Oh I love this book!!

What if!? That’s the question a lot of people ask what if we go this way what if we go that way. Well in this story we find out what would happen if Meg did things differently would her best friend Amy have not died and she gets that answer. We follow Meg who goes by Lora who is a while known actress. She takes a trip to Ireland and she is transported in to a life the life she would have taken if Amy didn’t die and she went to her dream school.

This book was so good… just read it and take those chances in life it’s life to live not play it save.

I really did not expect to fall in love with this book the way I did. Once I started I couldn't put it down!

On the surface this seems like it'll be a fun, zany romp about the road not taken. And it can be that, but it's also a wonderful exploration of friendship and grief, a call to live your life to the fullest and build a life that makes you happy. The characters are all so lovable and their relationships with each other are so realistic. The friendships are real, the romance is beautiful, and the dogs are adorable. I really really loved this book. It cracked my heart wide open and made me so so grateful for my life and the people in it.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Book Review

📖📖📖

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advanced readers copy, due out June 3rd!

This one just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m not a paranormal, supernatural fan. I did find the storyline to be cute, but I struggled the entire way through with my main character having two different lives. I also struggled with the other characters in the story just being ok with that. Oddly enough, I embraced the ending.

Sorry, not for me.

#imalreadyhungry

To be honest, when I opened this book, I expected a fluffy, simple, cheesy, sliding-doors-ish maaaaaaaybe 3 star (if I’m lucky) read. I was not expecting a beautifully written story about grief, friendship, the road not taken, and learning to be content and create moments where you are. After the death of her best friend, our main character, Meg Bryan, ran off to L.A. to avoid her grief, started going by the name Lana Lord, and created the “perfect” life for herself as a famous actress dating Hollywood’s “IT” guy. Only it wasn’t so perfect. Realizing she’s unhappy, Lana books herself a trip to Ireland, where she was supposed to attend acting college with her best friend, Aimee, but never went. The strange thing is, when she gets there, everyone seems to know her, but not as Lana like the rest of the world, as Meg. Everyone in town knows her, swears she’s been there since she went to college there, and oh yeah, Aimee is there and alive. Meg then has to navigate her relationships with these strangers who know her so well, confront some harsh truths about herself, and, thanks to the appearance of Aimee, finally deal with the grief she’s been avoiding for so long. The relationships are so well-written and, even though she’s just getting to know these people, the chemistry jumps off the page and you instantly believe in the deep friendships she has with Kiera, the love for hottie bartender Cillian, and the very complicated childhood friendship of Aimee. This book made me laugh out loud, but also had some very intense, emotional moments that gripped me. The Other Side of Now was so much more than I ever expected. It turned out to be a really great read with elements of magical realism, found family, and the age old question of “what if?” Thanks so much to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me an e-arc in return for an honest review.

STOP! Immediately stop whatever you’re doing and pre-order this RIGHT NOW!

Oh my word - I absolutely love alternate lives, Sliding Doors, “what if I made this choice and not that” type books. And of all the ones I’ve read so far, this one is HANDS DOWN the BEST, my absolute favorite!

I’m just speechless and blown away by how very much I enjoyed this!

I felt so many emotions while reading this and connected with the characters very easily. I’m happy the book ended in a way that I wished for.

I was able to read and listen to the book and both versions were absolutely phenomenal. The author, Paige Harbison, narrated the book and I love it when authors read their books because you get to know the true voice and tone of the characters.

I adored Meg, Kiera, Cillian, ans Aimee - I would be ecstatic if I could travel to a town like Avalon myself. I’d also be so happy to return to that universe to see what happens with the characters after the end of the book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Paige Harbison, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for the supreme privilege to read and listen to this 5 star gem ahead of its proposed release date of June 3rd!

Let's start with the bad. I just finished the book and now I'm in a book hangover. Can't start a new one because I'm still in this book's world. I enjoy a good time travel (or whatever this is considered) trope, and this one didn't disappoint. Meg ends up living in another version of her life, where she has good friends and a dreamy boyfriend. In this version of her life, she is able to work through some things. I won't spoil how the book ends, but it wasn't what I was guessing. However, ultimately enjoyable ending, if not disappointing because I wanted to see more. This book was a pleasant surprise, very enjoyable and hard to put down!

