Here's the thing about women's fiction, the storylines are complex and often difficult. And boy was that true with The Other Year. Talk about a book that punched me in the gut so hard that I wasn't sure I could finish it. And the way the narrator infused her performance with the intense pain of losing a child and portrayed it with that "numb" sensation that comes from grief was so intense, it made me wish I was able to read books rather than listen to audiobooks. I mean that as a compliment. The narrator was phenomenal.

Back to the book itself - wow!! As a parent, the fear of your child dying is often present when they are doing things that can be dangerous. In a split moment, our entire world can change. I loved how the author took this premise and gave us a year in the life of the mother, Kate, who goes on vacation with her daughter, Olivia. In one of the two parrallel timelines, Olivia drowns on the first day of vacation. In the other, she doesn't. Each chapter covers the same period of time, but split into the timeline where Olivia dies, and the one where she doesn't. It was interesting to see what things remained the same in both timelines, as well as the first year journey through grief Kate experiences in the death timeline.

As an editor, I'm often asking my authors to dig deeper and to "show" rather than "tell" emotions. Thank goodness the author of this book didn't show anymore than they did and balanced it out with telling because I was gutted listening to this book as it brought back the losses I've experienced.

Keep your tissues handy!

Thank you to Rea Frey for a powerful book, and to Harper Muse and Netgalley for the opportunity to enjoy this book.

The Other Year (Audiobook) by Rea Frey

Kate and her nine-year-old daughter, Olivia have just started their two-week vacation and the first place they go is the beach. As Olivia is swimming in the sea Kate only turns away for one second but when she turns back, she cannot see Olivia anywhere from there the book tells the story in two timelines, one where Olivia reappears from under the water and life goes on as normal and in the second where she drowns and Kate must learn to live without her.

This is a very emotional, heart wrenching story that tugs on your heart whether you are a parent or not.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I picked/requested this one specifically for my favorite narrator, Brittany Pressley, who did an amazing job with this audiobook as well!

This was my first read from this author and I think it was well written, but it was just very very heavy and sad and that's not normally my type of read. The authors note was great and you could feel her emotion in it. The biggest trigger warning with this book is the death of a child (and the grief that comes with it).

The Other Year was a dual timeline book with two very different outcomes. I think the timeline dealing with grief seemed very accurate, even though I have never lost a human child to compare. I could have done without the love triangles in both timelines though. I do like how the last two chapters had little snippets of the other timeline weaved into it, but I feel like the epilogue could have said just a little more to tie it all together better.

Thank you to Harper Muse & NetGalley for the ARC!

The Other Year excels in premise and execution (it’s hard to do both!). Chapters alternate between two different timelines, and as Kate’s life changes drastically in one timeline, she is asking herself similar questions on the other timeline.
Sweet, thoughtful, and hopeful, The Other Year is an entertaining listen that will warm your heart.

It was such a gut wrenching story. It was well done but just a little too much for me. I lost a child and this book had me in tears.

I loved this book more than I ever thought I would. I usually don't like different timelines, but the author made it work and work well. I felt all the emotions. The way Kate put her life back together is so realistic for someone processing grief. Both timelines made you work through a lot of feelings. I can't get this book out of my head. This is my first Rea Frey and won't be my last. Thank NetGalley and Harper Muse for the opportunity to listen and review this audiobook. The narration was amazing..

This book gave me some serious Butterfly Effect vibes. I mean, is it just me or did the author have a secret plan to make us all think about how getting a dog would be the end result no matter what horrible way you started? Works for me! Just kidding. I enjoyed this book; it was definitely an interesting way to tell a story. I thought that Kate, in the timeline when her daughter passed away, was too focused on moving forward. I recall her saying something like, "It's been 6 months; I need to be able to go outside." While I understand the sentiment, I don't believe that grief should be linear or forced.
Also this book makes me feel way better about being a helicopter with my fur baby, and thinking something horrible will happen if I look away for two seconds.
All & all would recommend.

Kate Baker is excited to embark on a two-week beach vacation with her nine-year-old daughter, Olivia. The day they arrive at the beach, Liv is eager to dive straight into the ocean, despite the red flag warning. Kate only looks away for a minute, but a minute is all it takes for Liv's head to slip underwater. The story splits into dual timelines:
In Timeline 1, much to Kate's relief, Olivia resurfaces almost immediately. Their beach vacation continues, though not without challenge. Kate's ex-husband returns to their lives for a fresh start, causing tension between Kate and Olivia. On top of that, Kate's best friend Jason (and father of Olivia's best friend) announces he has feelings for her. This is not the relaxing beach vacation she had hoped for.
In Timeline 2, Kate drowns in the grief she feels after losing her only child to a riptide. Desperate to get out of her home and away from all that reminds her of Olivia, Kate takes an apprenticeship on a farm and focuses on reshaping her life into one that Olivia would be proud of. She unexpectedly finds joy in working with her hands and quickly builds friendships. When her best friend Jason comes to visit and announces he has feelings for her, she feels conflicted between her old life and her new one.

