This is an ambitious premise, and the characters are so full of heart. I didn't think the twist at the end really worked, but I might be alone on that!

This book was a slow, slow, slow burn. I didn’t hate it nor did I particularly like it. It was just okay. The characters are not very likable, but the premise is enough to keep you going. However, the big plot twist or reveal does not happen until the last fifty pages or so. The only reason I’m giving this book three stars is because the ending was intriguing enough for me to find this book unique. I received an arc via NetGalley!

Meet Me in Another Life is a truly unforgettable story, weaving together love and friendship, family and loss, science and faith and possibility and theology. I raced through stories of Thora and Santi, followed every twist and turn to its emotional conclusion, which I know will stay with me for a long time. This book is thought-provoking and captivating, surprising and comforting, all at once. Reminiscent of Addie LaRue, David Nicholl’s Us, the film Interstellar, and with something all its own, Meet Me in Another Life is something special.

NetGalley kindly provided me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A couple fated to be together meet in many different situations and places and in different sorts of relationships.

I don't know how to accurate describe reading this book. It was so many things rolled into one.

Thora and Santi can't seem to get away from each other. They're spouses, or friends, siblings or stangers. They're together and then they're not. They find their way back again, only to be too old/too young. To barely miss each other, or find each other too early.

Thora and Santi meet again and again, life after life, always changing relationships. The outer characters rotate around them, sometimes the same, sometimes different. But Thora and Santi are always the same.

Why?
I don't want to give anything away so this will be a very vague review.

Silvey has done a superb job at creating and re-creating these two characters again and again, with their own cores in tact as they navigate through life and love and loss over and over again. It's like watching different films but with the same actors cast each time in different roles. I love how they interact, their meetings and relationships. I love what they learn and what they fight about. Taking a step back, it's a lovely case study of two souls who have the rare opportunity to grow together and apart again and again.

The second part of the novel becomes something else entirely and that is fine by me. It blends perfectly with what we already know about these two characters, giving way to an urgency that really propels the book forward to the last page.

I took my time reading this one. It's not to be missed.

Each chapter consists of a vignette from the lives of Santi and Thora while they are living in Cologne. In each one, they are different ages and have a different relationship to one another. It is strange to think Thora as the advisor in one and Santi as the parent in the next. Sometimes they are the same age, most times they’re not. It got a little tedious until they started to remember their previous lives. We see them search for meaning, filled with hope and despair until they finally figure it all out at the very end of the book. Pretty much the only reason to keep reading to the end is out of curiosity. It was okay, but there are much better books to spend your time with.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am not often surprised by the twists in a book but I did not see this coming. I enjoyed the twist and that it was not a traditional romance but I can see where readers who might pick up the book thinking its a romance would be disappointed by the ending.

This book... wow. It will make you look at life a bit different. It’s a story that makes you root got the main characters while still thinking that it’s never going to happen. A great book and story.

I absolutely loved this book so much!!! The cover is pretty, the synopsis made me intrigued to read it and so glad I did. The whole back had intrigue and mystery with a smattering of romance. Love the characterization of Thora and Santiago. Once I got a few chapters in, the story really took off. I had to finish this, and it only took 2.5 days.. If you are not much of a reader or want a different kind of a mystery, you NEED TO REAS THIS!! You will not be sorry. Highly recommended. I would gladly read anything written by this author. PLEASE write more!

All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, Catriona Silvey and William Morrow & Custom House for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 4/27/21

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

When I picked up this book, I didn’t really know what it was about, but I was inexplicably drawn to the title: ‘Meet Me In Another Life.’ I’ve always been drawn to things that feel somewhat mystical or mysterious, so I had a feeling I’d at least enjoy the overall premise. What I did not expect was that I would fall deeply in love with this book.

From the very beginning, Catriona Silvey managed to draw me in with her wonderful storytelling, even when I had absolutely no idea what was going on. By the first chapter, I was already attached enough to the characters that, by the time tragedy struck, I felt the loss. But what I did not expect was that the end of one story would just be the beginning of another, and that soon, I would feel like I knew these characters so intimately—every hardship they went through would show a new side of them that wasn’t always pleasant but that helped complete the larger picture. Even when I grew frustrated with the philosophical Santi and the reactive Thora, the mystery element of the story kept me reading.

This book is marketed as a love story, which I somehow both agree and disagree with. It is certainly not a romance. If you’re hoping for a sweet, cutesy read, this is probably not it. But even despite not being your typical rom com, it really does explore so many kinds of love—familial love, platonic love, unconditional love, selfish love, selfless love, and yes, sometimes even romantic love. There was so much throughout the story that at times it made me ache.

