One Moment in Time - Shari Low - ★★★.¾

AUTHOR: Shari Low

GENRE: Women's Fiction

RATING: 3.75 stars.

In a Nutshell: Contains some surprises and some shocks, exactly as promised. Good for fans of women’s fiction as this is mostly an entertainer.

Story Synopsis:

Colin and Brenda got married almost thirty years ago in a chapel in Las Vegas. To celebrate their upcoming thirtieth wedding anniversary, their daughters Zara and Millie decide to give them a surprise by flying them from Glasgow to Las Vegas to renew their vows. The girls are also trying to locate the two strangers standing next to their parents in their wedding photo, hoping for a reunion of old friends.

What the girls don’t know is that Brenda is secretly nursing regrets and planning to leave Colin soon. And they also don’t know that the two pairs of people in the photo might not necessarily be the best of friends.

Playing a role in this complicated plan is Aiden Gregg, whom Zara tracked through Facebook to check if he knows the identity of the strangers in the wedding photo. As the strangers turn out to be his parents, he has to help Zara complete her plan by bringing them to Las Vegas in time for the reunion and the renewal of the vows.

As you can expect, the well-intentioned surprise soon turns into a shocker.

The story comes to us in the third person perspectives of Zara, Aiden, and their moms Brenda and Eileen.

Bookish Yays:

✔ The premise promises an entertaining read, and entertainment is what we get. There are many humorous scenes, balanced with some heartfelt relationship struggles. There’s love and lust and anger and pride and confusion – almost all the emotions that make this genre what it is.

✔ The author’s choice of narrators was excellent. While there is a multitude of interesting characters in this book, the four voices she chose offer a balance of reason, emotion and confusion throughout the story. I am not saying that I liked all the four narrators, but I found them interesting character studies.

✔ The remaining characters, whether appealing or irritating, are also written well. Of these, Millie was my favourite – I loved her unapologetic behaviour. But more importantly, I loved how her character growth wasn’t modified to make her fit into a conventional role by the end. Her essence stays the same throughout. The bond between siblings Zara and Millie is just awesome, though they are so contrary to each other.

✔ It was a nice experience to see fifty-plus characters driving the story along with their young ones. I enjoyed the distinct portrayal of the four parents, each so different in personality.

✔ The book takes its time to get rolling, with the initial one-third or so functioning more as a backstory than as the main plot. But once the main story sets off in Las Vegas, the ride is mostly quick and smooth. My patience was tested but also rewarded.

✔ Loads of love, no steam. Plus point for me; possible minus for some other readers.

✔ I liked *most* of the ending – it was realistic rather than contrived, and grew from the natural progression of the story and the characters. Not everyone gets a traditional HEA, and not everyone necessarily “matures”.

Bookish Nays:

❌ There are quite a few relationships dissolving and forming in the course of the plot. Most of these can be guessed well in advance, with one major exception. And this unexpected relationship was not at all convincing to me. It felt forced and rushed, not to mention very awkward. I couldn’t digest the fact that the characters involved accepted it so easily.

❌ The final quarter feels very rushed; too much happening too quickly.

❌ There’s much focus on the physical attributes and appearance of the characters.

⚠ Minor complaint: Can we please not have fictional besties sharing the same initials? Things get confusing! I was grateful that Bernadette didn’t have a longer role to play in Brenda’s arc.

Overall, if you are a women’s fiction lover, then this book will offer you exactly what you expect from this genre – surprises and shocks, sweet moments and sad events, old heartaches and new bonds. While most of it goes as expected, the grounded ending elevates the experience. It will work well when you want a feel-good read mixing up light and heavy topics.

This was my first Shari Low book, and I can see why she has so many fans. I would love to explore more of her works.

My thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the DRC of “One Moment in Time”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

The book is also available on Kindle Unlimited.