I've got absolutely nothing but LOVE for this book! It was such a sweet, heartwarming, wholesome read. I did not expect to like it nearly as much as I did, but it's on the list of one of my top picks for 2025, so far.

It's a story about friendship, grief, love, hope, and how our memories shape our future. You'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll most likely relate to the main character, Meg on some level.

The audio narration was excellent and I'm going to be bold and tell you all that if you don't put this book on your TBR list, it'll be a mistake.

4.5 stars

From the time I requested this on Netgalley until I read it I totally forgot what this book was about. So I headed in blind, which is so much fun.

The book starts on Meg Bryan’s 30th birthday, she is a Hollywood star and out of sorts. On impulse she books a trip to Ireland and left immediately. The story begins when she steps off the plane and begins exploring her way through this acquaint little town. But something just feels off. Turns out she stepped into a alternate timeline where things that happened in the past 12 years didn’t actually happen.

I really enjoyed this book, it was witty, had some great characters and the storyline worked. The changes in her life begin to mess with her mind, because maybe she just likes this new life better.

The Other Side of Now is a story of family, friendship, grief, and forgiveness. It's about second chances and following your heart. I love the Ireland setting, yeah it’s on my bucket list.

The blurb advertises that this is great for fans of a couple well-known authors, but I think Ashley Poston would be a better comparison.

This was a hybrid read for me, the audio and the digital e-book, I highly recommend both formats.

My thanks to Macmillan Audio and Saint Martin’s press for advanced copies of both the digital and audiobook.

✨At its heart, this is a story of love – romantic love, friend love, familial love, dog love, love of place and even self-love. But it’s also a story about the road not taken, about loss, grief and healing. It’s a beautifully crafted blend of romance, drama and magical realism, and I was thoroughly taken in by the storytelling.

✨There is a strong message of hope and healing in these pages – and there is absolute laugh out loud humor in the mix as well. I love a good mix of depth and wit, and this book does it so well.

✨The cast of supporting characters is so charming and delightful. I just fell in love with Kiera, Cillian and Maureen.

🎧The author herself narrated the audiobook, and I confess I wasn’t sure how that would work. BUT WORK IT DID! She was fabulous and really brough the various characters to life for me. Excellent narration!

🌿Read if you like:
✨Magical realism
✨Alternate realities/parallel universes
✨Sliding door tropes
✨Ashley Poston books
✨Loveable casts of characters
✨Irish village settings
✨Second chances
✨Found family
✨Open door romance
🐾Dogs

If I could bottle the feeling this book gave me, I’d carry it around forever.

The Other Side of Now is a beautifully bizarre, hilarious, and heartfelt journey through grief, self-discovery, and second chances with just the right touch of magical realism to make your jaw drop and your heart swell.

First, let’s talk about the audiobook. Paige Harbison’s narration is chef’s kiss perfection. She doesn’t just read the story, she performs it. Every accent, every emotion, every beat is delivered with such authenticity and flair that I honestly forgot I was listening to an audiobook and not sitting in the middle of a quaint Irish village. I am so impressed that she not only wrote such a lovely novel, but also performed it with so much professionalism. Mind blown.

The characters feel like real people—messy, lovable, infuriating, hilarious, and incredibly human. By the end, I felt like I was saying goodbye to friends. The humor is sharp and self-aware, the emotional depth sneaks up on you in the best way, and I found myself laughing out loud, tearing up, cringing in secondhand embarrassment, and gasping at reveals I didn’t see coming.

I especially appreciated how the magical realism was handled lightly, thoughtfully, and grounded in character. It wasn’t about escaping reality but reexamining it from a slightly askew and captivating angle.

This book will stay with me for a long time. It’s a story about the roads not taken, the people we lose and find again, and the sometimes impossibly hard choice between the life you knew and the one you never expected.

Highly recommend—especially in audio format. Trust me. You won’t want it to end.

The Other Side of Now is heartfelt, clever, and full of emotional depth wrapped in a unique, time-twist-y premise. Watching the main character rediscover her life with fresh eyes was both fun and surprisingly moving. The characters felt real — flawed, lovable, and easy to root for. It’s the kind of story that sneaks in some big feelings while keeping a light, hopeful tone. Original and uplifting without being cheesy.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars
Rated PG-13 for language, romantic content, and themes of loss and self-discovery.

