Maybe Next Time was in my opinion quite an intense read. Every year Emma and Dan celebrated the day they first met by writing a letter to each other, but over the years as Emma's career took off & children came along Emma often forgot. This year, that day has a tragic ending, one that Emma is forced to relive over and over again, giving her the hope that she can change the outcome. It's a book that will stay with you after you've finished it. Thank you to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an arc in exchange for my review.

Intriguing and captivating. Emma’s life is chaotic and heading for disaster when a wake up call makes her reconsider every day and making that day count. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and couldn’t wait to find out how Emma’s “day” ended but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed at the end as I expected a light bulb moment and it never came. Almost like the book ran out of steam. Even so I still thoroughly enjoyed it and what a great film it would make !

Emma - married to Dan - mum to Miles and Poppy is stuck in Groundhog Day - replaying the same day over and over again - culminating in her husband dying.
Emma is a busy mum who works in publishing, struggles to switch off from work which impacts her marriage - often she can't see what's going on under her nose as she is wrapped up in work.
But no matter what Emma does, she cannot save Dan.

Major's writing is heart wrenchingly honest and beautiful. Her novel leaves the reader questioning their own lifestyle choices as Emma's marriage mistakes are ones most readers will recognise that they have committed themselves.

A recommended read

This book is an emotional rollercoaster! Emma is a busy working mum, trying to manage her relationship, work, be there for her kids and attend to friendships and other commitments along the way.

Emma’s world is about to be blown apart however when her husband unexpectedly dies on the 3rd December (the anniversary of the day they met). Grief stricken Emma goes to sleep and wakes to find it is the 3rd December….

Emma is not sure why she has to relive this day, can she stop her husband from dying? Can she sort out whatever is troubling her children? Emma tries to do it all!

Brilliant characters. I love some of the side parts. The story is puzzle the whole way through. It will have you laughing and crying and make you think what you would do if given this extra time.

SPOILER ALERT THE NEXT BIT CONCERNS THE ENDING…


I usually don’t like books that end without a clear ending, I like to know what happens to characters, however in this instance i think the ending is perfect. It gives scope for the end to be what you need it to be; Emma wakes to find she learnt her lesson and her husband is alive, or Emma has used this process to learn what is important to her and to grieve the fact she cannot save her husband, she wakes and he is still dead but she is in a better place to move forward, or despite it all she will continue in this loop forever (let’s hope not).

This is the story of Emma - literary agent, wife and mother. Emma met Dan 15 years ago on a train - Dan was unusually dressed but they both felt a connection and exchanged numbers. Fast forward and Emma and Dan are celebrating their 15 year anniversary of when they first met on that train. Emma is distracted by meetings at work, a playgroup funding meeting, an author who has gone missing in action, a grumpy husband and children that have fallen out and seem to be cutting her out. Couple this with an endless stream of Whatsapp messages from publishers, authors and her best friend Hattie - and even the dog is sick.

Over dinner that night, Emma and Dan get into a terrible argument and he storms out. Emma doesn't get to make things up with Dan as he is killed in an accident shortly after leaving the house. Distraught, Emma doesn't know what to do to comfort her two children. Exhausted, Emma eventually falls asleep only to wake the next morning to find Dan alive and well. Truly shocked, Emma struggles to work out what has happened and soon begins to realise that she is reliving the last 24 hours for a second time.

Emma realises that if she is reliving the last day then she has a chance to stop Dan from being killed so sets a plan in motion to prevent his death, she avoids her argument with Dan and takes the dog out herself, only to return home to find Dan dead on the lounge floor. Comforting her distraught children, Emma falls asleep only to wake the following morning to find Dan alive and well along side her.

What follows is Emma reliving the same 24 hours over and over again with Dan ending up dead at the end of all of them. Emma has good days spending time with the family, and bad days, getting drunk and wreckless knowing she can repeat the day again in the morning.

This is a story that reminds us all to take time out to spend with the people we love as we never know when it will be the last day we spend with them.

