I will never say "I read this book in one day because it was that good" about any other book ever again because this was it for me! The best writing style and flow I have ever had the pleasure of reading. This is C.J. Connolly's debut novel and it was the parallel universe romance I did not even know I needed. I will be buying this book as soon as it hits the shelves and gift it to my mother and friends.

What a wild ride this book was, providing lots of travel (UK, Australia, Italy, the States) and lavish real estate parties with flowing alcohol and delicious sex scenes, but the fashion also had me drooling! Connolly does a great job of differentiating the two Josie's by writing the first Josie in the first person and the "Other Josie" in the third person. She also does a great job of giving them slightly different voices while ultimately having a similar way of thinking.

Connolly also references Outlander, Sliding Doors, The Wings of the Dove, The Lives of Others, Life after Life and Fringe, as well as her own personal experiences with the men in her life to base characters on the book which was neat. There was nothing I could find to dislike about it except wondering what happened to Peter, but I will get over it. Other than that, I cannot say enough great things about the writing style and overall enjoyment I had while reading this book next to my glass go wine. This needs to be your next romance book club pick, you will not be disappointed!

Thanks to C.J. Connolly, Joffe Books and NetGalley for the ARC; this was one of my favorite reads of the summer!

✨On starting this I immediately thought how will this be any different from films like Freaky Friday and 17 Again…. surely this plot has been done too many times but no, this is DIFFERENT!

✨I absolutely loved reading it from the dual POV and felt it added SO much to the story. It was so interesting learning what was happening to each version of Josie.

✨Josie was so likeable and it made me think how would I react if it was me in this situation. How would you choose between family and your one true love.

✨The story makes you realise that the grass isn’t always greener, and even if you had everything you wanted something could still be missing.

✨I was praying that it would end as it did and I can only hope for a sequel to find out how their lives go! Would they switch again?!

✨Before starting this I was in abit of a book slump and everything I picked up I couldn’t focus on, but this I read in less than 24 hours!

✨Thank you to @netgalley, @cjconnollybooks and @joffebooks for sending me an E-ARC. I wish you every success with this brilliant, heartwarming book!

"The Love of My Other Life" is centered on the "waking up in a coma dating another man" trope, but with a twist. Josie, a single woman in Brooklyn, is in a bad biking accident and wakes up in the hospital with a husband she's never met. Her last memories include her working at a radio station and beginning a "flirtmance" with a friend. But now, she has a wonderful husband, lives in a penthouse, and has a privileged lifestyle. While she recognizes how wonderful it all is, she misses her previous life as well. Can she figure out a way to get back to her old life, or should she settle in to this new life of hers?

The difference between this book and others with a similar storyline is that this book focused on several multiverses. It was a little confusing at times, and I was unsure with the ending of this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

C.J. Connolly's debut The Love of My Other Life has transported her to the top of my instant buy author list! What a debut!

The Love of My Other Life introduces us to Josie, a single radio show host living in Brooklyn, on the verge of a romance, when an accident enroute to her 36th birthday dinner transports her to another life - a life that split to a different branch three years previously. Josie wakes to find herself living in a different place, with a different job, a different smaller and more luxurious body, oh and a husband...but with one key person missing in this new world. But if Josie is here in this new world, what happened to the other Josie from this world?

The parallel/alternate universe story-line is a new favorite of mine and I love the take that Connolly takes with this one. The Love of My Other Life is a beautiful journey of getting to know oneself by becoming another version of oneself. A page turner that had me up WAY past my bedtime!

I received a copy from NetGalley, but the review is my own. “The Love of my Other Life” by CJ Connolly is a story of parallel universes, like the movie “Sliding Doors” or many other books and movies. This is not a trope I get tired of exploring, so I really liked the book. It is not the fluffy (and highly enjoyable) ‘rom-com’ books like “The Proposal” or “Mr. Wrong Number”, but is more in keeping with the work of Emily Henry or Mhairi McFarlane. It was an entertaining read that I could not put down, as I needed to know what was going to happen! Our main character ends up switching alternative versions of her life and must navigate new but somewhat familiar settings with different family, friends, work, and lovers. I really liked switching back and forth between the two different worlds -- each time you felt settled and happy for one Josie, there was a gut-punch for the “other” Josie, and vise versa. This did not lead to a roller coaster of emotion as the narrative was balanced enough, a sign of good writing and editing. I was anxious for how the author would end the book (would they switch back or not?) and how the love story would resolve. If I did have a criticism of the book, I would have liked to have spent more time with both the main romantic couple (how Josie falls in love with Rob) and with each Josie in the epilogue, as I felt as though one Josie (the original) had a “better” outcome than her counterpart, which I do not think was the intention of the author but was the result of the choices made by the characters and the fallout thereafter. I definitely recommend this book 4/5.

