Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Husband and wife coauthors Lloyd (Miss Beeton's Murder Agency) and Rees (Wanted) deliver a stunning time travel romance that doubles as an insightful examination of the little decisions that shape a 25-year marriage. Caterer Jules Hole and her video game designer husband, Adam, are stuck. Their two 20-something kids have moved back into their messy home; Jules's business is hemorrhaging money; and Adam's career stalled long ago, when he went part-time to help raise the kids and his short-term financial concerns kept him from striking it big with his best friend Darius. All that changes when Adam discovers that playing the romantic mixtapes he and Jules used to make for each other sends the listener back to the time they first received them--and that changing things during these tape visits can lead to better lives in the present. The couple's success in fixing minor things (like a regrettable tattoo for Jules, or Adam's beard, which Jules always hated) lead them to attempt bigger and bigger manipulations--with potentially devastating consequences. Both protagonists are wonderfully complex, full of rage, regret, passion (often the frustrated kind), and a desperate desire to get things right this time. Funny, tender, bittersweet, and ultimately affirming, this is a showstopping tale about learning to embrace imperfection. Agent: Meredith Miller, UTA. (Feb.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Jules and Adam, married for almost 25 years, are stuck in a rut. They're living in what used to be his parents' old house in Brighton, England; their son will barely talk to them; and their adult daughter has moved back home to save money. Adam's best friend rubs salt in an old wound when he moves in nearby after selling a video game company for millions of dollars--a deal Adam could have been part of, if he hadn't backed out years ago. Then Adam finds a pile of old mixtapes that he and Jules made for each other over the course of their relationship. Somehow, the mixtapes act as a time portal, depositing the couple at the exact moment when they exchanged them. Soon they're making small changes to their relationship, then larger changes to the future, then huge changes behind each other's backs. VERDICT This poignant story from married coauthors Lloyd and Rees (Come Together) is a reminder that love stories can also be in the staying-together part, not just the falling-in-love part.--Jennifer Mills
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A long-married couple stumble on a time machine and relive crucial scenes from their lives. Adam and Jules have been together for 25 years and have begun to take each other for granted. Their lives are stale, and their grown children are sullen and living at home. Adam is plugging away at a job he can't stand, while Jules is struggling to make her catering business work and secretly drowning in credit card debt. When Jules tries to throw out a box of old mixtapes, Adam can't bear to see them go--to him, the tapes signify how much they've always meant to each other, even if they haven't shared one (or properly connected) in years. He pops one into his ancient stereo and is, surprisingly, yanked back in time to the moment he gave Jules the tape. Soon he and Jules are both traveling in time and re-experiencing moments from their pasts. They promise not to alter anything, but neither of them can help making what, at first, are tiny changes--Adam convinces his past self to start a workout routine, while Jules tells past Adam not to grow a beard. Soon, though, they're making bigger changes to give themselves the lives they deserve, and those changes create massive, unanticipated shifts in their current reality. Is it possible they've created a life where they don't even end up together? Co-writers Lloyd and Rees create a touching portrait of a marriage in crisis as Adam and Jules relive their best and worst moments and watch their children grow up in the blink of an eye. They're forced to reexamine their biggest regrets and decide if living through horrible things actually helped them become the people they are. Ultimately, the story is a reminder to live in the present and appreciate the tiny moments that make up a life--as one character tells Jules, "Happiness is learning to love what you already have." A lovely, emotional look at the importance of everyday joys and appreciating what's in front of you. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
