Some Other Time sounded interesting when I was browsing through the audiobook titles on Netgalley. I finished it in just a couple of days. Some Other Time is a novel about Ellie and Jonah who are married for 20 years and hit a bump in their relationship and decide that maybe it's time to go separate ways and get a divorce. Jonah and Ellie fly from New Jersey to Florida to tell Ellie's parents & their daughter Maggie the news. Once home, even though they are questioning the divorce, they still plan to go through with it. Ellie wakes up the next morning in another reality, one where she is not married to Jonah anymore, her parents never retired to Florida and Ellie owns a bookstore. She gets to experience life with other people and decide if she is making a good decision. Pieces of her real life pop up and she must decide if she should stay in this new reality or go back to the way her life was before. It gets you thinking about the "what if's" in life. I did find Ellie to be a little depressed as it wasn't an uplifting story at all, divorce isn't a subject that would make someone feel good to read about. I did enjoy the novel and would recommend it to others. This is my first novel by Angela Brown and I would read other books by her.

I was intrigued by this book at first, but as I continued reading, it began to feel quite slow and monotonous. I came across some reviews claiming that it could be "propaganda funded by the Catholic Church," and I couldn't help but start to believe that sentiment as I progressed through the pages.

While the premise had potential, I didn’t find myself enjoying the story much. The pacing and tone didn’t resonate with me, and it felt like it lacked the depth I was hoping for. Not my cup of tea, unfortunately.

But I would still like to thank NetGalley, the author and to the publisher for offering me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought this would be a sweet, light-hearted book, and I really wanted to love it, but it just seemed to drag on.

The writing was good, but sadly it just didn't engage for me.

DNF at 44%
I had such high hopes I love a good time travel/ missed experiences book. This was not that.

I was so confused i rolled it back to make sure it wasn’t me. I kept getting lost in part two. The narrator was also not my favorite, but I was determined to push through. I was very frustrated and had to stop.

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC.

This book was shelved before I had a chance to listen to it and give an objective feedback. Very sad about it since I couldn’t wait to read it.

I’m always drawn to second-chance stories, and the time travel aspect in this one made it even more interesting. The whole "what if" element, the intrigue, and all the unexpected twists really grabbed me.
Some Other Time it’s a thought-provoking look at the choices we make and how different paths can change everything.
If you've ever wondered how things could have turned out differently, this one's for you.

2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3⭐️


Ellie is getting divorced, her relationship with her daughter is strained, and she’s feeling the weight of empty nest syndrome. She begins to wonder how different her life might have been if she had never gotten married. Suddenly, she wakes up in an alternate version of her life, experiencing the path not taken. But is this alternate reality truly better?

I was intrigued by the concept of this book—the idea of exploring the “what ifs” in life is always compelling. The writing was solid, and the narrative flowed well, making it an easy and engaging read.

However, I struggled to connect with the characters. Ellie came across as whiny and a know-it all, which made it hard to empathize with her journey. Her mother, Bunny, was overbearing and frustrating, while Ellie’s husband lacked any real backbone.

One aspect that really bothered me was the book’s underlying message about marriage. It seemed to push the notion that “you make a vow for life” no matter what, which felt outdated and overly traditional. The idea that Ellie’s parents wouldn’t retire to Florida unless she was married because they saw her as “helpless” otherwise was baffling. This reliance on marriage as the ultimate measure of success felt unrealistic and out of touch.

While the story had potential and the writing was strong, my inability to relate to the characters and the outdated views on marriage made it difficult for me to fully enjoy the book.

Disclaimer: Thank you NetGalley and Brilliance Publishing for the audio ARC of this book.

3.5⭐️ rounded up

This book is a modern housewife twist on the It’s a Wonderful Life trope.

Our FMC and her husband are just sick of each other and their only daughter is off to college. She’s spent 18 years trying to micromanage her household and doesn’t feel like she has another purpose outside of wife, mother, and home manager.

Just as she’s about to embark on separation from her husband, Jonah, she wakes up in another reality where they are just meeting for the first time and were never married.

