If I Could Turn Back Time

A Novel

By: Beth Harbison

Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Told with Beth Harbison's wit and warmth, If I Could Turn Back Time is the fantasy of every woman who has ever thought, If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, I'd do things so differently...

Thirty-seven-year-old Ramie Phillips has led a very successful life. She made her fortune, and now she hobnobs with the very rich and occasionally the semifamous, and she enjoys luxuries she only dreamed of as a middle-class kid growing up in Potomac, Maryland. But despite it all, she can't ignore the fact that she isn't necessarily happy. In fact lately Ramie has begun to feel more than a little empty.

On a boat with friends off the Florida coast, she tries to fight her feelings of discontent with steel will and hard liquor. No one even notices as she gets up and goes to the diving board and dives off....

Suddenly Ramie is waking up, straining to understand a voice calling in the distance.... It's her mother: "Wake up! You're going to be late for school again. I'm not writing a note this time...."

Ramie finds herself back on the eve of her 18th birthday, with a second chance to see the people she's lost and change the choices she regrets. How did she get back here? Has she gone off the deep end? Is she really back in time? Above all she'll have to answer the question that no one else can: What it is that she really wants from the past and for her future?

©2015 Beth Harbison (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

No attention to detail...

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Overall, I enjoyed the story. However, too many inconsistencies dragged it down for me.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

For the author to keep the same story consistently. There were places where she said one thing happened, then in 50 pages it was completely different. I'm not sure how to expand on that without giving away plot, but it had nothing to do with the time travel aspect.

What does Orlagh Cassidy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She is a great narrator, expressive, with good changes between characters.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Maybe

Any additional comments?

I wanted to love this book and I did like the overall story. It just felt like an editor had never laid eyes on it to point out the glaring inconsistencies in the subplot.

Really good book

I enjoyed this book very much. The narrator did a great job. I highly recommend it.

More profound than you might imagine

I wasn't sure what to expect when I started the book, and it was slow to start for me. It wasn't until a few chapters in that it really grabbed me. And, as I suspected from the blurb, the time travel back to high school was a little syrupy-sweet at times, and a little too predictable, but as the story went on, it was less perfect and more realistic.

It wasn't just some romance novel where you can predict the ending as I thought it would be. I enjoyed seeing the 38 year old wisdom shine into her 18 year old life, and the 18 year old bring some of her carefree, playful, youth into her 38 year old self. There are lessons to be learned for all of us in life, and I've often wondered about my own "what ifs." This book gave me refreshing insight as I related her wonderment to my own.

The ending isn't what you'll expect, but..."when in Rome!" 🙂

Not her best...

I loveBeth Harbison but this was not her best story.
It kind of dragged on.

love love love

Even though I don't believe in what happens in the end, I love the way Beth Harbison spins a tale that holds intrigue, laughter, and enough suspense so that you finish the book the same day!!!

Enjoyable

If you’ve ever day dreamed about going back in time this is a read you will enjoy. Some parts could be tied together better. Overall I enjoyed it.

Great story and Narrator

Have you listened to any of Orlagh Cassidy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Orlagh Cassidy is perfect for Beth Harbison books. Every time I start a new book by Harbison, it's like being reunited with an old friend.

Any additional comments?

Great story, as usual from Harbison!

Very good story. Better than most.

I dearly love Beth Harbison 's writing. They are love stories, but better. They have a very detailed story with wonderful characters. With love, friendship and great humor. Just like real life. The narration by Orlagh Cassidy is just the right voice and diction. The two together make a wonderful book.

Another Disappointment

I managed to convince everyone to take a chance on "Driving With the Top Down;" one of the authors previous books. Well, we all loved it; even the old man. This is the second selection of the author's we've tried since we finished that one and they've both been wasted credits. A very slow beginning didn't exactly set up the crux of the story very well and I gave it up way before the story was finished. Do yourself a favor and save yourself the bother of returning it.

Couldn’t finish listening to it...

The narrator ruined this story for me. Her syrupy sweet and over enthusiastic voice made my skin crawl. Might have been a great story, but I couldn’t finish listening.