Diana makes a wish on a snow globe to have one more day with her fiance', who is in a coma. But she ends up in a Groundhog Day situation where she keeps living the same day over and over again. I really enjoyed this book.

This was a very cute read and I usually don't gravitate towards Time Loop novels or Christmas novels. I actually only requested this ARC from NetGalley because a friend mentioned that she was interested in it. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I really loved the ending and it was definitely not what I expected.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an e-ARC of this novel. Review will be posted on Instagram by or before the publication date (@ellie.reads.a.lot)

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
Clearly I'm in the minority here, having seen other reviews. This one obviously wasn't for me.
I love a good time travel/time loop story. Unfortunately, this isn't one of them. It was a Groundhog Day-type story where the character of Diana relives the same day over and over. First of all, she was awful. I don't understand how Linus ever got together with her (there is no backstory), never mind stayed with her. Their interactions were so....stilted? Almost old fashioned. I'm not sure I can describe it. It just didn't seem like dialogue that anyone their age would have. The time loop was so repetitive - obviously - but the wording was much same every time, so much so that I skipped over large parts of it. And the scenario - and rushed ending - with the kid (no spoilers) was so unrealistic, I'm not sure why that character was even part of this story.

This seasonal read has a Groundhog Day twist, as Diana relives the day her fiancée gets in an accident and ends up in a coma over and over. She tries to make changes to the day to avoid the accident, learning a thing or two about family and holiday spirit along the way.

I struggled a bit in the first half of this book. Diana was just so darn cold and unlikable that I didn’t really care if she got her happy ending, I just wanted her to be kind to someone along the way, and instead she kept pushing the people around her further away. I frankly wasn’t sure why her best friend still wanted to be her friend or why her fiancée wanted to marry her in the beginning. I did like the character growth after she finally snaps out of pure exhaustion, and the back half of the book was more enjoyable for me to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'll admit that I kept delaying reading this book. When I saw it was Annie Rains, I immediately requested to read the ARC. I should have read the synopsis more carefully, but since I love Annie, I figured, this would be a great addition to the ones I've already finished by the author. I didn't realize that this was a new venture for her and was more chick lit vs small town romance and had a mystical facet to it and wasn't going to be realistic. I tend to avoid those types of books.

But in the end, I'm glad I gave this a chance. It was pretty good, not great, but I did find myself staying up until after 2 a.m. to finish the book. I wasn't sure if Linus/Diana would even get a HEA and it was honestly bothering me so much that I just had to finish to see if this would go the way I hoped it would. It did, so for those who are use to her romance books, rest assured the characters get a HEA.

The one thing I didn't enjoy was the repeat scenes. I get it, it was like Groundhog Day meets The Christmas Carol. So of course, she'd keep going back to the same day and trying to change the outcome. It became a little redundant after a while. It didn't help that I wasn't a fan of Diana for most of the book either. She started caring about more than just her job in the end, but for 80% of the book, she was all about that stupid promotion and I just wanted to scream at her to get a clue that it's not about the job, it's about your relationship with others. A job won't make you happy in the end.

The ending was pretty good. I loved Dustin and felt he was a great addition to the story and made Diana more human and less robot. Would I read more in this genre from the author? Maybe. I still prefer her romance novels, but this wasn't a bad first book in this women's fiction genre for her.

I will say right off this is a different type of book I usually read from Annie Rains.
Diana Merriman is a Physical Therapist that goes to homes for her patients. Her fiancé Linus and he runs the toy store in town. They have a fight on December 3 and on December 4 her day is awful. Linus is in an accident and now a coma and long-term care facility.
She finds a snow globe in her closit that Linus had purchased as her Christmas present. After her neighbor does an enhancement on the snow globe, she keeps reliving December 4. She hopes to get things right, so Linus isn't in the accident. Diana needs to learn more about being open with her life. So, each time she relives the day things change and she changes along with it. She finds more about her patients and the job in management she has applied for at work. The loop of repeat is 4 times until she gets it right.
Not really sure if I like this book; it was different from my usually choice in books.

