This was fun and silly and a bit confusing (I'm not a multiverse reader usually), but I really had fun! I think it was very ambitious and well executed for a debut, and I look forward to reading Annie's next book!

I feel sort of bad rating this because I realized very quickly that this book and I were not compatible. In fact I almost DNF’d it at like 2%! But I hung in there long enough to get to the texting between the two leads - I can’t bring myself to type the main character’s name - and that, along with the mystery of the main plot, engaged me enough to make it through the whole book. I like time bendy stuff. I like sapphic romance. I like multiverses. I do not like fated mates or insta-love or u-hauling or books where every single character gets paired off in the same fated mates, insta-love-y, u-haul-y, if-twilight-was-all-queer-found-family way. However, I realize many people will be very into this. I think if you liked One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston or The Heart-Break Bakery by A R Capetta, you’ll really like Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Salon.
Okay, so that’s all the subjective stuff. I do have one objective complaint, which is that the depiction of polyamory is very not great! It heavily suggests that being poly always means unicorn hunting and being in a closed triad? Worse, that the unicorn is brought into the relationship to make the existing dyad better?? This is especially frustrating given that the poly character complains about mono people not understanding what poly is.

This book broke me into a million pieces and I am never going to be the same. I laughed, I cried, I contimplated all the universes that perhaps love like this exists for all the versions of myself. I hope one of the other multiverse Kristin's that could be out there finds love at a donut shop. Anyway, I'm going off topic. Back to the book. I could gush futher but instead I'll leave you with this quote - "You are helping me every single day to remember to let awe happen...." This book teaches us to go find our awe and ourselves. Loved it.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
👩🏼‍🎤 multi-POV
👩🏼‍🎤 3rd person POV
👩🏼‍🎤 single timeline
👩🏼‍🎤 female/female main character romance
👩🏼‍🎤 LGBTQ+ representation
👩🏼‍🎤 time travel
👩🏼‍🎤 found family
👩🏼‍🎤 large cast of characters
👩🏼‍🎤 slowwwwww burn
👩🏼‍🎤 spice 🌶️🌶️
👩🏼‍🎤 HEA

I very much enjoyed the writing style in this book. It was very relatable in today’s times of social media and influencers everywhere. I really enjoyed the author’s snarky and sarcastic style of writing
I know they always say don’t judge a book based on its over, but I do 🤪🤪 and I have been obsessed with this book since I first saw the cover!! (without even knowing what it was about 🤪🤪)
I loved the main character Tressa Fay immediately, and I loved the banter between Tressa and Meryl 🩷💜 Actually I just really loved both of the main characters 🤪🤪 and I couldn’t wait for the happy ending 🩷🩷 I really enjoyed the friendship between all the characters, and the way that they all supported each other 💜💜
As a redhead, I loved the redhead representation in this 🤪🤪🤪
I love the multiple story-telling formats in this one. This was part narrated story-telling and part text messages, and I really love that. You almost get multiple points-of-view in the story, seeing what all these side characters and thinking/experiencing.
I am not in the LGBTQ community but I am definitely an ally, so I always appreciate seeing this representation in books, as I’m sure the community does as well.
I have been in a bit of a reading slump for quite a while, and honestly this book cured it! I was so invested the whole entire time and I actually did not want the story to end!!
This story is a complete home-run for me. A little bit of mystery, little bit of time-travel, a LOT of banter 🤪🤪 and a little bit of found-family…. this was was so different from any book I’ve ever read before. I absolutely loved it!!!
Thank you so so much to Berkley Publishing 🩷🩷 and Annie Mare for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review 🩷🩷

This is a sweet story about love over all, but the author takes great pains to explain multiverse time paradox and yet it still makes no GD sense. I’d rather a true magical realism that doesn’t even try to be based in science, but that’s a personal preference. What kept me invested was the characters, not just the main couple but the entire family of queer side characters. Found family is always going to get me. ❤️.

4.5 stars

A beautiful, messy, timey-wimey story about love, family, trust, and hope that endures through time and in every universe. I’ll admit that I still don’t get the Schrödinger’s Cat of it all - the science parts generally went straight over my head, but I believe that they make cosmic sense to those whose brains work that way. What I most loved about this book is that, despite the science-fiction elements, the heart of the story is the love each character has for one another and their commitment to being open, honest, and all in.

