Thank you NetGalley for this Arc. I cannot imagine the heartache she must felt knowing he was gone then reliving the day over and over. I loved Dan, he seemed sweet, attentive, loving father and husband. Emma on the other hand…. Yes my heart broke for her but she seemed horrible. I couldn’t relate to her in anyways. I love a good groundhog’s story but this was repetitive in a boring way. I did love the last letter from Dan.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for offering me the chance to read this advance copy.

When I read earlier reviews of this book, I was intrigued. 'One Day meets Groundhog day. ' This seemed right up my street. But there was something a miss a quarter of the way in.

I realised I didn't connect with Emma. Maybe that was the intention, but I couldn't relate. I didn't understand her complete disinterest of her family and started to not care about her and what she was about to discover. I was in the Dan camp and found it tricky to scramble out of it and join Emma. The letters in-between the chapters were unnecessary lengthy and didn't fulfill any need. It became impossible to beleive letters designed to be received on an anniversary would be so long! However, it did drop hints at Emma's past and family life which never came to anything, so I didn't get the point. If it was meant to encourage empathy for Emma, sadly for me it didn't.
I did love the humour in most of dialogue and found the interactions between Emma's boss and an old timer author excellent. I also found the realisation there was a baby loss very tender and it was handled well.

I think overall, it was a trope that could have been intriguing and clever and it was, but sadly the characterisation didn't connect with me.

This is one of the most stressful books I have read. Got to chapter 15 and had to stop.
The characters and story are annoying at best but not something I can invest my time with.
Way too much stress and sad build up with dysfunction, at times unrealistic and not relatable.
I won’t be putting this review anywhere else

📖BOOK REVIEW📖
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#MaybeNextTime by @cescamajorauthor

⏩for synopsis

Straight away you’re pulled into Emma and Dans love story - told with a chopping and changing timeline; you follow them from the beginning through years of their life together - marriage, houses, kids, marriage, highs and lows. As Emma life becomes stuck on a loop and she is forced to relive the same day over and over, I found the author was able to keep the plot fresh with letters from Dan, memories and changing the course of the day.

I really liked spending time with Emma; she was a great lead character/narrator. She was very realistic and relatable - I could feel the emotion and frustration coming off the page at her situation but we also see her grow and change for the better.

The authors use of Dan’s letters was genius in my opinion; they covered years and years of events and were used to fill in all the missing details that could have made the book drag along, instead they just summarised their years together providing the reader with information they needed in a few hundred words at a time.

So the ending, when I first finished this book I hated the ending I was so bereft, but now when I’m writing this review and thinking back I love it. Everything doesn’t have to be tired up neatly with a bow all the time does it…

With thanks to author #CescaMajor @harpercollinsuk and @netgalley for allowing us to read this one early!

RELEASING: March 30th
(very soon, don’t miss out!)

-EMILY

@the_book_girls_1

This book portrays perfectly the descent from total romance to (mostly) happy co-existence beautifully, with children and careers taking precedent over the original "us" of a marriage, the promises made (In this case an annual date-versary letter) and how that can become a struggle.
Throw in the protagonist being stuck in an emotionally exhausting time loop of the worst day of her life and you get a rollercoaster of a ride along with Emma as she tries and tries to change the outcome of the day. There are lots of changes she makes and keeps that are for the better but never seems to change that final outcome.
Hooked to the very last page!

I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did because the beginning didn't really catch my attention however I enjoyed the writing so much that I carried on and I am so glad I did. The book is very well written and I enjoyed reading the story. The only criticisms I have is it took me a really long time to like our MFC as she just appeared so unlikeable, and the repetition (I know its the same day over and over but I just got so fed up reading the same stuff over and over) and finally the ending. Although it was a good ending it was open to interpretation and I think I understood how it ended but I wasn't entirely sure and also the reason for why the ground dog day is happening didn't really make 100% sense in my mind.

Overall, this is a good quick easy read that will pull on your heart strings (especially towards the end!)

A beautiful and cleverly written Groundhog Day type of book.
This deeply moving love story will break your heart and bring a tear to your eye.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read this emotional read 📚

Every day is Monday, December third for Emma, and the day always ends the same way- horrific!
No matter how the main character, Emma, who is overworked,tired, unable to say no and frustrated tries to change the outcome it is the same! Can it be?
How can this be happening? Is Emma going crazy?
The lesson in this emotional, amazing story is we CANNOT control everything in our lives.
We try our damnedest, but we as humans need to remember that it is OK to not be OK and to say NO when our plates are piling over and our family is neglected!

I loved this novel! It really spoke to me and I encourage people to really sit and read these pages! It is excellent!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for this terrific ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review!

I cried at the end! I knew I would, with every page I turned to see if Emma could stop Dan dying, help Hattie, support Poppy & Miles, I knew I’d end up crying. Cesca Major had me from page one, I cared about every character, willed each repeat day to go better and was hooked through every version. Dan’s letters had me every simple one, we all want a Dan!!
It also made me question my own “London busy” life, is it all worth it? Not on your nelly, I’m considering my own changes and all from a fiction novel that has me from the start - a must read!!

