Maybe Next Time

A Novel

By: Cesca Major

Narrated by: Clare Corbett

Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins

Publisher's summary

A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK

A heartwarming and emotionally poignant time-loop novel about a stressed woman who must relive the same day over and over, keeping her family and work life from imploding as she attempts to spare her husband from an unfortunate fate.

It is an ordinary Monday and harried London literary agent Emma is flying out of the door as usual. Preoccupied with work and her ever growing to-do list, she fails to notice her lovely husband Dan seems bereft, her son can barely meet her eye, and her daughter won’t go near her. Even the dog seems sad.

She is far too busy, buried deep in her phone; social media alerts pinging; clients messaging with “emergencies”; keeping track of a dozen WhatsApp groups about the kids’ sports, school, playdates, all of it. Her whole day is frantic—what else is new—and as she rushes back through the door for dinner, Dan is still upset. They fight, and he walks out, desolate, dragging their poor dog around the block. Just as she realizes it is their anniversary and she has forgotten, again, she hears the screech of brakes.

Dan is dead.

The next day Emma wakes up… and Dan is alive. And it’s Monday again.

And again.

And again.

Emma tries desperately to change the course of fate by doing different things each time she wakes up: leaving WhatsApp, telling her boss where to get off, writing to Dan, listening to her kids, reaching out to forgotten friends, getting drunk and buying out Prada. But will Emma have the chance to find herself again, remember what she likes about her job, reconnect with her children, love her husband? Will this be enough to change the fate they seem destined for?

A moving “What if” story of what it is to be a woman in the modern world—never feeling we’re getting it quite right—about learning to slow down and appreciate life that is sure to resonate with fans of women’s fiction.

©2023 Cesca Major (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Good not great

Good moral to the story but I found it dragged on a bit. Performance was good, would have liked more distinction between male and female voices but I got used to it.

great read

thought it would be boring because the same thing happened over and over but it was captivating.

Beautiful uplifting story

What I liked most about the story is that the characters evolved. Story has stories within the stories that are unexpected.

Phenomenal

I really love how modern this is. I love that I truly did not expect the ending, as much as I thought I knew what was going to happen. I love the lessons the story taught me. I absolutely love the message. 10/10, truly.

Couldn’t stop listening

The story paints such a vivid picture of the characters that I could imagine it as if it were a movie I was watching. Loved!

Interesting twist to the old Groundhog Day theme.

Enjoyed the different ending this story could take. If you knew this was going to be your last day on earth, would you do anything different to change anything in your life?

The ending is perfect.

Beginning a little slow and a little difficult to go all out n but it definitely started to draw me in.

Not really that great

I was very excited to read this as a Reese book pick. It was not that good. It is very repetitive. There’s no development of the story why the day keeps repeating. The ending was a big let down and the author could have written a wonderful ending. It wasn’t a horrible book, but was not that good either.

A fantastical plot reinvented

A wonderful narrative about the importance of being present to the people we love. I did not want to stop listening.

Kept me engaged through the whole book

So many twists and turns! The characters were so well developed I felt like I knew them.