Then and Always

by Dani Atkins

For fans of One Day, What Alice Forgot, and the hit film Sliding Doors comes an absorbing, surprising debut novel about a young woman who, after an accident, get a second chance at life, just not the one he remembers.

Rachel Wiltshire has everything she's ever wanted: a close group of friends, a handsome boyfriend, and acceptance to the journalism program at a top-choice college. But one fateful evening, tragedy tears her world apart.   

Five years later, Rachel returns home for the first time to celebrate her best friend's wedding. Still coping with grief, she can't stop thinking about the bright future she almost had, if only that one night had gone differently. But when a sudden fall lands her in the hospital, Rachel wakes to find that her life has completely changed. Now she has her dream job as a writer and a stylish apartment, but the people she loves most are not the way she remembers them. Unable to trust her own recollections, Rachel tries to piece together what really happened, and not even she can predict the astonishing truth. 

• ISBN10: 0143190636
• ISBN13: 9780143190639
• Publish Date: 20 May 2014 (first published 1 January 2014)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: CA
• Imprint: Penguin Canada
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/isbn/9780143190639

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 4.5 Stars

This was a random pick from Overdrive, and I am glad fate put this on my app, because I really loved it. The blurb mentioned What Alice Forgot, Sliding Doors, and One Day. I thought I was in for some alternate timelines with some tragedy mixed in there, and that is sort of what I got.

Atkins did a wonderful job building these characters, because I was gasping, crying, and yelling at various times as I listened to this audiobook. I just cared so much, that I shared their joy and pain.

But the icing on the cake was the ending. It did not take me long to figure out what really happened, but I have to say, it was written so well. As I was listening, I had tears rolling down my cheeks, and I have some in my eyes as I try and write this review. I was very moved, and this is the type of book I would love to read with a group, so I could discuss it.

I hate spoilers, and so I cannot reveal too much. I will say, I throughly enjoyed this book.