Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison, in exchange for my honest review.

Perfection! Sliding doors/magical realism perfection! Love, loss, growth, so many feelings! The characters were all relatable, "real" people. Touching, funny, romantic, make-you-think perfection!

I highly recommend this book, and can't wait to read more by Paige Harbison.

This book was just ok to me. Maybe i am not the target audience but it took me a while to finish . It was just ok.

This was a step above chick lit. The story was engaging and surprisingly multilayred. Makes you appreciate the life you have and not take things for granted. I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A funny light hearted novel where Meg thinks she has it all a great job, love of her life but everything takes a quick turn.

📖 Book Review 📖 Have you ever been to a fortune teller? A palm reader at a carnival predicts two destinies for teenage Meg. After the tragedy of losing her best friend, she changes her name and trades in her small town life for Hollywood fame. Overwhelmed, she escapes it all to the small town in Ireland she and her bestie once dreamed of, but this trip is anything but what she planned. The Other Side of Now explores those alternative paths in our lives in a beautifully heartfelt tale told through magical realism. It is truly wild to think how one small decision impacts the trajectory of our future and Paige Harbison’s novel illustrates this in the most extraordinarily unfolding manner.

A must read for Summer 2025 ☀️
Thank you, St Martin's Press,  for the gifted e-galley of The Other Side of Now {partner}
 
Genre: Fiction
Trope: Time Travel
Format: 🎧📖
Pub Date:  6.3.2025
Pages: 320
Star Rating: ☆☆☆☆.5

"What if that really is the explanation for gut feelings, intuition, deja vu, kismet, and everything else? What if it's our souls, remembering the truths of all our lives."

I think the sliding door trope might be one of my favorites to read — I've always been fascinated by the idea of alternate lives and the paths we didn't take.

At first, I thought The Other Side of Now would lean more toward romance, but it was so much more. It wasn't just about romantic love; it explored familial love, friendship, and self-love. And woven throughout all of those were powerful themes of grief and forgiveness.

My heart ached for Meg more than once as she seemed so unhappy with her life. I really wanted her to find her own version of a happy ending, no matter which path she chose. While the ending didn't quite give me everything I hoped for, it did leave me with a sense of hope.

Read if you enjoy:
🫶🏼 Found family
🥹 Forgiveness
❤️‍🩹 Love & loss
🥰 Second chances
🏘️ Small town settings

I highly recommend adding The Other Side of Now to your TBR, especially if you enjoyed Rebecca Serle's One Italian Summer.

The Other Side of Now* is a delightful and surprising read that blends self-discovery, second chances, and a touch of the supernatural. Not normally my genre, it was an enjoyable read. The main character Meg is likable. Thanks NetGalley for an arc.

If you like alternate realities and magical realism, this one is a must read. The timelines are written so well and you get the best sense of what Meg is feeling and going through. Paige had a way of making me feel everything Meg was and you couldn’t help but cheer her on and cry when everything felt like it was falling apart. I enjoyed how Meg had to rip apart her idea that it’s always greener on the other side. It felt realistic and it wasnt like she was just slipping into her perfect life. No, they each had their own problems that needed addressed.I thought I had an idea of how it would end but I was so pleasantly surprised and I loved it so much. This is one of those books that I’ll be thinking about for years to come.

I give this book 4.5 stars. It’s really sweet, and the characters are very multi-dimensional (pun intended). I’m not usually a fan of Sliding Doors type stuff because I get too frustrated at the end when something either works out too well or is ignored completely, but the author did a nice job with the ending here.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a honest review.

One of the comps on this blurb was Rebecca Sterle and I thought there was simply no way this would live up to the near-mythical feelings I have about Five Years Later but I was wrong. This book was a single sitting read for me – I was absolutely invested and reluctant to put it down until I saw the resolution to Meg’s story.

Spoilers ahead!

I do think part of the reason I connected with this story so deeply is because Meg loses her best friend in car accident, and that accident and the trauma of it seems to be reason that she eventually ends up finding her way into this second version of her life. With this second version of her life, Meg has chosen a different path and her best friend Aimee is still alive. Meg gets a chance to reconnect with her friend - who in her world has been gone for more than a decade - and discover things about herself as well. I can’t imagine what that would feel like, to have that opportunity, and then be ripped away from it. Meg grows so much in this journey, but holy cow.

I genuinely loved it so much and the epilogue was exactly the conclusion I wanted.

I loved this book. The premise of living 2 realities was very well done. The discussions around grief were amazing, especially towards the end. And the whole time, I pictured the cottage in Avalon as the cute little cottage that Kate Winslet stays at in The Holiday and then see that the author mentions The Holiday in her acknowledgments!
A very good and moving read.

When Meg (aka L.A.-based actress Lana Lord) finds herself living in an alternate reality in Ireland with friends and a boyfriend she's never met, she needs to figure out how to get back to her real life ... or does she?

This classic alternate timeline story really tugged at my heartstrings and had me rooting for everyone to get their happy ending. The heart-breaking friendship aspect, the sizzling and deep chemistry between Meg and Cillian, Meg's internal struggle to find happiness - it all worked to make for a captivating read. The ending make me clap my hands and sign with relief. I loved this book and can't wait to read more from this author.

I loved The Other Side of Now! I've read many alternate-reality/Sliding Doors novels, so my bar is set quite high, but this book had it all: characters I could root for who learned and grew, a plot that took me to places I didn't expect, true love (romantic and platonic), and a satisfying ending.

I'll be recommending it widely and seeking out other books by Paige Harbison!

Thanks very much to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this digital ARC in advance of publication.

