Review: This Time Next Year by Sophie Cousens
The Basics
Title: This Time Next Year
Author: Sophie Cousens
Published: Expected U.S. publication date is Dec. 1, 2020
Note: I received an e-ARC from NetGalley and Arrow in exchange for an honest review.
Publisher: Arrow — Penguin Random House
Pages: 304
Format: E-book
Genres: Fiction — Contemporary fiction, Holiday, Romance, Contemporary romance, Holiday romance, Clean romance
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Book Synopsis
In spite of it being her birthday, New Year’s Day has always been Minnie Cooper’s least favorite time of the year. The day is seemingly jinxed, for each year, without fail, some misfortune befalls her on that day. Her unlucky New Year’s streak began at birth when her intended name, Quinn, was stolen by another mother at the hospital and given to her son, who was born only minutes before Minnie. Both Minnie and her mother are certain that had this wrong never occurred and had she been named Quinn Cooper, she would have lived a very lucky life. On her 30th birthday, Minnie finds herself face to face with the name thief himself, Quinn Hamilton, and just as she suspected, the name Quinn seems to have brought him nothing but good luck. He’s handsome, successful, and has a gorgeous girlfriend. As much as she wants to despise him though, she finds herself warming up to him and even enjoying his company. A friendship between the two forms, and as she learns more about Quinn’s past, she comes to see that his life isn’t as perfect as it seems at first glance. As the reader, we also discover that the two have unknowingly crossed paths multiple times throughout the years. For Minnie and Quinn, the question then becomes are the two fated to be more than just friends?
My Review & Overall Thoughts
Years back, my brother described a movie he had seen as “solidly average,” and that is precisely how I would describe This Time Next Year. It’s not a great book, but it’s also not terrible. Although I was never hooked by the story, I was curious enough to see how everything would pan out to finish it.
One of the major roadblocks to my enjoyment of the book was its organization. There are no chapters in this book; rather, each section is denoted by a date. That might not bother me so much were it not for the fact that the dates bounce back and forth between the past and present day. I struggled to keep track of the timeline. I would often forget what the date had been prior to a flashback, so when a date was listed after the flashback, I was unsure how much time had passed in the present-day timeline.
For all the confusion it caused, the shifting timeline didn’t add that much to the overall story. Sure, the flashbacks showed that Quinn and Minnie had been running into one another for years without realizing it, and yes, a few of the flashbacks provided insight into Quinn’s difficult childhood. To establish those two points, however, there did not need to be nearly as many flashbacks as there were. After a while, the flashbacks became tedious, and I found myself skimming through them so I could get back to the present-day timeline. I can only read so many scenes of Minnie and Quinn crossing paths in the past before I become bored.
The characters also failed to excite me. Minnie, with her superstitions and insecurities, was exasperating at times; although, she did grow on me over the course of the book. Quinn, a good-looking guy with commitment issues, felt rather cliché. I also didn’t care much for how he treated Minnie: leading her on one minute only to keep her at arm’s length the next. The secondary characters were unfortunately not much better. Leila, the kooky best friend was a bit of a trope, and her boyfriend, Ian, with his forced video game metaphors, was tiresome. Lastly, I didn’t buy Connie’s (Minnie’s mother) drastic personality change at the end of the book. No amount of gardening can make an optimist out of a lifelong cynic.
The good
I enjoyed all of the pop culture references scattered throughout the book, especially those pertaining to The Great British Bake Off, a show I regularly watch with my husband. There were also a number of funny scenes (e.g., the banana role play between Quinn and Minnie), as well as some great lines (e.g., Minnie using the term “ant’s nostril” to describe the size of a room).
Overall
This Time Next Year is an okay book. I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to read it, but if you’re given a copy and need to kill some time, it’ll do.
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