I feel as if this story as been told before. There wasn't much original idea here to differentiate it from other "time travel/wake up to a new life" stories.

Know that this moves backward in time, a device that takes a bit to become accustomed to, How did Riley end up with Milo- her husband's cousin-only one year after she married Tristan? That's the story here and if I have a quibble, and it's a big one, it's that this is a very compressed time line for all this drama. You know at the start that Tristan is already remarried with a baby, That's fast. His family, btw is awful, This was a miss for me, mostly because it just felt too....cringey- but I know others might enjoy it. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

First of all, I was drawn to this book by the cover. Yes, I can be that shallow, but it's a pretty cover with nice colours.

This is a strange book as the plot moves backwards. Not a spoiler, it's in the book's description. It starts on Valentine's Day, 2024, jumps to Valentine's Day 2025. Then it goes backward to explain how everything changed in the one year. It's confusing to the main character, Riley. It's confusing to me as the reader. But, it's also intriguing. Admittedly, it takes me a while to get into the swing of the backwards timeline. The reader sees the results of actions before the actual actions. Hard to explain but the author makes it work.

The story centres around family dynamics and very dysfunctional and toxic relationships within the family. Books with this theme are usually quite heavy, but Riley somehow lightens it up. The older I get and the more I read, the more I realize how many dysfunctional families exist. Some of the main themes are infidelity, prejudice and friendship. The characters are great, some are lovable, some are not.

If I suspend the fact that my mind likes everything to be logical, this is a fun and entertaining story.

The ending made me smile!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the Advance Readers Copy.

I went into this book with no expectation but was really impressed. I couldn’t put it down. I thought the backwards storyline was very original and was an interesting premise to think about. How would you feel watching yourself fall in love with someone but in reverse? I would highly recommend this book as it’s an easy read. Great to read on vacation or over a lazy weekend.

3.5 Memento stars

While I’m not normally a fan of sliding door stories, this one worked for me. It has a memento-like format with a scrambled timeline.

One morning, Riley Ricci-Chase fast-forwards one year later in her life. She does not understand all the changes that have happened. What happened to her happy marriage to Tristan, and why is she now with a man she despised?

We learn the details along with Riley as she wakes up one day earlier in the timeline each day. I guess it’s foreshadowing. We know what’s coming, but we don’t know any details.

I did enjoy this one, although her timeline change was never explained. If you can live with that in a magical realism way, you might enjoy it too! I wanted to see how this would all turn out for her.

There are themes of friendship, loyalty, infidelity, and family intolerance mixed in this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC

This had quite the unique concept I think. I've read books where it's a what would happen if I chose this or this, but nothing like this book. I found the execution well done. I wasn't immediately captured by the start, but the story grew on me and I got more and more invested in Riley and her storyline.

I really enjoyed Sarah's previous book, What We Remember; I even gave it five stars, and so I was really looking forward to reading this newest offering. But sadly it did not live up to it.

It was a complete diversion from her previous book. I try not to compare books, especially when they're so different, but I couldn't help it as I loved What We Remember so much. This did take me quite a while to get lost in the story, I needed the fantasy elements to come in earlier.

There's three main characters to focus on:

Firstly, our main female character Riley. She's happy but she is frequently put down by her husband's family just because she's not rich, white, and high-class, and was a former lingerie model. And so I did try to like her because she is so unapologetically herself. Then we have her husband Tristan, who we don't know much about to begin with, but seems like a good guy. And finally we have Milo, Tristan's cousin and Riley's surprise future partner.

Sadly, none of these characters worked, they felt a bit 2D, like cardboard cut-outs, no progression, and I didn't like them enough to really care how it ended. I felt for the most part, Riley didn't really seem fussed by what was happening. To begin with she was confused, but then she quickly just sort of accepted it, which didn't sit completely right with me. Surely, you would find yourself more confused and distressed that you were suddenly dating your husband's cousin 1 year into the future. But she was quickly acting like all this time travel was normal which jarred with me.

It felt very disjointed at times, like Sarah had created this timeslip novel but then wasn't 100% sure how to handle it. So it wasn't the smoothest of reads. It was interesting, but didn't live up to what it promised.

You really have to suspend belief to get through it. I know it's fantasy and sci-fi etc, but I'm fine with that, but even fantasy worlds have to make sense in context, and I struggled here. I agree with some other reviews in that it was an interesting and promising plot, but was let down by less-than-stellar writing. I had to almost make myself get to the end because I wanted to know how it resolved itself but I didn't really want to read the rest of it to get there. And when I did get there, it felt a bit unfinished, like a cop-out.

Overall, this sadly did not live up to my expectations. Her previous book was fabulous but this one just fell short for me. But it won't stop me checking out what she writes next.

