What you’ll find:
✨ A touch of magical realism
✨ Shifting perspectives
✨ A relationship between a driven lawyer and a carefree artist
✨ Scenes set in Madrid and New York
✨ Conversations about art and mouth-watering food

Content warnings:
💔 Themes of a fatal accident, coma, and death

Overall, I gave this book a 3.5/5 because it fell a bit short for me. While the premise of One Year Ago in Spain had the potential to be a cute and light read, the narrative felt too straightforward and lacked the build-up and character development that typically draw me into a story. This absence made it challenging to feel any real chemistry or tension between the characters. The little moments of budding romance between Matías and Claire were charming, but these scenes ended abruptly, leaving no lingering feelings for the characters. Just as I started to sense a spark of connection, the book concluded.

The inclusion of multiple POVs outside of the main couple felt like an odd choice and did little to enhance the central story. These additional perspectives seemed unnecessary and distracted from the focus on Matías and Claire.

While I appreciate a good opposites-attract trope, Claire’s fussiness and rules that bordered on OCD annoyed me. However, I did enjoy the vivid descriptions of both the art and the food in the book. They were particularly engaging and made me hungry!

While the story’s premise is enjoyable, the lack of emotional attachment to the characters was disappointing. A stronger connection could have made the story much more engaging and impactful.

Thanks to @randomhouse - Ballantine | Del Rey and @netgalley for the #ARC of One Year Ago in Spain by @evelyn_skye.

When I saw that One Year Ago in Spain, by Evelyn Skye. is a contemporary romance about second chances and includes magical realism, I immediately requested it. The characters were great, but while the novel was enjoyable, it seemed pushed at times and didn't flow smoothly.  The short chapters were a plus for me as they pulled me through the story as I read just a few more pages, over and over. Thanks, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with the ARC ebook I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

Claire and Matias are complete opposites but fell in love anyway, she is a buttoned up, very organized corporate lawyer and he is a chaotic and free spirited Spanish artist. A year into their relationship, Claire begins to question the longevity of their relationship, but then tragedy strikes and Matias falls into a coma while in Spain. Claire drops everything and rushes to his side. While in Madrid she realizes that while he’s in his coma she can talk to a manifestation of his soul from a year ago before they met. She learns that in order to save him, she needs to make his soul fall in love with her all over again.

As soon as I saw that the author had a new book out, I jumped for it since I loved her last one (plus… magical realism). I was interested in the question can you make someone fall in love with you twice, what if it was just situational or other factors the first time, or is it fated. In general I enjoyed this one, but some parts were a bit slow for me and the novel didn’t always keep my attention because some parts of the novel went a bit long while other parts should have had more attention paid to it. I also never truly felt the connection of the characters because I felt it was more told to the reader than shown. That being said there were certain parts of the novel that I did enjoy and I did like the premise. This is a cute novel and I’ll still wait for her next.

3.5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Del Rey for the ARC to review

What an unexpected emotional journey! This story follows Claire, a big apple lawyer, who is focused on her career and making partner at the firm she works at, and Matias, an artist who came to left his home in Spain to showcase his art in America. They fall in love, but then tragedy strikes when Matias was out on a boat day with his buddies in Spain. In the middle of a career-making merger, Claire rushes to be by his side. As she processes the emotions of it all, she realizes it is up to her to help guide Matias' soul back to his body so that he will wake up.

Evelyn Skye did a great job at making me feel the emotions of the characters! The story was told from multiple different perspectives but all in 3rd person POV. It did jump quite a bit from different characters perspectives and through different points in time, which was a little hard to keep track of, but as the story went on, all the little anecdotes through time made sense. I highly recommend this for anyone wanting to read a romance filled with emotion of hope, loss, grief, love, and relief, with a touch of magical realism tossed in.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing (Ballantine), and Evelyn Skye for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

3.75/5 ⭐️

I really enjoyed this book, it was pretty fast-paced and I got quite emotional for both main characters and the family that I ended tearing up throughout most of the book.
We have both POVs of Claire and Matías, I guess you could say it was in dual timeline, with Claire in the present and Matías’ POV starting a year before when they started dating. Honestly, I’m a sucker for a dual timeline and reading Matías’ thoughts about Claire and how much he loved everything about her and the admiration he had for her was lovely. We also get some POVs of Matías’ family members, a small glimpse into their thoughts and how their dealing with having Matías in the hospital, I felt like they tied into the story even when the POV would switch in the next chapter.

The imagery of Spain was quite lovely, I felt like I could vividly imagine it when Matías and Claire went on their trips throughout the book.

