I've been avoiding writing this review for two days because I was so disappointed that I did not enjoy this book. I go into soft fantasy stories that explore grief and human relationships with an open heart and, sometimes, I get hurt.

This Time Tomorrow follows a woman on the eve of her 40th birthday who get blackout drunk, passes out, and wakes up on her 16th birthday. I really enjoyed the first portion of the book where we got to know her life at age 39, but found myself getting frustrated when we went back to age 16. The pacing felt off and I didn't care much for her or any of the characters in the past.

(Mild spoilers ahead)

When she got back to age 40 (because of course she did), we got to see what changed. And then we did it again. And again. A few more times for good measure. It was Russian Doll (season 1, at least) but with what felt like far lower stakes.

I grew increasingly frustrated as the book went on, when I felt like too much emphasis was placed on the moral: "embrace the chaos of life. There's no such thing as a perfect choice. Accept change." The book that had started out fresh and interesting had dropped into very familiar territory and I couldn't help but lose interest.

I was really hoping to like this, and the high praise of comparing it to Emily st John Mandel's work really overhyped this for me. I was longing for emotion and longing, and it just didn't land for me. Recommended if you're in the mood for a Hallmarky time travel story.

More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/AiaZh8Bpmyw