THIS TIME AROUND
by
Kimberly Packard
Time Travel Romance / Contemporary Women’s Fiction / Romantic Comedy
Publisher: Abalos Publishing
Date of Publication: June 11, 2024
Number of Pages: 286 pages
Scroll down for a Giveaway!
SYNOPSIS
Most of us would jump at a chance for a do-over of our teenage years…but what if our worst mistakes lead to our happily-ever-after?
Josie Gardner’s life revolves around her amazing children and her career. But, when her husband threatens to take her kids in their divorce, and the business she’s put most of her passion, time and money into building is at risk of failing, a panic attack shatters her grip on reality… and the present.
Josie wakes up in her teenage bedroom, thirty years in the past. She’s forced to relive her emotionally devastating senior year of high school — the year she cut her father out of her life, caused one of her best friends to sever ties, and turned away the boy she loved.
Determined to get back to her children in her own time, Josie tries to fix the mistakes she made, in the hope that righting wrongs will send her back to the present. But when tempted by her high school crush Josie faces the real possibility of losing her future for good.
Would you take a second chance for love…even if it meant losing everything?
CLICK TO PURCHASE
AMAZON | B&N | BOOKSHOP | APPLE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Packard is an award-winning author of women’s fiction.
When she isn’t writing, she can be found planning her next trip, asking her dog what’s in his mouth or curled up with a book. She resides in Texas with her husband Colby, a clever cat named Oliver and a precocious black lab named Tully.
Her debut novel, Phoenix, was awarded as Best General Fiction of 2013 by the Texas Association of Authors. She is also the author of a Christmas novella, The Crazy Yates, and the sequels to Phoenix, Pardon Falls and Prospera Pass, and her stand-alone titles Vortex, Dire’s Club and This Time Around. She was honored as one of the Top 10 Haute Young Authors by Southern Methodist University in 2019. Vortex was the 2019 winner of the Pencraft award in Women’s Fiction, and Dire’s Club, was awarded the 2021 General Fiction of the Year by the North Texas Book Festival.
Website ◆ Newsletter ◆ Instagram ◆ Facebook
Goodreads ◆ BookBub ◆ X/Twitter ◆ Amazon
ENTER TO WIN!
REVIEW
This was such an engaging read that I finished it in one sitting. I truly couldn’t put it down. For four hours, Ms. Packard entertained me with a story that should be implausible but I accepted it wholeheartedly without blinking an eye. No suspension of disbelief necessary. I was hooked from the highly relatable beginning until the totally satisfying ending.
Life is to be lived, not managed. Friends are to be cherished, not controlled.”
I liked all the characters in this story. From Josie to her kids Aubrey and Ben; her best friends Em and Sofia; her parents Patricia and Alan; her three geeks Stuart, Matthew, and Jake; and the love of her life Daniel. I even liked the not-so-sympathetic side characters — Peter the ex-husband and Ruby the ex-best friend–for example. They are all somehow real and familiar, similar to flesh and blood people I’ve met in my life.
Ms. Packard’s writing of Josie was superb. The author balanced the lead character’s forty-seven-year-old and seventeen-year-old selves amazingly well.
That’s the thing about life. It’s the sum total of the choices, the mistakes, the right calls that we make up until that moment. If you change once of those … it completely changes who you are. Who you become.”
This Time Around has many elements that please me as a reader — themes of family and friendship, thought-provoking ruminations and discussions, evocative situations that elicit an emotional response, massive character growth, and a sweet romance. I look forward to reading more of this series and this talented author’s work.
CLICK TO VISIT
THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY,
or visit the blogs directly:
06/11/24 | Ames for the Stars | Review |
06/12/24 | LSBBT Blog | Review |
06/13/24 | Book Fidelity | Review |
06/14/24 | StoreyBook Reviews | Review |
06/15/24 | Jennie Reads | Review |
06/16/24 | Boys’ Mom Reads | Review |
06/17/24 | The Plain-Spoken Pen | Review |
06/17/24 | The Real World According to Sam | Review |
06/18/24 | Carpe Diem Chronicles | Review |
06/18/24 | It’s Not All Gravy | Review |
06/19/24 | Reading by Moonlight | Review |
06/19/24 | Bibliotica | Review |
06/20/24 | Rox Burkey Blog | Review |
The links in the above schedule are general links and go to each blog’s home page only. After the tour, a direct links schedule will be provided so you can go directly to each tour post.
You must be logged in to post a comment.