Customer Reviews

Time of My Life (Basic)

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This book wowed me in a way that I haven't been wowed in years. I read a lot, and don't say that lightly. What's so great about this book? So many things. At first it seems very high concept, that a woman who seems to have it all, slips back in time after a relaxing massage and then has the chance to reconsider choices made earlier.

So, you might expect a light and fluffy read like a Sophie Kinsella story. Not that there's anything wrong with that, as I enjoy her books too. This is not light and fluffy. The high concept falls by the wayside as we get into the real meat of this story, looking at what's most important in one's life and how every action has a ripple effect on the lives of others.

This books flows along like a fast moving current, pulling the reader through. I don't remember the last time I raced through a book so quickly, feeling such a sense of urgency to know what would happen next, yet enjoying the ride so much too. I think many people will relate to different moments and scenes in this story, all of which feel very real and not at all romanticized. There were a few things that felt a bit too predictable, but that's a minor quibble. Overall, this was a satisfying story, and one that stayed with me so much that I've raved about it to a handful of people already.

Prediction, this is the kind of book that makes an author 'break out'. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she hits the New York Times list and stays there for awhile, as I expect word of mouth on this to be very strong.

Final word...if you liked Emily Giffin's novels, Something Borrowed, Something Blue and her most recent one Love the One you're With, you'll enjoy this book.

Time of My Life may be initially thought of, chosen and read for its "what if" fantasy, yet the story is actually grounded in diverse and discomforting universal issues that are not limited to marrying the right man. Writing in a strong, confident and smart voice, Allison Winn Scotch is in total control of her protagonist's indecisiveness and this is what gives the book a well-earned reality check mark. Whatever time of life you may be in, this novel is a reminder that the past holds the lure of potential but the present is where all things are created possible for the future. A most entertaining and thoughtful read, you'll enjoy the escape into second chances

Jill doesn't want to clean up her one year old's mess in the SUV. She'd rather drive around with the smell of rancid milk. Jill just doesn't know what she wants. Ex-boyfriend Jack is getting married. How does that make her feel? How should it make her feel? Jill wonders all this, amid tidbits about her current life- the nanny, the Range Rover, the big house, Pilates classes... then she goes to the masseuse.

Naughty Garland tries to unblock her chi. And away Jill goes into July 2000.....

Jill tries to navegate through 2000 the second time around. She can be a whiz at her job because she's already promoted successful campaigns the first time. She starts to see her boyfriend, Jack, in a new light.

She starts to interact differently with every special person in her life. Her mom, who abandoned the family 20 years ago; her dad, who tried his best to adjust to life without mother; Megan, who dies in a tragic car accident in LA five years later; Josie, the boss who is supposed to love her family in 2007.

Jill also has time to share with us about how she handled 2000 the first, how she sees things in 2007, and what she is going to do in 2000 the second time. As she waits for this timewrap to end, she changes the outcome of her life. She also begins to look within to see that the boredom she feels doesn't have to do with her circumstances, but with herself.

It's past New Years 2001 when Jill finally decides to leave 2000. The ending is like a really bad Twilight Zone. It's not a happy ending at all. And it's not weirdly creepy, "make you think" like a good Twilight Zone. It oodles with cheese and pink frosting, and is as shallow as most chick lit books.

Jill Westfield is a very shallow, unlikeable character. Her epiphanies are not anything worthy of a new philosophy textbook. And that is why the book gets three stars from me.

I read Time of My Life while on vacation and I had to keep sneaking away to read because I HAD to finish it! It's one of those books you cannot put down because you're dying to find out what happens next.

I was expecting the book to have alternating chapters of the then and the now, but most of it does take place in the THEN. While I was tearing through the pages of Time of My Life I kept thinking, "This so has to be made into a movie!" It reads just like a movie on the big screen as it unfolds before your eyes.

Allison Winn Scotch's characters are so real, the plot so believable, you may just be making an appointment to get your chi unblocked very soon as well! (Read the first chapter and you'll know what I mean!)

I was intrigued by the book cover description and picked up this book (at the local library, thank goodness) in hopes that it would be a fun read. As a SAHM mom myself, I think that I might be in the minority here in that I don't feel as if I missed out on anything once I married and had my two kids. Sometimes I'm curious as to what would have happened had I chosen another road, but I don't obsess over it. So it REALLY bothered me that Jillian's attitude toward her husband and child was so filled with resentment and near-disgust at times. Her whining about the choices she made were soooo tiring, and the repetition of very similar events happening over and over again, i.e., running into Henry a zillion times: yeah, we GET that they were fated to be together; Jack's constant choosing to bend to his mother's wishes rather than Jillian's (and her still thinking that he might have been the one that got away! What's up with that!?) that I almost stopped reading at several points in the book. I even skipped pages at a time in order to hasten the process. However, it's always difficult for me to give up on a book, so I plodded on in hopes the end result would be worth it. Sigh.

This was my first book by the author, and unless I'm desperate for a book at some point in the future it will probably be my last.

I bought this book because of the reviews, but I should've known better. I would rather be able to look inside the book and read a few pages before I make my decision to buy it. This book started off ok but eventually the author just kept rewriting the same thing over & over again. When I finished it I was thoroughly disappointed with the ending & for wasting my time reading the book in the first place.

I wanted to love this book. i REALLY wanted to love this book. But i can't decide if the reason why I didn't love it so much is because of the book itself, or because it wasn't what i was expecting. You read the back cover and assume it'll be a fluffy chick-lit novel (that's what i thought) but in so many ways, it turned out to be much more than that.

While the main character was very well developed and you just GET it, i couldn't however get over her constant whining and complaining. Her whining just made her seem like an ungrateful, selfish brat. It really annoyed me. And while it wasn't the longest book i've ever read, at times it sure did feel like it. She went on and on about her daughter and her mother just a liiiiiiiittle bit too much. It got way too repetitive.

SHe just never seemed to be happy with what she had. She was living a seemingly perfect life and was looking back and thinking about her what ifs... i get it i really do... we all have those moments.... then when she had her chance to RE-LIVE her life and answer those questions, she was STILL thinking about her what ifs and reminiscing about the life that she had rather than living through her chance proactively. ANd i would have loved to see more interaction with Jackson and/or Henry.

I don't know. maybe it was just me, but i really didn't 'get' the book on a whole. i did make some of the connections that the author had tried to point out to us such as Jillian's own life and that of her mother's, but i think it could have been done a lot better. OH and also the use of the F-bomb on every other page kind of turned me off. Cursing doesn't necessarily turn me off, but i'd appreciate it if your use of the word was necessary to convey a tone... the author's use was just vulgar altogether and thrown in there at awkward and unnecessary times.

I know my review may seem on the negative side, there were aspects of it that i appreciated. It was at times engaging and interesting. I had grown to know Jillian and wanted to see her grow up and find her happy ending. It wasn't the best book i've ever read, nor was it the worst. It was the first book i've read by this author, and i would probably pick up another one.

If you've ever wondered what could have been if you took a different path in life then this is the book for you. It combines humor and heart and gives the reader the chance to reflect on their own life and choices. The characters feel real and multi-dimensional. If you want a book that can keep you up late so you can read just one more chapter- then be sure to grab this one.

I love the plot of this book but had a hard time "going with it." The main character seems to have little remorse about leaving behind her old life, her child, etc., and I just couldn't identify with that part. It made her character less believable. It was easy enough to read but a week after finishing, I still can't remember how it ended. Sorry!!!

The book is entertaining but suffers from an overuse of the word "literal." Only half-way through and it's been used 5 times already. What happened with the editing? I need a literal drink.