3.5 rounded up

This book was a rough start for me. I didn't particularly care for Lena one way or the other, and I did not care at all for her relationship with her best friend's husband, BUT by the end of the book, I did start to like her because she grew! Lena had a lot of character development, and it came about in such an interesting manner. As someone who thinks a lot about the past, I loved the premise of Lena finding out about all these what ifs in her past relationships. It was an intriguing and very effective path of character development for her.

The hard part about this book was that--I think, based on how it has been labeled--it is supposed to be a romance. While the story does focus around Lena and the relationships she missed out on, I would not call it a romance at all. It felt more like the prequel to a romance, the part of the story where Lena starts to figure out what she wants out of life and love before she actually gets to the romance/happy ending part. Because of this misconception on my part, I kept looking for connection between Lena and these men that wasn't really supposed to be there for any longer than each given chapter. I only ever got the chance to know and care about Lena because everyone else was so fleeting.

Through the lens of women's fiction or contemporary fiction, this is not a bad thing. Each of Lena's experiences helps her grow in a certain way, and I loved that. I also appreciated how we saw Lena's relationship with her best friend change depending on the choices each of her alternate selves made. I also really liked how--after her crazy adventure--Lena didn't have an exact plan. She didn't leave her time loop knowing exactly what she wanted out of life. She was still figuring things out, but she knew there were parts of her life that needed to change. It was refreshing not having every single piece of her life suddenly fall into place but to have the openness and hope that they eventually would.

Overall, it was a unique story that had some ups and downs, but it was worth the read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc
This was a really creative and fun romance novel! Sarah Jio knows how to keep a reader entertained. I finished this book in under a day. I loved all the different husbands, but I don't think I had a favorite. If anything, this book teaches you to live life to the fullest and cherish every moment. Additionally, if you like audiobooks, the audiobook version of this book is set to be narrated by Brittany Pressley and I love her work, so I am super excited to check it out! I look forward to seeing what Sarah Jio comes up with next!!!

Lena is looking the love of her life, her person, her significant other. After a breakup with someone who she thought was the One, she runs to her Aunt’s home to heal. She falls asleep and wakes up in a completely different place with a completely different life. This takes her on a whirlwind of reliving past relationships, wondering if one is her Significant Other or are they all her Insignificant Others?

I’ve read all but 3 of Sarah Jio’s books, so I jumped at the chance to read this one. The cover hints at a lighter read and it didn’t disappoint! Filled with magical realism, this is such a fun read. Fast paced, well written, great characters. I felt for Lena, just wanting to find her soulmate. So many lighthearted moments, and close calls. I enjoyed the storyline, but would have preferred one or two less ‘others’. So relatable, who hasn’t wondered at some point in their life… What If? Lena has the opportunity to live it. If you are looking for something different from your regular go to’s, I recommend this book.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for this ARC. This is my honest opinion.

INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS – Sarah Jio
William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0063371156
April 1, 2025
Contemporary Romance

Bainbridge Island, Washington – Present Day

Lena Westbrook thought her life was perfect, with a great job and a boyfriend she knew was about to propose. Dinner at an exclusive restaurant in San Francisco has her convinced that Kevin (her boyfriend) plans to pop the question during their romantic dinner. He arrives late, and nothing happens. Lena finally asks him about the proposal, and he tells her that she isn’t the one whom he sees spending the rest of his life with. Stunned, she walks out. Making a sudden decision, Lena decides to head to Bainbridge Island to visit her beloved aunt. There she can lick the wounds of rejection. The first night, Lena heads to a vacant guesthouse on her aunt’s property, where she falls asleep. The next morning, she finds herself in a world of “what ifs.” What if she had married a man from her past? It seems so real, but each night she goes to sleep and wakes up in a different world with a man from her past.

Of course, Lena is confused when she wakes up the first time and she is with a man from her past. Some are men she easily recognizes, while some she has to think hard about. She quickly learns that her new “life” isn’t all a bed of roses. There is her life in Paris where both she and her husband cheat on each other. There is the husband who is a dreamer who sits at home all day while she works. Not all is bad. She runs into a couple of men from her past that show how she could have had a good life. Oddly, in INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS, she runs into a male friend from her past who is not romantically involved with her. That may or may not prove significant in this tale. Along the way, Lena learns a lot about herself. This tale is a big journey for her. Will it change her future when she finally gets off this seemingly endless merry-go-round?

