An adorable story that truly does give readers " Annie" vibes- lovely, original, breathtaking. I loved this- you will too!

The description of the book was there but the book and the storyline wasn’t carried out in the book when actually reading it . It sounding like the movie with Gwenyth Paltrow sliding doors but didn’t quite make it there .

25-year-old Annie has reached a crossroads in her life. Let go from her job and broken up with by email, Annie doesn't know what is next in her life but she does know she is very unhappy. In another timeline, 40-year-old Annie is lost. She loves her children and her husband but she feels lost in her body and her role as a mother. In both timelines, she visits her grandmother, who "heals" her using a family recipe/spell/incantation passed down over time. The next day, each Annie wakes up in another version of her - the 25yo in the 40yo body and vice versa.

This is such an interesting idea for a book! Time travel books are pretty common (and I love them!) but I think this is the first body swap book I have read. The question of what you would do if you could live it all again is really fascinating. I also very much enjoyed Annie encountering iPhones and tablets and a French press - it's easy to forget just how much everyday life changed in just 15 years!

However, the problem with this book is that Annie is the least interesting character in the whole novel. Her best friends, her husband, even her daughter, were more engaging than she was. I found myself rushing through the pages Annie spent in her head and then slowing down when she interacted with other people. Which is a pity, because an idea as good as this book has deserves to be fully explored.

Three stars.

i really struggled with this one ot took me a while to get into it and i just couldnt connect with annie at all i pushed through and it got better towards the end but it just wasn't for me which is a shame cos from reading the description it had so much potential

I was so excited for this book and struggled to finish it. The storyline just wasn’t there but the idea in theory was great. The last 3 chapters were my favorite without a doubt but I kept waiting for the whole point and other than “everything works out the way it’s supposed to” I got nothing else from this book.

In Annie in Retrospect, Kristina Vogele offers a quietly compelling take on the question many women ask themselves at some point: Is this really the life I wanted? When Annie, a 40-year-old wife and mother, finds herself trading places with her 25-year-old single self, she’s forced to reckon with what she once longed for and what she now takes for granted.

Rather than glorifying the past, the novel explores the tension between wanting to skip ahead and learning to value the messy, beautiful process of becoming. Annie’s journey becomes a gentle reminder that the wisdom we seek is often found only by living fully through our seasons of doubt. One of the book’s most touching insights is that aging, far from being a loss, is a profound privilege.

Though the prose leans simple and accessible, the emotional truths at the heart of this story resonate. Readers who appreciate introspective fiction with a speculative twist similar to The Midnight Library will find this a thoughtful and rewarding read.

This book raises the question if one had the chance to go back in time and revisit a situation that could change the course of life that nothing would be the sane, what choice would that person make? How much should Annie reveal to her friends, JoJo and Leena, that they would act differently especially in the case of JoJo? I have to admit that Annie's observations of her younger self especially with respect to her appearance were hilarious. Annie at the time was in a relationship with Troy where he truly dictated how they were interacting and the way she should feel as a result of it. He clearly didn't take her into consideration at all when he abruptly left and sent a breakup email. Along comes Jake who is stable and adores her. Who sees her. He is her person and it took her observing both her present and past to do so. That is why Nonna prayed in such a way. Annie really needed it because she felt lost and only defined as a mother to JoJo and Lukey. That was all. The ending is great when it is her that leaves Troy and stays downstairs with Jake. She knew what she deserves the whole time.

A wonderful read!
This novel drew me in from the very first page and kept me hooked until the end. The characters were vibrant and relatable, the writing was engaging, and the story had just the right balance of heart and humor. Highly recommend!
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.