This was one of those books where you know what the ending was going to be but you still found yourself getting so frustrated that it’s not happening fast enough. I liked the book because I thought it was a unique take on fate and destiny and the thought that our futures could also be predetermined. I found out FMC slightly irritating but I don’t think it was her fault. It was more the fault of her situation. Overall a good read especially since I listened on audio.

A cute testimony to friendship. As someone the main character’s age, I could identify with her concerns — absolutely true to life in that regard.

DNF - I really wanted to like this one because it was a unique plot, but I ended up DNFing at 23%. I found Jenny insufferable and whiny.

I decided to DNF early early on when there was a lot of sexual talk (e.g. doing "quickies", infidelity, sexting, etc). That's just not my taste in books and while the premise is interesting and something I can likely identify with, with this kind of content, I can't bring myself to finish.

♡ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗺𝗼 ♡

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

"𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦? 𝘐𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴."

In this thought-provoking debut novel, Jenny embodies a part of us who have self-doubted and compared to the people around us who seem to be living fantastic lives and to a worldly standard built with perfect dreams.

This is a witty novel that loops us back in time (and it was brilliant, I was not lost in any chapter) and shown if given a chance to live differently, the friendships and precious moments we have in our present time will highly likely to either be missing or entirely changed.

This book is so relatable to anyone who is undecided in life, feels like in the wrong path, or feeling envious/comparing to others as what we only see from the façade. It reminds us to find our power from within, to navigate through rough waters and transform our failures into our own definition and stories of success.

When Jenny has travelled back in time, there was a random cosmic force that seems to be getting in her way.. or perhaps, pulling her back to her senses. An anchor guiding her through. -> this was truly one of the best elements in this book aside from the endearing love of genuine friendship.

Well written and truly insightful 😉

✨️If you can turn back time, what is that one precious moment or opportunity that you wish and hope you could have (again)?✨️

●●●
Thank you to @netgalley and @harperperennial @harpercollins for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest reviews 🙂

This book was a fun read. I definitely went through it wanting to know what would happen next. Jenny is a relatable character, and I liked that she was a bit older than the standard twenty something character in these 'sliding doors' type stories. It's true that sometimes you get to a point where it feels too late to change anything. Thak you for the advance copy!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I related to the premise of wanting a do-over in my life. I did think that the character of Geeta wasn’t fleshed out enough. Other than that, it was great!

Rating: 3.5/5

Spice: 0

Primary Genre: Women’s Fiction

Trigger Warnings: Emotional abuse, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, abandonment, drug use

Favorite Quote: No matter how hard I pounded the dough, I was never quite able to knead away the sense that I was committed to a guy who would never be fully committed to me.

Plot 4.5/5:

A time travel, second chance/do-over fiction. Jenny Green has squandered her potential. She has made a mess of her career, her boyfriend Hal broke off their engagement and seems more interested in the girl down the hall than her, and to top it all off she’s promised her friends that she’d attend their college reunion this year and she feels like she has accomplished nothing since graduation. Her friends are incredibly successful and so are many of her classmates. Jenny can’t help but wonder if she missed the memo. How did her life get so off track? She starts receiving strange text messages about her memo once she arrives on campus for her reunion and comes to realized that she actually did miss her memo. And she’s being given another chance at the life she’d have if she hadn’t.

The Good:

* I found this book to be very smart and witty. While I didn’t necessarily feel like I “liked” the characters, I was certainly entertained by them.

* I really liked the time travel element of being able to go back in time and change certain past events to improve the future. It was interesting to see the side effects of what Jenny does in the past and how it effects her present.

* I loved the female support and friendship themes throughout the book

* There’s some pretty amazing character development for Jenny in this book. She comes a long way in her relationship with her mother, as well as becoming willing to let go of her toxic relationship

The Meh: 

* I wish that the timehops were more in depth, they seemed to be abbreviated at times and I felt like they could have been explored more deeply

* I don’t really understand Jenny reconciling with Leigh’s character. The past and present interactions with Leigh seem mostly negative. If she were my college friend, I’d probably just let that friendship go. Especially with the whole doing drugs/selling drugs thing.

* I would have liked to see some gold old-fashioned vengeance regarding how the Consortium seems to have grossly mishandled several lives.

Bottom Line: 

I thoroughly enjoyed this read. It’s always an interesting concept to consider. If you could go back and change things, would you? I think that this was really well done. Self-deprecating yet funny. Not incredibly sad or depressing with a focus on the power of friendship. I would definitely recommend, especially to someone who likes time travel books.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this title. I didn't go to college and I skipped my high school reunions. I don't put much stock in how others perceive me or how successful they might think I am. This was a tough book for me to relate to due to that. Will definitely be good for anyone who struggles with the "what if" in life.

I loved the premise of this novel. If I was in a more vulnerable place in my life I wouldn't mind how predictable and sentimental this novel is. I appreciate its message though., in all its saccharine relatability.

Interesting premise that hooked me in immediately. Jenny was a very likeable character but as the book progressed my interest began to flag. This was a DNF for me. Thank you Netgalley for the advance ecopy.

