I really loved Caroline O'Donoghue's previous book, The Rachel Incident, but this one is nothing like that. This book is more a fantasy romance, with lots of moments of tension.

I don't read a lot of fantasy as I find it hard to be transported to new worlds, but I enjoyed the one created in this book and found it very fascinating. Caroline O'Donoghue is such a good writer and I found parts of it very stressful and I was very enmeshed.

I loved both Moon and Margo, as well as the side characters.

I didn't realize this was the first in a series until the end -- I am eager to know what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

3.5* Rounded Up

This was such a unique story, it was a good blend of fantasy and sci-fi thriller that kept me engaged throughout. For me the romance was way too insta-lovey which I tend to not ever like but especially here it seemed to bloom from nothing. I did like both main characters and grew to like their romance in the end but I believe it needed to be fleshed out a bit more and could have used some more build up and connection. While the book started a tad slowly in the explanation front I think that made it more interesting as the reader was learning about what was happening along with the main character. Once I started getting a grasp on the world and the time traveling elements I quickly became engrossed in the story. The way the plot unfolded was well done an I became very invested in this story, now I want to know what happens next after that cliffhanger ending!

I received an eARC thanks to Netgalley and Walker Books US, all opinions are my own.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy

Skipshock by Caroline O'Donoghue is a mixed first and third person dual-POV YA romantic fantasy. Moon is a salesman, someone who travels between worlds on a series of barely used trains, who has been separated from his culture for years. Margo is a young woman on her way to a boarding school when she ends up on one of the trains used by salesmen, a train she was never supposed to be on and will lead to her becoming caught up in a plot to take down the privileged of Moon’s world.

As Margo is from Dublin and Caroline O’Donoghue is an Irish author, it is impossible for me not to draw parallels to Irish Travellers when it comes to Moon’s backstory. ‘Moon’ is an alias that he has taken on and his people have been forcibly assimilated, their children stolen, and their ability to travel between worlds taken from them. Moon is even viewed as an adult at the age of twelve, something that is very common when a dominant culture views a minority as a threat, unfortunately. There are also parallels to how the Irish were treated by the British over the last eight hundred, particularly in relation to forcible assimilation and others taking parts of your culture for themselves.

I love the cover so much. I love all of the colors and how fantastical and round all the shapes are, like something out of Little Nemo’s Adventures in Slumberland. The phases of the moon up top relate back to Moon’s name and also how the different dimensions have different time frames (some have only six hour days and others three hour days), subtly connecting back to skipshock, the disease that all salesman have that kills them at the age of forty. It’s geometric and bold and colorful with hints of orange and it reminds me of why I love abstract art sometimes.

Margo and Moon’s romance is plagued by two things: skipshock and the fact that Margo will go back to her world eventually. Moon is concerned that if Margo follows him, her skipshock will get worse and she will also die young, especially given that she begins aging faster the longer she’s traveling between worlds. Margo somewhat goes back and forth on whether she could stay or has to go back, with a lot of it being determined by how Moon is feeling about her in that moment as he is pretty hot-and-cold. The plot to take down the upper class add another layer to her desire to stay because she’s been convinced that she can be useful, though Moon doesn’t really want her to get involved.

Content warning for mentions of cultural genocide

I would recommend this to fans of YA Romantasy looking for something involving traveling between worlds and readers of YA who like books split fairly evenly between male and female POVs.

This was a delightful surprise. I was utterly unprepared for how thoroughly I would fall for this book.

This is a story about a girl who accidentally is transported into another world and ends up in the middle of a rebellion. In her journey to return home, she meets Moon, a salesman who travels through worlds and is suffering from skipshock.

From the very first page, I was utterly captivated by the intricate world-building and fascinating magic system the author crafted. And let's not even get started on the romance – absolutely swoon-worthy.

My only critique is that the character work could have been better, I wanted to feel more for certain characters. But besides that, this book was totally amazing. And I need the second book RIGHT NOW!

