One Moment in Time by Shari Low - Book Review

Publication Date: 02nd May 2023

Genre: Contemporary Fiction 

3.7 Stars 

One Liner: Uneven pacing but a feel-good read 

Brenda Jones wants something more than routine and boring from her life. She decides to leave her three decades of marriage with Colin after the surprise anniversary celebrations planned by their daughters, Zara and Millie. However, she’s in for a shock when the girls fly them to Las Vegas to recreate how Brenda and Colin got married. 

Aiden Gregg is having relationship issues of his own. But when Zara tracks him down on Facebook and messages him to ask if he can take his parents to the anniversary celebrations, he agrees to the surprise reunion plan and hopes something good might come out of it. 

However, Zara and Aiden don’t know what happened that fateful day thirty years ago. How will their plan affect their parents and their lives? 

The story comes in the third-person POV of Zara, Brenda, Eileen, and Aiden. 

My Thoughts: 

The premise gives enough hints about what could possibly go wrong with Zara’s plan. While I could guess some of it, the rest ends up as a nice surprise. 

The characters are the strength of the book. Each of them is different and somehow comes together to create a wholesome package. Since this is women’s fiction, we don’t have outright villains but more like losers (especially one idiot). 

The book also has some beautiful messages without being preachy. Yeah, it does get a little slow in the first half (to establish the setting and characters as well as to sustain the suspense). The themes of love, family, relationships, friendship, acceptance, self-love, etc., are well done. 

My favorite scenes are the ones between Millie and Zara. They are two totally different people, but their sibling love (and playful rivalry) come across clearly. It’s not perfect, but they are family and important to each other. 

We also have a couple of love tracks on fast-forward with mixed results. There just isn’t enough time or space for these to grow organically (since the premise takes up most of the limelight). Though I like that we have HEA, I’m not too happy with 4x-paced developments. A couple of more scenes for each couple would have made it better. The second half needed another 15 pages or so to establish and give each pair the space they deserve.  

The book does balance serious issues with lighthearted banter and some chuckle-worthy scenes. It isn’t a heavy read, though it does feel like one at times. 

To summarize, One Moment in Time is a feel-good book with some worthy themes and a sprinkling of love. The characters are pretty much consistent throughout and most are easy to like (and support). 

Thank you, NetGalley and Marcela Torres from Boldwood Books, for the eARC. 

#NetGalley #OneMomentinTime