I was immediately intrigued by the premise: three women—Emilia, Em, and Millie—trapped in a Washington, DC elevator, only to discover they are, impossibly, the same person at different stages of life. It’s a bold concept with so much emotional depth to explore: a teenager wrestling with suicidal thoughts, a woman in midlife trying to hold it all together, and an elderly mother yearning for reconciliation. Together, they unpick the threads of a long-buried trauma, revealing just how much one life can hold.

This is a story that should soar, and I so wanted it to. But sadly, it never quite found its lift (no pun intended) . The dialogue didn’t convince, and the internal voices felt more like exposition than lived experience.

There’s a beautiful, brave idea at the heart of this—something with real potential—but for me, the execution was uneven and ultimately didn’t land. I wanted to love it; I just didn’t.

I really wanted to like this book.the concept to me felt very intriguing and I felt like it was something that I really enjoyed. However the truth is I really struggled with this book. I really liked the way this book was written and the fact that it focuses on each part of the character to tell that side of the story but considering there were only a few POVs I found it to be very confusing and very difficult to follow. I just don’t think the style was for me.

I would still recommend because I really do feel like this book has such a good premise and style it was just the execution of it not being for me.

After yet another argument with her husband Joel and her daughter Sonya about a certain tradition she insists on following, middle-aged Emilia Fletcher steps into a lift in a DC Metro station and gets stuck in it with two other strangers. Stuck in this strange limbo, three women at very different stages in their life—angsty teenaged Em, Emilia, and elderly Millie—gradually find out that they are all the same person at different points of her life. Confronted with this reality, they talk to each other and form an unusual friendship as they try to process a traumatic event from their adolescence that threw a shadow over the rest of their life.

JUST EMILIA constructs a situation in which its protagonist is confronted with a question a lot of us may like to entertain, despite its impossibility: what would you do if you got to meet an older or younger version of yourself? What would you say to them? That is the crux of JUST EMILIA, and you get to see its protagonist’s reactions to the glimpses she gets of the answers to these questions. JUST EMILIA is a contemplative and slightly humorous novel that explores grief, trauma, and the malleability of memory, and how they can mould a person over the course of their life.

I went into this book with fairly high expectations, because the synopsis sounded interesting, and I'm pleased to say that it lived up to them.
I was throughly immersed in this story from start to finish. It's short but packed full of emotion and an interesting plot.
I enjoyed it a lot.

ended up being a 2.25 stars for me

thank you netgalley for this arc! ugh i really wanted to love this book. it has such a cool premise to it and the storyline idea was so neat. however the pacing and structure was hard to stay engaged with. the main character too just fell a little flat to me. like by the end i just didn’t really care. also some scenes should’ve been cut one in particular threw me so far off seeing the amount of detail described for no other reason to emphasize being stuck in a elevator (iykyk). i loved the idea of this book and ideas of the characters but it just didn’t do it for me. this would’ve easily been my kind of book so i know it’ll still be loved. i wish i was one of those people but i just wasn’t.

Jennifer Oko's "Just Emilia" has a promising premise carried beautifully in the first quarter of the book. The writing is lyrical and flows really well.
After the main reveal, the book slows down too much to be enjoyable, at which point the only thing that kept me reading was the beautiful writing.
The ending is, simply put, disappointing. The all-too-long journey of exploring grief and learning to move past blaming oneself is rendered meaningless by one of the final revelations, and the much awaited moment of catharsis is stolen from the reader.
Overall, plot aside, it is a nice read, but it could have been so, so much better.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for the advance copy for this review.

Just Emilia has an intriguing concept, and I wanted to love it.

The story centers around internal conflict - the same conflict in the same girl at 3 different stages of life. Emilia is self-loathing and unforgiving; she hasn’t been able to live her truth since the day of the tragic event and is unable to move past that burden as she continues in life. It took a while for the story to get into the issue though - it felt like the story didn’t begin until the 20% mark.

Ultimately, the conclusion wasn’t as moving as I had hoped. Their learning moment did not come across as a big, impactful moment, so their takeaways didn’t feel all that satisfying. There was also something about the idea of Emilia not being able to figure out her issues until being stuck with a younger and older Emilia that felt a bit counterintuitive. The only way for her to resolve her issues was to literally confront and comfort her other selves because she isn’t able to do it without physical forms to interact with? I understand the concept, but it weakened the point, in my opinion.

I will say though that their takeaways upon leaving the elevator were a healthy change for each of them. It’s the baby steps we were looking for, and also the baby steps I’d want Emilia to focus on if she was a real person. In that sense, even though I wasn’t as emotionally moved as I would have liked, I appreciated that the author ended Emilia’s story with realistic ways of moving forward.

Premise is interesting and had me intrigued from the blurb; being stuck in a lift with your past present and future self. However, for me the book wasn’t engaging enough, this was mostly due to finding all threes versions of Emilia unlikable. Not only unlikable but also I wasn’t able to connect to any of them.
By part two I still wasn’t drawn in but thought the potential was there and I had seen so many positive reviews. Some chapters were interesting, such as the unravelling of grief at multiple stages of life. Perhaps with some editing it could be a great read for some.
Overall, I found the book okay but it just fell short, it didn’t feel impactful and that was a shame. I ended up giving this book 2.75 stars, rounded.

DNF - unfortunately I just don't think this book is for me. It didn't do anything wrong, I just didn't connect with the characters, which is a shame as I thought the premise was really interesting.

This book is both a mind-bending experience and an interesting take on a "bottle episode" stereotype while just featuring one person in different multitudes. From the beginning, the reader is drawn into Emilia’s journey, feeling deeply for her as she navigates the raw, complex emotions of grief.

