Page 2 of 3
There are currently 15 member reviews
for Time of My Life
-
Meg (Swarthmore PA)
Mommy Lit Meets Back to the Future
I have to confess I wasn't too thrilled when I read the premise of this plot - time traveling always gives me a headache as I end to overthink it, which ultimately ends up taking away from the story. But I decided to go with it and call it 'altered reality' instead of 'time traveling' and ended up enjoying it the way I enjoyed "Freaky Friday" when I was a kid, or the latest Sophie Kinsella (non-Shopaholic) novel. I found myself rooting for just about all the characters in the book (except for a few rather obnoxious ones who I won't reveal here).
About half way through I had to keep myself from turning to the last few pages to find out how it all turned out - but I refrained from doing so, and by the time I got to the end of the book, was happy with the conclusion, and was equally happy I hadn't ruined it for myself by peeking. It was a clever premise and was fun to read, especially with some of the details Allison Winn Scotch sneaks in (the main character can always win bets on who will get kicked off of 'Survivor', since she'd already seen the season several years before in her 'other' life - !). This is a light novel with some poignant moments that will have you plowing through it to see how it all turns out.
-
Mary Ellen (Boynton Beach FL)
TIme of My Life Smart Chick Lit
I enjoyed this fanciful flight backwards into a young suburbanite's life to the land of "what ifs?" This story playfully explores what happens when an intelligent, career woman marries and leaves her urban life to pursue motherhood. Jill thought she had the perfect husband, house and baby, but life has settled into a routine that makes her wish that she had a different life.
Unexpectedly, she finds herself pulled backwards seven years to her life with a previous boyfriend and on the cusp of career promotion.What would she have done differently? Does it matter? Should she mend fences with her estranged mother? The drama builds and enlightenment dawns. Would make a great movie.
-
Karen @ Planet Books, Book Reviews (Silver Spring MD)
Second Chance Or Just A Dream?
What would you do if you daydreamed about your old life to the point that you were given the chance to relive it for a second chance at happiness? That is what Jillian, the protagonist of Allison Winn Scotch’s upcoming release, Time of My Life, is faced with.
Sure, we are always seeing the greener grass on the other side of the fence of life but we are in the life we are in because of the paths we chose that brought us here. Sometimes I wonder how I got here. Here being in a fun, loving and loyal marriage; living in Okinawa; having great friends literally all over the world and being as happy and busy as I am. But some days I wonder what would have happened if I hadn’t taken that temp job in Hubby’s building and met him, if I had stayed in Denver ten years ago and not run home to Maryland full of homesickness. If you don’t have moments of wonder and reminiscing than you just aren’t human. It is human nature to always wonder, “What if?”
Allison Winn Scotch replaces Jillian in her past seven years back. Into a relationship with the man she still wonders “what if” about when her marriage to Henry doesn’t feel shiny and perfect anymore. In her old life she is a mother of an adorable little girl, the wife of a overworked husband who she pushes away when he is home because he’s just in her way, and a desperate housewife who is always going at full speed in order to make life seem perfect and desirable from the outside looking in.
When Jillian ends up seven years in her past after a freak chi experiment administered by her gorgeous massage therapist Garland she wonders if this is her second chance at being happy (edited to remove plot spoilers)
The underlying story line in Time of My Life was the relationship, or lack there of, between Jillian and the mother that deserted her and her family when she was just a child. After discovering that this woman who haunted her in both the future and the past is just a stones throw after all this time, Jillian begins to realize what may have caused her mother to leave all those years ago. The fears that Jillian faces as a mother herself are overwhelming and terrifying at times and when she looks back and actually moves towards a relationship with her mother, she begins to understand.
But after all the fun and wondering if this is really a second chance or just a freak of nature/time space, Jillian starts to realize what she thought she wanted and regretted were not in her past but right in front of her in her “real” life.
Time of My Life was an okay read but for some reason it didn’t grasp my attention like I wished it had. I don’t know if it was the book's concept or the voice of the main character, Jillian, that bored me. I wanted to enjoy this great idea of a woman who appears to time travel (still don’t know exactly what happened, if Jillian actually stepped backwards in time or was just dreaming) and gets a second chance with one of her great loves as well as the opportunity to rebuild a broken relationship with her own mother. I wonder if I was just reading it at the wrong time for me?
-
Rosalyn (Raleigh NC)
Time of My Life
Hasn't there been a time when you looked around your current life and wonder what it would have been like if you had made different choices? My single friends and I have this conversation all of the time. We especially like to talk about 'The One Who Got Away'. That is the guy that we think, wow, I should have made a better effort to make that relationship work. Jillian gets a second chance at 'The One Who Got Away".
I thought this book would be more of a beach read however it delivered a deeper message that what I was expecting. The main reason for rating this a '3' rather than a '4' is because I wanted to hear less of what Jillian was thinking (her story was told in the first person) and know more about the people and situations going on around her.
I was satisfied with the read and would recommend it to readers who enjoy 'Chick Lit'.
-
Julie (Rancho Palos Verdes CA)
Cute book
I enjoyed reading Time of My Life. As someone who always wonders what if, it was nice to see how the character dealt with going back in the past.
That said, I thought it was a cute book, but wouldn't run out and recommend it to serious readers. May be best for chicklit readers that are looking for a quick, easy read.
-
Lori (Albuquerque NM)
A nice vacation read
Time of My Life is a clever exploration of the path not taken. The protagonist finds herself back in time to another relationship, but still endowed with the knowledge she's gained since them.
Scotch relies too heavily on telling a story directly through the narrator's thoughts than through action or dialogue. However, her use of a diary that the main character is a great technique. True to chick-lit style, references to contemporary NYC culture fill every page.
Overall, a fun read, but not memorable.
-
Maxine (Effingham IL)
Win some, lose some
I found this story perplexing. I was unable to identify with most of the characters; they seemed one dimensional. From the onset the conclusion was obvious and when it came it left many situations unresolved. Was the author writing with an eye on a possible sequel? If so, count me out.
