*I Think We’ve Been Here Before* is a thought-provoking and beautifully written exploration of fate, love, and the nature of second chances. A compelling, emotional read that lingers long after.

This was unfortunately not a book for me. I get that it all kind of makes sense at the end, but the path to get there was more for me than I wanted to invest in the book. The characters were nicely written and I would have loved to see more of Nora and Jacob.

Thank you for the ARC! I loved this quirky little book about the end of the world. It made me laugh and make me think about what I would do in that situation.

"Life just ended suddenly one day, right when people were in the middle of it."

It’s bad enough finding out you’ve got a terminal illness and you’re going to die soon, but then you find out even if you somehow survive, it’s the end of the world anyway.

This book was breathtakingly complicated. It was hopeless, tragic and heartbreaking but also beautiful, a moving snapshot of what being human, being alive really means when it’s all you have left. A truly unique end of the world story with a quietly beautiful twist and a lot of soul.

We follow the family over the last three months of life on earth, starting in relative mundanity. Nora tries to start a new life in a new city after a heartbreak, Hilda and Marlen have their family over for dinner, Iver contemplates his life as he grows old, Hank and Irene try to understand having a teenage son; perfectly normal lives before life itself becomes chaos and memory, reality, history start to unravel and what it means to be alive is called into question. Each of their perspectives being carefully recorded and their personalities still shining even in a third person style with each person finding solace, anger and comfort in different places.

The storytelling was slow, but it worked - it was slow in the way of someone taking their time, taking in their surroundings and stopping to think about everything they see. The writing was almost dreamlike, ethereal and invoked an almost hazy effect as it moved seamlessly from one moment to the next.

This story explores loss on multiple levels. The loss of a relationship, the loss of health, or love, or life. Hilda is angry that Marlen is dying, but heartbroken. Ole has gone missing in a different kind of loss. It truly takes time to hold a mirror to the feeling and show just how complex yet universal it can be.

A poetic portrait of life and death that captures the universally understood experiences of being human.

The cover of this book is a bit offmatched from the themes of this work of speculative fiction that explores themes of what do you do with your last days - both in light of terminal illness and the world coming to an end. I will look forward to reading more from this author.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

Something about this book rubbed me the wrong way. It’s full of anxiety and not great things. I found it hard to get into the story due to the characters themselves. I will revisit it in the future.

"𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆."

What would you do if you knew the world was going to end? The Jorgensen family is preparing for the inevitable after an official NASA announcement reveals that a cosmic explosion will extinct humanity in months. The upcoming Christmas will be their last.

The concept is quite unique and complex but in a good way. There were some things I did not fully understand but the writing was excellent and the ending made perfect sense with a beautiful underlying message for a depressing topic like the end of the world. I felt that some of the characters needed more depth and the narrative slowed down a bit.

It is still a fascinating read about how different people behave differently and poses the question 'If the world ended, who and where would you want to be?'

Thank you @netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an ARC to read and review.

What do you do when the end of the world coming and you can't do anything except wait?

After the world is given its expiry date courtesy of a double gamma-ray burst from a distant star, Nora is stuck in Berlin, unable to get back to Canada. A chance meeting with Jacob, with whom she get a feeling of intense deja-vu, helps her find humour and love (and a way to get home) in the last months of existence.

Meanwhile her parents, Hilda and Marlen, are processing both Marlen's cancer diagnosis, and the fact that Marlen wrote a book *about the world ending in exactly this manner*.

Meanwhile Hilda's sister, Irene, and her husband and son, Hank and Ole, respectively, are processing the news of impending doom in their own ways, leaning into conspiracy theories, raging at the sky, or trying to run away from it all.

The book is set over the course of two months, from the day the world discovers the end is nigh, and alternates between vignettes of Nora's, Hilda's, and Irene's lives. The joys and the sorrows and the little slices of life when one truly can only live in the moment, until they all come together when it matters.

I don't really know how to process this, or to classify it. It's both grim and macabre, and quirky romcommy. It's living for the now and it's fatalistic. There is rage and missteps and so much love.
And the end. Or is it the beginning? It brought me to tears. It's quirky and desperately sad and hopeful and thoought provoking and utterly indescribable.

The cat. The cat knows. What does the cat know?

This book is going to be in my head for a while as I work through it. I've never read anything like it!

~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. While I did recieve an ARC of this book through NetGalley, I also purchased both the audio and ebook versions.~

I Think We've Been Here Before is a slow burn, a little boring at times.
Overall I think the topic was interesting but the telling of the story just didnt hit for me. I didnt connect to any characters.
It seemed to be all over the place and didn't flow the way I was expecting.
It was harder to get into.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

I Think We've Been Here Before was a quick read, kooky and mindbending. The kind of speculative fiction with a sense of humor that I really enjoy.

