I should not have liked this book as much as I did. Given my more recent experiences with the genre and with even similar books, I was unsure of the experience I was about to have.
In the end, I think it was the way the whole idea was dealt with was what made me like it. Callie lives a low-key life. She does not attract too much attention while enjoying her day job. She lives rent-free in her parent’s house, and her sister is about to move in and change her routine.
While her best friend at work is trying to get her to change things a little, Callie hears that her (only) ex is making a movie, and the trailer seems to indicate that she is in it. From that point, we move back and forth between the past and now to show us the full picture. I expected one of the twists that came, but it was beside the point by then because, recollecting it, she realised anew how the people around her were always there for her!
College Callie is very believable. She is not a very gregarious or outgoing person but has built a life for herself. The same can be said about her present-day version, except that now she is ready for a change, thrust into it by her reactions to even the minor changes in her life.
This is not a suspenseful narrative, maybe some people will be taken unawares by the things that get revealed or the way the story unfolds, but for the most part, it seemed quite natural to me (and I am sure it will be the same to others who read a lot of this genre).
I liked the writing and the people. The overall ‘feel’ of the book was quite good. It is a mildly heavy book with a lot of introspection and retrospection. People do not magically all get along but learn to live with each other’s quirks.
I received an ARC thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
Superfluous Reading 