At first, I wasn’t sure if I would like INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS because of the oddness of this tale. However, by the time I reached midway through, I was hooked, and I had to see where Lena ended up next. Then there was the final chapter. Will Lena finally be home, or will she be stuck somewhere in the past? Her Aunt Rosie and best friend Frankie play small parts in the story as they are her anchors. Lena even sees the changes in them, and it’s not always good. By three-fourths way through, she accepts that she will wake up each morning in a different life, but she needs to get home. How will she finally stop this weirdness of a revolving life?

INSIGNIFICANT OTHERS is an intriguing tale that will capture your interest and have you wondering how it all ends. Don’t miss it.

Patti Fischer
Romance Reviews Today

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy. Sarah Jio is a must read for me. I’ve read every book of hers. This was certainly the most different from any that I read. I’m not going to lie,‘I had a hard time getting into it, but I really enjoyed this. I liked the idea of seeing where our paths could lead if we would have made different choices.

This story is a whirlwind that takes exploring the butterfly effect to a whole new romcom level! Our FMC, Lena, is heartbroken after her longtime boyfriend doesn’t propose as she’d hoped. She flees home to her Aunt Rosie and after falling asleep she wakes up in Paris married to a man from her past. This crazy pattern continues as Lena sees what her life would’ve been like if she had stayed with different men she had dated. Stuck living single days in each new life, Lena experiences all of the ups and downs that life can throw at you. This is a wonderful story that will surprise you at every turn and keep you guessing on how her life will turn out until the end! Definitely check this book out when it releases on April 1, 2025!

"You used to say you could never be with someone who didn't love books."

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Insignificant Others is a contemporary time travel romance that tells the story of Lena - a workaholic who is just checking off all of life’s boxes and forgets to take time to enjoy love along the way.

The story is fast paced and whimsical. Imagine waking up each day with a new partner. Each one being someone from your past which allows you to see what life might’ve been like had you stuck together.

Lena goes through a whirlwind, and each part of her journey is so heartfelt as you watch her learn things about herself. I really wasn’t sure what to expect going into this book, but it was such a fun and beautiful journey.

Thank you to the team at William Morrow Epic TasteMakers for the gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I usually love a good 'what if' sliding door esque romcom but there were so many scenarios that it was hard to know who to root for and I honestly felt a little uninterested overall. I did love Brittany Pressley's narration - she is one of my very favs, so I still would definitely recommend listening to the audiobook for this one. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I have a fascination with novels that take a woman and offer her the opportunity to explore other paths in life she could have taken. Insignificant Others takes Lena and gives her the opportunity to try out 24 hours with a guy from her past to see what her life might have been like. She never knows where or with whom she’ll be the next day, but, along the way, she discovers what she really wants in life, if only she can get out of this never ending parade of men.

After her boyfriend fails to propose as she had expected, Lena heads to her aunt’s house on an island off Washington. Her aunt, sometimes more of a mother to Lena than her own troubled mother, has a bit of an obsession with crystals, and gives one to Lena before Lena decides to head to her aunt’s guesthouse just to see what’s in there. She ends up falling asleep there, only to wake up in Paris with a guy she barely remembers. And so starts her adventure, where she wakes up every morning in a different place with a different guy and has to scramble to figure out who he is, where she is, and what this version of her daily life looks like. These take her to places like Paris, Florida, and Los Angeles, pairing her with every kind of guy from a swindler to high powered career men. She bounces from the ability to have children to not being able to conceive (which is kind of confusing because she can only have children with certain men otherwise she’s infertile?). It’s confusing and scary, and Lena works hard each day to try to get back to her aunt’s guesthouse and stop this neverending parade of partners, but, along the way, she’s given the opportunity to figure out what, exactly, she wants in life.