3.5 stars ⭐️

This is the latest in a year of Rom-Coms with Magical Realism elements thrown in, but if you can accept that there is no rational explanation for what occurs-you might have fun with this story told in reverse!

Riley wakes up on her one year anniversary to her husband Tristan, with the sight of him delivering coffee and flowers to her in bed, just before the two exchange extravagant gifts. Ah-life is good!

So how can it all implode that same night?

The following morning, Riley awakens and discovers that it is exactly one year later. She isn’t wearing her wedding ring, and her husband’s cousin Milo-a guy she never liked-is lying beside her. Huh?

It turns out that Tristan is now with another woman, and he is a happy new father! None of this is surprising to anyone but Riley. It’s as if she suffered Amnesia after the traumatic break-up and she doesn’t remember how she got to this point.

But, she is starting to remember and she will soon have her answers. As she wakes up each morning, she is moving backward through time to face a year she has already lived.

What will she discover?

I had a rough start with this book and wasn’t sure if I should continue on! In the first chapter, Tristan’s overuse of his pet name for Riley (Miss America) was grating on my nerves. I the second chapter, we meet Riley’s best friend, Poppy, and their conversation was juvenile at best, focusing on materialistic things, sex, with a lot of crass language.

At 15%, Riley wakes up to Milo who is calling her “Sleeping Beauty” repeatedly. Ugh. Can you tell I hate silly pet names?
I really wasn’t sure if I should continue on! But, I wanted to give the story a fair chance so I continued on…

And, I have to admit-I became as curious as Riley was to find out what yesterday would bring.

Poppy never really matures, but she IS a faithful and supportive friend, and the guys seem to like to solve their problems with their fists-but Riley definitely shows character growth, as she lives through having in-laws who don’t think she is “good enough” for her son, and then the pain and humiliation of a divorce.

Too bad we can’t all wake up a year after a traumatic event to see that we are HAPPY and WHOLE again, and then process what happened by living life backwards.

AVAILABLE September 17, 2024

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. These are my candid thoughts!

This was quite an intriguing read with a unique time travel concept. Riley wakes up on Valentine's Day 2025, a year after her first wedding anniversary. She doesn't know how she got there but what she does know is that her circumstances have drastically changed.

She is no longer married to her husband, Tristan. Instead, she wakes up with her husband's cousin, Milo by her side.
What happens next is time travel in reverse - the timeline goes backwards for things to fall into place. Riley gets to know consequences of events that have happened in the previous days.

This book did have me hooked. However, there are only a certain amount of conversations about tea that one can tolerate and talk of tea between Milo and Riley just went overboard and became really tiresome to read. They literally had the same conversation over and over again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Sign me up for anything time travel or Sliding Doors related. This was a unique concept that really worked. I loved how the backwards timeline didn't take place every single day. That would have been too much. It was so interesting to see how and why things happened. I loved Riley, Milo (eventually! no spoilers), Poppy & Desmond. I loved that Milo's mom was so different from Tristan's mom and that Riley was immediately welcomed into Milo's family. I could picture the pool party scene in Portugal so clearly. A very quick, perfect beach read.

Time travel in reverse- who can resist? Riley wakes up on her one-year wedding anniversary to her picture-perfect husband and finds herself (wait for it) not married to him and with another man. Echavarre slowly tells the story of the past year by peeling back the days of the calendar. I was intrigued by this premise as the only individual in the novel that knew something was amiss was Riley herself. I encourage you to enjoy a front row seat to find out what happens after their anniversary debacle and how this impacts their next year.

I will definitely have to try Riley’s special tea due to Tristan’s multiple references- half Earl-Grey/half-hazelnut. If it is good enough for Riley, it is good enough for me.

Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Really enjoyed this one. Always love a time travel story and this one was great and unique.the concept of living life backwards was different, I really enjoyed it

I loved the idea of this book & enjoy a good time travel story. It just didn’t grip me from the beginning. I was invested in the characters & wanted to know how she got to the place where she ended up a year later. The story line didn’t always make sense or flow for me. When she wakes up a year into the future, why didn't she just look at the photos on her phone. The jumps were also confusing at first. I wasn't sure if she was going back 1 day at a time or random chunks of time. In the end it seemed like it was day by day but we just didn't get all the details. Did she change anything in the timeline or was she always detined to jump a year & influence it backwards? It’s good for a quick summer/vacation read. Overall once the story started moving I enjoyed it.

I did not think I would enjoy this story as much as I did!

We meet Riley while she is happy and enjoying her life. She believes she has everything she could need: a doting husband, a shop, and a great best friend! The problem begins when she learns the truth about who her husband is. Riley quickly realizes that her husband has been unfaithful her entire marriage when she wakes up on Valentine's Day 2025 and has to live her life in reverse!

