BOOK REVIEW - The Glitch - Leanne Slade - Audiobook - 4*

 

BOOK REVIEW

The Glitch - Leanne Slade (Released 2024)

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My reading choices tend to be dark and gritty, sometimes though my mood reading brain needs something a bit more light to digest. I go through audiobooks at what feels like the speed of light sometimes, and I can get burnt out with thrillers, crime and unaliving all over the place. So when I finished The Tunnel Rats by Stephen Leather, I set about finding something cute, funny and a little

soppy, to soothe my cold, dead heart! 

This book is an Audible Original, so I believe it's only available on that platform (I could be wrong though, that's entirely assumption on my part! It's included in the membership so I didn't need to use a credit. I didn't have high hopes, especially as Rom-Com isn't my usual go-to genre, but the blurb was really interesting, a little time travel/fantasy element too which was the decider for me. 

BLURB

What would you change if you could start all over again? From Leanne Slade, the bestselling author of The Rebound and Told You So, and narrated by Daisy Edgar Jones (Normal People) and Sam Clafin (Me Before You), this summer, fall in love with Henry and Grace. 

Five Years Earlier

Henry Dunne knows three things: that agreeing to host this raucous house party was a terrible idea, that he absolutely cannot show up to his nursing shift tomorrow with a hangover, and that the beautiful redhead in the corner will be sleeping in his bed tonight. 

But what he doesn't know is that Grace Monroe, the ambitious and fiercely independent chef catering this party, is about to walk a tray of cream cheese appetisers straight into his chest and turn his world upside-down. Now, the workaholic with a reputation for keeping things causal is planning romantic dates and meeting the family. Utterly smitten, Henry now knows something else: that Grace is the one and that absolutely nothing could come between them...

Present Day

Grace Monroe is one day away from thirty, her restaurant has just been declared bankrupt, her beloved grandmother has been rushed to hospital, and she's now sobbing in a packed train station. The only way life could get worse is having Henry Dunne - the man who showed her what true love and heartbreak feels like - see her like this. 

And there he is, wordlessly watching from the opposite escalator. 

A bottle of wine and an erratic wish later, Grace wakes up to one hell of a life glitch: it's five years earlier, her twenty-fifth birthday, and she's got picture-perfect memory of the missing years. Grace's plan is clear: save her doomed career and prevent the worst heartache she's ever known. All she needs to do is stop history repeating...

AUTHOR

Leanne is a British author who lives in the south of England. She's written three books, all romance and worked in the cutthroat advertising business before turning to writing full time. Have a look at her website here to get to know her, and her other books (both of which are now on my list of go-to books when I am in a soppy mood!).

PLOT/STORYLINE

As you can see from the blurb, this book is about Grace and Henry, who were involved in a relationship that ended in heartbreak. Grace is now fast approaching thirty and her life seems to be unravelling around her. She gets a bit drunk and wishes for a do-over...waking up the next morning feeling a bit hungover. She soon discovers that, for some weird and unknown reason, she has transported back in time. To her own life. Five years previously. She's got her do-over!

The one thing she does not want to repeat, is her relationship with Henry. It didn't end well and she doesn't want to risk a broken heart, all over again. 

One ingenious way that Leanne has presented the story, is that we have a dual perspective and dual timeline narrative. Grace is present day (but 5 years earlier), so she's experiencing things for the second time, changing her own past, present and future. Henry however tells the original story, the one before the glitch, from his point of view, 5 years in the past. 

I loved this style, as it allowed for some mystery - why did they break up, who was to blame, what did they do that was so bad that the relationship had to end? With the differing timelines and points of view, Leanne was able to tell this story both in real-time and with the benefit of hindsight, keeping me engaged from start to finish. 

Although the book is light-hearted, filled with self-deprecating humour and laugh-out-loud moments, it has a serious note to it too, really leaning into questions about fate, self-sabotage, and forgiveness. 

CHARACTERS

Both main characters are amazing. You'll know from previous reviews that I enjoy a flawed character over a perfect one. Grace and Henry embody that realness brilliantly. They are funny, flirty, well-suited, and loveable. I enjoy a bit of sarcasm, a bit of an inner Bridget Jones-style monologue, and this came in spades from both characters. 

Grace in particular goes through a pretty epic journey of self-discovery. She starts with a goal in mind, negative thoughts, assumptions, and insecurities, learning that these things have been getting in her way all along. Her inner thoughts were extremely relatable, something I know alot of women (and no doubt men) go through, self-doubt, an assumption of an ulterior motive in every interaction, general silly reactions to situations that haven't even happened yet! I've definitely done all of these things in relationships and 100% still do now to some degree, so it was nice to have that slightly illogical part of my mind being acknowledged! 

Grace's best friend and grandmother are both adorable characters too, they are loyal but honest, adding comedy and emotion. 

On top of it all, some characters are portrayed differently between the two timelines, with Grace's actions changing how things pan out and really emphasising the massive difference that even the smallest changes our own behaviour can have on the course of a friendship. 

 

OVERALL REVIEW

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

SPICE: 🔥🔥🔥

What an amazing story! Yes, it's a romance, but there were so many mini stories within it, between other characters and between Grace and the other people in her life. It was light and funny, but the themes and subjects were real and honest. 

I went through the ringer of emotions, everything was so relatable. There were topics touching on fertility, infidelity, alcohol, money, toxic relationships, grief, and childhood trauma. I enjoyed that these conversations were included in the narrative, and handled sensitively, with consequences and impacts not just on the people involved. It was not a gritty depiction though, with humour holding things together. 

The only thing that I couldn't get past, is the huge miscommunication trope. I really hate it when characters don't just tell each other what the problem is, or be honest when something bad happens. It's something I hate just as much in "real life" too and I totally understand that any book like this, with a do-over, redemption-type theme, would be impossible to pull together without secrets, but it really grinds my gears! 

That said, I do think this book deals with this trope fairly well. I understood our characters' motivations to some degree and empathised with their turmoil, and the consequences of their decisions.

I was also left a little unsure about HOW the glitch happened, but really, that's the point. It's magic haha, magic doesn't need a full scientific explanation, it just is! 

This book left me with a smile on my face, a spring in my step, and a slightly more rosy outlook on life, if only for a day, and is definitely one of my favourite romances.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?

If you want to read a fulfilling, feel-good story, with compelling characters and a cute do-over theme, this will do it for you. I loved the audiobook in particular, with each point of view narrated by an individual voice. I highly recommend this book, and at 11 hours, it's a good road-trip, holiday travel length. 

Thanks so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed my review. Do you have any romance recommendations for my next feel-good read? Let me know in the comments, click here to subscribe to my blog, or pop over to see me on Instagram, TikTok or over on my YouTube channel. Happy reading, and thank you!