Insignificant Others is really a fun story. Set over the course of a week, it felt longer as Lena’s life was different every single day. Unfortunately, it did make the story overly episodic, and it often felt like it was shoehorning in the moments Lena needed in order to make realizations and to help the reader out as it felt like it was largely forgotten until the last quarter. By the end, it did feel a little too contrived, but it was also a lot of fun to explore different lives with her.

Lena, and consequently the reader, don’t really know who she is until the end, after she’s lived all these lives and experienced so many variations of what could have been. We meet her in a place where she tightly controls everything in her life. She has plans and goals and expects everything to turn out just so. Every hair is in place, every wrinkle ironed out, every move timed to the second. Nothing seems to be left to chance. But she expected her boyfriend to propose, and he didn’t, and it felt like something shattered in her, because that was definitely not in her plans.

Over the course of the novel, the reader, and Lena herself, get to know Lena. She tries on different lifestyles for size, determining what she does and doesn’t like. Because she’s given a different guy in each lifetime in a day, her life, and who she is, is different as well. I wasn’t too pleased that most of these guys were guys she’d met in a moment in time and had developed no real history with them. She really had to struggle to try to remember some of them and what they had done. I found the ones where she’d had a more meaningful relationship more interesting, but those lives also felt way too sad. But each offers a different window into who Lena could be. She is slow to accept this is what her life is right now, but I liked how she rallied each time, eventually really taking some days by the horns and living that life. This was a slow exploration of who she is, with the reader often being spoonfed these nuggets, but I really just had fun watching her wake up in a new life every day and then having to adjust.

It was extremely satisfying to see Lena emerge towards the end. After trying on so many different lifestyles, she slowly comes to see what’s really important to her and what she really wants. I really liked the occasional hint at who her proper soulmate is; it made for a sweet love story, even if he had no idea what was going on. I liked the softer version of her the reader gets at the end, and my heart felt content for her.

Through it all, there are a couple of characters who are there at nearly every turn. Her aunt is present in most lives, though Lena sometimes struggled to get in touch with her. I loved that Insignificant Others also offered her a sweet story that gently wafted through each day. Her aunt is such a lovely soul, and it was so clear to see how much she and Lena love each other. My favorite person, though, is Lena’s best friend, Frankie. She’s an absolute delight and I love how she’s just such a huge rock for Lena. She’s there for Lena even if she has no clue what’s actually going on. Their friendship is an absolute highlight for me, and I loved how much they love each other.

Insignificant Others sets Lena on the adventure of a lifetime. This was fun despite being episodic, and offers some interesting food for thought. Of course, I wasn’t a huge fan of how hard Lena often had to think to recall each guy, and I was even less a fan of how Lena’s life turned out thanks solely to which guy she picked. I didn’t like the message that a man has the power to determine a woman’s career and whether she can conceive or not. It felt really inane. I would have loved to see something more constant for Lena, like maybe the same job across multiple days, or even just a definite answer of whether she could have kids or not. Surely she herself has some influence over who and what she is in her own life. Instead, I was bothered by how it made it seem like a man has the power to determine who and what a woman is. But it also makes the final guy, the guy Lena ultimately picks, absolutely perfect, because he never forces her to be someone she isn’t or doesn’t want to be. And, in the end, all these options did give her the chance to see and figure out what she really wants in life.

While I have some major and minor quibbles with Insignificant Others, I can’t deny that it’s also really fun despite the glaring flaws. I enjoyed jumping around with Lena, and I loved her relationships with her aunt and best friend. Some days hit a little harder than others, just in terms of what Lena and whichever guy she was currently with had to deal with, while others were just kind of hilariously over the top. This is full of fun things, but it often clouded what the story is actually about.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I've been a fan of Sarah Jio's books for many years now, starting with The Violets of March back in 2011. Her novels never fail to impress and delight me. Sarah's latest, Insignificant Others, is an imaginative and heartfelt story with magical realism and romance.

Perfect for fans of The Midnight Library, this story explores the roads not taken with a series of men that Lena (the main character) had encountered in her life. I couldn't put it down and spent part of a snowy Sunday finishing it so I could see what happens.