A truly heart-breakingly beautiful story that will keep you locked in to the very end. A real different take on groundhog day.

Each year on the anniversary of the date they first met, Dan and Emma write each other a letter reminding each other of the highs and lows but ultimately how much they mean to each other. But then comes a Groundhog Day that Emma has to live over and over….

Initially I found the Groundhog Day aspect a little annoying but then Emma started tweaking each day and living it differently and I just could not stop reading. A beautiful love story that served to remind me how important it is to notice and appreciate the little things.

This is a poignant story, a story that made me smile, moved me to tears, and root for Emma.
Emma is like a lot of women I met in my work life in high tech: always eager to please, struggling to reach impossible goals, never thinking that they were losing what really matters.
Emma is lucky because in the loops of the same day she get a chance to change, to rediscover what really matters.
I loved this story, think that the author is a talented storyteller and her characters are fleshed out and relatable.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

This is a really good book. From the blurb I thought I had a handle on what it was going to be like, but it exceeded all my expectations and gave me so much more.

A beautiful story about how the everyday can be bogged down in things that don’t matter, to the detriment of the things that do. The power of second chances and the importance of recognising them when they come along. I think many (women especially) will recognise themselves in the struggle to keep on top of life, the struggle to keep priorities straight and the sheer relentlessness of trying to be all things, to all people, all of the time. The characters are well rounded and I feel all had a strong reason to be included. The letters from Dan perfectly gave the back story, while Emma reliving each day added new perspectives.

It’s heartbreaking and thought provoking, but funny, warm and relatable. I couldn’t put it down and the ending had my jaw dropping. Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this wonderful story early.

This is just beautiful, it’s how the everyday, fairly unimportant things in our lives overwhelm us until we can’t see what is really important. Tender, heartbreaking, amusing and intriguing. Keep the tissues nearby, you will need them.

I was hoping that this book wasn’t going to be repetitive and get boring – it is about Groundhog Day after all! But this book did not disappoint. The characters were beautifully written, and the story flowed fast, and the book was a real page turner.

The story is centred around Emma and her Husband Dan. December 3rd is repeated for Emma as she wakes up every morning in a time-loop of the same day, again and again. Emma realises to make things better she must change the day – but of course this takes time as mistakes are made along the way.

A very clever book – which really makes you think about your own life and how sometimes we get wrapped up in our busy lives without thinking about the consequences of others around us, who need our attention, love and care.

Highly recommended.

I was excited to read this book from the first time I heard about it, ages ago. And it didn’t disappoint. I read it in a day and only put it down when it made me cry so hard I couldn’t actually read. But it’s not a bleak book at all; it’s warm and funny and charming and so skilfully plotted and written. I really loved it.

Cover: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️
Overall: ⭐️⭐️⭐️+0,5

If you’re looking for a emotional read, don’t search any further, this is the one to put on your TBR.
Cesca’s writing is a new discovery for me and I loved her writing style. While we are reliving the same day with the main character Emma over and over, the story didn’t feel repetitive or boring.
This is a quite emotional book about family, marriage, loss and friendship.
The letters of Dan were a beautiful addition to the story. Perfectly honest and realistic.
I was a bit taken aback by the ending, I certainly didn’t expect it to end this way. And I felt like something was missing in Hattie’s storyline.
All in all, this was still a good book and really makes you take a step back and think about your own life decisions.

A truly moving and beautiful story of love, heartache and a family who are given another chance at mending some of the cracks in their relationships. Emma is stuck in a groundhog type of day, and her beloved Dan is unaware of her turmoil. This story sees Emma realise what is about to happen at the end of this fateful day and will she realise in time that she may have the power to make things better, if not change them completely? A really enjoyable read which had me wondering how and where it was all going to end.

What I liked:
• The yearly letters which showed their lives and progression of their relationship.
• The range of emotions the book made me feel.
• The lovable characters.
• Dan & Emma being perfect for each other, but also showing their relationship wasn’t perfect.
• The writing style.

If I had to sum Maybe Next Time up in three words they would be; heartbreaking, powerful and beautiful. There were some really heartwarming moments, but some equally devastating ones. I loved Dan and Emma - they showed the hardships of relationships, but also the beauty. The letters throughout were so insightful to their relationship, and that last letter absolutely broke me! I honestly cannot say a bad word about this book and will certainly be buying a physical copy. Stunning!

Oh my heart! This book made me cry.

To begin with it was a really funny, amusing, light-hearted story, then suddenly swooped into a heartbreaking scenario.

I then predicted that this was a bit of a rip-off of the Groundhog Day film where the main character becomes a nicer person and manages to change the outcomes of the perpetual day he is living.

I was wrong. This is so much more than that.

Can't say too much without giving the game away but I really recommend this book so you can discover the ending for yourself.

Sob!