NetGalley allowed me to read this via ARC, and I thank them for the opportunity.

I'm not even sure how to review this book. It was interesting for sure, to read about the end of the world coming. And knowing about it, that's the big thing.

I was confused throughout about how things sort of overlapped and the dejavu aspects. Maybe that's what the author wanted. To get the reader to go to an entirely different place in their brains, in their hearts. To imagine the end.

This book definitely made me think! I enjoyed the different perspectives and how when faced with the end of life, how different people prioritize different things. A variety of perspectives, ages and life experiences all made for an interesting read - especially since they were all linked together as a family. When the news tells you that a cosmic blast is going to destroy humanity in the next few weeks, we get to follow how an extended family handles the news. Everyone wants to live out their final days enjoying life, despite not all being together physically. A fascinating read that shows how different people handle difficult information. From processing it, to accepting it to moving forward. 
Thank you Netgalley for my advanced reader copy.

It's the end of the world and they know it. Actually, there are so many ends of the world in Suzy Krause's brilliant I THINK WE'VE BEEN HERE BEFORE, from the unexpected diagnosis of terminal cancer for one character to the literal end of the world for everyone when an incredibly rare event threatens the planet with utter destruction in a few weeks. The characters were pitch perfect, well-developed individuals. The story lines were engaging and relatable. The writing was dark humor wonderful and incredibly lyrical -- so I'd burst out laughing over a woman's concern with leftover turkey or in appreciating an adroit turn of phrase. This book was a genuine pleasure from the very beginning through all the twists and turns of a marvelous story. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased thoughts.

I’m still not sure how I feel about this “world coming to an end” book! It was a War of the Worlds meets Twilight Zone vibe for me. The characters were great and it was interesting to read about their feelings, attitudes, and choices they made knowing they only had a few months to live. It made me ponder my reactions to the same scenario. I listened to the audiobook while reading the book. The audiobook was great but didn’t follow the book in some places. My favorite thing about the audiobook was hearing the different accents of the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

"When do you do something if now is too soon but there is no later?"

What would you do if you knew the world is ending in a few months?
This book depicts it so real, so very humanly and humorously, this doomed to be a sad world ending scenario became something not depressing but uplifting instead.

I loved the actual study of that life flashes before the eyes just before dying is sprinkled throughout the book as it was explained in the end in Marlen’s book. The beginning after the end, and the story changes slightly, in the tiniest way to make it better. This whole idea and implementation was so good! And smooth.

There are different stories from different perspectives/characters and each has a different focal point, I think it is one of the best ways of telling about aging. It was chaotic, even hard to wrap my head around sometimes, I had to sit with my reading to get my thoughts on book together a while, and yet it was so thought-provoking and realistically capturing so many emotions about love, family and purpose.

The writing and detailed story telling with a little possible twist in the end were all brilliant.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the e-ARC!

This is a beautiful story about a feeling coping with the end of the world. There are so many messages within the story and so many creative ideas that help make this book what it is. Thank you, NetgGalley!

I Think We've Been Here Before by Suzy Krause was a beautiful and emotional story!
Wow! This book was truly an amazing read.
Such a great story of love and loss.
An inspiring and heartwarming story with amazing characters.

I Think We've Been Here Before
By: Suzy Krause

4 Stars

This was a story with such depth and emotion. When the "literal" end of the world comes everyone in this family, everyone in the world will be no more. The story brought romance and drama, plus lots of emotions and mystery to every page. Nora and Jacob, Hilda and Irene, plus so many other characters, present an end of the world tale with a powerful outlook. It makes you really open your eyes and appreciate what you have all around you, because truthfully, we never know when the last day will be, but it could be tomorrow. I am not much into end of the world type books, but this one was almost magical and alluring. It was a really good read.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Review

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing, Suzy Krause and NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

What a thought-provoking novel. I love a book that makes you contemplate life (or the end of it). The characters weren't particularly loveable, BUT their stories, backgrounds, and choices were interesting and carried the story all the way. I enjoyed how each character handled their individual situations. And even though each was completely different the bottom line always came back to love and family.

Some of the more complicated conversations of science and dimensions were lost on me. I wondered throughout how/if the timelines were running parallel or on the upside down or something completely different. And I need more information about the cat. There was definitely more to the cat story. It made me think that I was missing a lot!

A well written story about the end of the world and how a group of people face it. Deep thougts and deep meaning. All about relationship, forgiviness, to love people for who they are, the meaning of life.