I have a soft spot for stories that play with reality—especially those that explore the "what if" moments in life. It's like a therapy session, but you're not reading about a person working through their issues with a therapist. Instead, the author gives us an everyday situation, throws in a touch of magical realism where characters wake up in a parallel universe, and they work things out by getting to see what their life could have been. This book hits that spot perfectly. It's got a classic sliding doors vibe, and while the formula might be familiar, it's still refreshing. I had no trouble sinking into the world or connecting with the characters.

The story follows Meg Bryan, who on the surface has it all—a starring role in a hit TV show and a relationship with Hollywood's latest heartthrob. But as is often the case, looks can be deceiving. Beneath her stage name (Lana Lord) and her glamorous life, Meg is a mess. The show is on the verge of being canceled, her boyfriend is likely cheating on her, and she misses Aimee, her best friend who died years earlier. A breakdown at her 30th birthday party sends Meg on a spontaneous trip to Ireland, to a little village she and Aimee had once dreamed of moving to.

And here's where the magic hits. When Meg arrives, something feels… off. The locals know her, but not as the celebrity she's become. She's got her natural hair, her real nose, and pictures on her phone from a completely different life. Turns out, she's slipped into an alternate version of her life—one where Aimee is still alive but distant, and where a sexy Irish bartender named Cillian seems to have a complicated history with her.

The relationships in this book are what truly make it shine. Meg's dynamic with Aimee is especially heartfelt. You believe in their friendship, flaws and all. It's complicated, raw, and full of unspoken regrets—exactly what you'd expect from two people with a lot of history. Cillian is another highlight. Who wouldn't want a sexy, charming, rugged Irish bartender? Their chemistry feels real, and the push and pull of their interactions kept me invested.

I really loved how you can feel Meg's longing to stay in this alternate world. I was genuinely worried about what would happen when her time was up—would she be yanked back to her old life? I really didn't want that to happen. No spoilers, but I will say that the ending is perfect. Things tie up exactly the way they needed to, and it's both bittersweet and hopeful.

I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by the author herself. I always love when authors do their own narrations because it feels more personal. It's like you're hearing the story exactly how it was meant to be told. Harbison did a great job bringing Meg's journey to life, capturing both the humor and heartbreak.

If you love stories that make you reflect on your own "what ifs," this book is for you. The story has a bit of a Rebecca Serle vibe (think "In Five Years" or "The Dinner List"), so if you're into books that blend reality with a hint of magic and a lot of heart, this one will be right up your alley. There's an emotional depth here that sneaks up on you, especially in the last few chapters when Meg has to reconcile with her past. It's not just a feel-good read—it's one that makes you think about regrets, second chances, and what really matters. Just keep a tissue handy. Highly recommended!

This was one of my most anticipated reads of the summer, and it absolutely lived up to my expectations. Paige Harbison delivers a story full of heart, humor, and a pitch-perfect dose of timeless pop culture references that keep the book feeling fresh rather than dated.

The characters are a real highlight, and I especially adored Tara, she practically leapt off the page. The concept is both intriguing and well-executed, and the ending was deeply satisfying without feeling overly neat.

I listened to the audiobook and didn’t realize it was narrated by the author herself until I sat down to write this review. That revelation made me appreciate it even more. While her American male character voices weren’t my favorite, her Irish accent was flawless and added so much personality to the story—especially for Tara! Harbison brought her characters to life with such warmth and nuance that I’d absolutely recommend this one in audio format.

A heartfelt, funny, and memorable read! I’ll be thinking about this one for a while

Thank you to Paige Harbison, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for sending me the ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Lana Lord is a famous actress, star of a show called Brilliance. She should be happy with her lavish lifestyle as an actress but she learns that her boyfriend is cheating on her and she felt very unhappy with her life. In the heat of the moment, she decides to take a solo trip to Ireland to getaway from her sad life and enjoy some R&R but things start to take a turn in a different direction.

Tropes: Magical realism, found family, friends to lovers, movie star, soulmates, small town

Paige Harbison as the narrator was brilliant. She is a very talented author and voice ac-tor/narrator. I thoroughly enjoyed her comedic timing, her humor and how she was able to make me cry after just making me laugh out loud. I wish I had a best friend like Keira. I wonder if Maureen and Dido ever meet? I would compare this book to the 7 year slip by Ashley Poston minus the 7 years. I loved, loved this book and will need a book trophy when it does come out June 3, 2025.