I liked the story but the repetitive nature of it is slightly frustrating, as was the idea that no matter what she does, Dan is going to die, so her living the day over and over seems slightly pointless. Having said that, some people will love it and I didn't hate it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘Maybe Next Time’ is a heartfelt story of love and loss that pulls on your heart’s strings and then breaks it completely.

When 42-year-old literary agent Emma lives the same horrifically chaotic and tragic day on repeat, she tries to change its course - and her priorities - in order to save her husband Dan from dying.

Despite its repetitive ‘Groundhog Day’ nature, the plot is fast-paced and gripping, complemented by Dan’s anniversary letters and Emma’s endless incoming text messages.

The author portrays the realities of publishing (or any career) burnout exceptionally well, reminding us to appreciate the little things of every day over corporate drama and people pleasing.

‘Maybe Next Time’ is an exciting 2023 release and I highly recommend this book to readers of contemporary romance and drama - and those of us in the publishing industry who can especially relate!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Harper Fiction/Harper Collins and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book and raced through it, dying to know what would happen, so it’s an easy five stars for me. BUT that ending killed me, and not in a good way!!! I can’t like - I threw the book down in exasperation after the last page.

Urgh, I just had to know what happened - I’m assuming Dan did die ☹️ And she has that beautiful letter to help her move on. But my god, it’s too sad 😭 The author has flipped the whole Groundhog Day trope on its head really - it always has a happy ending and she didn’t give us this. I’m usually pretty secure in the knowledge that everything will be put right when the MC achieves or learns what they’re meant to, but it just kept not happening. The whole Groundhog Day premise can be really tired and cliched, but this just wasn’t. I suppose it was perfectly heartbreaking.

Quite an unusual read, with the theme of "groundhog day". Emma and her husband swap letters every year on the anniversary of the day they met. On this particular day, Emma is so busy she forgets to write the letter. This upsets her husband who leaves the house late evening to walk their dog. The day then turns into a groundhog day for Emma. An enjoyable read with me racing to the end in the hopes that she eventually moves on to the next day.

Maybe Next Time

I got this via Netgalley so huge thanks.

The book was enjoyable but I did find it a bit repetitive and it didn't really grip me. I settled into it a bit more towards the end. Where I found the main character to be a little less selfish. But the final letter blew me away.

I feel that over the last 12 months or so, I have read a few books centering around the GroundhogDay phenomenon, where the MC is reliving the same day of their life over and over.
Maybe Next Time is of the same ilk, but I didn't feel like was reading the same kind of story over and over.
Emma, the MC, is a busy woman. A literary agent rushed off her feet with two children at difficult times in their own lives, a sister-in-law who is struggling, so many other demands on her attention, and a wonderful husband, Dan, who she barely gets to spend time with.
A little tradition of theirs is to celebrate each year they have been together with a letter to each other, highlighting the highs of the year. She forgets her letter in all the chaos of her life and experiences the day from hell, from work to her family life, and a heartbreaking end to it.
Every time she wakes up for the next goodness knows how many days, weeks, or months, it is the same painful day over and over, and no matter what she does, the eventual outcome won't change.
I loved how each repeated day is separated by one of Dan's letters over the years, so we get a real feel for who he is, as well.
It lifts your soul in some ways to see how Emma goes from hating her life to embracing the chance she has to make things in her life and the lives of her loved ones better, but I warn you, the ending will make you cry!
A wonderfully emotional read that I would recommend you might need a box of tissues to accompany you as you read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins, UK, for an ARC.

This is a five-star read that will break your heart and put it together slowly, but my goodness as you go through the pages your heart rate will bounce up and down. Emma will surprise you, she will annoy you and she will make your heart grow. Monday is a rubbish day for us all, but this Monday may just be the Mondayest Monday of all time, every step Emma takes seems to be the wrong one, and each one will bring you close to tears, but as Monday falls again you start to see the light, but is there light enough? This is beautifully poignant and such a powerful story that it will sweep you up and spit you out for the stronger, I really didn’t know what to expect and when it first started I did wonder if it would get repetitive, but then it started going and just sucked me in, and I never wanted to leave, I wanted to be in that Monday, to feel the emotions as they pour off the page. I hadn’t read this author previously but as soon as I finish this, I will be checking out what else they have as I simply adore the writing, it was an emotional roller-coaster I never wanted to get off.

