I really loved the premise of this, and I think had I read it at a different time I might have enjoyed it, but sadly I just couldn’t get into it :( so I’m not able to give a real review but I might give it another try now it’s published!

Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.


I really wanted to love this one. The premise immediately drew me in — a woman navigating grief while literally confronting three versions of herself? Such a compelling setup. Unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite meet the promise for me.

Despite being under 300 pages, “Just Emilia” felt like a tough read at times. The novel does handle themes of grief and mother-daughter relationships with sensitivity, and there are some genuinely thoughtful moments. But Emilia’s ongoing self-blame became increasingly frustrating as the story progressed. Rather than feeling like a journey toward healing, it often read as a refusal to even try.

The scenes between the three versions of Emilia had potential for emotional depth and introspection, but they didn’t quite hit the mark for me. The interactions felt a bit flat, which made it hard for me to fully engage with the character.

That said, I appreciate the ambition behind the story and the attempt to explore identity, regret, and the many selves we carry through life. I was just left wanting a bit more.

I love the cover.

I loved the premise of a woman finding herself stuck in an elevator with her teen self and herself as an old woman.

I enjoyed the writing, I thought the dialogue was good, and there were some parts that were intriguing enough to keep me reading.

Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book as a whole. The premise was very interesting and, of course, it’s what led me to want to read the book but as I progressed, it fell flat. I started to wonder why they were stuck in the elevator together and if anything would come of it. How many times can the light go off and on, really?! I could not connect with the main character, in all her iterations. She was incredibly difficult to like and to me it didn’t seem like she changed at all by the end of the book- which seemed to be the point.

This book moved me in a way I wasn’t expecting.

Emilia goes on a journey of self-discovery in the most unpredictable way, and it’s a beautiful thing to witness. She can see how she carries her baggage and starts to understand how to lighten her load. With all this pent-up guilt and grief, Emilia forgets to live for so many years. This is her second chance at fixing all those relationships she kept at a distance, living a little less guarded, and finding who she is beyond this traumatic experience.

I would have liked it if the characters had bonded differently, but I still sobbed seeing her get to a better place. While she still has so much more growth left, this is such clear progress, and I love that for her. I wish I could see what her life becomes.

𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘢 by Jennifer Oko comes out June 10, and I can’t wait for you to experience this, too.

I was so excited for this book!! I loved the initial premise and was so excited to get into it.

Unfortunately, at least for me, this one fell flat on its face. Don't get me wrong, it hits the ground running and the first quarter is so exciting and refreshing. The premise of these people all stuck in the lift with the same name felt trippy and the weirdness of it all felt really intriguing. But the momentum just fell flat for me.

It is a remarkably bizarre book so I would recommend it to people who like mind-bending reads with freshness and originality to them but unfortunately it was bitterly slow in the plot and I got so bored at many points throughout.

Just Emilia presents an intriguing and emotional premise: Emilia finds herself trapped in an elevator with both her younger and future self, forcing her to confront the grief and unresolved feelings she’s carried for years. The story powerfully explores the weight of survivor’s guilt and the deep isolation that can come from being misunderstood by those who haven't experienced similar loss.

I really appreciated how the author tackled the difficulty of facing trauma and the way it can shape not only our present but also our future. However, I found the transitions between the three versions of Emilia a bit confusing at times, especially with perspective, which made it hard to stay grounded in the narrative. Perhaps this was meant to reflect Emilia’s emotional state, but for me, it occasionally disrupted the impact.

The ending felt somewhat rushed. I would have liked to see more of Emilia’s journey, rather than such a quick resolution. Still, the story left a lasting impression and a reminder that even the things we think we’ve buried can echo through our lives.

This is a weird book.
The premise is so interesting. 3 versions of the same woman get trapped together in an elevator. will she be able to forgive herself and move past the things she's carried for 1, 31, or 61 years?

And.... I don't know how I felt about it.
To start off, I really did enjoy Jennifer Oko's writing. I think it's the sort of frank blunt writing that invites reflection and introspection.

