While the premise of a repeat year & the chance to right wrongs & fix mistakes is what drew me in, I ultimately found the book a bit whiny & drawn out & the main character did so much cyclical thinking that led to me getting bored with the there about 3/4ths of the way through. My favorite parts of the book were that the main character is an ICU nurse living in Madison (both true for me too) and not really much about the theme or how it was written. It's an alright book but I wouldn't read again or strongly push anyone else to read it. Reviewed by RobinBook provided by Book Sparks PR for reviewReview originally posted at Romancing the BookIf I were given the chance to go back to the beginning of the year for a do over I would love to be able to choose the year that I wanted to do over. But for Olive she wasn’t given a chance to choose she woke up in the previous year. I loved ‘Groundhog Day’ so for me this light read was a really fun way to start my summer reading with. The biggest question is if given the chance to change the year; how do you stop yourself from making the same mistakes all over again? My question is what effect does the repeat and correcting the changes have on the future of not only your life but those around you because after all they are involved also.Olive finds that she needs to focus on her relationships. Her boyfriend Phil…let’s just say she blew it causing a big break-up. She needs to figure out how to fix the problem. Then there is her best friend Kerrigan. It is hard enough to find good friends let alone a best friend. Wrecking that relationship leaves you all alone. To add to her continued heartache her dad dies. I really liked the way grief was dealt with in the whole circumference of the story. Mom decides to re-marry and Olive finds a way to alienate her mom because she doesn’t like the guy she marries. So for Olive a repeat sounds perfect but sometimes rethinking things and changing them even the slightest tends to alter the outcome of our lives. Had I done this instead of that I wouldn’t have or be where I am today kind of thing.Olive learns that her mom’s neighbor Sherry Witan has had repeat years. With this in common they bond, form an unlikely friendship finding out that what they share is more than just the experience of a repeat year.Ms. Lochen writes the story in such a simple way that it just flows. Which in turn has a way of keeping it (the story and the reader) going and reading in a nice way. The strong storyline adds depth to her writing as do the characters; showing that each one has meaning and purpose in Olive’s life. She wrote as if she herself experienced a repeat year. It wasn’t written so far out there that you would think it was a scene from the ‘Twilight Zone’ or that perhaps aliens might have been involved. She made it seem real. I could picture it actually happening.This story is a nice light read that keeps you thinking about things till the very end. A great read to pack in your things for the beach or maybe just staying at home. Whatever you have planned this summer you might want to pick up your copy of Ms. Lochen book The Repeat Year and find out for yourself that everyone is human and we all make mistakes. It was kind of fun to think about what you would do to change the year if anything.
Great story about all the "what if's" but not told in a predictable way.
—Apikz
I enjoyed this book. It was a fast read.
—Bubble
Review to be revised!
—gpacheco