I’m not just talking about our main characters, Tressa Fay and Meryl, either. While these two are at the center of the time-bendy parts of the story, and I loved following along as they delightedly fell in love with one another, I also loved seeing how their relationships with the rest of their family and friends grew and deepened the more honest and upfront they became. The relationships between Tressa Fay and her father and Meryl and her sister were especially moving as they took the time to reconnect and share with one another their grief and regrets and hopes for the future.

As for Tressa Fay and Meryl’s friends, I love the way the two groups merged into one as they worked together to find a solution to save Meryl. It was fascinating to see the different ways their memories changed with every one of Meryl’s “experiments,” and I also loved each little glimpse we got into their perspectives, <spoiler>especially one I realized those were coming from other universes, which I didn’t see until the one Tressa May’s mom was alive in.</spoiler> There’s so much love and acceptance in this book, I just want to wrap everyone up and put them in my pocket.

Just a quick note to those who are more used to reading sci-fi — while this book has many of those elements, at its core, it’s a romance, and it does have spicy scenes. I’d say they are probably 2/5 on the spicy scale, but they are there, so be prepared of that’s not something you’re used to.

Thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing, and Ace for an advance copy of this book for review purposes. It just came out this week, so you can pick up a copy today at your favorite bookstore or library!

Tressa Fay is dreaming of a night in with soup and couch cuddles with her cat when she receives a text message that changes her life. She has an instant connection with the mystery texter, Meryl, and it’s strong enough to brave the cold Green Bay night for a churro and limeade date. Only when Tressa Fay gets to the bar, Meryl is nowhere to be found. Some connections transcend time and space, and Tressa Fay and Meryl find themselves in two different times five months apart. And when Tressa Fay discovers Meryl goes missing before she makes it to her present day, she is determined to stop her from disappearing all together.

This was such an interesting concept for a book. I’ve read time travel romances before, but never have I read one involving a multiverse. Tressa Fay and Meryl get to know eachother through text messages, so when they finally meet in real life the chemistry is instant and electric. There is so much yearning between the characters and this book gets quite steamy at parts!

While the romance was great, my favorite aspect of the book was the found family element. When Meryl is told she goes missing, she begins integrating herself into Tessa Fay’s friend group and brings her sister and best friend in as well. The friends just blend together so well and become such a source of love for each other. Meryl coming into Tressa Fay’s life completely changes everything - including her strained relationship with her father, and for me that just made their relationship feel even more fated. Meryl and Tressa Fay’s connection truly changes everything for everyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for a review copy. This was such a great read to kick off Pride month!

(4.75/5⭐️)

Oh oh I loved this so much. If you’re looking for an existential read that may leave you slightly confused about the nature of time but so confident in the power of love, this is your book.

Did I know what the heck the characters were talking about at any given time? Not likely. But I FELT it. Tressa Fay and Meryl's banter?? The idea that you can love another person forwards backwards and sideways?? The queer joy and community?? The constant and intentional striving toward curiosity, openness and understanding?? I felt all of that in my bones. I laughed and I cried. A great read for pride month <3

I wanted to like this one-it had the makings of something I would like-hair salon, LGBTQ romance, multiple universes-but omg do you have to stretch your brain to let this one slide. And the characters are so similar that it’s hard to tell who is who. And the worst thing of all is how the FMC’s name is repeated seventy hundred times a page! Tressa Fay this and Tressa Fay that! We get it! Her name is a play on words because she’s a hairdresser! You don’t have to beat us over the head with it! And while we’re talking about names-she named her cat Epinephrine?! Like who does that?, I know she got it after a scary allergic episode but it is still the dumbest name ever!
I’m upset that this book wasn’t better because it had the potential to be so good. Like I was kinda picturing a more modern version of “The Lake House” but sadly that is very much not what I got.
Thanks to Berkeley/Ace and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange for my review.

The cover is absolutely beautiful, and the premise immediately caught my attention it really felt like something totally up my alley. Unfortunately, it just didn’t work for me in execution. I ended up DNF’ing around the 10% mark.

Still, I can see this finding the right audience, and I’m sure others will enjoy this book more than I was.