Through the Snow Globe
Annie Rains
August 22, 2023

Diana Merriman and her fiance, Linus are having another discussion of her insensitive ways of living. From the ‘professional’ attitude toward her physical therapy patients to her practical methods of dealing with everyday pressures she consistently looks to how ideas will affect her personally.
Linus and the Grant family had a joyful time celebrating Thanksgiving. The tree was decorated with lights and ornaments. He has a large family and all came with additions to the holiday meal. Diana felt out of place. She had been raised by her Grandmother. There was no other family and she had but one close friend. Over the next few days she had several appointments with patients but most importantly she had an appointment scheduled with her boss, Mr. Powell to discuss her application for promotion to supervisor. Although she had thought about all of the things she needed to discuss, when the time came she was quite nervous. Things didn't go well.
Through the Snow Globe will be published on August 22nd, 2023 by Kensington Publishing Corporation. I was able to read and review the ARC via NetGalley. I always look forward to reading Annie Rain's delightful family tales. This one dealt with a particular gift that caused the total disruption of Diana and Linus’s life. I rather enjoyed the story until the continued Groundhog Day plot line continued. No matter how Diana chose to change her attitude nothing seemed to make life easier or pleasant. This is a first for me to be disappointed in a novel by Rains. It was well written and will be a humorous read for many so don’t disregard her latest on my review. Do pick this one up and give it a try.

Annie Rains is an author who I can count on to give me good characters, minimal angst, closed door, contemporary romances. So it is a surprise to see her throw in a bit of fantasy in her holiday themed, Ground Hog Day type story. Diana Merriman is a physical therapist in small town Snow Haven, NC. She loves her fiancé Linus who owns a toy store once owned by his father. She is resistant to setting a wedding date for reasons from her background.

On December 4th she experiences a rough day. She and Linus argue, work isn’t smooth, nor is her interview for a promotion. She also argues with her best friend whose birthday it is. But worse of all Linus gets in accident and ends up in a coma. Through the magic of the holidays she awakes again and again on the same day.

I’ve read a good many of these type stories, one this past week. But this still feels fresh. Rains is able to show her character change on the various days. She is learning and growing from the Elsa she is in the beginning. Yes, it can feel repetitive but there is something new in each repeat day to make it worth the journey. Of course it is going to lead to a warm fuzzy ending. And I couldn’t be happier than to have a little Christmas magic even though it is still summer.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for an ARC and I am leaving a voluntary review.

What an awesome read! Through the Snow Globe is part It’s a Wonderful Life, Part Groundhog Dand and totally marvelous Annie Rains. Like so many when tragedy happens, Diana Merriman realizes what actually means the most in her life. It is different from what she once thought.

A poignant story of trying to do what is right, having trouble understanding exactly what that is and trying again. When Diana cried, I cried right along with her. However, it wasn’t until later on that you find out another is also living December the fourth over and over, remembering each one just like she does. Several sweet twists and one huge unexpectedly on makes this the Christmas read of 2023 for me. It is on my list to reread in December around the fourth just to remember the lessons learned. The characters in the book are not the only ones who learned a thing or two, I did too. So will you, so read this unique story soon.

An ARC of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley which I voluntarily chose to read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Annie Rains has written a heartwarming and emotional story of a woman compelled to look at her life in order to change how she relates to others.

It’s December 4 and Diana Merriman starts her day with her fiancé Linus. The two had quarrelled the night before as Linus begins to push Diana to start planning their wedding. Diana tells him she wants to wait until after she interviews for a promotion. The weather has turned cold and Linus heads to his toy store reading his beloved bike as he forgot to gas up his truck. On his way home from work, he is struck on his bike by a delivery truck and slips into a coma.