OMG I’m screaming!! This was so damn good!! 😭😭

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Part magical realism, part alternate reality, dashes of nostalgia, and 100% hopeful and healing.

Alright! Omg I’m so excited to talk about this one! I’ve been telling everyone I come into contact with about it! My realtor, my mom, my coworkers, my friends lmao. I loved it right from the first page and what an incredibly fun and touching journey!!

We follow our FMC, Meg Byan (lol yes) aka Lana Lord - she’s a hit tv show star on the extreme soap opera Brilliance (think like Dynasty) and she’s feeling a little out of sorts and discontent, so she books a spur of the moment trip to Ireland and secures and cute little Airbnb and sets off.

Once she arrives, her cell phone battery has drained and she’s hungry etc. so she pops over to the neighborhood pub to get something to eat and see if anyone has a charger to use.

As she steps into the pub she’s quite literally thrown into another world. Many of the people in the pub seem to know her. Intimately. Thrown off and confused, she returns to the Airbnb and when she glances at herself in the mirror, she’s still herself, but any of the work she’s had done since being in Hollywood has disappeared. Reflecting back at her in the mirror is how she would have looked if she never had Botox etc., lost the 20lbs production had her lose.

When Meg and her childhood best friend were teenagers, they were at the local fair. There was a woman there doing palm readings. She had explained to Meg that she had two lifelines, indicating two lives and she’d have to choose one. When the woman read Aimee’s palm, she didn’t say anything and instead had a look of dread and sorrow on her face.

Not long after, Aimee dies tragically, Meg escapes to LA and becomes an actress.

This story was so amazingly good besties! I laughed and giggled, I teared up with joy and with sorrow and sadness. The message in the story is truly heartwarming.

The FMC was so relatable, she is me and I am her. She’s a dog lover and a perfume lover, loves great music, not just the garbage they play on the radio. She loves deeply and when her best friend in the whole world tragically died, she shut down.

She was really good at denial for many years after the passing of her best friend and that really resonated with me. I don’t think anyone is particularly good at grief, but I am the absolute worst. I felt so much compassion and understanding for Meg, I’ve been there.

The heavier message in the book is sprinkled with tons of humor and heartfelt moments. I found myself over here quite literally giggling and kicking my feet. Kiera is my girl. What an amazing side character. Cillian is such a good guy and an amazing love interest.

All things said and done. I thought the writing was superb, the story kept me engaged and flipping the pages quickly right from the start. I laughed, I related, I cried, and just completely fell in love with all of these beautiful characters.

If you enjoy heartfelt and moving stories about life and friendship that include a little time travel/parallel lives/sliding doors themes- look no further and grab this one up! Highly recommend!

(Edited this review in my phone- I’ll come back and edit shortly on my laptop.)


💚Slow burn
💛Friendship
💚Found family
💛Fated mates
💚Forgiveness & grief
💛Small town
🐾Dogs!
💛Love and Loss
💚Happiness x Sorrow

Expected Release Date ~ 06/03/25

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the complementary advanced digital copy, all thoughts are my own.

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Ah! I loved everything about this book. It came highly recommended and did not disappoint. It follows Meg who is dealing with unimaginable grief from losing her best friend, then transports her into a surreal other world where she's still alive but they're not friends anymore, and finding her true love. So cute - just read it.

I wasn’t sure about this book at first. The main character gave off almost manic energy. Unless that is what the author was going for. But about 3/4 of the way through the book I was hit with a huge whammy of emotion and life lessons. I would highly recommend this book. It was also a quick, easy read. 5 stars

It's warm and magical and bittersweet and has so many of my favorite themes: love, growth, loss, found family, vulnerability, chemistry, banter, forgiveness, a touch of steam- all wrapped up in a beautiful Irish setting with a dash of philosophy/physics. The thought of temporarily taking the road not taken is such a fun escape.

I don't know why I was holding off on reading this book for so long- it was a solid 5 star read. I was immediately hooked and could not put this book down. I loved the aspect of magical realism and all of the characters. I just can't say enough how much I loved it. This is one of my top books so far this year! Thanks for the opportunity to read!

*The Other Side of Now* is a delightful and surprising read that blends self-discovery, second chances, and a touch of the supernatural. The story follows Meg Bryan, a Hollywood actress who seemingly has it all—fame, beauty, and a high-profile relationship. But on the inside, she’s struggling. A breakdown at her thirtieth birthday pushes her to take a spontaneous trip to Ireland, a place she and her best friend Aimee once dreamed of moving to before Aimee tragically died a decade ago.

Upon arrival, Meg quickly realizes something is off. The town’s residents seem to know her, but she has no memory of them. Her reflection is different, her phone is filled with pictures of a life she doesn’t recall, and the handsome bartender treats her like an ex. Most shocking of all? Aimee is alive—but their friendship is in ruins.

As Meg navigates this alternate version of her life, she’s given a rare opportunity to fix the mistakes of her past. Through an emotional and thought-provoking journey, she learns that memories are not always absolute, and the truth isn’t always what she believed. The novel’s twist is both unexpected and satisfying, leading to a heartwarming, happy ending that feels well-earned.

Harbison crafts engaging, well-developed characters, making Meg’s growth and redemption feel authentic. If you enjoy books with an imaginative premise, heartfelt relationships, and a touch of magic, *The Other Side of Now* is a great pick!

At first I had a hard time getting into it, but once I did I wanted to keep reading regardless of my obligations. This is a very emotionally charged book and the way it discusses grief feels very real. There’s also beautiful moments, both romantic and not, and the general “magic” of it enjoyable without being a fantasy or rom-com. It’s a “life” book.