Every Version of You by Natalie Messier

 

5*

This is one of the most well-written and entertaining debut novels I’ve ever read and fans of Kirsty Greenwood and Ashley Poston will eat this up.

On the surface, this is a second chance, enemies to lovers romance that has the added element of postmortem time travel. What would you do if, after dying and finding yourself in a tacky 1970s afterlife waiting room, you were offered the chance for a do-over? That’s what Joey (Josephine) Vasquez is asked when she dies in a car accident after leaving a dinner party thrown by the love of her life who is now married and expecting a baby with his wife. Add to the mix Alex Aquino, another college acquaintance who she hates with a passion, and it’s bound to get messy. Dig deeper though, and it’s also an opportunity to reflect on what different choices you’d make to improve on a former life that made you unhappy and lonely, mostly because they were made because of your parents’ wishes.

Although Messier alludes to the idea that any changes a time traveler makes can have an immense ripple effect, I really enjoined the idea of a 30-something navigating life again in an 18-year-old body with raging hormones and an under-developed frontal lobe. It was also interesting to see Joey reflect on the idea of friendship, how it grows (or fails to) and how it can fall apart due to distance. Ultimately, though, this is a romance between two people who have a passionate connection that epitomizes the fine line between love and hate. If you like romances in which the MMC has a huge redemption arc and that include the magical realism trope, you’ll love Every Version of You. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Gallery Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.



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