If you were enchanted by the intricate storytelling of The Mirror Visitor series, then this is an absolute must-read for you! There are some elements that really reminded me of that book series.

This was a case of it’s not you, it’s me. This book was not for me but that doesn’t mean that others will not really enjoy it!

I don’t read or love a lot of fantasy or YA (although I have loved books in both genres before) and this one just really read like YA. I missed the sophisticated writing of her previous book which I absolutely loved.

This book felt like a slog for me and I struggled to get through it. Some of this was the formatting of the arc which was absolutely the worst and made me not want to pick it up. But sadly, a lot was the plot. I needed more character development to really care for the characters and I felt like I had a lot of unanswered questions about the worlds the characters inhabited. I did enjoy the twist at the end- almost enough that I might read the next book.

I think if you love fantasy, you will enjoy this one! If you don’t, skip it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc

The synopsis of this sounded so good but unfortunately didn’t meet my expectations. I expected something a bit different to what I read.
Interconnecting worlds, an unexpected encounter from a locked world, two unlikely people with romance. The pacing was off and slow, the characters were interesting but I didn’t really get to know them that well. The world building was somewhat lacking. The premise of worlds having different hours of a day and time was the most precious commodity was an interesting one. The romance was more a subplot.
Also one thing I noticed was the typos, not sure if that’s on purpose to portray the language change or just missed. Either way it was noticeable.

THIS BOOK YOU GUYS!!

this book had everything i find to be lacking in all of these popular booktok fantasies. i loved reading this and i was on the edge of my seat the entire time. so if you haven't picked this book up, it's about a girl named margo who's traveling to a new school in the city. however, when she's on the train, something happens... and she meets moon, a traveling salesman, who's from a whole new world. together, they figure just why margo somehow ended up in their world instead of the city.

let me start with the characters first: i loved moon, he was the best part of the book for me. i thought he was so well-developed! margo i didn't really relate to/connect with which is why this book isn't exactly five stars for me. i found her a little boring. despite this, i thought she worked in the novel because she felt real, like someone i could know in real life. to continue, the romance between the two worked and didn't feel rushed at all which i liked!! also, i loved the side characters!! i liked how they all felt like they belonged in this world, in this book since there's a trend of authors shoving in tropes/characters into books where they don't really need to belong. but more on that later.

the world building in this was so FUN! i loved how fresh and unique this world felt. i loved the idea of traveling salesman hopping worlds. i also liked how this novel is exploring corruption, how tyrannical regimes often target things like travel to further their hold on the people they're trying to control. this added real depth to the novel i think!! i also liked how there was real consequence to the characters' actions. often times, books will have plot armor and characters fight a huge war with no one dying. <i>skipshock</i> doesn't do that. there's real weight to how people behave in this novel. however, since this book doesn't shy away from killing characters, i feel like some emotional beats got cheapened since it felt so sudden. due to that, i didn't really feel like characters could properly express their emotions on what happened.

but i'm so happy i picked this up. like i mentioned before, what worked about this novel was that it felt so fresh. i never once rolled my eyes because it seemed similar to books i've read before. everything felt like it worked, it belonged.

overall, i liked this a lot!! it was a fun time and i know i'll be picking up the second book in the series. a huge thanks to netgalley & the publisher for the arc of this <3 this book will be out on june 3rd, 2025!!

Looking for something different?
The flowery verse and world building immediately starts on this one. Drops you right into the thick of it, but things start clicking fast. Moon and Margo are such well developed characters and the world of time- such a pleasant divergence from the type of stories quickly taking over the field. Margo is from current time but “falls” into a different time and world where she meets Moon. Absolutely obsessed with the time in this book, it’s so interesting and frankly extremely well explained. There is a whole host of other characters as well, all with their own unique quirks. The story just kept pulling me in… this one will live rent free for awhile.

I was waiting so much from this book but it didn’t gave me what I was waiting for…

At first I thought I was going to love this book, but then, the worldbuilding was beginning to be explain and I got lost in the way, trying to find out the age of Moon (spoiler i didn’t, and it realy bother me since he seems a few years older than Margo who is a minor and become completely dependent on him.)