I thought it was quite interesting how different Claire and Matías were but yet quite perfect. I think Claire always wanting to have a sense of control was quite relatable and yet Matías was always there for her to fall, to sort of learn to live a little more. Matías was chaos, yet he made an effort to always be a person that was reliable to Claire, because that was just him, he was passionate for what he loved and gave it his full attention. I loved that, throughout her book, on her mission to get Matías back, not only did she fall in love all over again, but grew to appreciate him more and let her walls down that she kept up for so long to keep her heart safe.

Because it was so fast paced, I did feel that it ended quite abruptly, I wish we had more time with them being in a relationship after the accident. Even when we caught glimpses of the past, which I actually loved for because again the way he viewed her like she quite literally changed his life, they felt rushed. Don’t get me wrong we got our happy ending, but maybe including a couple extra details in the epilogue would have been nice, at least.

Overall, it was a lovely read.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC!

One Year Ago in Spain ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you ng and Random House Publishing for this eARC!
This book is full of magical realism, hope, love and second chances. It has multiple POVs and jumps back and forth between two timelines. The chapters are short and it’s easy to binge this one. I think I struggle with magical realism because this seemed a bit far fetched to me. I’m a huge fantasy reader/lover but for some reason I don’t go into magical realism books with the same mindset as fantasy. It’s is fantasy but isn’t as the same time if you know what I mean 😅
Publish date is July 30, 2024!


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One Year Ago in Spain is perfect for lovers of Ashley Poston, second-chance romance, and Spanish culture! I loved this sweet love story so so so so much. Thank you, Evelyn Skye, for writing another amazing magical realism romance that has the perfect mix of bitter and sweet.

I think there was a bit too much of telling rather than showing in this book in regards to character development, but I loved it all the same!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I think I may have gone into this with my hopes too high. It sounded like the perfect contemporary romance with some magical twists. Unfortunately, it did not quite reach my expectations. It was enjoyable, the characters were great, but the story itself just did not flow as smoothly or quickly as I would have liked. We skipped around a lot, some of the best parts of the romance story too, making it hard to feel connected to the couple, their relationship and how things turned out. I did really enjoy the twist about how in order to save her boyfriend, she must figure out how to get his soul reconnected to his body - by making him fall  in love with her. I just wish that we got a little more from their story and from them as individuals to feel more connected.
Thank you netgalley for my advanced reader copy

One Year Ago in Spain was unlike any romance I have read before. This was a quick read and I really wish there was more character development throughout, everything was just happening so fast. I loved the magical realism aspect of it though and have realized from this book, I enjoy stories that include it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for sending me a free ARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the synopsis, this had some much potential to be the next magical realism story that could fill my void from reading Ashley Poston novels.
But the story was lacking for me in many aspects such as:
One of the main issues is the pacing. The narrative feels very straightforward and in-your-face, with no build-up or character development. This lack of development made it challenging for me to feel any chemistry or tension between the characters. While the little moments of budding romance between Matías and Claire were adorable, these scenes cut off very abruptly, leaving no lingering feelings for the characters.

The plot progression is another aspect that could use improvement. It moves directly from point A to point B, with most of the journey skipped through fast-forwarding or time skips. This eliminates the opportunity for any meaningful development in between, which was sorely needed.
The inclusion of multiple POVs outside of the main couple felt like an odd choice. These additional POVs did absolutely nothing to the central story and were unnecessary.
Overall, while the premise of the story is enjoyable, the lack of emotional attachment to the characters was disappointing. This missing connection could have made the story much more heart-wrenching and impactful.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

There were several things I enjoyed about this book: the food, the communication between the main characters and the elements on Spain throughout. I enjoyed the opposites attract part and related strongly to Claire wanting control and things happening as she’d want them to, while Matías pushed her outside of her comfort zone.

The ending was sweet, but something about the plot was a bit lacking for me. I like the overall idea of this book, but I do think parts were drawn out where other parts could have maybe been extended a bit.

Overall, 3 stars for a sweet and enjoyable, easy read.

A captivating blend of romance and magical realism which is sure to tug at your heart. I loved the emotional journey of Claire and Matias and the lyrical writing, which I found to be very engaging.
Many thanks to Random House and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley, Ballantine, Del Rey, and Random House Publishing Group for this advanced copy. You can pick up One Year Ago in Spain on July 30, 2024.

