I really liked this! I thought it was sweet and funny and I didn't want to put it down. Thank you, for the ARC!

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon has a fascinating premise, and I was hooked by the idea right away. The concept of a hair salon that exists across multiple universes is so unique, and I found the plot itself to be imaginative and full of potential. The characters, especially the quirky, multi-dimensional stylists, were fun to get to know, and the way the author blended romance and sci-fi was creative and refreshing.

However, while the plot kept me engaged, the writing style didn’t quite hit the mark for me. There were times when the narrative felt a bit clunky, with some sentences that didn’t flow as smoothly as I would’ve liked. I found myself getting a little distracted by the writing at points, which made it harder to stay fully immersed in the story.

That said, the world-building was still impressive, and the mix of humor, heart, and cosmic chaos was a unique experience. I loved the themes of love transcending space and time, and I enjoyed the humor and light-heartedness the author infused into the multiverse chaos. It’s a fun, whimsical read, but I think the execution could’ve been a little tighter.

All in all, Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon is an enjoyable, quirky read with a plot that’s sure to appeal to sci-fi and romance lovers alike. It wasn’t perfect for me, but I’m glad I gave it a go and would still recommend it for readers looking for something a bit different!

(Actual: 2.75⭐, rounded up) Mrehhhh.... dammit, another miss for me. This has all the makings of a book I'd be down for/SHOULD definitely love (time travel shenanigans, a sapphic romance, a gorgeously intriguing cover, etc etc)....... but it unfortunately just completely fell flat for me right from the start. From the try-hard, dated/cringe-inducing dialogue; to all the rather..... "interesting" name choices (to put it kindly, I suppose; really some of these characters names were just..... like what. lol.); to the constant info-dumps/telling versus showing (we all know how much I despise this, ughhhh)— again, I really, really wish this book worked for me but it truly did not. And while this book was admittedly a bit of a chore for me to get through, I genuinely mean it when I say that I still feel confident that it'll succeed in finding it's true target audience somewhere! I'm just not included as one of those readers this time around, and that's okay.

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon is the perfect example for why I need to venture out of my comfort genres more often. The premise of this book hooked me and then the beautifully woven story of Tressa and Meryl kept me captivated until the very last page.

Tressa Fay is a popular hairstylist and social media personality, but she feels as if her life could be more exciting. Tressa Fay receives a text message from a stranger, which leads Tressa Fay to making an impulsive, but exciting, decision to meetup with the stranger. The stranger, whose name is Meryl, never shows up. Tressa Fay brushes off being ghosted until Meryl's sister and friend show up at Tressa Fay's workplace and inform Tressa Fay that Meryl has been missing for a month. This revelation sets Tressa Fay and her friends on the path of parallel universes and figuring out exactly how to keep Meryl from vanishing.

I absolutely loved that Tressa Fay and Meryl found each other in every parallel universe and I became emotional each time as it meant what they had was truly true love. I also loved how this love story took place through time travel as it's something that's not commonly paired with a love story and after reading this book, I need more authors to explore this element in their stories. This was a wonderful debut by Annie and a great addition to queer love stories.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for the e-ARC!

This book delivered everything: emotions that punched me in the gut, tension that made me hold my breath, and characters I’ll be thinking about forever. It was one of those reads where you feel every word, every twist, every kiss or every betrayal. Absolutely unforgettable.

Good book, good story. I was invested, but was it life changing? No. Still glad I read it. you should definitely give it a try! :)

This book jumped out at me because the cover but hooked me with the story. Super fun and exactly what I needed in a book slump

DNF @ 30%

Unfortunately, this book was a swing and a miss for me. I was really excited at the prospect of a new contemporary sapphic romance, and I was apprehensive but still excited about it being a multiverse book.

But my excitement dissipated once the multiverse aspect really ramped up. At the beginning of the story, we have a lovely wrong number meet cute between heroines. We're getting excited for the romance. But when the multiverse aspect came in, almost all relationship development went out the window in favor of a convoluted plotline and too much time spent with side characters.

Things went from cute to almost clinical in what felt like the blink of an eye. Not to mention, the constant repetition of our heroine's frankly corny name was really grating.

I started this book 2 months ago and I'm only 22% through. I've read books with similar plots, but this was just too far out there. She starts texting a stranger, and theyre in different times, yet she falls in love with her and the friends all think it's normal. I might finish this someday.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group | Ace for this ARC.

#CosmicLoveattheMultiverseHairSalon #NetGalley

5.0 stars. Wow, this book was SO good!! My first five star read of 2025.

A smart and hot engineer, Meryl, texts the wrong number and ends up texting Tressa Fay 5 months into the future. Then Meryl’s closest people reach out to Tressa Fay needing information about how Meryl went missing. So then how exactly is Tressa Fay texting Meryl? And is there anything they can do to stop her disappearance?

This story is the perfect blend of romance, coming of age, and science fiction. It explores how to accept yourself in order to find love in friends and family. The relationships the characters have are so beautiful; the main character reflects on shortcomings in her friendships and while she does have recovery discussions with people in her life, I do have to admit, some of the conversations are a little idealized. Resolutions just felt a little too easy and frictionless. Or maybe my friends and family aren’t as level-headed/well-adjusted as the characters in this book haha.