Skip to December 24. Diana stumbles upon a wrapped gift that Linus has purchased for her. She opens it and finds a one-of-a-kind snow globe of their small town. Her elderly neighbor visits and Diana shows her the snow globe. The woman places an enchantment on the snow globe that allows Diana to repeat one day in her life. She is warned that this enchantment will not change the course of events. She chooses December 4 in hopes of preventing Linus’ accident. What she doesn’t know is that she’s about to repeat this day over and over again.

I loved the intensity and consequences of Diana’s time loop as she tries to live a life without Linus. Time loops tend to become a little monotonous and if I’m honest I could have done with one less repeat of December 4. Having said that, the book is a lovely Christmas read and is full of the magic of the holiday season.

I recommend this book to those that enjoy time-loop women’s fiction and romance.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

I always seem to love time loop stories, and this one had a Christmassy twist that made it more fun!

In this book, Diana, a physical therapist, ends up in a time loop after her fiancé Linus gets in an accident a few weeks before Christmas that puts him in a coma. Using a snow globe with an enchantment, Diana ends up reliving the day of Linus’s accident over and over to see if she can save him.

This was a sweet, unexpectedly poignant story. I really enjoyed seeing Diana grow and change during the time loop. I loved her patients, Maria and Addy, and I also loved seeing Dustin. I found the story to be slightly slow in the beginning, but it did pick up and I ended up really enjoying it.

Not as Christmassy as some of the other Christmas books out there, but definitely an enjoyable read.

I love a good Christmas time romance story, throw in a time loop plot and you tick a lot of boxes for this reader. I really didn’t like the main character, Diana at first. Even though she is a caregiver she came off as abrupt and self serving and a little rough around the edges. That may be because of her upbringing by a tough as nails grandmother, she also had an absentee mother. BUT somewhere along the way Diana eventually won her way into my heart.

This story isn’t just a romance, it is also about finding a good work/life balance, family ties and friendship. I enjoyed Ann Rains’ writing style, it kept me engaged throughout and even though Diana lives the same day over and over again the book did not seem repetitive at all. The author used a lot of talent to keep the chapters fresh and feeling new.

Diana really learns a lot about herself on this journey and she really grew as a person. I think that’s how the author kept each December 4th feeling like a new day altogether. Diana realizes that she’s not there to save her beloved Linus but really herself and maybe by doing that she can save others along the way. I mean who of us has never wished we could turn back time and do something over? This book had me feeling all the feels, everything from sadness to joy, from dislike to love and from anger to understanding…all wrapped up into under 350 pages. Don’t wait until Christmas to enjoy this one, it is out on August 22, 2023.

Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains is a wonderful, emotional, and inspiring holiday read.

This is the first book I have read by Ms. Rains, and I am now a huge fan.

This book has so much: groundhog day concept, second chances, finding purpose, finding oneself, hope, fear, love, loss, and I loved exploring every one of these elements.

The author’s ability to create a narrative that has depth and something that I could connect with from multiple aspects, really spoke to me. Learning all of these things through Diana and her repeat December days, was a book that I will remember for a long time.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Kensington Books for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 8/22/23.

I enjoyed this cozy, sweet story. Has all the warm Christmas feels. It felt like I was right there with the characters in the story. Absolutely recommend this book!

#ThroughtheSnowGlobe #NetGalley
Diana Merriman is a physical therapist who doesn't allow herself to get close to anyone, even her fiance Linus Grant, who has been trying to get her to set a date for their wedding. When Diana gets turned down for a promotion at work and the day gets worse from there, a neighbor stops by to see Diana, and puts an enchantment on a snow globe. Diana keeps repeating December 4th over and over again. The things Diana learns each time she is in the time loop are what changes her. This book is Groundhog Day meets While You Were Sleeping. A sweet story and a perfect read for Christmas in July.