This book is so good and I can see it easily being a movie. Reese needs to pick this one up for her book club. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. I felt the ending was rushed, but I enjoyed everything until then. The author referenced in her note that she was curious about the multi-verse and referenced Sliding Doors, the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow. I thought about that movie while reading this so I could definitely relate to what the author was saying. I can't recommend this enough!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this book. Does every friendship have a Josie and Suzie i think so I loved their friendship so much and seriously is Rob the perfect guy. Hans and Mike are my dream couple friends. C.J Connolly set a scene so well it was like I was watching a movie in my mind. Would love to read more stories about Josie and Rob.

Have you ever considered what your life might be like if something that happened to you somehow went differently? What if you were able to get up and walk away from a bicycle accident instead of getting bumped and bruised? What if you never made it to that conference you planned to attend and instead limped home? Well, this is what happens to Josie Cavendish. From that moment on, Josie was living two parallel lives: one living the single life in a cramped Brooklyn apartment as the host of a real estate radio show called Talk New York, and the other working a communications job for a high-end real estate firm and living a life of luxury alongside husband, Rob Billing, developer mogul. But what if, one day, another bicycle accident causes you to switch places with the other version of yourself?
This book was so beautiful and well written. I love when books make you feel a range of emotions and boy did i feel them all with this one!!! I loved the ending.

An interesting concept, deftly handled. I thought I may find it confusing but it was well written enough to keep me engaged and on track! Josie did seem to moan a lot and I found it strange that she was envious/jealous of ‘other Josie.’ I will definitely read what this author has published next.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for the DRC of ”The Love of My Other Life". This exciting roller coaster of a novel has a very interesting plot, especially for science fiction fans like myself. Examining how each and every choice we make affects our lives, and how much does fate play a part in our lives? How much of our lives are predetermined and planned, even though we may take a very winding path with detours to get there? Josie's story grabs readers and emotionally hooks them in, making this book very hard to put down! At its heart, this is a love story, and also Josie's examination of her life and choices, answering some of the "what ifs" that we all occasionally have. I absolutely love books that involve alternate realities/parallel universes, and this book lived up to and beyond my expectations. I was so emotionally invested in not just Josie's story, but of all the other characters that made up the family, friends, and other people in her life. I will definitely be looking forward to reading more books from this author!

This was a very enjoyable read. I'm a sucker for stories about parallel realities and people slipping between them, and The Love of My Other Life didn't disappoint.

The story and characters were engaging, and I'll be recommending the book widely. Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy!

“it was the knowledge they existed, in any world, that gave her courage.”

This book destroyed me! It broke my heart and put it back together. I am an absolute sucker for the road not taken, what if, and other universe/alternate timeline stories. It’s actually how I initially found Taylor Jenkins Reid. “Maybe In Another Life” was my first from her and still my favorite of hers. This book reminds me somewhat of it, which is a huge compliment, and it also has shades of “Wish You Were Here” by Jodi Picoult which is another favorite. I hope this author is writing more as we speak, because I love her now!

We meet Josie as she’s about to celebrate her 36th birthday. She lives in Brooklyn, has a successful real estate radio show, great friends and most of all, a loving brother. I have a twin brother so this touched me in particular.

On her way to her birthday dinner, she’s in a bike accident and wakes up in the hospital to a hot husband she doesn’t know! She’s thin and wealthy and works comms for a big real estate powerhouse. This is not her life! It all seems perfect until she finds out her brother is not in this life. She’s honest with everyone about not remembering any of this, but it isn’t “amnesia,” she has memories, but of a different life. A simpler one but one with a brother. She really can’t have it all, it seems.

Josie, our main character, is a bit whiny in both lives. She’s been through a lot, I get it, but sheesh! Being more envious of “other you” than another woman is a little silly and not really in my multiverse theories, but I loved what this author had to say and share. I laughed out loud. The characters were witty and personable. The romance was brooding and painful, just how I like it and not TOO spicy.