I loved the science and logic used to explain parallel universes and passage of time. It was done in such an interesting way, I want to know more about what inspiration the author used for that aspect of the story. I wish the book explained more about how the hair salon was the time traveling mechanism though (like the title implies). Because it was confusing if their phones pushed them into alternate realities, or the hair washing scene. There’s also mention of someone texting Tressa Fay a picture and I thought that was alluding to time collapsing back together but nothing ever came from that. There was just a lot of loose ends around the “time traveling”.

The romance between the main characters was cute and had a healthy amount of spice lol. And I liked the representation of sexualities and gender identities among all the couples.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Wow - I could not put this book down. There was intrigue as to what was going to happen to Meryl and trying to prevent that from happening, as well as the amazing love stories - romantic, friendly, and familial.

The chemistry between the two main characters was believable, funny, sexy, and full of fireworks.

I would recommend this book to anyone who believes in the power of positive thought, who is op-minded about multiple universes, and who enjoys the philosophy and musings related to that (as it comes up a lot as a discussion between characters).

I loved the representation and also how it felt natural, as the friend group in this book was connected by more than just their sexualities - they had deep friendships. Sometimes books don’t develop the friendships enough in their writing so isn’t always believable that this group would hang together.

What this book needs most is a detangler (or maybe even a relaxer), as the "science" of "time travel" here is twisty in a way that knots. That said, it is an innovative way to cut through talk of paradoxes. Mare has shaped their characters into a series of mostly distinct figures (as long as the attribute "Queer AF" is intact) whose interactions--ASIDE FROM CONSTANTLY REPEATING EACH OTHER'S NAMES BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM THAT THE READER MIGHT GET CONFUSED WHO IS SAYING WHAT ABOUT WHO--are realistic and friendly; I believe in this found family. The heart of the novel is, of course, Tressa Fay and Meryl. If their love didn't shine through, it would have been a pointless endeavor. Fortunately, I do believe these crazy kids would get together (and break causality to do it). The solution of how to get Meryl to September 5 was... well, you had to write something, and that sure was something. The couple of sex scenes were just about perfect. I have read perhaps too much romance and erotica this year, thanks to NetGalley (who also gave me this book), and this is the first time where my eyes didn't glaze over because the sex seemed superfluous and sexual at the expense of being sexy.

I was really hopeful that this would work for me, as it has so many elements that sounded appealing. Ultimately, the tone and voice just didn't hold my interest unfortunately.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon is the perfect time travel/multiverse book. It was such a fun concept and I really enjoyed reading it.

I didn’t know I needed a multiverse love story set in a hair salon until I read this book, and it completely delivered. Tressa Fay and Meryl’s connection is sweet, surprising, and heartfelt, and I loved seeing how their friends get pulled into the chaos of parallel timelines. The blend of romance, humor, and the mind-bending twists of the multiverse kept me completely engaged. The salon setting added a fun, grounded touch to the story, and I enjoyed the everyday details of Tressa Fay’s life contrasting with the extraordinary circumstances she faces. Truly an enjoyable debut that left me wanting more from this author.

I love a nerdy book with science stuff I can't even begin to understand but the one thing I did understand was the love that comes in all shapes and sizes and you just know & this writing duo knows what they are doing leaving me always wanting to pick up their next book

This is a soft romance with a very intriguing premise. It’s a Multiverse romance in the sense that the two protagonist are living in worlds that are five months apart. The way that it was set up on how they did interact with each other was really intriguing and as someone who does like a yearning in a novel, this is a prime example of how to do a yearning. I was highly entertained in that this book kept me captivated from start to finish.

This was a fun time travel read with lots of sapphic romance spice! I thought the story was unique and timely. The characters were lovable and you just couldn’t wait for the timelines to line up for them! Fans of cozy romances will eat this one up!

There were many pieces of this story that kept me connected. From the various forms of love, to solving the big mystery/time/multiverse issue, but the biggest pull was the budding romance between Tressa Fay and Meryl. That yearning and all those feelings, oh my god the feelings. It was almost painful but in the best way. I wish we had enough time to really delve into the other love stories because I wanted to get as much out of the side characters as I was the main two. I felt like a couple of the side characters could easily be my favorite characters if we only got to spend more time with them, I have always enjoyed books that focus on time loops or multidimensions, but I admit I felt like I got a bit lost in the weeds on some parts of this. I still really enjoyed it, but it did deter from my enjoyment because it felt like we had to make space for the time/dimensions at the cost of character development in the friend group.

My one big negative is someone really needed to give Tressa Fay a nickname. While her name isn't a long name, it's unique enough that it felt overused by the end of the book. Being written in third person really contributed to how often all of the names were used and to the point where it became grating to read.

I still really loved the romance and am happy I read this but I think a more straightforward romance would have suited such a large cast of bright characters.

This novel is not linear which is by turns frustrating and enticing. Mare takes you on a journey of love and faith with a whole lot of meant to be. Perfect for fans of the theory of the multiverse.
3.5 stars