Library Journal
Lochen’s debut novel takes déj? vu to an extreme as 26-year-old Olive Watson wakes up on New Year’s Day to find herself a year younger, still in bed with her ex-boyfriend, and faced with the sudden realization that she is being forced to take a second stab at the year 2011. Armed with a promiscuous best friend, a kindhearted (yet slightly jaded) boyfriend, and a freshly engaged mother, Olive must maneuver through the situations and decisions that led to 2011 being a complete disaster the first time around. But when she meets Sherry Witan, a fellow repeater, Olive finds herself fixing more than just her own mistakes as their friendship develops in the most unlikely of places.
Verdict While this title is similar to the time loop phenomenon of the film Groundhog Day and a handful of sf titles (Ken Grimwood’s Replay; Richard Lupoff’s 12:01 PM), Lochen’s twist on the theme, with relationships taking center stage, makes this a perfect light summer read for chick lit lovers and book clubs.—Chelsie Harris, San Diego Cty. Lib.
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Kirkus Reviews
After living one of the worst years of her life, nurse Olive Watson goes to sleep on New Year's Eve 2011...and wakes up on New Year's Day 2011, with the chance to make different choices. 2011 was not a good year for Olive. She suffered heartbreaking losses at her job as an intensive care nurse; lost her boyfriend, Phil, after cheating on him; alienated her best friend in the messy aftermath of the breakup; and handled her widowed mother's new love affair poorly. So when she goes to bed, alone and lonely, on Dec. 31, 2011, and wakes up, miraculously, in Phil's bed on Jan. 1, 2011, she realizes immediately it's a gift from the universe, a chance to right the wrongs of the past. Finding an acquaintance who has experienced the same time oddity at first makes her feel reassured, until she understands that the woman has her own issues and not much good advice. Moving forward, Olive realizes that even if no one else remembers the past year, she does, and making choices as if she hadn't betrayed Phil, disappointed Kerrigan or made a vast ocean of mistakes doesn't take away the guilt or self-loathing from those actions. And sometimes, making different choices allows other people to make different choices too, with surprising and stressful consequences. An intriguing premise and some surprising twists make this an engaging, satisfying read that explores friendship, love and who we really are when it truly matters. A debut novel that offers a fascinating glimpse into one woman's opportunity to rewrite her past and change her future.
