I absolutely loved The Love of My Other Life by CJ Connolly. It’s a romantic comedy with a unique twist, and it should be at the top of your TBR list.
Are we as happy as we can be in our present lives? Is there a possibility that there is more than one type of happiness out there for us? Are some things inevitable, they just may occur under different circumstances in our lives?
The author addresses all of these questions and more through Josie. After a bike accident, she wakes up in a different life from the one she was in before the accident.
It’s still her life – she’s still Josie – but she is not the same Josie.
The author wisely breaks the plot up into sections between Josie and…well, Josie. And then goes back to…Josie before switching to Josie.
That may sound a bit confusing. It all makes sense in the context of the book as you read it. The sections have clear headings so it is easy to know whose timeline you’re in.
I also like how the first part of the book lays all of the groundwork before the author switches to the alternate timeline. It allows the reader to see things that Josie misses and sheds light on Josie’s choices.
The other characters in the book are interesting and contribute appropriately It is not too much. I especially like Rob. He is a stalwart and steady presence. But his revelations toward the end as everything comes to a head are eye-opening.
They put all of Josie’s choices under new scrutiny, which brings the story to a whole new depth of feeling.
Honestly, what I liked best about the book (aside from it being thoroughly engaging) were the questions that it asked and the points that it made about one’s life.
Are you happy because you tell yourself you are? Do you make your own happiness? What is contentment and how do you find it? Is it a “path not taken?” Or is it a “path not taken until it is time to take it?”
We all have those moments that we can look back on and see as turning points in our lives. But what is inevitable, and how do we know that everything that happens isn’t supposed to happen anyway – just on a different time schedule?
I know this review asks a lot of questions, but I loved how The Love of My Other Life was just THAT thought-provoking while still being an entertaining rom-com.
If you are looking for a solid book to round out your beach reads for the summer, look no further than this latest from CJ Connolly.
Twitter: cjconnollybooks
Author Bio
CJ Connolly is a writer based in Vancouver, Canada, but hailing originally from the UK. By day, CJ has a career in communications and journalism, with two decades of editing, writing, and marketing experience in the Vancouver and London media and tech industries.
She has also been the host of a real estate-focused talk radio show and has been seen many times reporting on TV and speaking on conference panels.
In her free time – in addition to writing contemporary romance novels – CJ is passionate about singing and is a member of a vocal group in Vancouver. Although she is happily child-free, the great loves of CJ’s life are her young nephews Oscar and Felix, who live much too far away in Munich, Germany.
Thank you so much for this lovely review and for taking part in the tour x