And I unfortunately did not connect with the characters, we don’t really know who they are, so i couldn’t really care about them. I didn’t find a lot of actions or it was repetitive.

I read it to the end waiting for something a bit more intringing but it didn’t come until the end, and for all the wait i didn’t find it worth it, since i already had some suspicions.

The romance between Margo and Moon wasn’t for me. I found their little moments cringe and their tension was pointless to the plot.

I did enjoy the writing, and I have the Gifts series in my TBR

I love Caroline O'Donoghue, and even though this is a departure from the text that introduced me to her (the Rachel Incident), her undeniable talent as an author shines through.

Skipshock sucked me in during the first two paragraphs: “The most common response I get when I tell people what I do for a living is: I couldn’t do a job like that. What they mean is they wouldn’t do a job like this. Every so often a new gruesome story circulates about salesmen and what traveling between time speeds does to one’s physical health. We are twice as likely to be alcoholics, three times as likely to die by suicide, and infinitely more likely to disappear without anyone caring at all.”

This universe is fascinating, every world in Skipshock has a day of a different length. The wealthier south has longer days and the poorer north has days as short as two hours. The northernmost world's people grow beards in a few hours, crops grow rapidly, and people age at an obscene rate. Margo and Moon spend the story traveling between worlds and, by extension, the reader gets to explore how these worlds are shaped by their limited time. It’s so good. The growing relationship between Margo and Moon is sweet and there are several interesting side characters to root for as well.

My only disappointment about this book is realizing it’s not a standalone, now I have to wait for book two! I definitely recommend this to any fantasy readers.

3.25⭐

LIKED:
- The overall world-building was fascinating. The idea of the worlds with definitely length days but the days also still counting as a day no matter what? A really interesting concept. I wish there had been more detailing of the different worlds and their hour correlations, but it mostly became a North vs. South classism conversation which was still pretty interesting.
- Skipshock as a concept (not the title, the concept the title was based on) was pretty interesting as well. Normally in many fantasy books where traversing across different worlds is a part of it, it’s seen as exciting and a good thing, where Skipshock is very clearly a negative.
- The plot around the watch was the most entertaining plot bit of the book in my honest opinion. It was mostly in the last act, probably the last 20%ish of the book, unfortunately, but it does inspire a bit more confidence for the second book (I think it’s a duology, if I recall correctly)
- This cover is so unbelievably stunning. I knew who Caroline O’Donoghue was before going into this, so that was a part of requesting this ARC, but this cover was really eye-catching (and somewhat suckered me in).

LAMENTED:
- The first half of the book dragged way too much for my taste. We spent so long in the first city and that was not very interesting . This book kind of suffers from “just the last 10%” syndrome, where just the last 10% is really engaging.
- The alternating POV of the chapters was like whiplash every time. Not that it was a different character’s POV every time, but that Moon’s POV was first-person and Margo’s was third-person. I don’t think this was successful and I think that they both should have been one style, I think preferably third-person.
- I did not care about the romance whatsoever and it felt very rushed and forced. They barely connected before it was a big thing that they couldn’t be together? I needed some more yearning. I mean I also just didn’t really care for either of the main characters. Margo was just kind of fine with everything? She never felt like she was actually worried or confident. Just kind of flat. Moon was maybe a bit more interesting due to the religious aspect of his character, but….I don’t know.
- The silver seeds bit was…weird. I never really could get behind it. Maybe I just read how it worked wrong, but it just sounded bizarre to me.
- There were too many characters and I never got the time or space to really care about them to be honest. I think more dedicated time with a solid, smaller ensemble would have been more successful.

LONGED FOR:
- Better chemistry between the main characters
- Less side characters to give them each their chance to shine
- Further exploration into the different sectors of the world

Will I read the next one? : Maybe. I’m not clamoring for it, but I do think that I would pick it up if I’m feeling curious.

Thank you NetGalley and publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this novel.

