Twice in a Lifetime - Melissa Baron

AUTHOR: Melissa Baron

GENRE: Romance, Fantasy.

RATING: 2.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: Had loads of potential, but works only to some extent. Somewhat repetitive. Unlike what the cover suggests, it is not a plain romance but is quite intense on the emotions.

Story Synopsis:

Isla, who is almost thirty, has not had a great year. Her mother died a few months ago, and this, coupled with intense work pressure, intensified Isla’s anxiety attacks. Hoping that a change might help matters, she moves to a new cottage in small-town Missouri. One day, she gets a text from an unknown number. This turns out to be from a man named Ewan, who claims that he is her husband, and is texting her to save her from some dire fate in the future. But Isla doesn’t even know any Ewan, forget about being married to one. Is this Ewan some stalker, or is there some other explanation to this bizarre experience?

The book is written in a limited third person narration from Isla’s and Ewan’s perspectives.

Where the book worked for me:

😍 This is the first time I am reading a book where the lead character has chronic anxiety issues. The depiction seemed true to life, and the challenges of being a panic attack sufferer come out very clearly. Isla’s growth over the pages is also nicely depicted.

 

😍 I appreciate how the plot made optimal use of its location without making it forced. Missouri’s local life and attractions have a pride of place in the story.

 

😍 Ewan is of Korean heritage, and this is woven wonderfully into the storyline without going into stereotypes. It’s not representation for the sake of representation, and at the same time, it doesn’t hammer you with Korean trivia just to emphasize on his background. I loved how natural it felt.

 

😍 The conversations between Isla and Ewan are quite interesting at times. There is emotion as well as humour in their dialogues.

Where the book left me with mixed feelings:

😐 I don’t know what to feel about the ending. In many ways, I knew it was coming, but I didn’t like the way it came. It was somewhat bittersweet but still good.

😐 The cover and the blurb made me feel like I would be reading some kind of a second-chance time-crossed romance. There’s second chance, but not the way you would imagine. The timeslip elements are far and few between. Also, the story is very heavy on the feelings. I was hoping for a light read, but that didn’t happen. At the same time, I did like the serious focus on anxiety attacks and the difficulty of life choices.

😐 What genre is this? Romance? Self-acceptance? Mental health? Fantasy? It has bits of all and yet does complete justice to none. It isn’t a straightforward love story, and yet in many ways, it is just a love story. I enjoyed this mishmash and at the same time, was befuddled by its intent.

😐 For a change, the blurb is well written. It reveals just what you need to know about the story without going into any spoilers. Unfortunately, this also means that when the story changes direction after the events mentioned in the blurb, I felt somewhat short-changed.

Where the book could have worked better for me:

😒 A great part of the book feels repetitive. Ewan especially seems to have only one main role to play: counselling Isla, either through an anxiety attack or through a stressful family situation, or through a life-saving choice. Isla herself swings from confident to unsure, though this is partly because of her mental health issues. But her constant to-and-fro gets tedious after a while. Also, her reaction when future-Ewan first sends her the text was not convincing.

😒 Is it possible for a character to be too perfect? I would have loved seeing at least some negatives in Ewan. He was too good to be true, which would have been (somewhat) tolerable in a romcom but not in a serious dramatic book. It kills the realism.

 

😒 The perspective changes between the two characters aren’t always smooth. The narrative voice shifts randomly from Isla to Ewan and back, especially in the second half.

 

😒 A significant chunk of the book is nothing but conversations between Ewan and Isla. (And the conversations were mostly about what I mentioned in the first point of this section.) As such, sometimes, I felt like I had read nothing even after reading a lot.

 

😒 The pacing of the book is quite erratic. It starts slow, then goes into a nice steady pace, and then becomes slow again, and so on and so forth until the end.

All in all, this is a debut work that had great potential to be a memorable read. The basic premise is interesting, and Isla’s health condition was the perfect add-on to the plot. However, the repetitious writing and the almost-instant connection between the leads was not something I enjoyed. At the same time, I do see the underlying beauty of the story. It will work for a certain kind of reader, but not for someone as cynical as I am. It was a decent read for me but not memorable.

My thanks to Alcove Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Twice in a Lifetime”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.