I found this book to be cute and I think there are a lot of ladies out there that this will speak to on a deeper level than it speaks to me. The Catholicism and the new age superstition fits well into the over arching magical realism theme of this book.

Audio narration is great!

Sadly we start mentioning the worst trope I find in my books, cheating, it felt a book a little too religious, maybe if I read it on a different time in my life, it could have been an okay book because it aligned a little with my relationship with religion.
The story needs a better hook for the reader because it feels like things happen at the beginning but there isn't a reason why some things are mentioned.
And it starts to get boring, which sometimes made me not want to finish it so, sadly it is a not for me.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this book

A magical realism read about a woman that doesn’t love being an empty nester which expands into announcing divorce at her parents’ condo in Florida.

A wish made and our main character, Ellie Baker, wakes up to have never been married with a whole lot of other changes as well.

I always enjoy a good “what if” story like this one. I like that Ellie stays her same age and the timing is the same; her circumstances are what have changed. I also enjoyed the way we see what’s going with all the secondary characters in both scenarios.

At first glance, this story is of a couple who appears to have fallen out of love after twenty years of marriage.

Jonah and Ellie argue and can’t seem to connect like they once did. Although they have lingering doubts, they decide to head to Florida to tell their families they are divorcing. Their parents are understandably upset, but their college-age daughter, Maggie, is devastated.

Upon returning to their home in New Jersey, Ellie wakes up one morning, and suddenly everything has changed. It’s as if she’s entered a life where she never married Jonah.

If you're getting 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝐴 𝑊𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 vibes, you should! With this magical turn of events, Ellie gets a glimpse of what her life would have been like without Jonah.

As someone who has been married for a long time, I could relate to Ellie and Jonah and the feeling of being stuck. It was obvious that they both were uncertain that their marriage was truly over, so it was a fun way of having Ellie reflect. Also, as a mom, I found it difficult to see how Maggie treated Ellie at times, but I’m glad their relationship had some resolution.

𝐒𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐎𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞 is a fun exploration of marriage, divorce, and family life with a magical realism twist that reveals how our choices and paths lead us to where we are meant to be.

Thank you @brilliancepublishing for the gifted audiobook via NetGalley. #audiobooks

I had to DNF this book. My parents got divorced when I was in high school, so most times when I read about people who are getting divorced it actually gives me a different perspective on it to help me understand why people choose to get divorce instead of working through the problems they're facing together. This one was not it. There was no huge reason for the divorce other than the FMC just getting bored after her daughter leaves for college, and I couldn't help but feel like she was just whining and complaining the entire book. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, but this one was highly disappointing. I won't be sharing my review on this to social media.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. I kinda wish I DNF this one. The wife was annoying and the whole book, I just didn't like it at all.

A hopeful, funny and untraditional love story about second chances, the ripple effects of love, and the myriad ways in which the simplest lives have the power to change the world.
I really enjoyed the what if's and second chances; the magical realism was executed well in this story. It also helped Ellie reflect on her choices and made her more a relatable character. I loved Ellie’s growth and enjoyed being a part of her journey.
Thank you to the author/publisher for the opportunity to listen to this advanced audiobook. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

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.

Some Other Time by Angela Brown is deeply disappointing. Ellie's reason for wanting to divorce Jonah was unconvincing, making the first part of the book seem ridiculous to me. As a wife of over 15 years and mother of three, who transitioned from working outside the home to becoming a stay-at-home mom 11 years ago, I can relate to the feeling of losing oneself. But that's what therapy is for. You don't have to dismantle your marriage of 20-years and life to find yourself.

Another review mentioned that it seemed like propaganda for Catholicism, which resonated deeply with me. I give Some Other Time 2 stars, only because I finished it. I will not be reading anything else by Angela Brown.

Cassandra Campbell is a narrator I will avoid in the future.

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 did not love this book. I had a hard time connecting to the main character, and felt that the story was just pretty unbelievable. 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.

This book is very touching for the times you wonder what life could have been or shouldn't have been.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and Brilliance Publishing | Brilliance Audio for this ARC