the accolades and financial perks. She abandons her 30th birthday bash and hops on a plane to Ireland to visit Avalon, the college locale she dreamt about. Upon arrival, she slowly realizes she is 19 again, and everyone she encounters in this heartwarming cul-de-sac knows her- but she doesn't know them. More importantly, Aimee lives here and is ALIVE!!

The clincher of this story that burrowed into my heart was the reuniting of Meg and Aimee. Imagine having a soulmate friend from your youth who was torn from you suddenly, tragically when they had everything to live for? And then getting a second chance to share and discuss any misunderstandings from the past? I was enjoying the story alright, but as it careened towards the last 25% I was riveted and close to crying at multiple points. This was a brilliantly laid out story, so tenderly, masterfully choreographed. I am deeply touched and so glad I read this.

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press who provided an advance reader copy via NetGalley.

Meg Brown is a celebrity and is the lead actress in the show “Brillance” however she is realizing that being a celebrity and famous is not bringing her the happiness that she always thought that it would. Meg decided on her thirtieth birthday that she is going to change her name to Lana Lord, change her appearance drastically, and goes to Ireland. Upon arriving in Ireland she realizes that she appears as an older version of her high school self. Can one week in Ireland assist Meg in self discovery?

I loved the premise of this book and thought that the author did a really great job creating the parallel universe that Meg was put into while in Ireland. I found that this book will be relatable and enjoyable to many women. I found myself reading way longer than I usually would at times due to wanting to know the outcome, and also loving the Ireland vibe of the novel. Highly recommend this one!

SO GOOD. I loved this book so much that I'll even forgive the author for throwing shade at Love is Blind (but seriously, how dare you). I'm always drawn in by books that focus on how one's decisions can affect the total outcome of their lives, so it's no surprise that I loved the premise of this book. It was so fun while also having sad and emotional aspects to it. Meg was such a great character and I appreciated how a big factor of the book was her identifying her own flaws and doing everything she could to improve on herself. The character growth was top notch thanks to this.

I loved the small town setting and the side characters were all so great. The relationships in this book were the real winner - the main characters had great biological families, but the book also had a found family aspect, which I loved. I loved Meg's relationship with Killian (swoon) and if I could jump into the pages and pull out Kiera to be my IRL best friend I would do it in a heartbeat. This book had me laughing out loud many times and I'd be lying if I said I didn't totally tear up at the end. The way everything wrapped up also made my heart so happy. Prioritize this book!!

I legit flew through this book in one sitting—it just sucked me right in. It’s one of those stories that hits you with all the feels: grief, healing, friendship, and those little “what if” moments that make you think about your own life. The main character was super relatable, like you totally get why she’s guarded and stuck in her own head after everything she’s been through. And the way the story plays with alternate paths without being over-the-top was honestly so well done. I laughed, I got choked up, and by the end, I didn’t want to leave these characters behind. If you’re into books that mess with your emotions but also make you feel kinda hopeful, this one’s definitely worth it.

The Other Side of Now is a genre bending, road not taken, with a strong sliding doors vibe to it story. On the surface, Meg Bryan (known professionally as Lana Lord), has everything going for her - she is an actress on a hit show, her boyfriend is a a Hollywood hunk, and she lives in a beautiful home. But after her 30th birthday party, she decides to hop on a plane and head to Ireland to the village that she and her best friend Aimee; who died tragically years earlier, dreamt of going to college in. When she arrives, everyone acts as if they know her. Meg is a different person there. Not the bleached blond glammed up actress but the Meg who runs a shop and has not altered her looks, with an on-again-off-again relationship with the pub owner down the road. Plus, her friend Aimee is alive!!!
This was a wonderful read and had me smiling and feeling all the feelings. This book was like a breath of fresh air. Who hasn't looked back on their life and thought "what if". This book had a little bit of everything, friendship, loss, romance, relationships, forgiving, and following your dreams.
Wonderfully written, well thought out, and gripping!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for my review e-arc.

SHORT SYNOPSIS:
Meg Bryan (nope, not Meg Ryan) seems to have it all—she’s the star of a hit TV show, dating Hollywood’s golden boy, and living the dream. But when it all starts to feel wrong, she impulsively books a trip to a small town in Ireland—where she and her best friend Aimee should have gone to college… before Aimee died and Meg chose fame instead.
Only when she arrives, everyone in town already knows her—and acts like she’s lived there for years.

MY THOUGHTS:
What a delightful surprise this book turned out to be! I’m a total sucker for magical realism and sliding doors storylines—and THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW delivered that concept with so much charm, depth, and heart.

I adored watching Meg rediscover what really matters—real friendships, true love, and a chance to reconnect with the life (and best friend) she lost. The Irish setting? Pure cozy magic. And don’t even get me started on Killian—the literal definition of an Irish book boyfriend. Their romance was *chef’s kiss*.

Meg’s character arc was so satisfying to watch unfold, and the final chapters hit me right in the feels. I flew through the last 50 pages, heart in my throat. This is one of those stories that makes you want to hug the book when you’re done.

WHAT YOU’LL FIND:
✨ Sliding doors / alternate timelines
🇮🇪 Cozy Irish countryside vibes
💔 Grief, healing, and forgiveness
💞 A swoony, heartfelt romance
👯‍♀️ Found family + friendship
🌟 Second chances in the most magical way