Review: For Twice in My Life

Does anyone else have a sort of rule for the authors you read who were good but not great? Do you always give them one more chance? Are you more likely to give them a chance if they’re, say, Canadian like you, or if the description sounds just too good to pass up? I didn’t love Annette Christie’s The Rehearsals (review here) but I enjoyed it enough so when I had the chance to review For Twice in My Life, I thought, sure! Why not? Ultimately it was another just ok book but it kept me interested enough to feel good about seeing it through to the end.

Here’s the book’s description:

Can one little lie lead to a big second chance?
Layla's chaotic life transformed when she met Ian Barnett. Ambitious, committed, and thoughtful, Ian has been everything she'd dreamed of, and she knows he'd say the same of her. So when he breaks up with her out of the blue, Layla is stunned. What went wrong?
But then, Layla gets a call from the local hospital. Ian's had a biking accident. He's okay, but he needs someone--his someone--to get him home safely. As it becomes clear Ian doesn't remember he ended things, it also becomes clear that the accident has given him a new outlook on life . . . and Layla a second chance to get things right.
That is, until Ian's younger brother comes to town. Matt is restless, unpredictable, and threatens to upset the careful balance Layla and Ian have rebuilt. As things get more complicated both at home and at work, Layla realizes she might lose her chance at real love--and real happiness--if she doesn't come clean about the stories she's been telling: to Ian, to Matt, to her family, and most importantly, to herself.

I’m not particularly drawn to amnesia plots and I really don’t like when the reader knows that the main character is lying to the other so this novel and I got off on the wrong foot. It had to work hard for me to get over how Layla was behaving and I was able to sort of-kind of get past it. Mostly because I felt that Ian hadn’t had a good reason for breaking up with her and I felt Layla deserved an answer. I wasn’t sure if she (or I, for that matter) was going to get that answer but I was willing to put in the work to find out.

The tension between Layla and Matt (and Ian) was…intense. There was a ton of angst and anger between them and it was hard to figure out why. Matt and Ian didn’t have a great relationship so Layla wasn’t open to seeing Matt in the best light, which, honestly, was kind of annoying. She should have given him a fairer chance to be a friend and a brother. And then she shouldn’t have fought the attraction the two of them had so hard. I get that that’s incredibly awkward but let’s perhaps take a look at your life and realize where you’re happiest and with whom, shall we?

I didn’t love compulsive shopping as a coping mechanism with Confessions of a Shopaholic and I didn’t like it with Layla, especially when right off the bat there’s a hint that she had some serious financial troubles. That storyline felt like it took forever to fully be revealed and I just didn’t buy how self-sabotaging Layla was being. Her mom finally sets her right at the end of the book but my heart was kind of breaking that Layla constantly felt like she was a screw up and that she had to change herself to fit into the world around her. Sure, we all battle with confidence sometimes, some people more than others, but it was hard to read about someone who just clearly couldn't see that she has far more worth than she thinks.

Annette Christie writes really emotional stories full of characters who aren’t perfect. For Twice in My Life, the characters were real and, quite honestly, a bit of a mess, but their emotions (and boy, were there a lot of emotions) were so strong and that really came through the pages. I wanted to really like this one and am bummed that I found it only ok but I’ll keep an eye on what Christie writes next. Maybe I’ll have to give her just one more chance.

*An egalley and a finished copy of this novel were provided by the Canadian distributor, HBG Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

Review: The Rehearsals

I love rom coms (surprise, surprise) but I also love books with a bit of magic realism (even if I don't read a ton of them). The Rehearsals by Annette Christie is a rom com with a time loop twist where both main characters are living through the same day over...and over...and over. It was a fun read with a lot of heart.

Here's the book's description:

Two people. One wedding. No end in sight.
Megan Givens and Tom Prescott are heading into what is supposed to be their magical wedding weekend on beautiful San Juan Island. But with two difficult families, ten years of history, and all too many secrets, things quickly go wrong. After a disastrous rehearsal dinner they vow to call the whole thing off—only to wake up the next morning stuck together in a time loop. Are they really destined to relive the worst day of their lives, over and over? And what happens if their wedding day does arrive?
A funny, romantic, and big-hearted debut novel, The Rehearsals imagines what we might do if given a second chance at life and at love—and what it means to finally get both right.

I'll say up front: if you didn't like Christina Lauren's In a Holidaze because you didn't like the time loop, you won't like this one. It was a bit more prominent and I know a lot of people had issues with the loop (and the repetitive nature of it) in Lauren's. I'm a fan of Groundhog Day-esque reads myself (and the movie, of course) so I was immediately intrigued by the storyline in The Rehearsals. I like thinking, what if we got a do-over on a day and had that opportunity to make it "right"? But...what IS right? I was stressed and anxious right alongside Megan and Tom and I had no idea how things would work out once they broke out of the loop - if they ever did!

I probably would have given this one a higher rating if I had liked Tom more. He was kind of an idiot. I couldn't stand that he let his family make all the decisions and never stood up for Megan when they treated her and her family like they weren't worthy of their attention. Megan didn't have to put up with that, of course, but in the grand scheme of things...is that the worst thing ever? (It is bad, Megs. Recognize that.) Plus, she was punishing herself for something that happened years prior. (Though I think she should have gotten over that at some point or recognized before the time loop that there were unresolved issues there.) And the Big Thing he DIDN'T DISCUSS WITH HER? Ugh, I was SO ANGRY. (In case you couldn't tell from all the caps.)

Because of my issues with Tom, I liked Megan's chapters way more. I really loved her - even with her massive mistake. She was smart and full of love and she had put so much work into making the wedding the best for everyone. (And you might even say that she worried about others' feelings more than what she really wanted.) I so badly wanted what was best for her and, like Megs, thought that was one option but as the loop went on, realized that maybe that option wasn't the best one. I needed her to have a Happily Ever After and I like the way Christie ended things. It wasn't a perfect bow but it was the perfect ending. 

There are a few trigger warnings to take note of: infidelity, absent parents, and overbearing parents being three of the most prominent. 

The Rehearsals was a really enjoyable read that I had finished in just two days. Annette Christie's adult novel debut is one to read - if you like your rom coms more serious, can handle infidelity storylines, and enjoy time loops. I'm looking forward to what Christie writes next!

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, HBG Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*