Starting to think that time-travel / rom-com is an excellent genre that I never thought would appeal to me… loved this. Silvey writes with charm, bringing a real sense of mid-noughties Cambridge and just how old-fashioned that would appear to someone from forty years later (or indeed someone now - phones with buttons!!). The concept of paradoxes is managed simply but effectively: I really enjoyed the time travel tourists and wondered how we weren’t going to be wildly butterfly-effecting all over the place. A strong core of the four central characters meant I was completely invested in the way the relationships developed and was genuinely pleased with the outcome.

Great read - would also make a great tv series…

I confess to being somewhat confused at the start of this book and a little voice said ‘this might not be for you’. However quite quickly I became immersed in the story and ended up really enjoying the paradoxes. I even had an insightful conversation with my other half about what, if anything, would he change if he could go back in time and also what would I change. It’s not an easy a question to answer because as the book implies, if one small thing changes, then many different outcomes could happen. I really liked the two main characters and I was particularly impressed with the poem Joe wrote to express his feelings. This is a great book club book as it will stimulate quite a lot of diverse discussions.

Catriona Silvey’s Love and Other Paradoxes takes a different approach from her debut, shifting from the melancholic and introspective tone of Meet Me in Another Life to something lighter and more playful—yet still packed with emotional depth. This novel blends time loops with contemporary romance, offering a story that’s both mind-bending and heartfelt.

While the tone is lighter than that of a traditional time travel novel, the stakes remain high for the characters, making every choice feel meaningful. Silvey proves once again that she can take a high-concept premise and infuse it with real emotional weight. If you love time-twisting narratives with heart, this one’s worth picking up.

Thank you to Netgalley for approving me to read this book. My opinions are my own.

I have officially put Catriona Silvey on my auto-buy authors list after Meet Me in Another Life and this book. Amazing. I almost don’t need to keep going with this review, it’s just a must-read. Go. Now. I’ll wait…

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So now we’ve both fallen in love with this book, I’ll expand.

Catriona has similar vibes as Becky Chambers - in that she doesn’t just write a good Sci fi book, she writes amazing characters and thought-provoking conversations about love and reality and how time itself works.

I almost forgot that the book was even Sci fi, it started to shift to more of a cerebral rom-com with one of my favourite tropes of the wingman trope. It was just so deep and present that I only remembered the time travel part being odd when other characters were reacting to it.

I think this makes it a great book for both Sci-fi lovers and contemporary romance readers.

(Slight side note that probably won’t even be in the final version, I wasn’t sure if this was a joke that Joe was making comparing the future and his time, but he said he lived in the nineteenth century… when he might have meant the twenty-first century)

I also really liked the setting at Cambridge University, I used to live near Cambridge so this felt very homey to me, though my university was very different (oxbridge is a land unto its own) it still brought me back to my time as a proto-adult, learning how to live by myself with all the safety nets still in place. It was a great feeling while reading, incredibly cosy.

I don’t really know what more I can say to make you read this awesome book, just give it a try!

Loved loved loved. Already one of my favourite books of the year!

I was in my final year of university in 2005 and played assassins, so this book brought back all of the feelings! Written with a tenderness, humour and sensitivity that reminded me of David Nichols, this book deserves so much attention.

When the plot threads came together at the end with the final reveal I wanted to give Catriona Silvey a round of applause. Truly great work. I’m never going to miss reading a novel of hers going forward.

A clever and original time travel romance full of heart, humour and plenty of early noughties nostalgia. Joe Greene is in his last year at Cambridge and terrified about what comes next. Everyone expects great things, the first from his school to attend Cambridge, but Joe is worried that his future will involve failing his degree and ending up back behind the bar of his parents' pub in Scotland. The problem is Joe isn't that interested in his studies, he really wants to be a poet, to be as famous as Byron. Shame he's struggling to find inspiration, to write anything meaningful.

Recently Joe has noticed some puzzling things - anonymous presents and cards in his pigeonhole, this feeling that some of the tour groups thronging the streets of Cambridge seem over interested in him and even seem to be following him. So when he meets a girl, Esi, in a coffee shop who seems to know who he is and realises the book she leaves behind is about his life - his life as a successful and famous poet- once he gets over the shock it seems to make a strange kind of sense and gives him a huge sense of relief. He's not destined to be a failure after all. and of course if the future is set in stone as Esi's book claims, then he doesn't need to worry. He will pass his degree, get together with the glamorous Diana who apparently is his muse and the love of his life and become famous. He's just not sure how. Luckily Esi is at hand to help. A runaway from the future she is here to try and change her mother's destiny and avert a future tragic accident. She will help him woo Diana if he helps her track down her mother. But the longer Joe spends with Esi, and the more he finds out about his future self, then the less sure that the future that awaits him is the future he actually wants.

This is the kind of book to read in one sitting, funny, romantic and beautifully writte, Highly recommended.

wow what a great read! i couldn’t put this down ans loved everything about this.
the way the author pulls you in to get to know the characters make this a really interesting read and upto the last pages i still couldn’t guess what was going to happen
definitely recommended

Absolutely adored Joe and Esi and their very funny love story. It was sweet, adorable and brimming with mystery.

As a fan of time travel this book spun a special web of magic that was perfect for my Xmas Eve read.

I loved the unique premise, the lifelike setting and the chemistry between the pair. I honestly couldn't put it down.

Such a gorgeous and fun read perfect for fans of romance, time travel and mystery.

Absolutely loved this book, even if I didn’t quite understand all the timey wimey stuff. Didn’t take long to get to the crux of the book, which I was pleased about; the discovery about time travellers came early on. Such a fantastic idea for a plot too. Really lovely read.

This one took me a little while to get into but once I did, I was hooked. It's emotional and yet light hearted at the same time. It's a time travel novel and I enjoyed the characters. It's well written and I couldn't put it down. It has funny moments, sweet moments, mystery, and everything I love. Definitely one to recommend.