Through the Snow Globe
By Annie Rains
Comes out August 22 , 2023

This was a different kind of book for Annie. And I really loved it!
Diana is it very professional physical therapist. She is all business! One of her patients even calls her Elsa.
Linus Diana’s fiancé on the toy store. He has anything but business. He loves quirky ties and toys.
The story revolves around a time loop. Linus gets in a terrible accident. It just devastates Diana. Diana‘s neighbor tries to help out by putting an enchantment on a snow globe. She tells Diana to shake it and she can relive this day. Reliving the day of Linus‘s accident becomes extremely exhausting. Diana really tries to change the outcome of that day.
But while living December 4 over and over again, some good things to come to play. One is meeting Dustin. A sweet little boy, who is also reliving the same tragic day over and over again.

It is always a good sign of an amazing writer when I book and make you cry. And this book definitely made me cry.

Annie Rains did an amazing job once again.
I highly recommend this book.
I was given this ARC by NetGalley in exchange, for my honest review.

Dianna Merriman and Linus Grant were engaged to be married — one day. And that one day had yet to be determined. Dianna was focused on getting promoted to a managerial position at the rehabilitation center that she worked at. Using her potential promotion as an excuse, Dianna managed to place a hold on everything wedding related…not realizing that she was jeopardizing her relationship with Linus.

One evening, Dianna’s world crumbled. Linus was involved in a devastating accident. Although Linus made it through surgery, he was in a coma. It was questionable whether Linus would recover. The medical staff were not very optimistic. But Dianna was hopeful and prayed and wished for a miracle. But wishes come with consequences and would Dianna be ready to face them?

I thoroughly enjoyed Through the Snow Globe. It was a change from Ms. Rains standard romance repertoire. A change for the better, in my opinion.

There’s just a handful of characters and I loved everyone of them. Not all of them had the best personality. But that’s the beauty of Rains’ writing style. Rains has a talent for fleshing out and adding color to all of her characters. Even the most mundane character added flavor to the novel.

The crux of the novel follows a chance for a life changing do-over. It was like Groundhog Day meets Ebbie. And it was such a wonderful and heartfelt read. Get the box of tissues, sit back, and get ready for an engaging novel that would be perfect during the holidays. But anytime would be fine, too. Five amazing stars.

I received a DRC from Kensington Books through NetGalley. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.

Diana Merriman is stressing about a possible promotion, trying to avoid any talk about setting a wedding date with her fiancé, Linus, or planning the wedding with her future mother-in-law. Now she’s not looking forward to Christmas because Linus was severely injured in an accident on December 4th, which left him in a coma, and things aren’t looking good regarding his recovery.

The unexpected discovery of a snow glove hidden in the closet, and her neighbor placing an enchantment on it, puts Diana in a curious predicament. She doesn’t believe in the enchantment but would love to have one more day with Linus to let him know her true feelings, so she shakes the snow globe. When she finds herself in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the day of the accident, she tries everything possible to change events and have a happy outcome. Each day she wakes up hoping for the best, but things seem to be getting worse instead of better. However, along the way she does learn more about herself and what she really wants for her future.

How can she end the time loop and get on with her life, even if it means living without Linus?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

3.5⭐️

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC of Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains and it was a a very sweet story about accepting fate and allowing yourself to be vulnerable. I loved Linus’ character and thought the author did a good job of making the readers understand the pain that Diana was going through by reliving the same day over and over again.
This book is perfect for someone who is looking for a heartwarming Christmas story! Keep an eye out on August 22nd for Through the Snow Globe by Annie Rains!💚❤️🎄

A very cute story about groundhog day. Diana wanted to marry linus, but she was afraid of his big family, so she kept putting it off. Then he had an accident and the days kept repeating themselves. It was sweet how she got to know his family while he was in a coma and how she rescued Dustin from his foster parent, who really shoudlnt be fostering kids. He was a sweet kid that just needed a break.. No matter what she did, the results were almost the same. She did learn how to relax more with her Physical Therapy patients and it made a huge difference

I got this book from NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.