Side note: I’m obsessed with the cover. It’s gorgeous. Looks like a Rep era Taylor to me. I also loved that it was about a desired woman in her 30’s, not a 20 year old who’s been looking for love for two years and thinks that’s tough!

This was so thought-provoking. Each life, she loses someone she loves. Can different versions of yourself be happy, through the lives they’ve known and chosen? Can you slip into another life unscathed, even with the knowledge that something different is waiting for you somewhere else? I believe you’re still “you” in any timeline.

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for the chance to read and review!

If anyone ends up having a book club to discuss this, hit me up. I have more to say!

I had the opportunity of reading a copy of The Love of my Other Life in exchange for an honest review thanks to Netgalley.

Josie is a 36-year-old Brit living in Brooklyn who wakes up in hospital after a traffic accident living an alternative version of her life. All she can do is try to navigate the life she has ended up in while figuring out the way back to her old world... unless a part of her would rather stay?

The Love of my Other Life dedicates way more pages to studying the consequences of the switch and all their ramifications than to the actual mechanics of how everything came to happen and that's fine by me. I reckon it's a bold choice from the author, introducing a multiverse but not letting it take over the story and the characters themselves, and as a reader it feels like the right thing to do.

Josie and her family and friends are relatable and have a warm feeling to them, but, I do have to say none of the love interests really did it for me. I can't quite put my finger on why exactly,but I felt lukewarm at best about both of them, which was a pity.

Overall, it is an entertaining, enjoyable read and I would recommend it to anyone who is a fan of romance and women's fiction and would like to try a story with a twist.

I finished this novel a few days ago but needed time to think over my review.
I liked the book, it was a solid 3.5 but wasn’t sure why I didn’t love it.

The writing was good and the idea was somewhat original. I personally haven’t read anything like it, I only say somewhat because the book mentioned sliding doors which is where I assume the author got their inspiration from.

After thinking it through, I think it was a few things that didn’t make it a 5 star review for me.
One being I went into it thinking it was going to be a romance novel. Which is isn’t. This is totally on me though.

Secondly I think it’s because the characters instantly knew what was going on.
If I was in that situation I would initially think maybe I do have some kind of amnesia. I would think logically that magic doesn’t exist. It wouldn’t be until I started talking to people I supposedly didn’t know and I knew things about them I shouldn’t, that I’d realise I was right.

Also they both knew there was another version of themselves they swapped with. How did they know that? In most other cases like this novel they’ve just changed to a parallel universe and return at the same spot afterwards.
How did they both immediately write down everything for each other to read? I know it’s a unrealistic plot in general but this threw me.

I still think this is a good book though like i said a 3.5 and I would pick up any other books written by this author. I assume if you like the movie sliding doors you’ll love this book.

A certainly different read to my normal psychological thriller genre; I was pleasantly surprised by The love of my other life.

This made easy reading- certainly worth taking on holiday - I willed for everything to fall into place but wondered how the author would manage it. I

I did struggle to warm to one of the main characters : if anything this was my only my negative.

I really enjoyed this Sliding Doors style tale of two Josies. This book takes the concept of alternate realities based on small changes in circumstance to examine the possibilities of one woman living two alternate lives. In one reality she goes to a meeting and meets her future husband while in another reality she narrowly misses this meeting and continues her path as a single woman.... AND switch! These two people who are the same person and not the same person switch lives and live out all the complications that entails on the pages of this fun debut novel.

I thought this novel was very well paced and fun, the changes in perspective were complicated and deftly handled. I never felt confused... other than thinking about all of the possibilities this concept opens up!

Thanks to Joffe Books & NetGalley for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A complicated storyline is told beautifully and you really feel the main character's dilemma, from multiple viewpoints. An excellent read!ith an eye for precise detail balanced by a sweeping imagination, this beautifully constructed book is built on deep foundations. Read it at least twice….

Thank you Netgalley and the Publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This was an enjoyable book.

I love the concept of this book - that there is a multiverse and different versions of us exist at the same time. I just wish the execution had been a little bit crisper - I really didn’t like how many times Rob & Josie called each other “baby” - it was excessive. Also the dialogue was a little forced.

Wow, just wow. I don't think I was mentally prepared for this as I just welcomed a baby in early April but I couldn't put it down. I needed to know what happened. Well done by the author.