Lena ends up in a lot of interesting scenarios with all these different men from her past and each day she has to orient herself to a new "reality." This made me think of 50 First Dates, although Lena didn't have short term memory loss. It has a bit of a Sliding Doors feel, as well, but with a large variety of doors showing what might have been. I like how she has some constants in her life, like her best friend Frankie, even though the time loops have impacts on their dynamic.

The settings were great and easy to visualize and I enjoyed that there was a variety of characters and locations to keep things surprising with each new chapter. It also had me reflecting about the insignificant others in my own life, even though I'm more than glad about who I married.

Overall, a great novel that I'm excited for everyone to read!

(Trigger warnings below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Lena: Rose McIver
Frankie: Vanessa Hudgens
Rosie: Kathleen Quinlan

If I tried to cast all the men, this review would never get finished! I'm sure there are plenty of actors who could fit any of these roles.
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TW: Death of parent, loss of infant, infidelity

4.5

I absolutely love a time slip novel that plays with the what if? idea or the butterfly effect etc and this one did that in such a fun and interesting way. I was so sucked into Lena’s story, every morning she wakes up in a new life with an ex and I could not wait to see what happens next. This had lots of humor and heart but there were also emotional parts as well, some of the alternate worlds Lena spent a day in were rough and others were so sweet and delightful. If you like magical realism and books that make you contemplate life, try this I found it to be so charming!

I've read and enjoyed several other Sarah Jio novels, and this once did not disappoint! If you read and liked the popular book that was released last year "The Husbands," it reminded me of it a bit, but sooo much better! This one has a slightly different premise on how she gets new husbands, and each husband has an entire chapter devoted to them so that you can really get to know them. The other fun part is that the main characters' life is completely different. i.e. Different career, different location, different style, children, etc. She really gets to see how very different her life could be, and what things are most important to her. The magical realism here is just so entertaining and I really loved this book! If you are a fan of Ashley Poston novels, I highly recommend this one!!

Sarah Jio’s *Insignificant Others* is an absolute gem—beautifully written, deeply emotional, and utterly captivating. Her storytelling is immersive, her prose is elegant yet effortless, and the emotions woven throughout the pages feel so authentic and raw.

This book had me hooked from start to finish, making me feel every emotion along the way. Jio has an incredible ability to bring her characters to life in a way that makes them feel real and relatable. The themes of love, resilience, and self-discovery resonated deeply, leaving a lasting impact long after I turned the final page.

I personally loved this story, and it’s one I’ll be thinking about for a long time. A huge thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC—this was an absolute pleasure to read! Highly recommend!

I loved this one! This is a time loop done right! ⁣
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When Lena’s longtime boyfriend pulls out Coldplay tickets instead of the engagement ring she was expecting, she feels like life is not going according to plan. ⁣
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But when Lena awakens the next day, she finds she has been transported to Paris and is the wife of a handsome Frenchman. What ensues is that every 24 hours, Lena wakes up in a different scenario of what her life could have been had she chosen differently. Each man she spends the next day with is someone she had already met, if only briefly. ⁣
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What I adored about this story was how it felt like several little romances or meet-cutes in one book. Each time Lena jumped, I was delighted to see what kind of person she would be with and their relationship. And then, there was the anticipation of who, or if, she would end up with any of them—I had my favorites! ⁣
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I loved Lena and most of the men, plus Lena’s friends, Frankie and Christian, and of course dear Aunt Rosie, who were all somewhere in the picture. ⁣
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This book is a testament to the author's skill. It's not just fun and romantic but also a thoughtful exploration of if there is a right one at the right time as Lena searches for the one that might have gotten away.⁣
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Thank you @williammorrowbooks and @sarahjio for the gifted ebook via #NetGalley

I have loved Sarah Jim as a writer since I read one of her first books Violets of March. She is such a wonderful writer who crafts a well written story that keeps you engaged from the first to the last page. This book was just like the rest of them! Great! What a story. I was rooting for Lena to find her soul mate and what a ride she had! Seeing how she learned from all of her past relationships and grew as a person was just heart warming. I read this book in three days! Great book for a book club to discuss.

