There were a few things that just didn’t work for me. One thing that really got under my skin was that the MC’s name was Tressa Fay, and that she was always referred to by those two names and just how often it happened. And the cat’s name was Epinephrine. And that the one nonbinary person’s name was Guy.

Time travel aspects can either be wonderfully incorporated or just not quite make it. This one was a weird mix. I liked the concept and really loved the early part of it. But then we got info-dumps about the physics relating to time travel/timelines/multiple universes, and it was a lot of dumping. And then the solution shifted to a “yay for love being enough to solve the issue!” which was a weird juxtaposition that I didn’t love.

I did really like the beginning and the early stages of the relationship. I also loved the idea of the hair salon and the time spent there was fun. But overall the pacing of this one was just pretty slow, I didn’t connect with the characters, and this just wasn’t for me. My thanks to NetGalley and Berkely Publishing for allowing me to read this work. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is not my kind of novel - I am not a big fan of romantasy, although sometimes it does hit the mark for me. However, I thought some of the themes presented by the author were well done. I liked the idea of the glitch in time, and I loved the idea of a hairdresser who is attentive to the needs and the feelings of her patrons. I also liked the idea of a group of friends joining together to change the fate of someone they loved.
Tressa Fay receives a text in error, but she finds the woman, Meryl, intriguing. She goes to meet her, but Meryl isn't there. Then Tressa realizes their texts are actually written months apart. Meryl is 5 months behind her! They try to figure a way to make time match, but also to do so before Meryl disappears.
Warning - some of the love scenes were a bit graphic, so if that bothers you, you might not like this.

I enjoyed the characters in this book but at times, I felt that the time travel aspects of the plot lost my attention. While a little rough around the edges, it was an enjoyable read!

This was such a beautiful book that showed endless possibilities, taking your life and time into your own time and making things your own. I cried so many times throughout this book because of how beautiful it was!! The relationships between all the characters were amazing and everyone's want to be better and change for the better was inspiring!! Such a beautiful story full of love!!!!

This had a really interesting concept to me. I loved the idea that Meryl and Tressa Fay were somehow communicating in different timelines. It was fun reading them try to find a solution to Meryl being missing. I did find the different universe aspect to be a little confusing at some points.

Such a unique story. A mix of romance, mystery, and science fiction. I truly fell In love with Meryl and Tressa Fay, as well as their funny and smart friends.

**Many thanks to Berkley and Annie Mare for an ARC of this book provided via NetGalley!**

Tressa Fay Robeson has one never-say-die passion in life, and it's one that will never let her down: hair. Creating the perfect coif for each client requires a bit of a patience, creativity, and thoughtful care...but TF has worked hard to make a name for herself in the cosmetology world and now she's in HIGH demand. Her social media presence has skyrocketed her to even greater fame, but there's still something missing in (you guessed it) the LOVE department. All of that seems fated to change, however, when TF gets a text that is meant for someone else, which draws her quickly into flirty banter with a woman named Meryl. TF impulsively decides to ask her on a date, and tells her to meet her at the hair salon posthaste.

So needless to say, TF feels a bit foolish when the designated meeting time arrives, and there's no sign of Meryl. At first, she brushes it off, thinking it was just another case of ghosting...but when Meryl's SISTER shows up at the hair salon, she has quite the bombshell to share: Meryl has been MISSING for a full month. And of course, this means that TF COULDN'T have been texting her just tonight and made these supposed plans...right? As TF and Meryl's sister begin to talk, they discover it isn't their first time meeting, and that TF is intimately acquainted with some of Meryl's OTHER friends too. There's NO other explanation: this must be a Case of the Multiverses...and Meryl and TF are down bad.

But when it comes to the time space continuum, there's no such thing as predictability...and TF learns that her time to lock down her true love might be running out. Can she figure out a way to keep her one true love before she once again meets up with the date of that fateful first text in September? Or will her chance at love go by way of a black hole....and disappear into deep space for good?

Let's just start off by stating the obvious: even the title of this one points at a bit of a kitschy, sci-fi rom com where logic might SEEM required...but at the same time not exactly NECESSARY.

