Book Club #1 This Time Next Year

[SoManyLiars]

Well, a lot of thought went into the premise of the book, but a lot of it seemed a bit too far-fetched and silly to me.

The main characters were interesting, but it seemed that almost all of them had some kind of personality transplant in the second half of the book which stretched my credibility a bit too far.

Yeah, gardening is the miracle cure for serious mental health problems.

I didn't know people wild swam in London, so that was interesting!

The whole 2020 thing threw me, I kept on thinking - what about the virus? But the author explains it in the afterword.

I enjoyed it, even though it is not really my genre. I prefer a good murder.

 

[50sGirl]

Very cliche, very predictable but very enjoyable. A nice easy read to kick of my 2021 reading challenge.
I too had a little tear at Leila’s wedding speech and did laugh out loud a few times during the conversations between Minnie & her colleagues/friends.




Quinn wasn’t in India with Lucy, it was with one of his other girlfriends that were referenced (I can’t remember which one)

Ah, that explains it then!

 

[OliviaPope]

It was an easy read - something would read on a beach holiday.

I could see it being made in to a romcom film, had a lot of Bridget Jones/ Mark Darcy vibes.

This Time Next year I will have forgotten all about it.

 

[Geranium]

I have to say I didn’t love it. But I am more of a crime/thriller/mystery person. I just felt it was so formulaic. Wacky best friend -tick. Current boyfriend a dick - tick. Heroine running her own business cooking (it’s usually something domestic or arty, I long for a heroine who runs a garage or a construction company or something ) - tick. However I really liked some of the characters and they did develop. It made a change to read something more lighthearted and uplifting than my usual genre, which is the good thing about a book group - it gets you out of a reading rut.

 

[ManicMayz]

I found it a fun easy read. I was hoping Minnie would stay single. Quinn had way too many issues for my liking! I liked this little note at the end! "Books free us from isolation"

 

[prinnygrace]

I found it a fun easy read. I was hoping Minnie would stay single. Quinn had way too many issues for my liking! I liked this little note at the end! "Books free us from isolation"

I don’t know why the one player stuff gets me so emotional I think lockdown is getting to me

 

[Geranium]

I found it a fun easy read. I was hoping Minnie would stay single. Quinn had way too many issues for my liking! I liked this little note at the end! "Books free us from isolation"

I’m so glad you mentioned this, I forgot to in my comment. It actually made me a bit emotional. Reading is a huge part of my life and it does help get through lockdown. Which is why I’m so glad we are having this book club!

 

[eucalyptus]

I don't know how many people follow the Niomi Smart thread but I was imagining Quinn as Joe Woodward for most of the book and then the chapter where he's in India with a vapid girlfriend obsessed with taking photos of herself was just *chefs kiss*

 

[Funnifing71]

Like others have said it was a likeable easy read but nothing original to stand out from other books in this genre. I’d actually forgotten i’d read it until I saw the notification that this thread had opened. There were a few parts I found unbelievable.. being locked in a club toilet all night.. refusing to name your child with a family name because a stranger named theirs the same.. the whole flashmob proposal scene but Leila’s wedding part was well written.

 

[50sGirl]

Also, there is no way the first baby born in 1990 would win £50k.
The first baby of 2000, perhaps but not 1990. (But obviously that wouldn’t fit the ages of the characters)

 

[Hodgies]

It was fluff, I didn't get irritated by it or cringe like I often do when reading this kind of book so I enjoyed it but I certainly wouldn't go back and read it again. Felt there were so many chick lit clichés going on you could predict exactly how it was going to finish up.

 

[iShihTzunot]

Exactly! It was like the hinted at ideas but never went into detail about them but then went into detail about stuff that didn't really end? Like Quinn went with her to help her with her pies and realised she was doing good for the community so he bought pies for his business or whatever to support her which was great then the business closed anyway which was fine, but they never went near it again? Like what was the whole point of that?

I also didn’t understand why her Dad didn’t pipe up and offer to sell his precious clocks BEFORE they folded the business and sold everything! Obviously I get that the business failing and everything that happened after needed to happen so she could blossom into that witch but still doesn’t make sense.

Defo a holiday/isolation read lol

 

[birdiefly246]

I thought there was a bit about her dying her hair blonde before going off to youth club?

she doesn’t actually mention kissing anyone though which I know is like not the point but I feel like given that we were constantly bombarded with how insecure Minnie was and how she mentions being bullied as a teen, you’d think she’d have mentioned that as something exciting that happened. She doesn’t even bring it up in her 30 year old life

I also didn’t understand why her Dad didn’t pipe up and offer to sell his precious clocks BEFORE they folded the business and sold everything! Obviously I get that the business failing and everything that happened after needed to happen so she could blossom into that witch but still doesn’t make sense.

