Love and Other Paradoxes

December 1, 2024

In 2005, dabbling poet Joe Greene is in a rut studying at Cambridge. His parents in Scotland are quite supportive, but Joe feels like he is just treading water, wondering if he will ever make an impact on the world. He begins to notice a few odd things around town, including small groups of people who appear to be tourists, with their attention trained on him. After getting coffee and having a bizarre encounter with a barista named Esi, Joe learns that he will become a noted poet in the future whose love affair with a famous actress will inspire critically acclaimed work. Esi is actually part of that tourist group that is following Joe, on a time-travel trip to observe him in his own era. She is there for her own reasons, though, and falling for Joe throws an unexpected wrench in her plans. Joe, overwhelmed and relieved at his future success, scrambles to ensure that it actually comes to pass. Silvey's (Meet Me in Another Life) novel has an interesting premise but offers an underwhelming resolution. VERDICT Suggest to fans of unique time-travel romances.--Nicole J. Suarez

Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2025
Joe Greene only wants one thing in life, to be a great poet. A student at Cambridge, he has yet to achieve his literary goal, a postponement he attributes to the fact that he has never truly been in love. Then one day Joe unexpectedly bumps into Esi Campbell, a young woman who is part of a time-traveling group of tourists from the future. Esi has proof that Joe will become a poet rivaling Shakespeare in fame once he meets his literary muse, an actress named Diana Dartnell. Esi is happy to help Joe capture Diana's affections, but in truth she has a different motive for visiting the past. She wants to stop an event that will impact her own future. Writing with a divinely dry sense of wit and plenty of cheeky charm, Silvey (Meet Me in Another Life, 2021) dazzles in this ingeniously inventive romantic tale that perfectly captures the dreamy academic appeal of Cambridge and the infinite power of love to inspire artistic creativity.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Starred review from March 15, 2025
In this time-bending rom-com, an aspiring poet gets a glimpse of his future. Joe Greene is an average student at Cambridge in 2005, struggling through his philosophy degree, dealing with the antics of his roommate, Rob, and worrying about his future. An award-winning writer as a teen in rural Scotland, Joe hasn't completed a single poem since arriving at college, and with his all-important third year looming, he's not sure he'll ever become one of the world's great writers. But when Joe meets Esi Campbell at a local coffee shop, his future is suddenly much closer than he thinks. Esi is a time traveler from 2044, part of a tour group that has come back to witness the famed poet Joseph Greene--considered a modern-day Shakespeare in Esi's time--before he becomes a literary legend. Joe soon learns that his most beloved work will be a collection of poetry dedicated to his true love and muse, actor Diana Dartnell, a fellow student at Cambridge. Eager to rush toward his dream life, Joe asks Esi to help him and Diana get together. Esi agrees, but she has her own motive for traveling back in time, and it has nothing to do with meeting Joe: She's determined to alter the timeline that leads to her mother's untimely death. As both struggle to create the futures they're desperate to have--Joe can't seem to summon romance with Diana, and Esi's mother remains elusive around campus--they must contend with big questions about fate, free will, and their growing feelings for each other. While the mechanics of time travel are a bit blurry, the author is deft at grounding the big ideas in small moments of compelling writing, witty banter, sweet chemistry, and universal questions about what makes a life well lived. This fresh, fascinating take on love in the age of time travel would be a hit in any timeline.

COPYRIGHT(2025) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.