Thanks to Netgalley and MacMillan Audio for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Pure magic. Absolute perfection. All of the best parts of a book plus some magic stories sprinkled in!

As we’re introduced to Lana/Meg we learn she is a successful, but not totally happy, actress. Then, spur of the moment she makes a choice that will change everything. It puts a series of events into motion that change her (and the readers) forever.

The narration is wonderful. The plot and characters are endearing.

Advanced listener copy provided by Macmillan Audio but all opinions are my own.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison
Narrated by author

Meg Bryan loves acting but had to change her name early on due to the fact that it sounds like another Meg's (the famous one's) name. So now Meg Bryan is known as Lana Lord and she's actually doing very well for herself by just about anyone's standards. Yet, Meg really isn't as happy as she "should" be even though she's living with a famous movie heart throb (arranged) and living the very good life of luxury that comes with fame.

As a teen, Meg had dreams of attending university in a quaint Irish village with her best friend Aimee but things didn't work out the way Meg dreamed and then Aimee died. The death of Meg's best friend destroyed Meg and she dropped everything to move across the country to (shocker) find fame in a TV series. Meg has never gotten over the guilt and heartbreak she feels for losing her best friend and then going on with life.

After a thirtieth birthday party breakdown, Meg impulsively purchases a ticket to the place she'd dreamed of attending university and the village is wonderful. Her little rental cottage seems so "her", it comes with a dog that loves her, people are so friendly they act like they've known her for years, and they all seem to think the hunky bartender is her on and off ex boyfriend. Biggest surprise of all is that Aimee is alive and more than doing well in this Irish village.

So, if this is a sliding doors kind of thing, Meg is all in, but how can she keep this new other life? Meg may not be a working actress in this life but there are things she would never want to lose (again). All she misses of her old (real?) life is her dog from that life. How can she fix some things in this other life that need fixing? How can Meg not mess up this "other" world.

Meg is in new territory and it was interesting trying to figure out things with her. At some point, I stopped trying to figure things out because they don't really hold up to my understanding of weird happenings and what ifs. There are some great characters here and I was as afraid as Meg that she might lose them when things "poofed" back to her old life. The author/narrator, Paige Harbison, knows just how she wants her characters to sound and we get all the accents and silliness she wanted in the story along with a mountain load of grief that must be faced rather than avoided. I think the story ends the best way possible when the impossible might still be impossible. Lots to discuss with Jayme and DeAnn in this interesting story so look for their reviews to see how they felt about Meg's new and old lives.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the ebook and audiobook ARCs.

THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW is a cozy alternate reality story that strikes a thoughtful balance between lighthearted charm and emotional depth.

Meg Bryan seems to have it all. She’s the lead actress on a hit TV show and living the glamorous L.A. life. but under the surface she’s unraveling. In the middle of a quarter-life crisis, Meg escapes to a quiet Irish village… and wakes up in a life she doesn’t remember choosing. In this version of reality, she moved to Ireland as a teen and her deceased best friend is somehow still alive.

What follows is a heartfelt journey about second chances, letting go, and realizing that the life we thought we wanted may not be the one we truly need. I adored every page.

I was a bit skeptical about reading a fiction book narrated by the author, but she did a fantastic job!

READ THIS IF YOU:
-appreciate a satisfying, full-circle ending
-dabble with a bit of light magical realism
-want nostalgic, swoony The Holiday vibes

PUB DAY: June 3, 2025
RATING: 4/5

Many thanks to the publisher for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison is a lovely novel reminiscent of The Husbands. Two childhood friends Meg and Aimee grew up together and had a plan to move to a small town in Ireland for school. What really happened is more tragic, Aimee died and Meg went on to live a famous TV star life in LA that ultimately feels hollow. When she hops on a flight to take a vacation to the small Irish town they once dreamed of going to, she suddenly enters a new reality where Aimee is alive and her life is completely different.

I was charmed by this! It was a lovely audio rendition narrated by the author that had a great rhythm and a memorable story.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for the ARC! The Other Side of Now is out 6/3/25.

3.5 stars
Lana Lord, a soap star who’s had enough of her glamorous (but superficial) Hollywood life. She heads to the small town of Avalon, Ireland—chasing a long-abandoned dream she once shared with her best friend Aimee. There, she transforms from the polished, public-facing “Lana” to her original self, Meg, someone the locals remember as just another girl from the area. I loved how the book explored the tension between these two versions of her life. It wasn’t always clear which one was “real,” and that uncertainty made her journey feel more authentic.

