I requested this book due to the cover - it looked intriguing. However, I DNF this one around the 22% mark. I think it's more sci-fi than romance fiction and I didn't care for the alternate life aspect. Hope others will enjoy as the premise sounded interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

The Other Side of Now by Paige Harbison totally took me by surprise in the best way. Meg Bryan seems to have it all—she’s a star on a hit TV show, dating Hollywood’s latest heartthrob—but underneath it all, her life is falling apart. After a mini breakdown on her 30th birthday, she decides to escape to Ireland, hoping for some clarity. But when she gets there, everything changes. She finds herself in an alternate reality—one where she never became famous and, most shockingly, her best friend Aimee is still alive. The twist? Aimee doesn’t want anything to do with her.

What I loved most about this book is how it explores second chances—especially in relationships. Meg’s chance to reconnect with Aimee is emotional, funny, and sometimes painful. It made me reflect on the friendships I’ve had and lost, and how sometimes, life gives you a second shot at what truly matters. If you love books that explore self-discovery, friendship, and a little bit of magic, *The Other Side of Now* is definitely a must-read. It’s funny, heartfelt, and so much more than I expected.

This was sweet - sometimes a little too much so for my personal taste, but enjoyable nevertheless... I'm a fan of the Sliding Doors concept of the multiverse and find it to be a very entertaining construct. Who among us, after all, hasn't done the "What if..." route in their head from time to time? Harbison does a nice job addressing rather than attempting to avoid a lot of the challenges associated with a protagonist who is aware the alterna-world she finds herself in is not the world she started out from, and I think that lends the story more verisimilitude than it would otherwise enjoy (at least for me). I really liked the setup, found the middle to get a bit repetitive (I get it, she's guilt-ridden), and liked the ending a lot. It's not my usual type of story, but I found it to be an entertaining and sweet read.

I enjoyed the dual lives angle and how it wasn’t overly magical like some life swap stories, but seemed pretty realistic even for a fantasy.

I absolutely LOVED this book! The 'Sliding Doors' storyline, the Irish setting, the quirky side characters but most of all the overall message of the book. The story deals with past undealt with trauma but in a good, cathartic way. I can NOT wait to read more adult books by this author.

this was a cute love story and finding yourself novel. I think as I go to my 30’s I can relate to this one. I hope I have just as much success.

The secret to a successful road trip with your whole family...this book! I read it on and off for 3 days and absolutely adored it. With so many fiction books these days being all about a love interest, this was a breath of fresh air being centered around two best friends, Meg and Aimee. Meg lives in LA and is a bit over it. She needs an escape and books a trip to Ireland to finally go to the small village she dreamed of going to for college (with Aimee) that sadly didn't work out due to Aimee dying shortly after High School. Upon arriving though, Meg realizes her life has drastically changed. Many things are different like she actually lives there and isn't famous but the biggest is Aimee is there, alive and well, but wanting nothing to do with Meg. With the help of newly discovered best friend Kiera and her very hunky on and off again (currently off sadly) boyfriend Cillian, Meg works on figuring out this new life in Ireland and how to win Aimee back. The Other Side of Now is a good mix of a few genres: women's fiction, magical realism, and romance. I loved every character in this book and I wish I could book a trip there too. The inner dynamics between all the characters was really well done. You could feel the sense of community in this small village which you know is a favorite of mine. I think this novel is going to be a big hit come summer. Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I DNF this one around the 30% mark. It’s a little bit sci-fi as it deals with an alternate life. Sci fi isn’t my favorite genre, it did have some romance in there and reconnecting with a lost friend (past away). I can see why others would love this one!

Ah, imagine being able to escape your troubles and travel into an alternate universe? I don't normally find myself attracted to books with this theme, but something about Harbison's recent novel grabbed my attention. I think it was running off to a foreign country and living a new life! The twists and turns Harbison writes about added a lot to my enjoyment. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Wow! I LOVED this book! Magic realism at it's best! Definitely Sliding Doors meets The Holiday and I loved every minute of it. Don't want to share too much about this one as it would be fun to go in blind, but it does have the best women friendships and the swooniest romance & just wait til you meet Maureen, cuz you'll fall in love with her. Easily one of my favorite books read this year & I cannot wait to see what else Paige Harbison writes!




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tw/cw: deals with death of a loved one & grief & loss
1 open door scene

With a leading role on a hit TV show and a relationship with Hollywood's latest heartthrob, Meg Bryan appears to have everything she ever wanted. But underneath the layers of makeup and hairspray, her happiness is as fake as her stage name, Lana Lord. Following a small breakdown at her thirtieth birthday party, she books an impromptu trip where she knows the grass is greener: Ireland. Specifically, the quaint little village where she and her best friend Aimee always dreamt of moving—a dream that fell apart when an accident claimed Aimee’s life a decade ago.