I loved this book! What a beautiful read.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about it to begin with and then suddenly I was sobbing. After that, I couldn’t put it down and was desperate to get to the end.
This book will stick with me for a long time.
Whilst I was fully engaged in the story and characters, I also really identified with the message around not being fully present with family.
A great read and one that I feel really fortunate to have had the opportunity to read.

I was enjoying this book until the end, which I found to be disappointing and inconclusive. The characters are well done and the plot flows we but ultimately I was left unsatisfied

The synopsis for Maybe Next Time really didn’t give too much away, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I knew there was a Groundhog Day element, but not a great deal else. I found myself utterly hooked at the first page - Dan’s letter was incredibly endearing, and so funny. It was the perfect way to catch a bookworm. The warmth from the initial letter made the first chapter so polarising, this is exceptional writing.

Major successfully managed to draw every emotion out of me throughout the course of Maybe Next Time. I primarily read romance, and I’m a big crier, but none of those romance books have ever managed to make me sob like this. I woke my partner up for a cuddle 😅.

As a parent, Emma’s frustration and resentment forwards Dan really echoed a lot of my own feelings about when I first became a parent. This helped me connect deeply to Emma, she felt like me.

Overall a great read, but not an entirely original concept and I believe that Emma would have went completely mad with this going on for months.

Sob. I so wanted this to have a happy ending. When Emma shifted her focus to Hattie I hoped this would be the change that saved Dan and when I realised nothing would save Dan, I cried. Then hugged my husband. A great book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an early review copy in return for an honest review. This book is based in publishing but could have been written for any industry and is a telling story about how social media and other outside pressures take us away from the important things in life - family and friends. It is a thought provoking book which has stayed with me.

A beautiful story of love and heartbreak……..over and over and over. I couldn’t put this book down and so wanted a day to end differently.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an honest and unbiased opinion.

I enjoyed this book. It is eminently readable and sad and poignant.
Emma, a literary agent, starts Monday in her usual frantic state, with meetings to attend, a bunch of incoming emails and frantic whats apps from her authors, her boss and a committee she is on, but shouldn't be. She doesn't notice the problems of those around - her husband who believes she is absent most of the time, even when she is there, her daughter who is slowly going off the rails, her son who is needs comfort as he stresses over school, her sister in law who has husband problems and even the dog, that is sick.
A bad day only gets worse for Emma however, when at 10.17 her husband is knocked down outside the house while walking the dog.
Imagine her surprise then when she wakes the next morning to find it is the same day again, and she appears to be on the way to making the same bad choices...
The beginning of the book is slow and the first section appears repetitive, but as the story gets going it becomes engrossing and the pace picks up. The characters are likeable and believable, although Emma appears sometimes to be better with strangers than with her immediate family.
A smooth, easy, speedy read, but have a box of tissues to hand for the ending.
With thanks to Netgalley, HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction and Cesca Major for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

I read this in a day. I was absolutely engrossed. Emma is a successful literary editor trying to balance her work and home life. Tragedy hits, bringing this starkly into focus and we follow her story as she tries to identify and subsequently save what is really important to her in a Groundhog Day-esque loop.

There are so many important themes, not least of all social media and career burnout. Emma’s phone is constantly pinging, and we see the different messages build up. It’s pretty overwhelming and many women will recognise the pressure of trying to keep all those plates spinning - being spread too thin and not really delivering on any front.

But the thing that hit hardest was the need to take a step back and remember what’s really important. Work will replace you in a heartbeat - it just pays the bills. Being present (physically AND mentally) at home is the most precious thing - we never know how much time we have.

I cried buckets. I love Emma and Dan as a couple - Cesca Major writes the perfect couple as they are not perfect. They are flawed and real which makes this romance land exactly where it should - straight to your heart.

What a read! This has to be book of the year so far. A beautiful story that is very thought provoking and a reminder for us all to be more present and appreciate what we have.