This book is surprisingly multilayered. It explores grief, guilt, loss, and search for a place in the world with humor, music, an array of colorful, fully developed characters, and magical realism. At the beginning, I thought oh, here we go again. This follows the same path as Rebecca Searle's, Italian Summer. As it turned out, it was and it wasn’t. This story pushed this kind of story up a rung.

I was immersed as soon as Meg arrived in Ireland. I might not have known what was happening in her fictional world but it was exactly where I wanted her to be. The Hollywood portion was just enough to set the stage but the majority of the book took place in Avalon, an Irish village where not only does everyone know your name but they know everything about you. Absolutely the right place for someone who is adrift.

All the characters were delightful to read and well flushed out —Kiera, Cillian, the parents, Aimee, and of course, Meg. The ending was just right. Not too much or too little.

Kudos to Paige Harbison who knew when to lay it on and when to pull back, I would recommend this book to anyone who needs be uplifted.

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read the advanced reading copy for review.

Such an intriguing premise and set up! I was sucked in right away. Love how this story explores the issues of grief and friendship and how to cherish the life you have. The romance is fun, especially since the characters have great chemistry. This reads a bit "young," which I guess makes sense given that the author also writes YA. But it's a fun read with a satisfying conclusion. More charming and less depressing than The Midnight Library, this should appeal to readers looking for an uplifting second chance type story.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance e-galley; all opinions in my review are 100% my own.

loved this book dealing with grief and sliding door feel to this book. She is in a tv show and ends up going to ireland and finds love and friends and even see's her best friend and what would have been. Great story and romance.

I found this book extremely difficult to follow, closing some of the holes in the plot would have made it more enjoyable.

I loved this sweet story about a woman not quite in love with her life! I loved all the characters but especially Meg! Kiera and Cillian are both so great. I especially loved the quaint Irish town most of the book took place in. I don't want to give anything away but I really loved how the story unfolded. It took a couple turns I didn't expect and I just couldn't put it down! Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early!

An intriguing premise. The novel is an exploration of grief and friendship with a dash of magical realism and a bit of romance. I was not quite sure how the story could possibly wrap up and this kept me turning the pages!

In terms of the writing, I do think the story could have been shorter and clearer and the characters did not seem to act their age (but much younger/immature). There are many specific cultural and fashion references that normally do not bother me but did not always feel well integrated. I wasn’t thrilled with the push-pull of Meg’s relationship with Cillian but I did think they were cute together. A charming read overall exploring the big ‘what ifs’ in Meg’s life. 2.5 stars.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Oh my god, I absolutely LOVED this book! I’m so grateful to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for putting this book on my radar and giving me an advance copy.

For as long as she could remember, Meg Bryan (yep, that’s her name) wanted to be an actress. She’s finally achieved stardom on a soap opera-type show called Brilliance under her stage name, Lana Lord.

But while the fame can be great, having to worry about every calorie she consumes and when she’ll need work done again gets tiring. Why doesn’t achieving the goals she has set, getting to live her dream make her happy? After a bit of a breakdown at her 30th birthday party, she decides to run away for a bit, and books a trip to the Irish village where she and her best friend Aimee had planned to attend acting school.

Avalon is everything she dreamed it would be. But strangely, everyone seems to know her here—as Meg. She has a best friend, a dog who seems to know her, and there’s a sexy bartender who is flirty yet irritated with her. When she looks in the mirror, she sees her old self—before plastic surgery, weight loss, and hair styling changed everything.

In Avalon, Meg doesn’t act—she works in a shop. But she often wonders about the path not taken. And when she discovers that in this life, her best friend Aimee—who died when they were younger—is alive, she’s thrown completely. She has no idea how she got here or how long she’ll stay, but is this the right path?

I tend to love these Sliding Doors-type books, but this one just wowed me. Maybe I’m overly emotional because I met one of my best friends 31 years ago today and he’s been gone for nearly three. Whatever the reason, this was amazing.

The book will publish 6/3/2025.

First, thanks to NetGalley for the early read of ‘The Other Side of Now’. This book reminded me of a cute YA Fantasy RomCom version of ‘Sliding Doors’ movie sprinkled with ‘The Holiday’ movie, living in an alternate universe, where perhaps you get a do-over in life. Could easily see this made into a Hallmark/Netflix movie. The book grabs you from the beginning & is an easy quick read. The author immediately pulls you in with interesting twists, questioning what’s real, pop culture references to make you want to read in one sitting. If you want a light RomCom weekend book, look no farther. Kind of predictable but that doesn’t take away from the writer’s charm. Every page was delightful to read and makes the reader invested to follow the actress’s (Meg) life journey. The author, Paige Harbison, shows lots of promise moving from YA to adult storytelling. Looking forward to her next story.

Twisted read. Meg is an accomplished actress that is running from the sorrow of the death of her best friend Aimee. Life gets twisted when she takes a spontaneous trip to Ireland on her 30th birthday. What is real and what is fiction? Heartwarming and heartbreaking read. Friendships, healing of wounds, love and growth of characters. Good read. Recommend. I was given an advanced reader copy of this book by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

What appears as a cute, quick rom-com read from the blurb, “The Other Side of Now” has more than meets its eye. While providing lots of laughs, it switches tones and strays a bit too far into a tell-don’t-show therapy session in the last third. It is a quick read that will keep drawing you back in to see where the plot is going.

It was refreshing in that it didn’t play into the typical traps that “second chance” books can do sometimes. Everything isn’t immediately good or bad. The drive for the reader is to see how the author, Paige Harbison, plans to end it. It is truly all about the ending, or perhaps new beginnings, with a book like this.

This is Harbison’s first adult novel. I have not read any of her YA books. It can come across a bit YA. Do not expect a lot of spice – this is not that kind of book. It is more about friendship, trauma, and blame.

I do want to spend more time with some of the characters. For example, I would totally read a sequel with Kiera and Cillian.

Okay, I absolutely LOVED THIS BOOK!!! It was everything I didn't know I needed. I've been in a rut with my physical/ebooks where I get halfway through and I just want it to end. But not with this one 👏👏 I couldn't get enough. It grabbed me right away.

I loved everything about it especially the characters. I loved the cherish the life you're in message it had in it. Plus the ending! It was SO good!!!!! Highly recommend adding this to your TBR. It's not out till June but I can't wait to reread it. REALLY hope the audiobook has some Irish accents cause I was all about the Ireland setting!!!! It gave me major The Seven Year Slip vibes which I also loved!!!! So sad it's over!!!

I am a sucker for alternative reality romance stories, and this novel is the perfect example of those! This love story will give you all the feels, and you will thinking of the conclusion long after you’re done reading!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!!

What a good book! I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I loved the main characters! They had great chemistry and worked so well together. I loved how the book just flowed. My first by this author but will not be my last!!!