When Meg arrives, the people in town are so nice, treating her not as a stranger, but a friend. Except for the (extremely hot) bartender giving her the cold shoulder. Meg writes it all off as jetlag until she looks in the mirror. Her hair is no longer bleached within an inch of its life, her skin has a few natural fine lines, and her nose looks like… well, her old nose. Her real nose.

Her phone reveals hundreds of pictures of her life in this little town: with an adorable dog she doesn’t know; with the bartender who might be her (ex?) boyfriend; and at a retail job unrelated to acting. Eventually, she comes to accept that she somehow made a quantum slide into an alternate version of her life. But the most shocking realization of all? In this life, her best friend Aimee is alive and well…but wants nothing to do with Meg.

Despite her bewilderment, Meg is clear-eyed about one thing: this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reconnect with her friend and repair what she broke. She finagles an opportunity to act in the play Aimee is writing and directing and as the project unfolds, Meg realizes that events as she remembers them may not be the only truth, and that an impossible choice looms before her.

Loved it. Will recommend to others.

This was really really excellent and hit me right in the heart. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

This was a fun book and I had no idea what would happen in the end which I liked. I liked all the characters and the writing. I am looking forward to the author`s next book.

This was a fun concept! I really enjoyed the book and I couldn’t figure out how it would end…but I liked the ending.

This is just a fun, if far-fetched story of two paths of one life. Had me choked up in a couple places that are very sweet. Will highly recommend! Would be a perfect beach read. Or cosy couch and blanket read!!!

I lost a close friend a couple of years ago and often wonder what it would have been like to have taken the trip together we’d always dreamed of.

“The Other Side of Now” addresses a similar issue—Meg has a picture perfect life as an actress with the stage name, Lana Lord, until a slightly breakdown tells her otherwise; as a result, she heads to Ireland, the destination she once dreamed of traveling to with her best friend, Aimee.

However, in Ireland, she faces a different life where Aimee is still alive and she’s just a regular gal with a dog and an ordinary life. Meg is put in a quandary—does she return to her life as an actress and lose Aimee all over again or stay where she is?

I found the premise intriguing though the delivery wasn’t quite what I expected. I did not like Meg as much in the beginning, which was part of the point. I did want to see more exploration of Meg’s loss and its impact and less on the romance, which felt very Hallmark, but, overall, this was a good story.

Three and a half out of five stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Paige Harbison and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this novel.

I absolutely LOVED this book. Thank you so much for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book for an honest review. I am a huge fan of "Sliding Doors" type books. Many of these storylines fail to connect on a realistic, thought-provoking deep level. They lack balance that grows a good story: humor, seriousness, plot development and miss a satisfying ending. This book had all of these necessities and wonderful characters (that I loved) with a great story flow! Paige masterfully spun this story that I wanted to get to the end of and also not get to the end of.

I won't dive too much into the story as to not reveal spoilers. I will say as a first time reader of Ms. Paige Harbison I am loving her writing style and quick wit! I would 100% add this book to my collection and highly recommend it for personal reading and book club selections.

Looking forward to the next book!

Thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I went into this absolutely blind—drawn in purely by its title and cover. And I’m so glad I did! This book captivated me from the very first page, pulling me into a story that was as touching as it was beautifully written.

The narrative weaves together themes of friendship, love, grief, and family in such a poignant way that it became impossible to put the book down. The author does an exceptional job of capturing the complexities of relationships—how they evolve, how they shape us, and how they stay with us, even when we least expect it.

The way the book explores grief was particularly powerful. It's a raw, honest portrayal of loss and how that loss can shape our lives.

In the end, this book was a rollercoaster of emotions—heartwarming, heartbreaking, and everything in between. If you’re looking for a story that will make you reflect on your own relationships and maybe shed a few tears along the way, I wholeheartedly recommend giving this one a read

What if you could live an alternate version of your own life?

Meg dreamed of being famous, rich, successful and has attained her goals. Suffocating from it all, she finds herself wanting a break and escapes to her youthful dream, Ireland. On a whim, she books a flight! What Meg finds on the other side, is a slower pace, a cute bartender and her best friend is indeed alive.

Considering she might be going crazy, as she explores herself in this dimension, everyone acts as it is just another day. Meg thinks she has gone through some portal, or what else could explain what she is living.

I always enjoy some time warp, portal or travel story. The bulk of the book had me hooked wanting to know what happens in the end, does she travel back or do the worlds mesh together? While the ending was not what I expected, I do appreciate how Meg’s life resolved.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this via Netgalley.

This was such a lovely book about long-term effects of loss. The book follows Meg, or her stage name in LA, Lana. She decides to take a get away from her life as a famous actress and picks up to head to Ireland. In Ireland, she enters an alternate reality where she sees what her life looks like if she had chosen another path. The book is well-written and the characters are incredibly relatable.

YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE! Expected to release June 3, 2025. Go ahead and pre-order your copy now!