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

⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)
Inventive and heartfelt—but the execution doesn’t quite match the ambition.

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon brings a unique twist to the sapphic romance genre with its genre-bending blend of sci-fi, queer love, and timey-wimey chaos. Annie Mare's debut has plenty of charm, but uneven pacing and underdeveloped stakes keep it from reaching its full potential.

✂️ What stands out:
Fresh premise. A time-bending love story between a flirty hairstylist and a woman stuck five months behind in a parallel universe? Definitely original—and full of quirky, existential tension.

Tressa Fay’s voice. Her boldness, vulnerability, and warm connection with her chosen family make her easy to root for, even when the plot gets a little tangled.

Found-family vibes. The supporting cast (plus a memorably cranky cat) adds levity and emotional grounding amidst the sci-fi elements.

🌀 Why it's 3 stars:
Multiverse mechanics get messy. The rules of time and parallel worlds are intriguing, but the story leans too hard into exposition at times, and emotional stakes occasionally get lost in the logistics.

Pacing issues. The first third is all setup, and the romance—while cute—feels slightly underbaked given the scope of the story’s central conflict.

Meryl needed more. As the love interest and mystery at the center, Meryl's character could’ve been more developed to deepen the reader’s investment in her fate.

🌈 Final thoughts:
This is a clever and queerly cosmic debut with plenty of heart, perfect for readers who love high-concept romances and don’t mind a little narrative disorder. While it didn’t fully stick the landing for me, Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon is still a creative, offbeat ride worth trying if you’re in the mood for haircuts, heartbreak, and multiverse hijinks.

This was SUCH a special read to start off pride month!!! Thank you Berkley/Ace for the ARC.

“None of this is a reason to doubt that so far, in every lifetime, you’re there. Every one of me wants every one of you.”

This is a hopeful, cozy magical realism romance about two women who discover that they’re meant to know each other in every universe.

Tressa Fay is a hairstylist-turned-influencer who receives a ‘wrong number’ text and upon trying to meet up with flirty Meryl who sends her the text, discovers that Meryl has been missing for the last month. Plot twist, Meryl is sending texts from five months in the past.

This is such a beautifully cosmic debut story filled with queer joy and self-discovery. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Ashley Poston, as it definitely has magical realism elements to it.

The banter was top tier, the spice was SPICY, and there was a strong found family theme. The romance was so tender and sweet and also so fiery and full of tension.

I was amazed to find out that this was a debut. The writing is both witty and absolutely stunning. I was blown away by so many quotes that made me 1) reflect on how much I love being queer 2) think about time, and how it doesn’t matter how much of it we have. Just what we do with it.

Thank you Annie Mare for a story that left me full of hope.

“In the spring, fall feels impossible. Everybody’s forgotten that all the leaves fell. We go outside and soak in the tidy greenness, and it feels like it will never happen again.”

I laughed! I cried! I laughed again! Annie Mare you have made a shell of me. What a fantastically beautiful and romantic, whimsical and wonderful read. I loved the voices present in this and the weaving of the characters into each other's world. What a great testament to being unforgettable and how love creates shape around that.

Thank you @berkleypub for the ARC!

MY (slightly spoilery) THOUGHTS: I absolutely adored Tressa Fay and Meryl - especially Meryl. They had great chemistry. I also loved their friends and family. There was not a character in this book that I didn’t love.

I did find the wibbly wobbly timey wimey of it all to be a little confusing. There were multiple timelines. Meryl would do one thing in the past that changed the future and it was hard to keep up with the changes. I also didn’t feel like that part of the story was completely wrapped up. I still had questions at the end. They never figured out why Meryl disappeared. I also wish we knew which change created a future where Meryl and Tressa Fay got their happy ending.

I started this on audio then switched to immersive reading towards the middle of the book. I definitely enjoyed reading the ebook and listening to the audio at the same time. It was a fun experience!

I loved this SO much! So gay, so much joy, so many laughs. The BEST characters. The found family vibes and how these characters all find each other, in every alternate universe, made me tear up. I actually cried a lot because the writing is beautiful, it tackles the feeling of never being enough, and just creates these amazing relationships. I loved the main couple so much, but I equally loved all the other couples just about equally because they brought so much joy and trust. I adored how the characters trusted this crazy thing that seemed to be happening because they trusted each other. Even when they had to experiment and push the boundaries. The spice levels were perfection because this couple was fully vulnerable with each other. Sassy, smart, I just had SO MUCH FUN reading this!