The story touches on friendship, grief, and healing in a very human way. Meg/Lana’s internal struggle about who she really is and whether she belongs in her old life or this new one was thoughtfully done. One of my favorite things about the book was how it didn’t offer a perfect answer—sometimes life just doesn’t work that way, and that’s okay.

I was lucky enough to listen to an advanced audiobook copy from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley. The author narrates it herself, and while I appreciate that she wanted to tell her story in her own voice, I did find the narration a bit distracting at first. Her voice didn’t quite have the soothing quality I usually look for in audiobooks, and I had to adjust the volume. That said, once I was fully into the story, I was hooked and focused more on the plot than the narration.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for this free advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily

Lana Lord, who is actually Meg Bryan, (no not that actress, but Bryan) is the lead actress on a nighttime soap opera, a dramatic, and poorly written, but ever popular show that might or might not be cancelled. She lives with her sweet, but not too bright, movie star boyfriend. By all accounts she is living a charmed life. But something is missing. For one, her best friend Amy who died when they were 19. Or did she. On the spur of the moment Meg decides to take a trip to Ireland to the town where her dream university is located. Although she was accepted, Amy wasn't so Meg stayed behind with her. When she arrives in the village, where she doesn't know anyone, everyone seems to know her. Meg remembers a fortune teller saying she would have two lives. Is this the second one? And best of all, Amy is alive and well in this life. But she and Meg are no longer close. Meg is determined to fix this, as well as learn more about the handsome Irishman that she has an on again, off again relationship with. Heartwarming, funny, with a little touch of magical realism this is a wonderful story about friendship, love, loss, and redemption.

Stars: 5
The Other Side of Now follows our main character, Meg (or Meggy), who lives a glamorous life in Hollywood as the star of a hit TV show. Her days are filled with parties, nightclubs, and appearances alongside other A-list celebrities. She’s in a conveniently arranged relationship with someone she actually likes—but deep down, she never truly feels like this life is her own. On the surface, it’s a dream: luxurious, exciting, and seemingly perfect. But beneath it all, Meg is left feeling empty, longing for something more meaningful.

On a whim, she books a flight to Avalon, Ireland, desperate to escape the pressures of her fame. When she arrives in the quiet town, a visit to a local pub turns surreal—everyone seems to recognize her, like they’ve known her for years. Meg soon realizes she’s slipped into an alternate reality, one where she followed her childhood dreams and a tragic accident from her past never happened.

The rest of the book follows Meg as she tries to make sense of this new life—one that feels both foreign and strangely right. While trying not to sound completely unhinged, she seeks help from people who claim to be her closest friends. The story is witty, heartfelt, and at times laugh-out-loud hilarious. As Meg grows more attached to this second chance at life, the reader falls in love with it too—flaws and all. It’s a charming exploration of what could have been, and the deep human yearning for authenticity, connection, and healing.

The Other Side of Now is a light, laugh-out-loud funny read with just the right dash of romance. But beneath its charming surface, it also delivers a poignant exploration of grief. At its heart, this story reminds us that no matter what path life takes, it’s our connections and relationships that matter most—and that they are the most beautiful, enduring parts of being human. I was pleasantly surprised by how emotionally deep and meaningful this story turned out to be and I freaking LOVED it.

I adored the narrator—she did a fantastic job bringing each character to life and had a profound impact on how the story resonated with me. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this book to not just certain people but to anyone!

♾️⭐️!!!

THIS FREAKING BOOK! FAV READ OF THE YEAR!

The Holiday meets Freaky Friday in the funniest, most beautiful way possible.

The way that she described Avalon made me feel like I was walking down the rain soaked cobblestone streets or sitting right there in Killian’s pub. I was sitting on the couch in comfy sweatpants drinking wine. I WAS THERE. AND I DIDNT WANT TO LEAVE.

Grief and managing it was a huge theme here but it was spread out so evenly and beautifully across the whole story!

Can’t wait for Paige to write MORE!

If you're a fan of "what if" stories (The Midnight Library, It's a Wonderful Life, Sliding Doors, etc), you'll love this.

Meg aka Lana Lord is an actress on a groundbreaking soap, but she's not really happy. Her relationship is a PR stunt, the show isn't quite what she wanted to do, and most of all she's refused to acknowledge a significant loss, let alone grieve it.