The way the novel explores grief’s evolution over time is beautifully done and serves not only as a reflection of her mourning for her mother but also of her own life’s trajectory.

The incorporation of newspaper clippings, police reports, and other mixed-media adds a layer of realism to the story, grounding it even as it leans into the fantastical. Trapped in an elevator with different versions of herself, Emilia’s experience echoes the themes of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, where time is fluid, and the true boundaries of past and future remain uncertain.
The novel’s exploration of grief and shifting realities is handled with nuance, keeping the reader questioning what is real and how time distorts memory. While the ending feels somewhat rushed and leaves a few threads open to interpretation, the final moments are thought-provoking, leaving us to wonder whether the future is inevitable or if Emilia has managed to alter the past.

3.5 stars
The premise of this story drew me in immediately. Oko did a good job of making Em, Emelia and Millie feel distinct and yet the same person. It's unclear what happens to the older two Emelia's if the young one makes changes to her life from here onwards so I did wonder if there was much point in middle-aged Emelia who may not benefit from the experience or be able to share any wisdom older Emelia couldn't. However, if we assume they're all on separate timelines (which there is some suggestion is the case) then it's not such an issue - I wish this was explored a bit more. The ending itself was a bit rushed and didn't really wrap things up. While I understand the author perhaps wanted it to be more mysterious, I was just left wondering whether there was any purpose in the whole event. This is perhaps one of those books where an epilogue is worth including! There were some references to real world events that not all of them had experienced yet that I actually felt took me out of the story, I think this may be in part due to the story being set in an elevator which forces the focus onto the characters rather than the outside world. A little bit of editing is needed. For example, Emelia mentions how Em has worked out how to zoom in on documents on her phone twice.

Please note received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Regal House Publishing for the ARC.
Just Emilia executes an interesting and creative take on the classic "what if I could talk to my younger self" idea but both character dynamics work together naturally only sometimes, and the present-day timeline—where the story starts lacks cohesion. The plot stabilizes a bit by the end, but still has moments that feel a bit underdeveloped. 3.25/5

3.5 ⭐️
this book was almost optimistic of the future but also teaching to be grateful and cherish your life in the moment. this book had an interesting and unique plot but I found it to be a little slow in the beginning/middle but once I started to really get to know the 3 version of Emilia it was really captivating and It made me reflect on my past and look towards my future with more grace. Interesting read, I think I might have enjoyed it more If I was a little older though

To come face to face with both your younger self and the you-of-the-future, how wildly imaginative, fun, and engrossing. The story pulled me in right from the start and did not let go until I turned the last page. I felt the characters were all constructed really well and I at different points through the story, I would find me siding with, rooting for, or commiserating with one over the others. I really enjoyed this book! Highly recommend.

Who has not wanted to interact with their past and future selves - to think about where you are going and where you came from? In Just Emilia, Jennifer Oko gives this to the readers and does it in an emotional, sad, endearing, and sometimes humorous way. The three Emilias are trapped in an elevator on a day that is auspicious for all of them - I don't want to give away what that is - but they all have a lot to deal with in their lives with the relationship with their father and mother, and this day is a day of reckoning in some ways. The three of them - who are all the same person at different stages in their lives connect and in many ways heal and in this way, the youngest of them will be able to go forward in her life and perhaps find more peace as she gets older. I loved this book! I recommend it highly!

Thank you NetGalley & Regal House Publishing for the ARC!

A quick and cute read! I do personally think the "If you could talk to your younger self, what would you say" trope is a little tired, although it was executed beautifully here. With the addition of Millie, the plot felt rounded out in a way that made the story feel succinct, even without a super loud ending. While something like this isn't typically my style, I did enjoy Jennifer Oko's writing style, and would recommend this to friends who enjoy this more hopeful and "lighthearted" subgenre.

this was a thought-provoking journey of identity and healing. trapped in a DC Metro elevator, Emilia comes face-to-face with her past and future selves, forcing her to confront long-buried trauma. this was a witty, emotional, and deeply moving read and i wish i could get to meet my past and future selves too :’)

I ate this book up. Until there was a scene that put me off for a bit. I’m not sure what it had to do with the story and it took me a bit to pick it back up after that. After that though it picked up momentum again and I was able to finish it.

I loved the premise and I loved how all versions of her were there to tell a story. Also, when I was reading this book I got stuck in an elevator and the irony was not lost on me. I knew this book was meant for me to read!

Thank you to NetGalley, Regal House Publishing and Jennifer Oko for an eARC of the book for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book! The timing was great in peeling back the layers of each of the three trapped in the elevator. It was more thought-provoking than I anticipated. Makes you pause and think if you could truly spend time with your younger and older self and if so could you tolerate it for an extended amount of time. Excellent premise and well executed. I think there could easily be a sequel.

Thank you to Regal House Publishing and Jennifer Oko for allowing me the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Emilia can't get over her mother's death, fully believing she has a hand to play in the cause. What's a better way to get over her grief than getting stuck in the elevator with the person she hates the most and having to share it with them? Thats right, herself.

I loved the idea of Emilia being stuck in the elevator with her past and future selves on her mother's death anniversary — each of them at different stages of their lives and talking through their grief and things that held them back. I loved the whole implication of being stuck in the elevator, in the small confined metal space, to being 'stuck with yourself' as she navigated where her life went wrong and what part she played in it. I loved reading about the whole mother-daughter relationships of all the versions of Emilia and it just makes you think about it, i guess.

I would say this could have been more developed considering the premise was so good but personally, I enjoyed reading this alot!