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In this unforgettable story full of charm, wit—and just a bit of magic—a woman down on her luck is given a second chance at fixing her life and trying one year all over again. Perfect for readers of Josie Silver and Rebecca Serle. Sadie Thatcher’s life has fallen apart in spectacular fashion. In one fell swoop, she managed to lose her job, her apartment, and her boyfriend—all thanks to her big mouth. So when a fortune teller offers her one wish, Sadie jumps at the chance to redo her awful year. Deep down, she doesn’t believe magic will fix her life, but taking a leap of faith, Sadie makes her wish, opens her eyes, and . . . nothing has changed. And then, in perhaps her dumbest move yet, she kisses her brother’s best friend, Jacob. When Sadie wakes up the next morning, she’s in her former apartment with her former boyfriend, and her former boss is expecting her at work. Checking the date, she realizes it's January 1 . . . of last year. As Sadie navigates her second-chance year, she begins to see the red flags she missed in her relationship and in her career. Plus, she keeps running into Jacob, and she can’t stop thinking about their kiss . . . the one he has no idea ever happened. Suddenly, Sadie begins to wonder if her only mistake was wishing for a second chance. Book of the Month's December Add OnThe Knot's “The Coziest Romance Books to Snuggle Up With Fall & Winter 2023”
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0Scattered Tale Tries To Be Both RomCom And Women's Fiction. Straight up, I'm fully aware that this is one of those reviews where many will rate this book at 5* for the exact reason I'm deducting a star here (though as you'll see if you too peruse the reviews, at least some of my commentary will also mirror many of the existing 2* reviews as I write this review early in the morning on the US East Coast on release day for this book). Namely, the preachy hyper-focus on workplace discrimination and outright sexual harassment and even sexual assault... in what is ostensibly trying to be a romcom. If you approach this as a romcom - and perhaps that was my failing here, approaching it in such a way... these issues are far too heavy and completely drag the story down.
However, for those that approach this tale perhaps *wanting* the more Women's Fiction side of it, where such heavy issues may be more expected, there you'll get the heaviness the same, but also with the levity that the attempt at also being a romcom brings to the table. So the tale is still scattered, but when approached in such a manner, it likely won't feel as off-putting. Hell, it may even feel quite a bit refreshing.
And of course my other failing here that must be mentioned is my love of The Family Man, the late 90s/ early 2000s movie with Nic Cage and Tea Leoni. It is my go-to reference for "glimpse" type tales such as this, where the main character is allowed to relive some portion of their life over. And while also a somewhat serious drama itself (with quite a bit of comedy), it was nowhere near as heavy as this book was fairly often. Also having this tale set in the end of year season - as that movie was - didn't help me completely separate the two, but again, this is likely a failing of mine that perhaps some other readers may share.
Overall, the book actually does both of its scattered foci quite well... it simply fails in the combination, at least when one is expecting more of a "glimpse" based romcom. As mentioned previously, if approached from more of a Women's Fiction tale, it works rather well.
For those potentially concerned that it doesn't meet the full requirements of a "romance"... it does, actually - at least every rule I'm personally aware of. And for those concerned about spice level... this one will satisfy the "clean" crowd (while perhaps being too heavy for the "sweet" crowd, though perhaps not) in that the closest anything gets to any "action" - other than the sexual assault(s) - is heavy kissing and waking up in the same bed.
Ultimately one of those tales that will likely be at least somewhat divisive due to the dichotomies I've discussed here, it could also do quite well in certain circles and when approached from a certain direction. Recommended.
0This book is very cute. It's use of time manipulation is a tad more interesting than some of the more common tropes (e.g., time loop, fast forward, etc.) but isn't anything mind blowing and that's fine. Our main character is struggling and doesn't know what to do with herself after a slew of mishaps over the past year. I was most interested in how she relived this aspect of her life, as opposed to the romance. There was a weird pacing when it came to the romance, as she stayed with her former boyfriend (understandably) but we, the reader, knew that she was going to end up with Jacob. I wish that Jacob got a bit more page time and development, as I still don't really know who he was besides a shy music nerd (which like, fair, and I still love).
The ending of her work saga felt a little contrived, unfortunately, and a little too "all's well that ends well". I get that it's a romance book and we want an HEA, but that's for the romance. I don't mind if other things are left a little sticky.
Also, for folks who may be upset that this is a closed door (slash mostly non-existent spice) romance, I think that if there were to be any open door/spice, it would have felt very forced. There was maybe one spot for it, but I don't think that it felt lacking without it. Not everything needs it.
I really enjoyed Weisner's writing and the audio narration. It was an enjoyable, breezy listen that still took some heart and investment to listen to. I'm already looking forward to the author's next book and have it on my holds shelf.
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