I thought this was fun and really enjoyed it. It's a time slip novel, reminiscent of The Husbands, where Lena visits potential relationships each day over the course of a couple of weeks. I thought it had good character development, and it was interesting because they were all people from Lena's life in one way or another, not just random men that she happened to be married to. Testing out each "what if" in this world created by magical realism made Lena consider what was really important in her romantic relationships, along with those with others in her life. It did feel a little long at times, but I really enjoyed each story. Looking forward to Sarah Jio's next novel! Thanks to Netgalley and William Morrow for the advance digital copy!

I have long been a Sarah Jio fan and I basically stalk her social media for new releases, so I was thrilled to see Insignificant Others come up.

Main character Lena is ready to get married. She is extremely thrown off when she goes to dinner with her boyfriend, hoping to become his fiancé and ends up single at the end of the night. Each day that Lena wakes up from then on she experiences her life with a different partner. Every day, she awakes to find that she is in a new location with some mysterious man from her past, it's a time loop of sorts. She learns who she is and is able to see the good and the bad of each of her past relationships. It is kind of like a choose your own ending book, except she never knows which ending she is going to get.

This book had the perfect amount of magical realism. It was so interesting to see Lena's life unfold in so many different ways. She is able to see the good and the bad of each of the potential suitors she has had over the years. She is also able to see a lot of "what if" situations that will help inform her future.

🛌 MINI / BOOK / REVIEWS 👗

🛌: #insignificantothers by @sarahjio
📆: April 1, 2025
📚: @harpercollins @williammorrowbooks
✅️: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
✍️: From New York Times bestselling author Sarah Jio comes an escapist novel following a young woman stuck in a “time loop” of one-day relationships with romantic partners from her past.
🗯: It has been way too long since I have read a book by Sarah, and I loved every second of this. It was so fun to get a behind the scenes peek into all of Lena's love interests and what led to her ultimate choice (which I LOVED). My only issue was there were a LOT of characters and storylines. The best part was keeping her best friend Frankie as a constant in her chaotic world. Highly recommend!!

Summary:
When Lena Westbrook's night doesn't go according to plan, she has no idea that it's just the tip of the iceberg. Lena's going to find out what it would've been like if any of her previous relationships had worked out.

Lena Westbrook is thinking tonight's the night she and her boyfriend will get engaged. Not only does that plan not work out, but she's given a weird conveyor belt analogy as part of the reason. Devastated, Lena goes to visit her Aunt and take some time to sort out her feelings. Her life goes in a completely different direction when she falls asleep in the guest house- located in Seattle, Washington- but wakes up in Paris, France.

Thus begins her journey of spending one day in the lives she would have lived if any of the men who came into her life (in various forms) had worked out. These days take her all over the world and give her a chance to live many different lives.

There's the marriage she where she and her husband are cheating. Or the life where she married a man she went on a couple of dates with, but make a life on a farm in Pennsylvania. The life she wakes up to where she discovers her husband is a con artist who scams retired people out of their money. In some lives, she deals with the subject of children- in the various forms in comes in. By the time she wakes up back in the guest house, Lena has learned far more about herself than she anticipated. Somehow, things never before on her radar now are. She learns that a big ring doesn't lead to a happy life. And sometimes, the life you really need is the last one you expected to want.

Once again, Sarah Jio has delivered a fascinating story. I was glued to what each new life was going to look like and reveal to her. The different careers and types of lives she lived out were captivating. I wanted to see what would unfold next. I chuckled at the funny scenes- be careful around an ice sculpture & when milking a cow), had my heart strings tugged at the encounters with children. Cheered her on when she rights the wrongs done by her crook husband. It was an emotional journey of discovery for not just Lena, but the reader as well. This book triggered me reflecting on my own past romances and what I learned from each one. Thank you, Sarah, for giving me another story to get lost in.

Jio is one of my favorite authors. I find her style and storytelling to be profoundly beautiful.
This premise was fun and really different. While I enjoyed it, I definitely found it to start dragging out a but too long in the end. Then the ending happened and felt way too rushed to be believable.
However, I really did enjoy the ride and find her writing style to be effortlessly beautiful.