*Spoiler Alert where I don’t reveal the secret that causes regret*

also

*God Alert*

31688122We all make mistakes, do things we regret. But sometimes, the mistake is so big that the regret chips away at you on a daily basis. What ifs and if onlys circle through your head like a broken record, driving you crazy. You feel as if there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for just one chance to go back and do things different.
What if you did get the opportunity? Would you take it?


Hi, my name is Sara. I’m in my fourth year of college and it’s midterms week – the week before Winter Break…and two weeks before the fourth anniversary of my big screw-up. It’s Monday, my Sociology instructor isn’t here, and taking his place is a middle aged sub who introduces herself as Beatrice Bomgarten. She’s a little odd, but she isn’t giving us a test, so it’s cool. Instead, she turns on CNN, and a breaking news story – and that’s where shit gets weird.
Next thing I know, I’m waking up in my old bedroom, back in my senior year of high school…two weeks before I made the choice that impacted the rest of my life. Only, in my head, I’m still a twenty-two year old college student with all my memories intact. I don’t know how it happened, but I’m being given a chance for a do-over, an opportunity to turn back time and change the past. God, I hope I don’t screw it up.

OK… so… I bet you’re all thinking what screw-up is our Sara regretting for 4 years, day after day after day… I did too and that’s why I accepted a copy of this book directly from the author for an honest review.We find out about the regretful actions quite early on. I really don’t want to give anything else away, but some readers may find it a dark, touchy subject. HEA though, hey!

If I Could Turn Back Time is a quick reading novella and we find out about the regretful actions early on. Essentially it was a really good read, it progressed at a good pace and balanced out the sad with the well deserved HEA ending. We meet Sara’s BF who dies but then doesn’t. We meet Sara’s mom who has a serious bone to pick with the BF’s mom (men, natürlich!) We meet Sara’s brother who has substance misuse issues and at a glimpse I got a good giggle thanks to a once off character from Sara’s class. Every classroom has a chancer, after all. Despite the shortness of the story it was easy to connect with characters fully.

So, there I am, reading at what is essentially a time travel story where Sara gets a chance to undo what she’s done and strike through the past 4 years of her sorrowful life. Or that we’re dealing with a premonition through a dream kind of scenario.

Enter 80-something% of the book and I find out that the opportunity is delivered by God. Her. God. Not Him. Her! That was a nice touch, I guess… There was no fuss from the characters as they figured out that She had had a hand in helping change the course of… *counting*… 4 lives! I guess the only way I can explain no fuss or gasps or “Sara, you’re crazy” reactions from other characters is simply because the whole cast are God-fearing people and accept the turn of events at face value. Granted, Sara does come with some solid proof as well.. but.. psst! *whispers* It can only happen in books!

Sure, a part of my mind probably expected a funky TV remote to help Sara time travel, yet the logical part of my mind tells me I should have seen God’s involvement straight off the bat because who else would have the powers? And now, I’m sitting here reading that last sentence, because ‘logical’ and ‘God’, in my mind and in all honesty, do not mix together. At all. Not saying religion immediately discounts logic.

Ah, foot, step, bucket.

Don’t be angry. I’m just looking at it from my fog covered hilltop. Sorry folks, as a peasant Estonian, my god is Work. And myself, as my itty bitty satanic/pagan side of my conscience tells me. I do need to mention that this book will not take you on a conversion journey. So, that helped! It had more of that ‘Morgan Freeman acting as God’ feeling.

So, even though I’m not down with The Good Lord, I need to stay honest and true and open minded. Just because there’s a religious aspect to the novella doesn’t mean I automatically have to rate it down. That would make me a massive a-hole. Instead, I am going to give this little creation 3 stars. I liked it.

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