Nevertheless, I was willing to take a chance on it for several reasons: time travel stories can be fun, tossing in space is always a bit of an interesting angle, and the sapphic love story seemed like it had the potential to be both sweet and intriguing. But what I discovered on my voyage through space was less a charming love story and a MORE a confusing vehicle for a needlessly complicated tale of two women whose only defining characteristics were tied to their jobs and who seemed to have little in common...aside from their time traveling interactions, naturally.

First off, the author must have been at least a BIT worried either about constantly using the characters pronouns and the readers finding this confusing, because she abandons the use of pronouns almost entirely and uses EACH character's name almost EVERY time they are mentioned. (And yes, that's part of the reason I wrote TF instead of Tressa Fay earlier in this review...if you read one character's name as many times as I did, you'd avoid it like the plague too.) Not only does this make the audience feel like the author doesn't think we are smart enough to follow along, it just gets wordy and clunky...not to mention it seems like a quick way to inflate word count...and trust me when I say this one could have lost a few pages with no one the wiser.

When it comes to time travel, it either works or it doesn't...and in this instance, I spent so much time trying to figure out what time we were in, not to mention WHY the multiverse needed to exist for the book to work or be interesting (spoiler: it did not) and keeping track of the bevy of friends of both of our MCs that I frankly got frustrated and mentally checked out. I didn't see any worthwhile character development or differences across the parallel universes, and it seemed like a conceit to keep them apart more than anything else. The 'portal' being text messages didn't help: I don't really WANT to read a long string of text messages that just aren't that interesting and I also don't feel reading those sort of interactions constitutes a real relationship. I also didn't see a true CONFLICT other than the one that the convoluted premise created, and the lack of emotional impact had me checked out long before we had our full-circle moment and returned to the super-sexy (sarcasm) text that drew TF to Meryl in the first place, which was some boring ramble about rocks or roads or something like that...frankly, the fact that it was intriguing to her at ALL was one of the least believable things about the entire book.

The interactions at times were so odd, and so 'out of this world' (if you will) that at one point I was actually questioning if the characters were aliens who were learning about love for the first time. Yep, it was just THAT weird. If you stick it through to the final pages of this one, you'll get exactly what you expect...but I think both of these ladies could just have easily met at a park, a bar, a grocery store, or just AT THE HAIR SALON without any alternate universes thrown in and it could have been a more palatable read. Sure, maybe this is a bit more run-of-the-mill in terms of meet cute, but I'd rather have two characters I can fully tell apart in every universe - WITHOUT the constant use of their respective names.

And while I always applaud an author who is willing to try something new and shoot for the stars, this one felt a bit less like a sparkling, shooting star on a journey across the stratosphere...and a bit more like a star going full supernova.

2.5 stars, rounded up to 3

i’ll be honest, like with many time travel/alternate universe stories i was thoroughly confused about the logistics of everything (though i appreciate the scientific explanations!). that aside, the characters and community the author created are so sooo rich and deeply human. the time loop mystery hooked me but i definitely stayed for the sapphic yearning and endearing love story

I thoroughly enjoyed Cosmic Love—it was rich, imaginative, and full of heart. That said, it was definitely a lot to take in at times. With its multiverse concept, the shifting timelines could be a bit hard to follow, but that complexity felt fitting for the story it was telling. Despite the occasional confusion, I was completely drawn in. I found myself highlighting so many lines—some were incredibly sweet, others just beautifully written. And I absolutely loved how passionate Meryl was about science—it added such a thoughtful, grounding element to all the cosmic chaos.

There was a lot of book in this book—I don’t know how else to put it. It was heavy, and also sweet, lighthearted, and deeply whimsical. As I’m writing this, I’m getting this weird déjà vu, like I’ve written this review before. Maybe it’s just that time is on my mind.

This was a stunning read: often confusing, sometimes frustrating, and so, so full of love. I cared deeply about every character, especially Meryl and Tressa Fay—two women who meet in different places, six months apart. One of them is fated to disappear. Armed with that knowledge, they try to change the future by changing the past. And in doing so, they transform not just their own story, but the lives of everyone around them.