The story is told entirely from Kate's perspective, in dual/parallel timelines, and will have you feeling all of the feels. Kate is faced with so many decisions in Timeline 1, some big and some insignificant, you find yourself immersed in her life and rooting for the best outcome for everyone. Kate's grief in Timeline 2 is so profound, it is impossible not to feel it in your heart. Timeline 1 Kate is a slightly immature, self-absorbed, work-a-holic, who rarely puts her daughter first and gets frustrated when she acts out. Timeline 2 Kate channels her grief to look introspectively and make radical changes to better herself.

All of the characters are imperfect, simply trying to make the best decisions they can with the information they have at the time. It is messy and uncomfortable, just like real life. I think that is what I enjoyed about this book the most -- the character development -- it wasn't always pretty, but it was happening throughout. My only complaint is the romance part. It had it's place, but I didn't need (what felt like) an endless love triangle right up to the end.

The message behind the story: Don't wait. Love your people. Our time is finite. And not to be a dick, but -- DON'T LET YOUR KIDS SWIM IN A RED FLAG WARNING, no matter how strong a swimmer they are.

4.5 stars!

I think all parents have had those 'what-if' moments and blood-curdling anxious foreboding of all the things that might go wrong and could ultimately end in our babies being harmed.
I was a little wary of this book as I was worried the 'happy' version where Kate's daughter didn't drown would be sunshine and rainbows against the obviously 'miserable' version of life where Olivia didn't resurface alive from the sea. But I was wrong and it was executed really sensitively and realistically.

Firstly, I felt that the timelines were managed well, I always knew where I was, and neither perspective felt too long or too short, the balance was very carefully crafted.
Secondly, Kate's grief felt excellently written. I had to pause a few times to compose myself, not especially helped by me having 8 and 10 year old daughters.

The reason this isn't a 5 star for me is the romance element. Whilst I didn't think it was misplaced exactly, it seemed far too much of a focus, especially in the grief timeline. And a love triangle in both timelines was a bit much, I'm really not a fan of them at the best of times but two was too much. Especially when one of the love interests was particularly awful, it was just annoying.

Saying that though, I did really enjoy the resolution in both timelines, and how there were little tie-ins between the two. All throughout it really made me feel the rawness of loss in the second timeline, cleverly juxtaposed with the reality of parenting a difficult child and all the responsibilities that come with it in the other. We DO take things for granted and get annoyed about things that we absolutely would miss painfully if they weren't here one day.

Massive thanks to Harper Muse and Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Other Year
By Rea Frey
Publish Date August 15, 2023
4.5

Review:

What a tug at your heart! It doesn’t matter if you are a parent, this book will make you cry for Kate. The parallel gives shows the struggle for losing a child and the other of still having her. You will have to be in the right mind set to read this wonderfully written book.

I really enjoyed it being narrated by Brittany Pressley.

Thank you Netgalley and Harper Muse for the advance reader.

Description:

Can the entire course of a life be traced back to a single moment?

On a coveted two-week beach vacation, working mom Kate Baker’s nine-year-old daughter, Olivia, vanishes suddenly among the waves—a heart-dropping incident that threatens to uproot her entire reality. But in the next moment, Olivia resurfaces, joyously splashing.

What would I do if she didn’t come up? Kate wonders. How would I live without her?

In another set of circumstances that hold a different fate, Kate doesn’t have to wonder. Because in that “other” world, in the pulse-pounding seconds after Olivia goes under, she doesn’t come back up.

Told in parallel timelines, Kate begins to live two lives—one in which Olivia resurfaces and one in which she doesn’t. In the reality that follows her daughter’s death, she maneuvers through every mother’s worst nightmare, facing grief, rage, and the ques¬tion of purpose in the aftermath of such profound loss. She endures, day by day, in a world without her daughter.

In her alternate timeline, while she explores a tremulous romance with her best friend, Jason, she finds herself grappling with the ex-husband who abandoned Kate and Olivia years prior. Even as Kate scrambles to hold her daughter close, Olivia pulls further away. The line between joy and loss seems to get thinner with each passing day.