Fed up with it all she escapes to a cottage in Ireland, the very town where she'd originally planned to attend a performing arts college. However things quickly go awry.

She loses her things, people seem to know her, and she doesn't look like Meg aka Lana Lord, but Meg from before the tweaks to fit into Hollywood.

Most shocking of all her childhood best friend Aimee is also there.

Meg embraces this new relaxed life, that allows her to eat carbs and fats, but can she stay forever in this alternate world?

I am a fan of this type of book. I love the relationships, the difficulty but catharsis of facing what was so difficult to face before, and (spoilery) a nicely pleasant ending.

Meg Bryan lives in a world where she is a famous actress with a bit of emotional baggage from losing her best friend when they were teenagers. Looking for an escape, she booked a last-minute flight to the small Irish town where she and Aimee were supposed to go to college.....only to find herself in a reality where she did just that.

I absolutely loved this book. Couldn't not hit pause, blew through it in a day. I am a sucker for an alternate universe novel and, being a member of the dead best friend's club myself, I couldn't resist this one. It was everything I wanted and more. I loved all of the characters, all of the settings, and this one did a great job of avoiding the "it was all a dream!" thing AND the "the best parts of both worlds magically came together" thing I find in so many alternate live books. The way it transitioned to reality was great, the ending was satisfying and cute but not cheesy and uncanny, just really perfection. I would LOVE to see this made into a movie.

This one deals with love & heartbreak in a way that is inciteful and sad without being overwhelming so it will go over really big with fans of Taylor Jenkins Reed. "The Other Side of Now" will definitely sit next to TJR's "Maybe in Another Life" on my favorite books list!

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the opportunity to listen to an early copy of THE OTHER SIDE OF NOW by Paige Harbison in exchange for my honest review!

--Performance Review--

Anytime I see when an audiobook is read by the author, I immediately get excited to listen. It's such a unique opportunity because you are hearing exactly how the author imagines and hears the story in their own mind when they put the words to page rather than the interpretation of a hired voice actor. I think Paige Harbison did an amazing job narrating her own story, making the characters come alive with the use of different accents and personalities. I don't know if Harbison has experience with audiobook narration, but would definitely listen to Paige's narration whether on a book she's written herself or by someone else.

--Story Review--

Meg Bryan has always dreamed of becoming a famous actress. She even managed to do it under her stage name, Lana Lord. But shortly after her 30th birthday, Meg is feeling a bit discontent with her life and wonders what her life would have been like if she pursued a different path when she was younger. On a whim, Meg books a retreat to Ireland, but when she arrives, the people start treating her like they know her. Not her as a famous actress, but regular ole Meggie. Which is odd because Meg knows she's never met any of these people before in her life. And what's even more odd is that her best friend is there....her best friend that passed away when they were teenagers. Over the next week, Meg learns what it means to appreciate both the big and small things in her life, and the importance of making every moment count, especially with the people you love.

I really enjoyed the concept of this book. Alternate reality storylines always interest me. However, I did struggle with the main character for most of the book. She seemed quite shallow and vapid at times which felt very stereotypical and one-dimensional development for a character who is a Hollywood actress. Does Meg experience some character growth in this book? Absolutely, and I am super glad for it, but she wasn't tolerable for me until pretty far along in the story.

It also drove me crazy the way she would internally speak to herself about Cillian. It was repetitive and mostly about how he is so "hot". I don't know, but every time she would say things like that irked me and made me cringe. I feel like calling people "hot" is such a high school thing, but maybe I am wrong. I wish we would've gotten more from their romance, because Cillian was lovely, but I also understand that the romance was not the purpose of this book.

This book is largely about Meg finally coming to terms with her best friend Aimee's death. I'm glad she got the closure she needed for this. I do wish there was bit more interaction between Meg and Aimee while in this alternate reality than what we got, but the conclusion was satisfactory.

I think many will enjoy this book. For me, the things that bothered me just happened to really bother me and impact my experience.

3.5/5 stars

The Other Side of Now is magical realism following an actress as she she wakes up in an alternate world where she made different choices. This was such a fun book, and I really enjoyed the overall message of being grateful for real connections over superficialness. I loved the side characters and wish we had seen more of them. There is an emotional element to the Other Side of Now involving grief and loss of a loved one (not a spoiler), so have tissues at the ready.

Narration by Paige Harbison was well done and really brought the characters to life.

I received an ARC and ALC from St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.