Thank you for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. This was my first TJR book and it cemented my love for her. This book was similar to sliding doors and told in alternate pov. I love the way she writes and takes you through the journey with the characters.

Reviewed on my blog back in 2015 (see link below);

Did I love the ending? ABSO-FREAKING-LUTELY!!!
5 stars of absolute fabulousness!!!!!

I'm a huge fan of Taylor's and admire her ability to write characters with such depth that I feel like I've met them and experienced their story right alongside them. She manages to inject humor into the most emotionally trying scenes, and her plots as a whole grip you by your most basic human needs - love, rejection, loss, family, friendship. Maybe in Another Life did all of these things, but it was noticeably different from her previous two novels.

Pulling off a dual narrative is challenging, especially when it's the same narrator experiencing two different plots (well, they were mostly different). Personally, when I'm reading a book with multiple narrators or dual stories (past, present, etc), I find myself drawn to one and rushing through the others. I have to give Taylor many kudos because that didn't happen here. Her two stories kept similar pace; however, that pacing was a bit off.

Providing readers with introspective passages (especially if you're going to write in first person) is imperative to a story's progression and the reader's ability to emotionally connect with a character. MIAL used heavy chunks of dialogue, pages at a time, with little to no "story" surrounding it. Taylor's dialogue is spot-on in that it's fun, quippy, and makes her characters come to life, but without the story in-between, the book can begin to read flat, almost...surface-level. I grew a bit tired of the back and forth and craved those deeper passages that were more prominent in her first two novels. Readers begin to see a bit more of it toward the end of the book, but its effect is dulled by the repetition of saying the same thing (albeit a few sentences re-phrased)in both narratives.

Similar to that, I found the immense amount of detail surrounding every character's activities to be incredibly distracting. She blinked, coughed, sat, sipped her coffee, ate a cinnamon roll, loved the cinnamon roll, felt sick, pulled out her chair, got out her car keys, unlocked the door, got into the car, etc. There comes a point where you must trust your readers' ability to infer. If you do your job well, which Taylor does often do, we don't need the play-by-play. You lead us, and we will stay on the path you set us on.

As a whole, the story did keep me reading, and quite quickly, because Taylor does have a solid grip on the ebbs and flows of conflict and resolution. I found the book fun, enjoyed watching the relationships develop and unfold (though, again, trust us to infer how strong some bonds are rather than telling us more than a few times), and overall feel like it's a light, easy read.

Because I love Taylor, and will be a forever-fan, I do want to part with some closing lines pulled from MIAL. These were the glimpses of the raw, emotional talent readers were first introduce to in Forever, Interrupted.

"We have to face those consequences head on, for better or worse. We don't get to erase them just by saying we didn't mean to. Fate or not, our lives are still the results of our choices. I'm starting to think that when we don't own them, we don't own ourselves."

I'll be first in line for book 4.

This was my third Taylor Jenkins Reid novel and the final nail in the coffin. MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE convinced me it’s time to cut ties with her writing and never look back. Despite the glowing and infectious declarations of adoration from other readers and friends, the promises of emotional and heart-wrenching storylines her blurbs tend to toss out and the often unique look at relationships she strives to deliver, I’m bailing. I’m done trying to convince myself that I should like her writing when it doesn’t wow me.

The whole notion behind the story, the thought that our lives are shaped by the choices we make, instantly spoke to my optimistic heart. Through alternating chapters, the author explores what Hannah’s life would be like on both sides of the coin. What happens when she makes the choice to go home with her ex-boyfriend and when she opts to pass, instead. While I thought the idea behind it all was compelling, the execution was way off.

I’m blaming most of my discontent on Hannah (the annoyingly vapid main character), the author’s choppy writing style, and the repetition masked as ‘cute’ quirks. How many times do we have to hear about Hannah’s high bun and cinnamon roll obsession?! I’ll tell you . . . eighty times! Cinnamon rolls are mentioned eighty times in this 333 page book. I get the author was trying to be witty, but at a point it becomes excessive. Overkill. Eye-roll inducing.

Reading, much like everything else, is subjective. So take this for what it is - my opinion. Not every reader connects with every author and this just happens to be one of those times.