This was one of my favorite reads of the year!
I absolutely loved the story, the endearing characters, and the heartfelt ending.
I highly recommend The Other Side of Now to anyone who enjoys a good story about friendship, loss, healing, and a renewed love for life.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advance reader’s copy.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison--Actress Meg Bryan is escaping her unsatisfied Hollywood life by taking a trip to Avalon, Ireland. She & her teenage best friend Aimee had dreamed of going to arts college there before Aimee had died in a tragic accident. But when she wakes up in her cottage things are different. Everyone in the village knows her but she doesn't know them. They insist she lives in the village and also she looks like she did before she has "minor work done" to further her Hollywood career. Oh, and her friend Aimee is alive in Avalon. What is happening and can Meg reconnect with the friend she has been missing for so long? I liked the alternate life/sliding doors aspect of the story and how it led to emotional growth for Meg. This was a quick read with a deeper message than I was expecting. This book releases on 6/3. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I really loved how the alternate reality trope got twisted in this story--that instead of realizing her real life was what she wanted all along, she realized her alternate reality was, and then she had to panic about losing it. This made me so uncertain of how this book was going to end, and also really kept me hooked. I also got sucked in by the romance, the deep relationships, the genuine emotions and how Meg worked through her grief and found a new meaning in her life. All the nerdy acting stuff was great, too. It was just an overall great read and I definitely recommend it.

There was a lot to unpack in this story. Part magical realism, part examination of grief, part romance, part quantum science?!? I enjoyed the storyline, the Ireland setting, and a lot of the side characters. I did have a hard time connecting to the MC and felt like there was a great deal of repetition that some more editing could have easily fixed, hence the 3⭐️ rating. This book was definitely heavier than I expected and overall, a solid story. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced digital ARC.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing a free ebook ARC in exchange for my review.

This book was interesting. IT took me on a journey I wasn't really expecting, but I'm glad I was along for the ride! Main Character, Meg, dreamed of 'making it big' and being a star one day, but then found that the fame didn't bring the happiness she expected. A birthday look back on her life reminded her of happy times with her BFF before an accident that took her friend's life, when they planned to go to Ireland together. She's looking to find her happiness again. What she gets is a doorway to what I'm thinking is a parallel universe. When she arrives in Ireland, she finds that she's not the star she was, and the enhancements Hollywood suggested have gone so she look like an aged version of her high school self. And the biggest surprise is that her BFF didn't die in an accident, she's still alive, but isn't interested in Meg. Now Meg's one week vacation has turned into an opportunity to mend bridges, right wrongs and try again.

The first part of the book felt like it was trying too hard - the humor felt forced and Meg is superficial. But shifting into Ireland's Meg, the writing felt more real and authentic. Maybe the author's attempt to show the two people Meg is?

Once I got into the story, I wanted to see what would happen. But it was a very slow start for me. But overall, it was an enjoyable read and something to think about.

3 stars.

I am not usually a fan of the sliding doors trope, but I did enjoy this one.

This book was very sweet (maybe a little too sweet for me?). I think that the author may have tried too hard in some spots to make things endearing, which may be where it got a little too sweet for me.

Overall, this book was very well executed, but some of the finer points was where the story lost me a bit.

⭐⭐⭐.5 rounded up

"I talked about walking down the red carpet, and she talked about walking down the aisle. How had I forgotten that?"

Final Review

You know those times you know immediately a book isn't for you but you push through and finish because literally everyone loves it? *edit That's not what happened here. Instead, I engaged with the story about 5 pages later and finished in a single read.

Being a story about friendship and redemption, I quickly grew to love the story (starting at about page 60, when the time travel concept finally gets introduced), despite the fact that I wasn't a fan of the style. A really good swift story line can carry me right past a list of quibbles. I'm happy I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would!

I recommend this one to fans of enemies to lovers trope, creative time travel stories, and stories about platonic love like friendship.

My 4 Favorite Things:

✔️ The dialogue is snappy but there are not nearly enough beats so it's sometimes hard to follow.

