Recent empty-nesters Ellie and Jonah take a family trip to Florida with their college aged daughter Maggie to visit Ellie’s retired parents. During dinner on their first night, Ellie shares that she and Jonah are getting a divorce, much to the shock and confusion of their family.

Having devoted her adult life to being a wife and mother, Ellie wonders what her purpose is now that her daughter is out of the house. After all, Maggie doesn’t share anything or talk things over with Ellie; she actually makes it clear she doesn’t want to turn out like her mother.
What would Ellie’s life look like had she never met her husband?

I rated this three stars because it was very challenging to connect with Ellie. My own daughters are finding their independence and don’t open up to me as much as they used to but that’s part of growing up! Also, I wouldn’t consider divorcing my husband merely because I felt I had lost my purpose or drive in life. The fact she hadn’t considered counseling for herself, or with her husband, or with her daughter made me greatly dislike the main female character.

Thank you NetGalley, Angela Brown, and Little A for the opportunity to read this in exchange for a candid review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a nicely written story of a woman’s struggle with identity, purpose, change, and second chances. It’s a pretty heavy topic, of the imbalance a parent experiences when their kids are growing too quick and may not need them as much as before, kind of like having a rug pulled from under you and its ensuing dizziness. It demanded patience, but the occasional humour made me crack up sometimes. I loved the snapshots of the world passing by mixed in with the narrative.

The characters were fun and rounded. I loved each one’s quirks. Bunny. Frank. Eccentric neighbour Shelia. I liked Jonah. He seems like a catch. I understood Ellie's reluctance to accept change. Still, my patience with her wore thin around three-fourths of the way, but I’m glad she finally began taking responsibility. I worried that the Maggie arc would be left incomplete, but it came full circle and that warmed my heart.

I wasn’t keen on the continuous breaks of the fourth wall, and the constant trains of deep thought. I suppose it’s the blessing and bane of literary fiction. If this is your favourite genre, then you love wordy internal monologues. As someone with a preference for comedy, crime-y books, I didn’t much care for Ellie being in her own head so much, brooding over the aftermath of her actions. Still, the unhurried pacing worked to let the weirdness continue, and for Ellie’s character to experience growth.

Overall, nice book. I’m tentative, but I’ll continue my exploration of the literary fiction genre. 😄

I received an ARC from NetGalley, and this is a voluntary review.

I unfortunately had to DNF this as I just couldn't get into it. I immediately didn't like any of the characters, and something about it (perhaps how the mom talked about the daughter) made me feel like the entire book was going to take the point of view of a boomer looking down on a younger generation. I think I probably could have liked this if I stuck with it, but I was just not having a good time and could tell this wasn't for me.

DNF at 45%.

Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Duration: 10 hours 45 minutes

I had a hard time getting into this and really tried to push through especially since I was doing the audio. The magical realism aspect was already in play but even that couldn't keep me interested. Ultimately, this wasn't for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I thought Madame Bovary was the most annoying person I’ve encountered in books. Until I met Ellie… It’s a classic case of a bored, married woman who wants a change so she decides she wants a divorce only to later realize she had everything she always wanted (I would assume; I never made it to the end). The only fascinating thing was the alternate universe she finds herself in; but this is confusing because she consistently talks about her real life so it all gets jumbled up. It also gets repetitive, with Ellie repeating things over and over in her mind. I couldn’t relate to her at all so this didn’t work for me. I skimmed towards the end but still even couldn’t get through that.

I loved this story. As a SAHM there a moments where it feels like I don’t have an identity outside of my kids. The author explores the struggle of “empty nesters” to find themselves and bolster their relationships after kids leave home. I look forward to purchasing this book for further re-reads!

I liked the theme of what if’s and second chances, and I think it was executed well especially in the second half of the book. Ellie’s character did take a little time before I found her as someone I could sympathize with, but I could really feel the emotion regardless. I loved the magical realism aspect. It really made Ellie reflect on her choices and made her much more relatable and I loved her growth. There were many thought-provoking moments. I was hoping it would end a certain way, but it was never predictable to me. Ellie’s feeling had me questioning the choices she was going to make. I enjoyed the journey.

Thank you @angelabrownbooks @suzyapprovedbooktours @netgalley for the gifted copy.

Ellie thought she needed to change her life when her daughter leaves for college so she decides to tell her husband she wants a divorce. After telling her parents in Florida the news, they fly home. When Ellie wakes the next day she's in a different version of her life. Will she change her mind. I did enjoy the characters though I felt the book could have been shorter.

interesting time loop of a what would have happened in a marriage and finding their way back to each other. loved the family and that they were able to fall in love again.