Woven into a single story, both Kates discover a breathtaking fragility and resilience in their respective journeys. Bringing to light the drastic polarities dire circumstances often create, The Other Year explores truths about love, loss, and the sharp turns any life can take in the blink of an eye.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC by Rea Frey. I really enjoyed In Every Life by Frey so I couldn't wait to listen to this one. While I did enjoy the novel, I did find several things that were difficult for me; keeping track of the different timelines for starters. While both were written well, there was so much repetition between the two, it was kind of redundant. Also, a love triangle is one thing but to have three different men to choose from was just too much. I think the story would have flowed better with only two love interests for Kate. Lastly, I had a hard time accepting the fact that after less than a year of mourning, Kate finds love. But maybe life (and grief) really don't have a timeframe and it is possible to find love again while grieving the loss of your only child. I hope I never have to find out which brings me to my last point. This novel was very difficult to read as a parent. I did appreciate the forward by the author that prepared me for what I was about to read, but it was still sad nonetheless.

I received this book as an audiobook via NetGalley from Harper Muse publishing as an advanced listener copy. My review is my own and in no way influenced by anyone else.

Have you ever lost a loved one? Have you ever thought about what the trajectory of your life would have been had you not lost them? The Other Year follows Kate and 9-year old Olivia; one journey if a major event happens and one if it does not. I don’t recall having read a story with parallel timelines done in this way, but it works. The characters were likable, the story was engaging and I found myself wondering ‘where is this going?’

In the end, in a maybe not so surprising, yet heartwarming realization, left me feeling a bit of relief that maybe we do end up where we are supposed to be, even if the journey has twists and turns and is not the easy, smooth terrain we expect.

If you’re looking for a good wholesome read, this is one I would definitely recommend. I would certainly pick this up to read in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Muse, and Rea Frey for this heartwarming ALC.

This novel is heart-breaking and inspiring in the most beautiful ways. If you love a parallel timeline, with mom-guilt, friends to lovers drama, loss, and twists of fate, you'll enjoy this novel.

I adored this book so much. It's perfect for fans of "Sliding Doors" and stories where you can imagine how your life can veer into two different pathways.

This one made me cry and it's the most beautiful love story. It does have some triggers around cancer, loss of a loved one/death of a spouse.

It's an emotional, hopeful and heartbreaking story.

I love a sliding doors story and this did not disappoint. It struck a chord with me, as a mother. It was heartbreaking, eye opening, and an emotion ride. I loved the juxtaposition of the two scenarios, one where the worst can happen and one where it doesn't. This did not disappoint. The narrator was fantastic, which made the story that much better.

I enjoyed this book a lot. Following along on both journeys to learn about love after heartbreak and moving through grief. It was a beautiful book.

Through the main character Olivia, we are taken down two paths - one in which her daughter drowns in a split second of distraction, and one where her daughter reappears from beneath the water. Over the course of a year, we are shown the ways in which her life would differ depending on that singular moment.

This book was very moving, I highly recommend it.

Brittany Pressley is the narrator of this audio book by Rea Frey who is quickly becoming my new favorite author. The author has such a unique way of writing about painful events and explores multiple timelines to help us process the potential outcomes. This is the story of Kate Baker and the dual timelines of how her life would unfold with and without her 9 year old daughter Olivia. The book is brilliantly written by letting us see the path of Kates life in both timelines, will she survive this potential tragedy or will her timeline continue with her daughter.
Rea Frey takes us on this journey of the two paths Kates life could take and lets us weigh the impact being a parent has on all of the decisions of her life. The story is powerful and full of emotion. Have a box of Kleenex handy. This book will make you laugh and cry but ultimately will make you to ponder what if and what would change. Will life end up the same no matter what journey Kate ends up with. I loved the narrator of this book Brittany Pressley truly became Kate for me, I absolutely recommend this audio book a must listen

Hmm, okay, read, really emotional. The storylines revolve around a little girl, Olivia and her mom. In one story, the daughter dies in another, and she does not. There's a love triangle, the heroine, Jason, and Ian, and then there's an ex, Michael.

So, a lot is going on in this book. The audiobook was okay. I was not totally into this narrator.

#netgalley #theothe

I listened to this. Novel because I love. The voice talent of Brittany Pressley is used very well as the parellel storylines are told in different tones and styles.
I feel for Kate and though I have never suffered a tragedy of a child, I can only Imagine going through the pain and guilt alone as a single parent.
A heart stopper moment of turning around and your kid is gone is horrific feeling now keep that kind of feeling throughout a whole 10hourbook is so depressing. I felt so sad and burdened…even during the “good” storyline.
Wow, what a unique telling of a single mom’s struggle.