I had high hopes for this book, as I've enjoyed some of Evelyn Skye's books in the past. But the decision to introduce the love interest within the first few pages and have them fall in love and hook up quickly first really threw me off. I understand the premise of the book, but I think my reading mood wasn't quite right for this story. I wanted something with a different pace and writing style, and ultimately, I had to put this book down about 10% in. Maybe I'll pick it back up again after it publishes, but it will definitely depend on my reading mood.

If you like magical realism stories with a heartbreaking but hopeful twist, I think this story is for you!

Lovely story of a couple who meet in NY at a gallery. He's an artist from Spain. She's an attorney headed for partnership. The relationship goes on for 11 months when he asks her to come to Spain to meet his family. She has work to do so declines. He goes, but then there is a terrible accident.

DNF at 20%

I think this was a me problem but I couldn't connect to these characters and the love they developed off the page before the accident. I had such high hopes for this book but it just fell flat.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy!

Claire and Matias are the ultimate opposites-attract couple. Claire isn't sure their relationship has a future when Matias is in a horrific accident leaving him in a coma and his soul meeting her in Madrid, Spain. The catch is, he thinks it's one year earlier before he ever met Claire. She has to convince him to fall in love with her again in order for his soul to return to his body.

First, Evelyn Skye has a beautiful way of writing the magic of falling in love. I absolutely adored The Hundred Loves of Juliet and this is just as good, if not better. Claire was such a relatable character to me and I loved how Matias loved her as she was. Their whirlwind romance was fun to follow and the effort to reignite their love was so hopeful. I loved that this was a love story but it was also about family, letting go, being comfortable in who you are, and really figuring out what you want in life.

One Year Ago in Spain is one of those books that grabs at all of your heartstrings and holds on through every page. It was fantastic and I loved every second of it.

I went into One Year Ago in Spain totally blind… I couldn’t remember the blurb, and I only remembered it had a nice illustrated cover. I was totally blown away by how much this book affected me! It was such a heartfelt love story that truly makes you wonder about the idea of fate or soulmates. Type-A lawyer Clair meets Spanish free spirited artist Matias at a gallery displaying his art. They have an immediate and passionate connection that seems to transcend reality. But almost a year later, their differences are beginning to wear thin - mainly, his flightiness and disorganization grates on her nerves. Backing out of a trip to Spain to meet his family, where he planned to propose, Claire instead is wondering if they really have a future together, and stays behind to work on a big deal that will hopefully result in her partnership at the law firm. But a few days later she receives a frantic call from his sister in Madrid - there’s been a terrible accident and Matias is in the hospital, in a coma and fighting for his life. Claire doesn’t think twice about abandoning work to fly halfway around the world to him. While there, she finally meets his family and begins to see how much he truly cared for and loved her, even with their drastic differences. Questioning if she had done the right thing by not coming with him in the first place, she gets the shock of her life when she sees Matias outside the hospital, alive and well, and having a conversation with her, as if he’s fine, except that he doesn’t even know her. She figures out that what he’s seeing is his soul, and it's detached from his body. But he doesn’t know who she is, because in all his physical pain and grief, he has returned to a familar place and time - Madrid, a year ago, before he left Madrid for NYC or met her. In order to lure him back to his body and bring him out of his coma, she needs to get him to fall back in love with her. But how can she do that if he only appears to her randomly and they can’t touch? Their love must transcend time and space in order for them to be reunited. Full of deeply emotional moments, and a love so deep that it can span time and space, this book will make you feel all the feelings and leave you wanting more.

I love Spain so was excited to read this! Good descriptions of life in Spain/culture. The magical realism aspects of the story weren't as great for my own reading preferences. This is worth a read, though, as the writing was very good.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

DNfed at 21%

I think this wasn't the right time for me reading this book. I didn't like how it told me twice how good their connection is and how easy it is for them to be together but I don't get to experience it. I wasn't going to continue. You can tell the author probably doesn't know that people in Spain speak a very different Spanish than in Latino America.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First, thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Career driven lawyer, Claire thrives on organization and structure. While her artist boyfriend Matías is more free spirited. After almost a year together Claire knows she loves Matías deeply, but starts to question their compatibility. She bails on a trip to Madrid to meet his family but Matías goes. While there he gets into a boating accident and ends up in a coma. Claire rushes to be by his side and learns that she can “see” his soul, but no one else can. Claire realizes that in order to save Matías’ life she must make him fall in love with her all over again.

I could not put this one down. The magical realism and opposites attract storyline had me hooked from the first chapter. I also enjoyed the multiple point of views and the duel timelines. This was just a beautiful story and a must read!