Some Other Time by Angela Brown is a thought-provoking and engaging story.
Such a well written story.

Ellie Baker is about to take the next step in her marriage: divorce. She and her husband, Jonah, are heading to Florida to break the news to their families. There’s no dramatic story to tell—after twenty years together, they’ve simply fallen out of love. It’s as straightforward as that.

But for their college-aged daughter, Maggie, it’s anything but simple. She’s heartbroken. And Ellie’s father, Frank, reacts with the cool detachment only a retiree in Orlando can muster. As for Ellie’s mother, Bunny—she flat out refuses to listen. After a difficult weekend, Ellie and Jonah return to New Jersey, still determined to go their separate ways. But everything changes the morning Ellie wakes up to a completely different reality—one in which she and Jonah never married.

Over the course of a surreal week, Ellie witnesses how the world—and the lives of everyone she cares about—might have unfolded along an entirely different path. And in this new version of reality, everything could change once more.

Aw, I really enjoyed this. It’s on the slower side, but there were such thoughtful and insightful discussions on motherhood and marriage. I found myself highlighting so many quotes!

After twenty years of marriage, Ellie is set on divorce. Her relationship with Jonah is filled with constant arguments, and the love they once shared feels distant. With their daughter off to college, Ellie is grappling with a deep sense of loss. Her entire identity has been tied to being a wife and mother. So now, who is she? What is her purpose?

But then Ellie is thrust into an alternate reality, one where she never married Jonah. And of course, everything in her life is completely backwards, forcing her to confront the path she didn’t take!

I loved that it showed that each reality, no matter how different, had its positives and challenges. It’s about Ellie learning to appreciate the simple joys of life and rediscovering a love that might have been buried but never truly left. It was a sweet reminder that it’s also the small, everyday choices that shape our lives!

A no from me. I was surprised at how....odd this is.. The concept of sliding doors-of what might have happened had Ellie not married Jonah-is fine but the rest of it is not. I thought this might be satire but it's not. Thanks t0 netgalley for the ARC. I DNF. A pass from me.

I really struggled to connect with this book. It was a bit too sad and slow at the beginning for me and I just couldn't finish it. It might be right for someone else but it just wasn't for me.

I enjoyed this sweet story about marriage, motherhood, and finding your joy. The writing was the most major strong point for me. There were several quotes that I highlighted during my reading simply because of the beautiful language (will be adding those to GR once the book is officially released). I also really liked the cast of characters we got to meet. Where the story lost some points for me was in the pacing. I feel like the "mystery" element was quite drawn out and then rather quickly resolved. I can't say much more without giving spoilers, but I wish we spent more time exploring what life might have been like. I feel like we barely got a glimpse of what Ellie might be doing, decisions she might try and make. The majority of the focus was on other characters and the reappearance of someone from the past, who ends up being rather insignificant in the grand scheme of the story. It felt like the author was trying to connect too many threads, leaving some way less developed than they needed to be for me to connect with them. 3.5 stars overall, rounded down.

Thank you to the publisher, Little A, and Netgalley for access to the eARC.

I could not keep continuing the book because of the pacing, dialogues and the characters felt a lot irritating. Though this book talked about real issues it took me time to get into it and feel the book to its fullest

Ellie is a woman who's feeling out of sorts since her only child, Maggie, has headed off to college and Ellie had been a stay at home mom to her all these years. Ellie doesn't know how to begin the next chapter of her life and takes her frustrations out on her husband Jonah and their marriage. She first speaks the word divorce. Part one of the story is Ellie and Jonah telling her family of their plans to divorce. The second part is Ellie discovering what her and her parents life would have been like had she never married. Then the last part is Ellie realizing she's the one who needs a plan and that Jonah and her marriage aren't the problem.

A thought-provoking story on fate and second chances. Ellie and Jonah have fallen out of love and decided to get a divorce after 20 years of marriage. Ellie wakes up in an alternative version of present day- one where her and Jonah cross paths, but are essentially strangers and never marry.

I am a fan of second-chance romances and this one is a unique perspective. At times, the story got a little confusing because of the intertwined flashbacks. Otherwise, a very emotional and enjoyable read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Little A for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was not able to finish this. The story started out slow and I did not connect with any of the characters. I do think the premise is fun!

Thank you to Little A and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Ellie Baker on the brink of divorce about twenty something years gets the chance to see how her life would've turned out if she'd taken a different path. I liked this story and felt a connection with the main character and was invested in what would happen to her and where her story would go. This was a quick and entertaining read and definitely recommend picking it up. 3/3.5 stars from me, I want to thank NetGalley and Little A for the arc in exchange for an honest review.