It’s a perfect Pride Month pick—full of diverse queer characters and sapphic longing, with just the right amount of spice. You can tell so much care went into the writing; every character feels fully realized and deeply human. I think it will be in my head for a long time.

I really enjoyed this book but definitely found myself confused at times and got lost in some of the details. Overall a good book with great characters and a compelling story but could get a little too granular for my liking at times.

Cute and quirky! I love the mix of romance and time travel/science fiction, and this novel was a delight.

The sapphic romance delivers, the writing is nice, and the addition of a bit of "science" as one of the members of the group tries to solve the mystery is a nice touch that does not take away from the narrative or pace.

A very easy, lovely read.

Thank you, NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group, for sharing an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

This is an extremely creative and emotionally impactful book. Tressa Fay is a hair stylist who marches to the beat of her own drum. She's gotten comfortable being a homebody, but one night she receives a wrong number text from a woman she immediately connects with, Meryl. Tressa Fay and Meryl agree to meet up, but Meryl doesn't show. Then Tressa Fay learns that although she (and presumably the rest of the world) are living in October, Meryl is in May somehow, and Meryl disappeared in September. Things get very, very complicated from there, and it's so much fun :)

This book captured what it feels like to fall in lust and love so well: the urge to be as close to each other as possible, feeling like you love every part of a person's body and heart, being so terrified of losing that person that sometimes you self-sabotage, and feeling things you've never felt before that you don't even know how to process. Tressa Fay and Meryl's connection is immediate and developed so well, and I was rooting for them so much from the very beginning. I was really moved by the found family aspect of the book as well. The writing is really lovely and poetic, but it's also so well-paced and funny.

I was definitely intimidated by the parallel timelines and string theory and everything else, and I did find the science of it all confusing at times. But the characters are in the same boat, which was fun: they're always like, "This is breaking my brain so I'm just going to let it happen." I ended up having the same mentality and just enjoying the ride, and it was great. And the science is really a vehicle for the message that everything is always happening all at once, nothing is guaranteed, and sometimes we meet people and it feels like we've known them forever.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review!

Tysm @berkleyromance @berkleypub and @acebookspub for the #gifted copy of this book and @prhaudio for the early listening copy!

I went into this one completely blind and really recommend you do the same! If that isn’t your jam, here are some details I think will spark your interest!

Right away you find out these characters meet due to a wrong number situation and it completely drew me in.

There is playful banter and unique characters and a kind of dual timeline that is going to be a little weird but in a good way. Over time there is strong character development and meaningful themes really showcasing the power of love in all its forms and ways we can learn about ourselves when we have people that love us for exactly who we are.

I also really enjoyed how our choices can cause a ripple effect. I have not been able to stop thinking about that since finishing this one.

If you are a fan of love stories with a sci-fi element, I recommend this one. I also really enjoyed the audio, Mia Hutchinson-Shaw’s narration really brought the story to life

Such a fun read! From the get go, absolutely loved the friendship between all these characters. But the yearning is what really takes the cake here. I love a multiverse and this is why, because we all strive to be so cosmically in love, so intentsey soul-mated, that you find one another in each and every mutliverse.

If you need a book that tells you everything is going to work out and maybe also brews you some tea, this is the one for you!

First of all, thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me an eARC of this fabulous multiverse love story. All thoughts and opinions expressed in the review are my own.

Who knew that answering a wrong number text would change Tressa Fay’s life forever? The hair salon owner has not been living the most exciting life, but when she answers a text from a wrong number and the two start flirting, Tressa offers to meet up with the mysterious texter, Meryl. But when Tressa arrives, Meryl is nowhere to be found. The end? Wrong! Meryl’s sister and friend barge into Tressa’s hair salon wanting to know how Tressa texted Meryl when Meryl has been missing for a month. Somehow the universe has brought Tressa and Meryl and their friends and families together and they all try to figure out this multiverse nightmare in an effort to save Meryl.

