All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was sad. Too sad. I put off reading it for a few days and then dove in and I am not sure I should have. It’s about two sisters. The main character’s sister keeps trying to die and she keeps trying to stop her. It’s hard reading.

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Twice in a Lifetime by Melissa Baron
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars

I really dislike it when book blurbs mention well-loved, well-read books in order to get you to buy a book. I feel like it pre-biases the story. I understand why they do it (it’s a quick way to tell if this book is your cup of tea) but the thing is, there’s so much more to a book than it’s plot. Every book about time travel and love is not the same. Every book that happens non-linearly is also not the same.

For me, what matters most when I compare books is how they made me feel. How were the characters developed. Did the love feel the way it feels in a different book? Did you find yourself cheering for them in the same way, did you find yourself mourning the same way? When you compare it to another book on some of the plot elements alone, you’re losing me before I even read your book because what if the feeling is different (but also lovely?) Now I don’t like this book because you promised me something and delivered me something else. And that’s a shame.

All of this is to say that I don’t think this book felt like “Time Traveler’s Wife” or “Oona Out of Order” for me. It was quieter than both and yet it still was a lovely book on its own. For me, the biggest element of this book was not the time travel or the love between the two characters, it was the mental health and anxiety that the main character was grappling with and how she got in her own way so often and made her own life harder than it had to be. Her growth in this story, and her ability to both trust herself, trust her strength and put herself forth is the best part of the story in my opinion.

This is the story about a woman who meets her future husband by way of a magical phone text exchange. I didn’t really care about the logistics of time travel as some might have, it’s so not the point of the story. I loved both of the characters but I did think the story lacked a bit of texture and depth. I wanted to understand more about why her dad was the way he was. Ewan seemed too nice and perfect almost. I wanted to know more about him, too. I loved the premise of the story and how the character changed multiple times as a result of what she knew.

All this is to say, I really enjoyed my time with this story and the characters and the story drew me in. I look forward to reading more of this author.

With gratitude to netgalley and Alcove Press for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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