A gripping speculative romance about one girl saving her first love's life by falling for the last person she ever should - his best friend.
Nieve Monroe is devastated after her boyfriend Carter dies saving her from drowning. Even worse she blames herself for his death… and so does his best friend, Max. He was there with them on that fateful day, and he’s never liked Nieve.
Unable to pull herself from her grief and wanting to hide from the accusation in his eyes, Nieve goes to stay with her grandmother, who has always had strange stories to tell of uncanny happenings, of magic and make believe. The next morning, Nieve wakes up on the first day of college, the year before.
This time she plans to make sure Carter never follows her into that river. She’ll do everything in her power to keep him safe, even if it means losing him in other ways. But the more distance she puts between her and Carter, the closer she gets to Max, drawn to him in ways she never expected.
But is she betraying Carter if the only way she can save him is to move on? And can she ever forget her past to embrace her future?
Kristin Dwyer’s In Time With You is a heartbreaking story of first love, loss, and one chance to change everything.
Nieve Monroe is devastated after her boyfriend Carter dies saving her from drowning. Even worse she blames herself for his death… and so does his best friend, Max. He was there with them on that fateful day, and he’s never liked Nieve.
Unable to pull herself from her grief and wanting to hide from the accusation in his eyes, Nieve goes to stay with her grandmother, who has always had strange stories to tell of uncanny happenings, of magic and make believe. The next morning, Nieve wakes up on the first day of college, the year before.
This time she plans to make sure Carter never follows her into that river. She’ll do everything in her power to keep him safe, even if it means losing him in other ways. But the more distance she puts between her and Carter, the closer she gets to Max, drawn to him in ways she never expected.
But is she betraying Carter if the only way she can save him is to move on? And can she ever forget her past to embrace her future?
Kristin Dwyer’s In Time With You is a heartbreaking story of first love, loss, and one chance to change everything.
Title: In Time With You
Author: Kristin Dwyer
Publisher:
Expected Publication Date: February 3, 2026
Review:
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Macmillain Audio, and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read/listen to and review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Speculative fiction is tricky. Getting it right so the audience understands what is going on is crucial. Dwyer did a fair job of this but didn't quite hit the mark for me.
Let's talk about the narrator. I love Jessie Valinsky. I've listened to several books narrated by her, and she always does a great job. She's a good narrator for the younger characters. This book was no exception. I really loved her narration. She got the characters post on. She definitely is what helped me finish this story.
While I wanted to love this book, I spent way too much time trying to truly figure out what was going on. There is a time travel/slip element here and it confused me more than anything else. It often happened in the middle of chapters. The structure of the timeline shifts just seemed inconsistent. It made it hard for me to connect with the plot and the characters. If I could put aside that confusion, I was frustrated to understand why Nieve even liked Carter to begin with.
The characters were done fairly well. The FMC Nieve had some good growth. She figures out what she does and doesn't want. What she had before versus what she could have always had to make her happy.
I am also surprised this book is slated as YA. There are a lot of elements contained within the story that definitely make this for an older crowd. The characters are college aged, there is alcohol and drug use, and sexual content, though that is mostly closed door or fade to black.
Content wise, there are heavy themes of grief and death. The FMC has to process the death of a boyfriend and how to deal with that. Overall, I'm not sure she ever really processed it fully. She kind of just lets it go and that seemed odd for me after she was so obsessed and stricken with it to begin with.
Go into this one with lots of suspension of disbelief and the understanding that the shifts may be a bit confusing.
3/5 stars
Author:
Kristin Dwyer grew up under the California sun and still prays every day for a cloudy sky. When she’s not writing books about people kissing, she and her spouse can be found encouraging their four mischief makers to get into trouble. Kristin is a part-time hair model and wants you to know she is full-time TSA PRECHECK, and one time a credible news outlet asked for her opinion on K-pop (it was the best day of her life). Please do not talk to her about your fandom, she will try to join.
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