This multiverse gay love story has the most beautiful cover and compelling plot, but unfortunately I did not fully enjoy this one. The beginning had me absolutely hooked from the text messages being sent in a different timeline and then revealing that one of the characters is missing in the present day, and how texting can alter their current realities and change their memories - it gave me goosebumps! If the story would have stayed on this track I would have loved it, but it quickly became the same thing over and over. I didn’t find that the character who went missing took the situation as seriously as she should have and the two main characters were too horny and instalove for my taste. Then the author started bringing in so many POV chapters that didn’t add much to the overall story. Ultimately, I DNFed at 62%. I wish I would have continued to love it until the end but it lost me along the way.

Thank you Berkley, Ace Pub Books and NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley, author Annie Mare, and Berkley Publishing Group: Ace for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

ALL the feels!! I'm glad I took a chance on this book!! I was intrigued by the premise of a sapphic romance set across the multiverse, but I was scared it would be a bit too cozy for me. I won't lie, as someone who doesn't enjoy cozy reads, there were definitely several aspects of the book that were a bit heavy-handed/quirky (such as the cat being named Epinephrine??) that I had to set aside. I also want to state that the timeline and perspectives were not always the clearest. I kept getting extremely confused as the book progressed while reading as to which timeline I was reading. And of course, it was really hard to understand the logics of the multiverse, but I don't think that's necessarily Mare's fault! But while these things might seem major (the cozy vibes being personal preference, the plotting and logics of the book being actual structural things I didn't think worked), I'm rounding up my rating simply because at its heart, this is an absolutely beautiful story of love and friendship persevering. Mare writes extremely unique characters that are lovely, vibrant, and unapologetic. Everyone in the friend group, as well as Tressa Fay's dad, seemed so individualistic and really added a lot to the story! Seeing Meryl and Tressa Fay find each other, love each other, and choose each other in every single world was extremely heartfelt and emotional to me. I truly believed their connection to each other, and I was rooting for them the entire read. The queer representation is fantastic and so authentic, and I was pleasantly surprised that there were quite a few steamy scenes that were HOT! Reading Cosmic Love made me truly think about the people surrounding me in my timeline, including my incredible girlfriend, and how I would choose them over and over again, just like Tressa May and Meryl. I'm so thrilled I was surprised by such a heartfelt read (despite its issues) by a book that I wouldn't necessarily expect it from or usually pick up!

This book was not a good fit for me, unfortunately. It had potential, but it just moved too slowly and had too much exposition. For example, an early scene had five or six characters discussing the multiverse challenge for several pages before we knew much about most of the characters. The story felt disjointed.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon had so much potential for me. I've wanted to read this for so long and was so excited when Berkley approved my NetGalley request, which I am forever grateful for.

But Cosmic Love didn't hit the mark for me. The start was very strong, bc what do you mean they fall in love over texts and one of them is destined to DISAPPEAR? Somebody restrain me. A lot of the plot was repetitive, trial and error type of sci-fi, which ultimately leads to a happy ending, but I feel like this could've been shorter. Or have more stuff going on.

And once we started getting other people's POV on how Meryl changed their lives, I just got lost. I couldn't remember who was who and why they even were there.

Overall, this was a good take on the Multiverse.

This was the sweet, queer romance I never knew I needed to kick of pride month. The characters were very likable and I was rooting for them the whole time. Time is a little wonky in this one but if you squint a little the whole book made sense. I liked how this one showed the differences they could make on reality which most cross time books don’t get to. Tressa Fay is surprised to get a text from a wrong number and after a little light flirting she decides to go against her norm and take a chance by going to try to meet Meryl, the sweet engineer who texted her. She doesn’t find her but it isn’t until the next day that she notices the two of them have very different date stamps for their messages. Gathering all of their friends together helps to figure out that there is clearly something wonky with space and time but not how to fix it or stop Meryl from disappearing as she did about a month before Tressa Fay first got the first text. This book was sweet and full of great side characters who also work on their connections and happily ever after. A wonderful debut and definitely one to pick up for pride month!