Ahoy there mateys! Okay so those old-hands on deck may remember that me introduction to this author was from reading the wrong book, the seven husbands of evelyn hugo. It ended up being me favourite book in 2018. I loved that book so much that I wanted to read some of TJR’s older works. I picked her book about the roads not taken and parallel universes. Yay for sci-fi elements!

So I requested it from the library. After a long waitlist, I began reading said book only to realize that YET AGAIN I was reading the WRONG book. I had clicked the wrong title when I went to request it. Seriously I have problems. Once I figured it out, I then requested the correct book with its even longer waitlist. Since I had already started that wrong book, I figured I would finish it. Of course, eventually me sci-fi TJR book came in.

So this was the wrong book but enjoyable nonetheless. It did take me a minute to figure out it wasn’t the right one because there are two timelines in this story. Elsie and Ben meet, fall in love, and get married very quickly. Then 9 days after marriage, Ben is hit by a truck and dies. The first story line is about what happens to Elsie after Ben’s death. The second story line is flashbacks into how their relationship progressed. But really the story focuses on Elsie’s healing process and also that of Susan, the mother-in-law who didn’t know she existed. Apparently this was TJR’s debut and I can kinda see that. The elements that I loved about Evelyn Hugo are there but there was a bit more disconnect in this book despite feeling sorry for Elsie. I know life goes on after a death but the book’s ending just tied up a bit too neatly for me. Plus how the couple fell in love and got married was a bit too cheesy. It was a quick and solid read that I wouldn’t have chosen on purpose but no regrets. Arrrr!