I've been in a reading rut lately after tearing through a few thrillers a while back. Fortunately, I picked up this book, which was my November selection from Book of the Month, and found it not only perfect for the holiday season, but also a charming and beautifully written story I needed. I am a little biased on how much I love this book because just like its two main characters, I too share the same birthday as them: January 1st, New Year's Day. In Sophie Cousens's debut novel, This Time Next Year, we follow two people who happen to share the same birthday and how unknowingly their lives have crossed each other's paths all these years.
Minnie Cooper has always believed that her birthday was jinxed and therefore she has been unlucky ever since. It was all because of a man she never met who stole her name. Thirty years ago on January 1st 1990, her mother, Connie Cooper, and another woman, Tara Hamilton, were both due to deliver the first babies of the nineties in London. Connie had set her sights on naming her daughter Quinn in tribute to her grandmother who believed the name to be lucky. However, after helping Tara through her labor, Tara ended up being the first to deliver her son and name him Quinn while Connie was resigned to name her daughter, Minnie (unaware of its connection to the car mind you). Since then, Minnie has felt that luck was never on her side.
By some sheer twist of fate, Minnie finally meets Quinn Hamilton following a New Year's Eve party they both happen to attend. Quinn is handsome, smart, a Cambridge graduate, and a successful businessman in comparison to Minnie, who is on the verge of losing her flat and going into debt from her pie business with no university degree to fall back on. Although Quinn appears to have all the luck promised by his name, he is more down to earth and humble than Minnie had imagined. It soon becomes apparent that they both feel a connection, but could it be more than from their newfound friendship and mutual attraction? Told both in the present with flashbacks to the past, we discover how interconnected Minnie and Quinn's lives have always been and how it's possible that fate knows no bounds in leading you to the right person you never expected.
I love a good romantic comedy as you can probably tell by now. There were so many things I enjoyed about this book from the meet cutes to the colorful array of characters to the funny exchanges between Quinn and Minnie (the banana incident was so awkwardly weird and hilarious all at once). While this novel falls into the romance genre, there are deeper themes and elements that are explored than what you would initially expect. This together with the serendipitous relationship between Minnie and Quinn all work together, offering both something sweet and romantic but also a sense of hopefulness for the characters and the readers.
To begin with, Minnie and Quinn are such relatable characters and more alike than both of them realize. Like so many of us, whether we admit it or not, Minnie and Quinn struggle to see the best part of themselves and fail to accept things that are good for them. They each had to go on their own journeys to get to where they are, but also need each other to move forward.
Minnie has been struggling to see her self-worth, especially considering how she feels unlucky all her life. In part, I blamed Minnie's mother for this as she kept reminding her of the fact that bad luck "would never have happened to a Quinn," but more on this later. Minnie tends to date the wrong man and although she is a skilled pie maker with a lot of passion for it, she lacks the confidence in steering her business in the right direction it needs. Her pie business, aptly named No Hard Fillings, is similar to Meals on Wheels with the same initiative. She genuinely cares about her clients and staff, who want her to succeed. Her best friend, Leila, especially always tries to encourage and uplift her, pushing her to do more than be afraid of whatever jinx comes her way. Although Minnie is aware of her insecurities she never expected Quinn to be dealing with the same problem too.
On the surface, Quinn appears to have everything yet as we get to know him, he is actually quite sensitive and struggles to find a meaningful attachment to people. He also tends to date the wrong woman and is aware of it too. After his parents divorced, his mother became heavily dependent on him. As a result, Quinn tries to avoid serious relationships out of fear of being a burden to anyone who may not understand what he is going through. What is so great about him meeting Minnie is how they are kindred spirits in a way. They both have empathy for what the other is dealing with and they both see a lot of good in each other. Seeing their relationship develop as they get to know each other from Quinn helping Minnie with No Hard Fillings to meeting at Hampstead Heath to go swimming were my favorite moments I enjoyed reading.
The flashbacks were also my favorite part of this book. There are several snippets from both Minnie and Quinn's perspectives showing how they could have met each other officially than in passing. My two favorite ones were when they unknowingly shared their love of Star Wars when they were kids (kudos from this Star Wars nerd right here) and the New Year's Eve party they attended when they were thirteen years old. It really is like the movie Serendipity and then some. I was nervous that it would become frustrating but it actually wasn't it and I was eagerly waiting until they would realize how close they always were to meeting. They were both at the right place at the right time, but not the right moment to meet each other just yet.
Another great thing about this book was the relationship between the adult characters and their mothers. I felt like there was a subtle theme explored on the idea of an existential crisis as it's seen through some other characters, but was more evident through Connie and Tara and how it affected and changed their relationship with their children. As much as I was bothered about how Connie handled the disappointment of not naming her daughter Quinn, I did eventually understand that it was not so much the name but what it meant to her. I think it was supposed to symbolize how her life was going to somehow turn itself around even if by luck. When that did not happen though, she kind of just settled back into the same normalcy she knew. Although there was nothing wrong with it, nothing was really going to change. Meanwhile with Tara, her anxieties were a part of her existential crisis. Tara went through so much loss that it resulted in her becoming reliant on her son, which is why I think she is so afraid of things because she's afraid of losing him too.
The relationship between Minnie and Connie and Quinn and Tara shifted once Connie and Tara reunite after so many years. Both women find a renewed sense of purpose in their lives and a happier outlook once they become friends. They both relate to each other and understand what the other is going through and end up helping each other grow. It's almost similar to how Minnie and Quinn felt when they met and become friends. They never knew they needed each other until they did and how fortunate it was that they came into each other's life at a crucial time in their lives. There is a moment I think we have all experienced when we realize that our parents are people just like us and I felt that as I read how the relationship between the two mothers and their children progressed from beginning to end.
The story being set in 2020, practically in another world where the pandemic didn't exist, actually makes this a great book to escape to. It offers something whimsical and optimistic perfect for the holidays and the promise a new year can bring. This Time Next Year has definitely become one of my new favorite books and I found such great joy from reading it.
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