This was an absolutely crazy concept and I had so much fun reading it. It brought be back to when I was young and YA books were on the rise. The map was very much useful and it helped me visualize where everything was.

The characters were diverse and felt like children grown up too fast in a wartime. They had a maturity to them and they were strong. The plot had drama, romance, magic and action.

I can’t wait too long for the next one, I need it NOW!

wild, unique, charming, interestingly well written. margo is an interesting protagonist, the sequel hook is well set up throughout, and moon is fun. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

This one very pleasantly surprised me! I was enraptured by the complex web of interconnected worlds all churning away at different speeds - and the way that impacts the lives of all those who live in them and move between them. There was a very nice balance between descriptions of the worlds themselves and the progression of plot and character development.

I’ll admit, I was a little worried by the synopsis (I thought Moon was going to be a grown-ass man paired with school-aged Margo, but O’Donoghue does a great job of explaining how Moon is as young as he is and the difference between Moon’s 17 and Margo’s 17). I was also worried about how prevalent the romance would be, but honestly it felt very believable to me.

I think Margo and Moon both grew astoundingly as part of this story. Moon especially seemed to really come into his own, but Margo has plenty of room for change in a future book. Yes, the ending caught me by surprise because there’s going to HAVE to be at least one more book. Can’t wait.

Thank you NetGalley, Caroline O’Donoghue, Holiday House/Peachtree/Pixel+Ink and Walker Books US the ARC of this novel. Ever since reading her Hidden Gifts series along with The Rachel Incident, I have become a huge fan of O’Donoghue’s writing and world-building.

Welcome to the world of Skipshock, where time has become a symbol of wealth, status, and power.

This novel follows protagonist Margo, a schoolgirl who embarks on a train from Dublin on her way to boarding school, when she meets a salesman named Moon. These two unlikely characters come together to find answers neither of them were prepared for in a race to save time (literally.)

Skipshock is another brilliant addition to O’Donoghue growing legacy as a bold voice in young contemporary sci-fi and fantasy. Known for crafting stories that don’t just entertain but interrogate, she once again delivers a tale that’s as intellectually provocative as it is emotionally resonant.

Themes of inequality, exploitation, and the commodification of human life run through the novel like a current. But what makes it exceptional is how O’Donoghue uses the fantastical to mirror real-world anxieties—inviting readers to reflect on how we spend our time, who controls it, and what it’s truly worth.

I really enjoyed this. I loved the world and the characters. I was sucked into the story the whole time. I think this is worth the read !

Skipshock... the ending of this book left me in shock and wanting to read more of Moon and Mars' adventures! Please, let there be a sequel!
The plot of this story is completely new, at least for me. The world-building (yes, worlds, plural) is masterful. The characters grow as the story progresses. I can't say that any of the characters in this story left me indifferent: Halvpas becomes more odious with each appearance, Moon and Mars are endearing characters who are very easy to identify with and love, and the many other characters that appear in this book each have a function, a specific way of relating to Moon and Mars and together they build this story.
No more need be said. Suffice it to say that I loved it and highly recommend it.
I thank the author and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
The opinion I have expressed above is based solely on what I think and feel about this book.

I was drawn into the intricate world of time-traveling salesmen, mysterious train lines, and the stark contrasts between the cruel fast worlds and the opulent slow worlds.

The concept of time manipulation is executed beautifully. The train journeys and the stark contrast between the fast and slow worlds make for an environment that feels both magical and dangerous. It’s a universe where every second counts, and that tension is reflected in every page.

I loved how the book explores the cost of time... how it affects Margo’s youth, Moon’s desperation, and the choices they’re forced to make.

Would recommend for teens who enjoy unconventional fantasy and magic.

Rating: 4.5

Wow. Wow wow wow. This was such an incredibly inventive and impactful story. The themes of privilege being acknowledged and confronted was so good. I loved the character development throughout the book, as well as the insights we get from Moon. But overall, I just can't get over the creativity that went onto this story. Using time in this way, I'm obsessed.