However, the character of Emilia just kind of didn't do it for me. I couldn't connect to her grief, I couldn't understand why she was freaking out about being so responsable for everything, and I didn't really care much anymore when the reveals started getting juicy. She was kind of... awful to everyone because she couldn't mature past her almost selfish need to be held accountable for all her percieved mistakes. She ruined her relationship with her father over it. She's currently ruining her marriage over it. and in the future her relationship with her daughter will be ruined because of it.

I thought the premise was so interesting, the writing was solid, I just didn't particularly enjoy being in Emelia's head for the entirety of the book. I think it came really close to being an impactful, heavy story; sadly it was just fine to me.

I was looking forward to reading this story, a story that begins, more or less, with an car accident, which ends up with one less parent alive, and a story that more or less takes place in an elevator, which is apparently stuck for a lengthy time as the person (or persons) in said elevator. wait to be rescued. An interesting glimpse into her past as well as, potentially, her future.


Pub Date: 10 Jun 2025

Many thanks for the opportunity to read Jennifer Oko's story

What do you do when you are confronted with not only your past, but your future as well? If you're Emilia, you get trapped in an elevator with them and are forced to reconcile with the deepest parts of yourself that you would rather stay buried forever. This book is an amazing exploration of the different ways in which grief and emotions are processed at various stages of life. It becomes so easy to look back on our past and wish we could have done something different, and so hard to accept that we must heal to be able to move forward into the future. I loved the cuts between scenes for each character, allowing us to truly immerse ourselves into each version that there can be of a person. I felt this perfectly highlighted how we grow and change to an almost unrecognizable degree due to different life experiences.

I liked the premise of being stuck in a lift with your past and future self and having the time for some in depth self reflection. And this was a short but enjoyable book, it just felt a bit flatter than I expected without as much development or pay off as I anticipated.

It was a novel way of exploring unprocessed grief and how that can hold you and your relationships back.

🛗 Just Emilia by Jennifer Oko 🛗

MY RATING: ⭐️⭐️

Emilia finds herself trapped in a DC Metro elevator, along with Em, a troubled teenager, and Millie, an elderly woman trying to mend ties with her estranged daughter. As the hours drag on without being rescued, they realize the truth - they are all the same person. In this time travelling tale, they must confront their memories and unresolved trauma in order to discover who they are and the life they want to live.

I loved the premise of this book when I heard about it and was excited to read it. I love magical realism, so three characters getting stuck in an elevator together and realizing they’re all different versions of the same person was intriguing. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I felt like although it dealt with intense and emotional topics, I didn’t feel emotionally connected to it or the characters. They didn’t seem to have much of a connection, and they all felt kind of flat. Their relationship with each other felt kind of rushed, as did the whole book. I felt like we got into the premise right at the start, and then not a lot happened, and the ending/resolution wasn’t very satisfying. I also didn’t connect to the writing. I do understand why some people love this book, but it wasn’t for me.

Read this if you like:
- magical realism
- complex family dynamic
- intense and emotional topics

Vibes: 🛗🚗💉🛍️👚🔦

Song that matches the vibe: Is What It Is by Judah & The Lion

Full review including content warnings on my StoryGraph.

Just Emilia is out June 10, 2025! Thank you NetGalley, Jennifer Oko, and Regal House Publishing for the eARC. This eARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

this wasn’t for me, unfortunately. the idea of the protagonist getting stuck in an elevator with their past/ future selves could have had potential, but it falls flat as the character(s) lack depth and the writing is a little all over the place at times. the way the selves give each other advice and reflect on their past was felt too on the nose, so i got bored very quickly. this could be a improved a lot by some heavy editing though!

Great premise but poor execution in my opinion. Meeting Emilia at different ages in her life is a cool concept. However, it didn't flow for me the way it should have been. I DNFed around 16%.

This book was compulsively readable. The pacing and style of switching viewpoints and timelines kept me turning the pages to find out what was going to happen. I also really enjoyed the mini mystery of trying to discover the truth around Emilia's mother's death. The author treats the topic of grief in an interesting manner -- how it affects people at different ages and how some move through it and some stay in it.