So if you’re a fan of speculative fiction and are interesting in the way people’s relationships evolve over time, this is the perfect book for you. I would definitely recommend.

This was fantastic! Santiago and Thora keep meeting, but never the same versions of themselves. There are touchstones and recurring characters that keep the story grounded. It reminded me of The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Midnight Library—two of my favorite books. Highly recommended!

I went into this knowing very little about this book, and while I enjoyed it, I do wish I had known it was sci-fi. Here are some things I liked:
- the pacing: a page-turner, I couldn't put it down, and whenever I started to think I was getting tired of one storyline/plot, it switched gears just in time.
- the characters: in the first chapter, they may seem a little cliche, but even then there is a bit of depth to Thora & Santi. I loved how they changed & stayed the same, much as people do. I was fully invested in what happened to these characters.
- the relationships: again, the ways the relationships evolve are fantastic. I cried early on in this book.
- the writing: occasionally heavy-handed, but mostly deft and thoughtful.
- some of it's ideas on attraction & love

What I didn't like falls under two categories. One, is mostly on me. This was not the book for me at this time. I was looking for something romantic & uplifting, and this book is neither of those. That is NOT a bad thing--this book is many other good things--but I think the blurb (and the comparison to The Time Traveler's Wife) can sell people on romantic & uplifting. There is romance, but it's a subplot, and while I would call it a love story, but not a traditional romantic one.

The second category of what I didn't like is mostly spoilers, so continue reading for SPOILERS. I am about to spoil a big mystery in the book so BE WARNED. Seriously SPOILERS.
SPOILERS -->> As soon as you find out it's a simulation, a lot of the thoughtful questions & conversations that Thora and Santi have had for the first part of the book lose their significance. I also hated the ending, which I won't spoil, but it was very rushed and I didn't really understand the point. Maybe it doesn't need a point, but I also don't want it to be pointless. and that's very much how the last 10% felt. <<-- END SPOILERS

Overall, if you like time travel-type things, unconventional love stories, stories about friendships, and page turners, I think you might like this. I don't think it holds up too well if you think about it too much, but it's a fun way to pass the time.

**Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.**

This title left me in a flood of tears and more than a bit of confusion. I won't say more to avoid spoilers, but the ending took a turn (as a whole) I did not quite enjoy. Nevertheless, I have recommended it to many others who enjoy this style of romance and time-travel-esque titles.

This book was such an amazing ride! I really haven't read anything like it, and that is something I am always looking for. This was a beautiful story with layers and layers of ever changing world building. The best part was how invested I got in the story waiting to figure out why these two people kept finding themselves in each life they lived. No spoilers here, but this is a must read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy. All opinions are my own. :)

Meet Me in Another Life is a completely unique & unforgettable debut. Each chapter we explore Cologne through different iterations of Santi and Thora. In each tale, their relationship to each other changes, as do details about their current lives, though core characteristics stay the same. Some threads remain as constant reminders of who they have been and are like little Easter eggs for the reader to discover (the significance of a fox, a tattoo of stars, an ever present but never properly functioning clock tower). As readers we are uncovering clues about these relationships along with the characters, trying to solve the puzzle of how everything is connected before the next life begins.

This book is very clever and beautifully done. Some stories ('or 'lives") of Santi & Thora pack more of a punch than others but each is an important puzzle piece leading up to the heartbreaking ending. It's impossible to classify this type of book but if you enjoy character studies, you would definitely enjoy this story.

Many thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the ARC.

Exceptional tale involving two characters who circle one another through multiple lives, always changing their relationship to one another yet maintaining their core personalities and essential questions about the meaning of life. MEET ME IN ANOTHER LIFE manages to create drama while slowly increasing the mystery of what is propelling these characters through time. They have an awareness of change and as readers, so do we. Author Catriona Silver uses a deft touch in keeping the tale afloat and the mystery of it all just outside of reach. This is a delight to read. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I assumed this book would be great! I love time travel and the like in my fiction. However, I found this novel to be impossibly slow going and at 75% finished, I called it quits. It was simply wayyyy tooooo slowwww. There wasn’t enough plot or development for a slow pace to carry.

One of the great debut novels. Almost impossible to put into any one box, which is one of the book's many strengths. Love story, mystery, drama. Thora and Santi keeping living various lives where they always interact with one another, albeit in different capacities: lovers, work partners, enemies, student, teacher... It all builds and builds to where they realize there may be a way to stop the cycle, but at what cost to each of them separately, and together.