thank for for this advance copy
i have actually read this book when it was first published in 2019 and i loved it then.
it’s a fun nostalgic book of friendship, love and life.
a grwat read

Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books for this ARC.

Chloe Sinclair is travelling to Coronado near San Diego, California from the UK with the ashes of her dear friend James in her luggage. She is meeting James' former boyfriend Ross at the airport and they plan to scatter the ashes together. During the flight she takes part in what she thinks is a simple quiz but is told that she has never found The One because he doesn't exist due to never being born.

Chloe is staying at the famous Hotel del Coronado that is associated with the filming of 1959 hit "Some Like It Hot". The oracle tells her she has to time-travel so the right people in history can get together and the man destined for her can be born. Whenever she enters her hotel room, the key card displays the entry code as the year she is travelling to. So she ends up in 1888, 1929, 1958, 1985 and finally 2016 for the start of her own love story. Every time that we meet another male member of the Montague family with a name starting with J, he has to be helped along in his love story, and every time a man called Alfred interrupts and antagonises Chloe.

This time-travel story has a bit of a clumsy title but is unique and full of interesting characters. The eras we travel to are described well, with fashion, hairstyles and make-up on point. The book is a love letter to Coronado, treating it as another character that contributes to the storyline, and we even get to meet Marilyn Monroe.

The reason for the time-travel is wishful thinking, as if we really only get one love in life and if they aren't born we will remain single but time-travelling can right those wrongs and give us a second chance, in love and in health. Timing is everything! It doesn't always make sense (how can Ross stay behind?) but this escapist story about destiny and matchmaking is well-written, and Chloe's journey of self-discovery is nicely executed.

This is a posthumous re-issue of the novel previously self-published in 2019. It is also available on KU. I don't know whether the re-release had anything to do with Ms Jones' health but she died in December 2024 after a short battle with cancer so this will probably be her last published book. Belinda Jones also wrote as Molly James and I would highly recommend "One Day to Fall in Love" and "Skip to the End".

What a delightful five-star read. Also, what a sublime ending, I loved it, I have read a couple of stories recently where then endings have just been a bit blah, and this one really won me over, it was a chef’s kiss extra to the story in my eyes. This could have been such a depressing story, as Chloe is scattering her friend’s ashes/pebbles, but with the added character of the iconic Hotel Del Coronado it just lightens the whole thing up, it has fast become a new bucket list holiday for me, as man I so want to go visit I loved that you got the descriptions at the end and the bonus details they add so mush, it really feels like you walk in her footsteps as you read. This has just been a great story and an author I have loved for a long time, they create characters that you can’t help but adore, and also when you get to know the person being scattered, they are just such a well written person that you cant help but understand why they are the way they are, and how they wanted control over their ending.

4/5!

Set at the Hotel Del Coronado on Coronado isle in the San Diego bay, where Some Like It Hot with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis was filmed.

A story of a woman wanting to scatter a friend's ashes with another friend the only issue is she keeps slipping through time. Such a deep, thought provoking story with lovable characters.

Belinda Jones nos sumerge en una historia mágica donde el amor y el destino dependen del tiempo… literalmente. Chloe Sinclair no ha encontrado a su alma gemela porque, en algún punto de la historia, las parejas equivocadas se conocieron en el momento equivocado. Para arreglarlo, debe viajar en el tiempo y asegurarse de que los romances correctos sucedan, garantizando así la existencia de su futuro.
Desde la era victoriana hasta los vibrantes años ochenta, Chloe recorre distintas épocas en el icónico Hotel Del Coronado, un lugar lleno de encanto y misterio. En su viaje, se cruza con personajes fascinantes, con cada encuentro, descubre que el amor es una cuestión de tiempo y destino.

~

La idea me pareció interesante: viajar en el tiempo para hacer de cupido y lograr que ciertas parejas se unan para que su alma gemela pueda nacer.

El libro es ligero y rápido de leer, pero siento que muchos detalles importantes quedaron en el aire. De hecho, creo que llegué a conocer más a James, el mejor amigo, que a Chloe. Incluso los romances de las otras parejas tienen más capítulos que la propia historia de Chloe.

I feel like I could give a million reasons why I did not like this book, but they ultimately boil down to just one thing: I don't think the writing is very good. It's almost fundamental writing basics, it doesn't have any finesse or intrigue - it's an issue I have with a lot of romance books, particularly ones with this kind of cover. There's no subtext, nothing left to my imagination, it's all left on the page. At one point, I started counting how many sentences started with 'I' and just got so frustrated because saying 'I felt this then I did that then I thought this' is so DULL. I found Chloe deeply annoying - all of her emotions are dialled up to eleven so she could be wading through water and acting like she was trapped in the heart of a cyclone. It was just...cringey and unpleasant. DNF.