However, I did not like the ending. I understand that ultimately the reader is not really supposed to know "the truth" of what happened (just as Emilia may never really know), so the lack of clarity on that level is fine. However, the wrap up and lack of clarity about how the three versions of Emilia exited the elevator did not make sense to me. The ending felt rushed and unbelievable. I wish a bit more time had been spent here exploring the characters' actual/physical resolution (as well as the emotional resolution) and I wish there were more coverage of what is next for Emilia.

2.5

Just Emilia is a speculative novel with an intriguing premise: multiple versions of Emilia, all from different points in her life, somehow coexisting and confronting the messiness of identity, grief, and regret. Unfortunately, the execution doesn’t quite live up to the potential for me.

The pacing is slow, which might work for a more introspective or character-driven novel, but here it tends to drag, making key moments feel less impactful than they should be. When the big reveal comes—that all the women are actually Emilia at different stages of life—it lands with more of a thud than a bang. There’s little excitement or emotional payoff, and instead, the characters (and readers) are left with a vague sense of disappointment.

Emilia herself feels curiously detached throughout the book. She acts more like a narrator than someone fully immersed in her own story, which makes it difficult to connect with her emotionally. This sense of distance undercuts the more dramatic or revealing moments—particularly in scenes involving Christopher and the night before her mother died.

That part of the plot also feels muddled. Emilia’s lingering resentment around Christopher is confusing, especially since it's made clear that he wasn't responsible for her mother's death. At the same time, the book frequently repeats that Emilia “killed her mom,” and she expresses frustration that no one believes her. Yet, it’s never directly stated—at least not clearly—that she was the one driving the car. That omission makes her guilt feel both misplaced and underexplored.

Ultimately, Just Emilia has a compelling concept but falters in the follow-through. The emotional stakes are there, but the lack of clarity and the protagonist's disconnection leave the story feeling more hollow than haunting.

I loved the premise of this book so much! It's a good and thought-provoking book. It's well written, but I wish there were more engaging moments in the story; it felt flat. The moment when they learn they're the same person wasn't very exciting, there wasn't a good build-up to that.

I thought it was beautiful that Emilia only needed herself to keep going.

Thank you to NetGalley and Regal House Publishing for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Just Emilia is a beautiful exploration of the internal self through the eyes of an older and younger self. I thoroughly enjoyed this unique approach to character development, and how the way we speak to ourselves affects so much of our quality of life. Fans of creative speculative fiction that helps understand identity will love this!

I was so excited to read this novel - I think I hoped for something like 'The Husbands', where a fantastical event forces a character to reevaluate their everyday life. Unfortunately, I found this book really slow - the character, despite spending so much time in her head, wasn't very relatable, and, like other reviewers, I found the occasional humorous scenes really at odds with the emotional response the author was looking for. Maybe this just needed more editing, but it was a pass for me.

I just adored this. Emilia finds herself trapped in an elevator with her past and future selves. The truths they are trying to ascertain and accept are poignant.

A thoughtful twist on the Scrooge effect, JUST EMILIA by Jennifer Oko offers a modern and introspective take on personal transformation.

Instead of an old man reckoning with mortality after ghostly visits from the past, present, and future, we meet Emilia, a 47-year-old woman confronting existential dread on the anniversary of her mother’s death. Rather than changing how she treats others, Emilia must learn to stop being so miserly toward herself. Instead of an old man reckoning with mortality after ghostly visits from the past, present, and future, we meet Emilia, a 47-year-old woman confronting existential dread on the anniversary of her mother’s death. Rather than changing how she treats others, Emilia must learn to stop being so miserly toward herself.

She is guided not by spirits but by two selves: Em, an angry and sullen 17-year-old who’s still grieving, and Millie, a wiser 77-year-old who’s tethered to the past. The suspenseful narrative invites the reader to suspend disbelief and follow Emilia on a metaphysical elevator ride that lurches through seven decades of her life. The journey is frightening and exhausting, an emotional rollercoaster filled with sharp turns and sudden drops. As a reader, you’re left wondering what her life will look like if she ever makes it out. And when you turn the final page, you may find yourself changed..