This book is lovely. There are so many possibilities opened up for each character through several parallel universes. It’s nice to think that there’s a universe where the world we wish could exist did in fact exist. Even if it doesn’t happen to us.

There is so much love here. The romantic love story is wonderful. There are lots of funny flirty moments and there are also a lot of serious moments where the Tressa and Meryl show how much they care for each other. But I love how much Tressa’s and Meryl’s friends and family members love each other. I’m a big romance fan, but I love when the love within the story isn’t just towards the romantic partners. This book is also about friendship and family!

If anyone needs a break from this universe, they should absolutely read Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare.

5 out of 5 stars

(Rounded down from 3.5 stars)

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for access to this ARC!

This was a fun read! I thought Tressa Fay and Meryl were great characters and I loved their chemistry. I was rooting for them to find a universe in which they could stay together! I also enjoyed the found family dynamic of the supporting cast and found them fun although I admittedly had trouble keeping them all straight (well, gay ;) ). Despite getting at least one chapter from each of their perspectives, their individual voices didn't feel distinct enough to keep track of. I think with just a bit more fleshing out they would have been great, the foundation was definitely there, they just needed a bit more editing.

Where this one really started to lose me was in its discussions of the multiverse. They got really lengthy and convoluted and were a little too hard to follow for a book where the rest of the focus was on romance. It started to feel like word salad before too long and I truly couldn't tell you HOW the ending came about.

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon was strongest when it was focusing on human connection. There were some really beautiful moments between characters (I loved the family subplots) and I think the relationship between Tressa Fay and Meryl was its strongest element. It was weakest when it was trying to get too technical with the multiverse and its ramifications.

I think this book could have benefitted from one more edit! It has a fantastic premise and some great elements, the execution just wasn't quite there. That being said, I think it's worth reading for Tressa Fay and Meryl's relationship (and Epinephrine the cat) alone! If you're looking for a fun queer romance and are fine to not fully grasp the nuances of the plot, I think this would be a great book for you!

P.S. Can we take a moment to appreciate the cover?? It's GORGEOUS.

bookies, i gave this one my whole heart. i really did. the premise was chef’s‑kiss unique. a time‑hopping meet‑cute + multiverse mishaps + a slow burn mystery + a hairstylist heroine who turns confidence into an art form + sapphic love + strong friendships... i mean CMON!! the first 15‑ish percent had me absolutely hooked. i was sure this was going to be a favorite, but i fear this was user error and a lack of big brainedness from me.

because then…the science hit. HARD. suddenly i’m drowning in quantum lingo word vomit, string theory is doing backflips, and every other paragraph feels like alphabet soup. the explanations are loooong, the jargon was jargoning. my tiny lil pea-brain just couldn't keep up.

around 47% i seriously considered dnf'ing but i couldn’t pull the plug. why? because i HAD to know how this was going to end. i needed to know wtf happened to meryl and how they were going to fix it. i loved tressa fay and meryl as characters, and i was REALLY rooting for them.

alas, i kept going, hoping my brain would re-circuit and i would finally understand the meaning of time travel. spoiler: i spent most of the journey two steps behind, frantically hoping my 2 braincells would hang on until the end. at the end i felt mildly exhausted and slightly disappointed. yes, i got the closure i wanted (mostly) and we had our HEA as expected, but i think the fight for my life from 25-75% really took it out of me.

final verdict: if you are smarter than me and don't mind the extra brain power (and perhaps a physics book) to understand what's going on then i really do recommend this book. but if you’re here for vibes, feelings, and a touch of magical realism (think: ashley poston), be prepared to do some serious mental cardio. i’m glad i finished, it was worth it for tressa fay and meryl, BUT my poor neurons need a nap and maybe a gentle contemporary palate cleanser (in case you were wondering: i did just that and LOVED never been shipped).

2.75/5

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare is a queer romance with a scifi element. Definitely not my cup of tea, but there was some great emotions felt in the story. The found family and self-discovery aspects of the book were good. Overall, it was just ok for me.

Not really for me, but it has a really interesting concept! Loved the yearning. Hated the time travel, but that’s my fault.