This was a fun read about what life would be like if you received a message telling you what to do and to have blind faith that it is for your best. Jenny is 30 years old, just going through life, and has had her fair share of ups and downs. At the moment she is in a job not so great with a cheating boyfriend. She is leary when she decides to go to a college reunion as her friends are very successful. They received the memo back in college and have done exactly what it states. The first time Jenny went to meet the life coach Desiree she thought she was odd and did not listen to her advice. This time around Jenny figures it can not hurt but to fix her present life she must go back in time. Jenny is a fun character you easily can relate to and want her to win. I found this an easy read and a nice reminder that we can not go back but learn from it.

Heading into her college reunion, Jenny feels like she's the only one who didn't get the memo on life. Turns out, she was right. When Jenny finally gets her memo, she has to decide whether to accept it. To live her best life, Jenny must go back and "fix" what she did wrong the first time.

In a "Sliding Doors" type of story, we see Jenny in two parallel lives. Flipping back and forth between what could be and what actually is, I was drawn to the story. I didn't buy into some parts of it, like the romance. However, Jenny's friendship with Geeta is a highlight in both storylines. Overall, this was a unique and interesting story!

The Memo asks the questions about second chances and what ifs that we always find ourselves asking. I think by nature we compare ourselves to our more successful peers. And being a mid 30 year old woman, the feeling of missing out on the memo was totally relatable! While I liked the premise the execution fell flat. Our main character was almost too whiny and The Memo organization was not believable. The strongest relationships in the book were between Jenny and her BFF and I wish there were less focus on the men (Gabe could have been left out in all honesty). All in all, a fun and easy read that left me wanting more in the middle. Thanks for the approval!

Say hello to another bingeable and light read that you can add to your beach bag or travel bag!

I am a HUGE fan of time travel and the cover of this book was really calling my attention

I found the main character, Jenny, to really showcase the trials and tribulations that so many of us go through as we get older, mainly feeling like we missed the memo on life. I have definitely felt that way at times and I know so many others have too.

This story is funny and heartfelt with the female friendships and a protagonist that is just trying to feel good about herself. It also delves into deeper topics like regret, self love, and fate. I really, really thought so much about myself while reading this and think so many people will relate to Jenny like I did.

Definitely a book that will get you thinking while also making you laugh

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper Perennial and Paperbacks | Harper Perennial books for this ARC. This was a fun look at the idea of getting a memo and the ability to relive parts of your life with the opportunity to do over things to get things right the second time. Jenny Green is 35 years old and heading to her college reunion. She was once top of her class and had a promising career ahead of her, but due to choices, things haven't worked out in her favor. She then receives a text that she has a MEMO to redo parts of her. Jenny comes to find out she should have received her memo the first time around, but why didn't she? And is she willing to make the changes necessary to have the life she wants and deserves? This was a fun read at looking back at times in your life and would you really change things in your past to change your future?

🔹 My take: 3/5

💖 Wows - The premise is very interesting of a woman in her mid thirties trying to look at her life until now and how all of her classmates have moved on and how she is stuck and messed in her life. The first half grazed through fast since it covered the reunion, Jenny’s relationships with her friends and mom and Gabe. I especially looked forward to reading Jenny and Gabe’s interactions since it was very sweet.

💔 Ows - While I really wanted to like this book, I guess I was really confused with the execution. Since I am a perfectionist by nature and would like clarity of understanding on everything; what I struggled was with how the entire consortium of ‘The Memo’ worked. The 2nd half got very technical and I found it very difficult to digest. And since I could not really understand how the mechanism worked, it was a dampener.

💫 I would suggest this to someone who is totally into magical realism and has leisure time at hand. This is a long book and not for someone who churn pages fast since they will lose interest quickly. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @harperperennial and @netgalley for sharing the DRC in exchange for honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I could see why people would like this story- it’s unique and such a fantasy.

I am over books with main characters that suck though. She was so whiny and entitled and all around icky. I didn’t care if she was happy or successful or if anyone was in this book.

The premise of The Memo seems like one right up my alley - Jenny, in a life rut, ends back up at her college reunion, where she is dreading her life choices (cheating boyfriend, failed career, the usual). She ends up receiving a mysterious text where she can redo her life.
What if, is basically the whole idea.

There are too many characters, a few I don't even know why were in the book, and the funny parts, were not funny. While I love a good magical realism book, especially with time travel, this just didn't do it for me.

The Memo is a cautionary tale combo of the grass is always greener and be careful what you wish for. We follow Jenny as she receives a life changing memo after she goes back for her college reunion. The memo is supposed to help Jenny usher in a new life by righting all of her past mistakes and poor decisions, getting her back on the #girlboss track she was destined to be on.

Maybe because I’ve already had these sorts of daydreams and have been working on feeling fulfilled with where I am and not what could have been, the book just didn’t hit for me. The entire time I found myself frustrated with Jenny for giving up on her friends and the objectively other good things in her life. I cringed as she followed the memo directives and further isolated herself from her loved ones that had stuck by her all this time.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Harper Perrenial for the advanced copy.