✔️ I like the general concept of this character shifting into another reality, one where her life has gone completely different, but I think I needed this subject to get introduced earlier.

✔️ I have never been more amazed and satisfied! The author calls an actual *doctor* to the scene to rule out mental illness or brain injury as explanations for the characters' experiences. Thank you so much for knocking sideways the common belief among writers that just because *they* know about the characters' mental states, doesn't mean they don't need to give believable evidence for the reader to draw similar conclusions. This is how we stamp out ableism in fiction!

✔️ The character development here is absolutely fantastic! So few stories center around non-romantic, non-family relationships, like friendship-- I find them refreshing. And this one is clever, plot holes aside!

Notes:

1. As a disabled person who takes a stack of psychotropics, I am extremely uncomfortable with the casual handling of serious topics like self-medicating with alcohol...and Xanax! I mean...that's one of the most dangerous drugs on the market for people who take it recreationally.


Thank you to the author Paige Harbison, publishers St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an accessible digital arc of THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW. All views are mine.

While the book's premise is compelling, the frequent mentions of apps and celebrities pulled me out of the story at times, making it feel more like a collection of references than a fully immersive narrative. That said, it's clear the author poured a lot of heart into the writing, and I appreciate the passion behind the book.

THIS BOOK WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE!!
There were so many moments in this book that made me smile but in the back of my mind, I kept wondering "this all seems too good to be true". I loved that Meg was able to experience her other life, the side characters were great and the overall message was beautifully written. I went through so many emotions while reading this book. One thing I really enjoyed the most was that I could "hear" the character's accents while reading. Just the writing itself made the book feel so vivid in my mind. I love this book so much. Thank you to the publishers for approving my request of this book because now I've got a 5 star read I will never stop thinking about.

Magical Realism is one of my favorite genres, and although this isn’t a typical read for me, I thought it was really moving.

Not much of a romance which is really my genre of choice but for those who are looking for a moving story about grief, friendship, and the choices we make then this is for you.

Lana Lord is famous. She’s been acting in Hollywood on a prominent drama that is produced like and often feels like a soap opera. No one even knows her real name is Meg Bryan. No one knows that she and her best friend, Aimee, had planned to study acting in Ireland but ended up staying in Florida. No one really knows Meg at all. At her thirtieth birthday party, “Lana” books a one-week trip for that dreamed-of small village in Ireland. When she lands, something is off. Everyone thinks they know her. She’s got history here. And Aimee, whom she hasn’t seen for a decade is here too?

I loved this story. It was a journey of self-discovery for the main character as she processes her past, her goals abandoned, the lack of agency and decision-making she’s had in her current career, and admits that even her love life has been curated and arranged by publicists and agents. She’s not happy as Lana Lord. But in her alternate reality she realizes that Meggie was always looking for something more as well, thinking she was missing out or questioning her past decisions. Can she find contentment in the here and now, while also acknowledging rather than ignoring her past?

Read this if you like:

🧡 heartwarming friendships
🧡 stories about grief
🧡 alternate realities, what ifs, and “Sliding Doors”
🧡 a romance on the side
🧡 books that make you want to call your best friends immediately and tell them how much you love them

Overall, I was surprised by how much I connected with this one. I was very satisfied with its conclusion and the main character’s growth. I will definitely pick up more by this author!

This was a different read for me. It felt like it was part reality and part dream. It kept me reading, and I did enjoy it because it was different and made me get engaged.
I received an ARC from St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.

Okay I seriously loved this book so much! And for an adult debut??? I’m blown away.

“A hilarious and heartfelt novel about how loves and lives are never truly lost.”

This is magical realism done right. For fans of Rebecca Serle, TJR, The Seven-Year Slip, Big (the tom hanks movie lol) and a little bit of Midnight in Paris.

Gosh, this was just so good.

The way this author has woven grief, fame, unhappiness, hope, optimism, uncertainty and vulnerability into the pages of this book is absolutely incredible.

I have found a new favorite author and I can’t wait to be along for her journey now. Thank you so so much St Martins Press for sending me an arc of this book!!!

Available 06/03!!!

Thanks to Netgalley & St. Martin's Press for the
E-ARC! Great characters & interesting concepts. Will definitely read more from this author.