This story is such a shining example of second chances. The people Riley hated at the beginning of this story turn into the people she holds the most dear.

The idea of living life in reverse for a year is so interesting! I thought it was so neat to see big events happen, but all of the ones around Riley have moved on because they have already lived through what happened.

It was also fascinating to watch Riley living in reverse because things that should have bothered Riley more didn't because she already knew the outcome!

If you are looking for a story that makes you think about the people in your circle, second chances, and unconditional love, this is the perfect one for you!

Riley wakes up after her first wedding anniversary to find herself living a day prior, each day for a year. She navigates her divorced life with her ex's cousin Milo, unraveling the mystery of her unusual time loop. While the concept thrilled me with its unique approach, the characters Tristan and Riley felt flat to me, contrasting with the vibrant secondary characters who added depth to the story.

After celebrating her first wedding anniversary, Riley goes to sleep content in her seemingly perfect life with her perfect husband Tristan. The next morning, however, she wakes up one year later, divorced and living with her (ex)husband's annoying cousin, MIlo. To further complicate things, Riley wakes the next day to find it's the day prior, and continues to wake up a day prior for an entire year. As she puts the pieces of the puzzle together bit by bit as she works backwards through the year, Riley has to wonder which life she's meant for and what she's supposed to do now.

I loved the concept for this book. I am a huge fan of alternate path stories and the concept of this one (flashing forward a year and then living that year backward) absolutely blew my mind. I had some concerns initially about how it could possibly be structured to make it linear and not confuse the whole thing but this author knocked it out of the park in that respect, it was perfect! Very easy to follow, no issues at all with confusion or continuity, truly impressive.

The thing that holds this book back from being in my absolute favorites list is that I just didn't like Tristan or Riley at all. I didn't hate them, either, they just fell totally flat for some reason which is bizarre because the secondary characters (Milo, Poppy, Nesta, ect) were great! They all seemed real and were all likeable. I just wish something would have been done with Tristan and Riley to make them as interesting and real as the others.

Overall amazing though! I can't get over the execution of the concept! Well done!

Riley goes to sleep on her first wedding anniversary with her husband next to her and wakes up a year later next to her husbands cousin Milo someone she has never gotten along with. Riley spends the next year going backwards trying to piece together what happened why her marriage is over and she could now be with Milo. I liked the idea of this story and felt it had a really strong start. About halfway though got kind of bored since we already kind of knew everything that was going to happen there really weren't anymore surprises. I thought this was entertaining and well written just wasn't all that invested in the main characters. I would like to thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Riley Ricci is married to Tristan Chase. She is living a life she loves, perfect husband and her own lingerie business. Riley’s best friend Poppy works with her.

Everything changed after a terrible family gathering on her first wedding anniversary. Riley wakes up 12 months later, her husband is gone, and she is in a relationship with Milo. Milo is Tristan’s cousin and Riley never liked him.

Riley is confused and has trouble trying to work out what happened. This was a fun time slip romance, about families and friendships. I loved the way Riley travelled back in time to find out what happened. Interactions between Riley and Poppy were well developed. Riley’s mother in-law was nasty. I particularly liked the scene where Riley had a chance to get some revenge with her mother-law.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for a chance to read and review this E-Book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this book ahead of time in exchange for a review. It didn't disappoint! Must read!!

First off this cover is gorgeous and immediately made me want to read this book before I even read the synopsis. Then I read the synopsis and seen it had a time travel concept and was immediately intrigued. The time travel concept, when done correctly, make for some of the best stories and I really wanted to love this one. Unfortunately, this one fell a little flat for me.

Riley, our FMC, is a happily married woman but on her first wedding anniversary she is stuck celebrating it with her in-laws who do not like her. After a tragedy of a party, Riley falls asleep and wakes up exactly one year later to the date, but now she is divorced and dating her ex-husbands cousin. Completely lost and confused, Riley tries to piece together what has happened over the past year. To add to the confusion every time she goes back to sleep and wakes back up the time is trickling down to the original date of her anniversary party, the last day she remembers. Riley is desperately trying to understand what has made her life drastically change paths before she relives that day so she can be prepared for it.

Things I enjoyed: I loved the time travel and plot concept. I absolutely adored Milo and the side characters: Poppy and Nesta. Milo was so sweet and Poppy and Nesta were hilarious. The good feelings and vibes I got from this story mostly came from their characters.
Things I disliked: Even though the idea behind the plot was great, I feel it was poorly executed. The writing lacked depth which made it hard to connect to the characters at times or to stay interested in parts of the book. The ending also felt rushed which left me a dissapointed.

Thank you to NetGalley, Lake Union Publishing, and Sarah Echavarre granting me early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.