Madeline
Once again, This Time Next Year was a book that I needed to accept as it was and once I did, I was able to relax and enjoy it. The strange coincidence that these two people were meant to be together since birth story line is the biggest difference to other chick lit novels I have read. But it did not make this book different enough from the other similar books out there. I needed to accept that it was going to be sappy, it was going to be predictable, and to just enjoy the ride and accept This Time Next Year as it was. Once I did that, I was able to enjoy it for the book it was.
The Premise of This Time Next Year
Minnie has bad luck all her life. She particularly has bad luck on her birthday every year, which also happens to be New Years Day. Her bad luck is made apparent when she meets Quinn on their birthday. Although Quinn is a stranger, she has been made aware of who Quinn was from birth. This is the same Quinn who stole her title of “first born child in the year 1990” in London. This is the same Quinn who stole the reward money for having this title. And this is the same Quinn who her mother had told her that stole this coveted title from her for her whole life.
Once Minnie and Quinn cross paths as young adults, the rest of the story is the predictable story of how luck is what you make of it. Since Minnie grew up believing she was unlucky, she was. They finally find themselves in an unlikely friendship that may go to the next level beyond friends. And to add the romance element, the friendship slowly elevates to a romantic level, these are also two people who are meant to be together since birth. What else can be expected from a Chick Lit novel?
The Predictability
When reading about any heterosexual male and female main characters in any light novel targeted at women of a certain age, everyone knows what is going to happen by the end of the book. There will be plenty of hurdles, they will have a falling out somewhere in the middle, but in the end they will persevere and end up together. Usually, these hurdles include a seemingly innocent secret that comes out to ruin the relationship, like it does in this book.
Any other hurdles, the main hurdle or otherwise, will be solved by the end and the end will be tied in a neat bow, leaving the reader satisfied. In this story, the main storyline hurdle is Minnie’s struggle to create a non profit pie making business. Her general bad luck, slipping, tripping, being ditched, and getting locked in bathrooms, is another hurdle that Minnie must overcome. Given those hints, anyone who has ever read a chick lit novel can predict how this story ends.
Final Thoughts
Like many of the other chick lit books I have read and written about, this book needs to be accepted as the foreseen storyline that it is. For anyone who has read a light book about two people and their relationship, this book will be predictable and it will end up in a gooey love story. Once it has been accepted that this is the kind of book this is, the book becomes an enjoyable experience for a light read. Give it a chance and accept it for what it is and you also might just enjoy the read.
