In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

From the publisher: Where do you see yourself in five years?

Dannie Kohan lives her life by the numbers.

She is nothing like her lifelong best friend—the wild, whimsical, believes-in-fate Bella. Her meticulous planning seems to have paid off after she nails the most important job interview of her career and accepts her boyfriend’s marriage proposal in one fell swoop, falling asleep completely content.

But when she awakens, she’s suddenly in a different apartment, with a different ring on her finger, and beside a very different man. Dannie spends one hour exactly five years in the future before she wakes again in her own home on the brink of midnight—but it is one hour she cannot shake. In Five Years is an unforgettable love story, but it is not the one you’re expecting.

In Five Years is a beautiful story of love and friendship. Main character Dannie is incredibly Type A and has her perfect life all mapped out. On the same day she nails a job interview for a prestigious NYC law firm, she gets engaged to her boyfriend David, and everything looks like it’s going as planned. But fast forward four and a half years, Dannie and David are still not married when the man from her “dream” walks into their lives in the form of Dannie’s best friend, Bella’s, boyfriend. This sends Dannie into a tailspin that threatens to derail everything she’s worked for. 

Even though the book deals with some heavy topics, Serle still manages to keep it lighthearted and sweet. This is the perfect read for a winter day in the middle of a pandemic. It is especially perfect for anyone who has COVID-brain and feels like they can’t concentrate on anything for longer than 15 minutes right now. That has been me for the past 9 months, which has made reading a chore. But I read two thirds of In Five Years in one sitting. I could not put it down.

It’s hard to explain why I liked this book so much without giving away the twists and the ending. The main love story is, indeed, not the one you’re expecting, but it’s just the one I needed to read about right now, and that love story was my favorite part of the book. Also, even though it’s billed as “romance”, the book also has a mystery element, with the twists that occur for everyone throughout the book, and a bit of a fantasy/science fiction element, with Dannie’s “dream” of the future. I enjoyed the genre-blending and think it helped make the book a page-turner.

I loved Dannie and Bella’s relationship. It’s good to see strong female friendships, and this definitely had that. Dannie and Bella have been there for each other through everything since they were children, and there is A LOT that they have stuck by the other through. Check this out if you're looking for a story about empowering, enduring friendships.

There’s not much I didn’t like about this book. I don’t normally like stories that have sad endings, or even worse, incomplete or abrupt endings. But while In Five Years sort of has both of those, I actually loved the ending. It wraps up just enough to leave you satisfied and feeling very hopeful. There are a few secondary characters that I wish were more fleshed out. Dannie’s parents, for example, are talked about frequently but we get very little information or actual interaction with them. I think some more background or interaction with a few of these characters would have helped make the story and atmosphere stronger, but that is a minor critique. Overall, this is a great book if you’re looking for a fast read that is uplifting and captivating.

The Galesburg Public Library owns In Five Years as a print book. The ebook is also available on the Libby app and the Axis 360 app, and a downloadable audiobook is available on the Axis 360 app.

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

From the publisher: Just after the Second World War, in the small English village of Chawton, an unusual but like-minded group of people band together to attempt something remarkable. One hundred and fifty years ago, Chawton was the final home of Jane Austen. Now it's home to a few distant relatives and their diminishing estate. With the last bit of Austen's legacy threatened, a group of disparate individuals come together to preserve Jane Austen's home and legacy. These people could not be more different and yet they are united in their love for the works and words of Austen. As each of them endures their own quiet struggle with loss and trauma, some from the recent war, others from more distant tragedies, they rally together to create the Jane Austen Society.

I am a huge fan of Jane Austen so of course the premise of this novel appealed to me. Although there is a real Jane Austen Society this book does not tell its story. Author Jenner uses the formation of the Society as a device to introduce us to an eclectic group of characters of her own making. The author uses real places and things connected to Austen, but the people and the events in her novel are entirely fictional. Each has inner challenges, and each brings unique gifts to the Society.

The book had a slow and rocky start for me, but once I got to know the characters I became interested in their stories. Through their shared love of Jane Austen, they find strength and love (not all romantic) and a place in their small village. Despite the setting and time period, Jenner even manages to include a same sex couple in the small circle of friends. This is a debut novel, and I stumbled over a few odd sentences and passages, especially near the beginning. On the whole, however, it is a very assured debut.

I did find it odd that the Society members divide into two camps – Team Lizzie and Team Emma. What about Elinor and Anne? Humph. But there’s a lot here to touch any true Janeite. Recommended for lovers of historical fiction set in post-WWII England as well.

I read an advance reader copy of The Jane Austen Society. It will be published in May 2020 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa

The Travelling Cat Chronicles is a heartwarming yet melancholy tale narrated by Nana, a former stray cat now fortunate to live with a young man named Satoru. Nana used to sleep on the hood of Satoru’s silver van, until one day Nana was unlucky enough to be hit by a car. Satoru has had some rough times in his own life, including losing his parents at a young age, but he has a sweet and kind nature. Like most cats, Nana is independent and a bit irritable. They have five lovely years together before Satoru, for reasons he does not reveal immediately, sets out on a journey to find Nana a new home. They visit friends from Satoru’s childhood and college days, and we learn more about Satoru and Nana.

If you are a cat lover, this book will definitely give you all the feels. Nana’s voice as the narrator is amusing, and his relationship with the young man who saves him and takes him in is touching. It’s a short book you can read in a sitting or two. Be sure to have the box of tissues near by.

Recommended for fans of A Man Called Ove and The Charms of Arthur Pepper. I read an advance reader copy of The Travelling Cat Chronicles. It will be released in the U.S. on October 23 and will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

Publisher description: "When Gabriel Ash's wife and kids were kidnapped four years ago by Somali pirates, his life spiraled out of control. He left his job working for the British government and moved to a small town where he descended into near madness. But with the help of his dog, Patience, and his friendship with young police officer Hazel Best, his focus returned. So when he discovers that his wife is still alive, Ash is once again filled with hope and fear. Hope that he has another chance to find her and their two young sons; fear that, in trying, he may bring about their deaths."

One thing I like about Jo Bannister is that she excels at drawing emotional relationships between members of the opposite sex who are not romantic pairs. This is brilliantly displayed in Desperate Measures, the third book in the Gabriel Ash/Hazel Best series.

Desperate Measures is full of plot twists, okay, not all entirely plausible, but the story kept me guessing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. At one point I actually had to skip ahead because something happened that I both believed and could not believe.

I love the character of Gabriel Ash, the depiction of his struggle to cope with his PTSD, and his ability to hear his white lurcher Patience speak. (Patience is a great character too.) I also like that Gabriel is clever and intelligent but not a James Bond type. ("He had never been licensed to kill. He'd never been licensed to shout loudly or carry a pointed stick. He was a desk jockey - always had been, always would have been until he took his pension and the CBE that went with it. ... He was the kind of man who apologized to people who bumped into him in shop doorways." (p. 216))

If you like English police procedurals with lots of character development, I recommend all of Jo Bannister's series. If you also  are drawn to depictions of characters with PTSD, so much the better as far as the Gabriel Ash/Hazel Best series goes. Can't wait for the next book in the series!

The Galesburg Public Library has many books by Jo Bannister in multiple formats. The first book in the Gabriel Ash/Hazel Best series is Deadly Virtues.