If I Could Turn Back Time

On her 38th birthday, finding her life vastly different from what she thought it would be, Ramie takes a drunken dive off a yacht--and ends up back in high school, 18 years old again. Is this her chance find out everything that could have been? Ramie spends the majority of the audiobook wondering about that very question, and that focus leaves Orlagh Cassidy with little to offer in her narration. Ramie talks a lot about her high school boyfriend, but that hopeful note is overshadowed by the character's grief over her father's unexpected death. Cassidy does shine when she's given the chance to provide some depth to Ramie's musings or to take on a new character. Added to the story's weaknesses are the distracting sounds of the narrator's breathing. Overall, this story about loving the life you have leaves a bit to be desired. S.B.T. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

November 15, 2015

Harbison (Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger) is back with a poignant chick lit novel enhanced with a touch of fantasy. Thirty-seven-year-old financier Ramie Phillips is partying on a yacht with friends when she hits her head while diving. She wakes up in her suburban bedroom during the week of her high school graduation and 18th birthday. Marveling at being back in her younger body but with foreknowledge of upcoming events, she tries to change things. Whether she can and how these results turn out after she wakes up in the hospital from a coma give an interesting philosophical turn to an otherwise breezy beach read. The amusing narration by Orlagh Cassidy brings this tale--a query about the past and if we should change it even if we could--to life. VERDICT Recommended for all Harbison fans and lovers of chick lit that comes with a dash of introspection. ["Harbison delivers a worthy read": LJ 6/15/15 review of the St. Martin's hc.]--David Faucheux, Lafayette, LA

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