As most avid readers will tell you, one of the best things that could ever happen to you is, a publication house sending you a book in its draft stage, to read and review. I’m normally a ‘One Book at a Time’ person, however, when you receive an email giving you exclusive access to what is said to be 2020’s most perfect pick me up romance, it’s hard to say no!
Thank’s to Penguin Random House for my Gifted Book 🙂
At first sight, this comes across as a typical, girl meets boy, they don’t get along but eventually they might fall in love story, but as they say, ‘Never judge a book by it’s cover’
Summary:
The story follows Quinn and Minnie, through the course of 12 months, starting with New Years’ Eve. Narrated from the POV of both Minnie and Quinn, across the year and in flashbacks, we gradually start to realise that this is not a love at first sight, this is possibly love after many many sights! Being a sucker for missed chances and what if’s, the plot tickled all my romance and chick-lit fancies, making me stay up way past bedtime to finish up the book.
What I loved
The best part of the book are the characters which are very well written. The author has put a lot of thought into their backstories and it shows as the characters steadily develop through the book. There are also no plot holes and lose ends, in the end it all comes together nicely and that really did score the brownie points for me.
There is also a lot of attention to detail, for example the bit in Goa, where the author has taken care to mention the local language spoken, which is Konkani and also the fact that they usually have to get connection flights from Delhi as there are no direct flights out. To me it shows research and diligence which is a mark of a good author!
What could have been better
Although overall the plot retains a steady pace, certain parts dragged – the flashback bit with both their mothers could possibly have been shorter by a few paragraphs at least. There were also situations which seemed a bit of an overkill, as if the author is trying a little too hard to portray how fun and quirky Minnie and Leila are.
Conclusion:
A enjoyable read overall, you could class this as an easy holiday read, one that you’ll want read lying by the pool or all bundled up next to a roaring fire.
This Time Next Year is now available to purchase as a Kindle Edition. The Paperback will be released on 15th Oct 2020 is available to pre-order at Amazon and Waterstones.
Between Pages 