Defo a holiday/isolation read lol

exactly! And the clock was already fixed so it’s not like he was working on fixing it when her business folded

 

[jharpz]

Really enjoyed it and was a nice easy read. Anyone else get a major Me Before You vibe? I wonder was Jojo Moyes an inspiration for Sophie Cousens?
Enjoyed Minnie’s eclectic group of friends and as someone else posted, would like to have read more about Laila. I am a sucker for flashback chapters so they appealed to me greatly.
Hated Greg. Who doesn’t bother to go looking for their girlfriend in a club or send someone to the loos to find them?
Hated Quinn at the beginning but when Tara was introduced post birth story, I knew instantly where his story was going and warmed to him.
First half the story seemed to drag and not flow or something? But the second half felt like a whirlwind.
Overall an enjoyable read and I’ve recommended it to a few friends as a nice easy read.

 

[Niknak]

An easy read, but didn't overly enjoy it.

It reminded me slightly of One Day by David Nicholls, but the lead characters of This Time Next Year were neither likeable nor unlikeable - I felt indifferent to both Minnie and Quinn. I don't want to give spoilers of One Day away, so won't go into any more detail.

Minnie's sudden confidence transplant was unrealistic for a girl who took months to dump horrible Greg.

I dislike when a fairly minor character is over-described just to make a very small part of the plot work. Bev's anxiety regarding the environment was detailed throughout, yet the only real relevance to the plot was Minnie passing Quinn's office whilst waiting for the printing on the plastic bottle. It felt like a lot of effort and description was put into Bev for that particular coincidence.

And I'm glad Tara won the £50k. After putting up with Connie during labour, she deserved it

 

[at-the-disco]

i found this book extremely cringey but the writer is amazing! i vividly could picture every scene, and it made me feel so much comfort. in fact it makes me want to live in london! definite me beforeyou vibes. overall i enjoyed it but i am an avid thriller/mystery reader so it was very different for me.

greg is my worst nightmare in a man. why did she even begin to date him. the puns, urgh

 

[noseybirdxo]

I actually read this in December before it was announced for book club and I really loved it. I had been in a bit of a rut trying to pick up a new book and it had been the exact book I’d needed to read at that moment. I just enjoyed it, I loved that we saw all the different new years eves and the contrast between Minnie and Quinn and how they crossed over in some of them. I could picture everything in my head so easily and know that I would love it as a film without a doubt haha! It was the perfect cheesy, light read that I needed. I love stuff like this so I fly through them and read it in like a day or two

 

[Ceebee]

So, this isn't my usual type of book but I thought this book was pretty enjoyable. Not a fast-paced page turner that kept me guessing but a slow read, that I'd pick up when I had nothing else to do.

I felt quite frustrated with Minnie as I found her selfish, and too wrapped up in her own troubles to notice the changes in those around her at times. Quinn was right, she did have a chip on her shoulder and it grated at me. Equally, commitment-phobe Quinn also got on my nerves; You know she's 'The One's, be brave, take the risk.

I won't keep harping on as I'll be here all night! Overall, I enjoyed this book, it didn't capture my interest but it did keep me company when I needed it. I'd try another book from Sophie Cousens too.

 

[Grabspopcorn]

6/10

It's a light easy going read and a nice distraction from real life!

Minnie is described as this quirky clumsy unlucky girl who gets herself into bizarre situations, so I thought we would get some laugh out loud moments, a bit like nick spalding books as I enjoy those, but I didn't get much emotion from this book.

I wasn't invested in the main characters at all really, it was nice that everyone had a positive character arc, but my god aren't Minnie and Quinn the most bland people ever?! Their whole relationship was just will they won't they, and oh Quinn thinks he's a troubled soul who keeps blowing hot and cold. There was no interesting twist at the end, I hadn't realised that the big reveal was that they has previously kissed as teenagers when Minnie was blonde!

I really liked Tara and Connie becoming friends, even if it seemed a bit far fetched how all of a sudden Connie had a personality transplant from a bit of gardening, no therapy needed.

It was interesting to read about how someone's severe anxiety/agoraphobia affects those around you, I thought it was dealt with in a sensitive way and it made me think and reflect about how my own anxiety impacts my partner on its worst days.

Also, why did her dad let her business fold before giving her money from selling the clocks??

Overall it was nice, but nice is a bit of an empty way to describe something, but I literally can't think of anytbing else to describe it it's nice. Sweet? And a bit cringey. A good holiday read.

 

[Isa Drennan]

Reminded me of Bridget Jones too. Good escapism, my only dislike was Quinn being a businessman with a "tragic" past

Why does every successful businessman in a book or film have to have a tragic past? 50 shades of grey is another example, sometimes you can have a businessman male character without needing to create a traumatic backstory before their rise to success