Thursday 13 April 2023

#Blogtour Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major

 It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Maybe Next Time by Cesca Major.

About the Author

Cesca Major is a novelist and screenwriter. She runs writing retreats and coaching throughout the year, is a mentor for Black Girl Writers and has taught creative writing for Jericho Writers and Henley School of Art. She blogs and vlogs about the writing process on her social channels.

Cesca has written under pseudonyms in other genres and has been nominated for both the RNA’s Romantic Comedy Award and the CWA Gold Dagger Award. She lives in Berkshire with her husband, son and twin girls. Follow @CescaMajor onTwitter

About the book

Even the greatest love stories end. But what if this one didn’t have to? Emma is having the worst day of her life. Frustrating. Chaotic. And the only person who could make it better is gone by the end of the day.

Yet even worse than all of that: Emma keeps waking up to the same day, over and over again. But what if this is a sign things could be different? Can Emma change the heartbreaking end to this love story?

Review

Emma is caught up in the daily pressures of life, and struggling to maintain work life balance. Her commitment to a tradition she has with her husband has become less of a priority over the years, which upsets him. If only she knew she is about to relive the same day over and over again. At first she is convinced that fixing the tragedy that occurs is the way forward, until realises that her entire family is waiting to implode.

It's a hard one to pin to a genre, perhaps because certain elements fit in multiple ones depending on how you view the experience of Emma. A touch of literary fiction, an essence of dark magical realism in the form of the universe requesting its payment for the ferryman, and yet it is simultaneously also a contemporary picture of family life, relationships and love in our era.

It's the kind of work you find yourself watching in screen form after someone has turned it into a visual lesson on compassion, morality, self-exploration of expectations and the frustration about the lack of control we have in life, then again the groundhog certainty of death could be presented with a darker more sinister face.

I really enjoyed the way the author combines the futility and powerlessness of the Butterfly Effect with determination to do better and save the lives of those around her. Just a small alteration here, a minor change there, with the same result over and over again. 

It's also equally and perhaps more importantly about being more aware that time with loved ones is often a fleeting moment, ergo a reminder to try and do better. 

Buy Maybe Next Time at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Harper Fiction | Hardback | £14.99 | pub date  30 March 2023 | eBook and Audio. Buy at Amazon com.

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