I found the premise of this really promising. I appreciate a love story that spans years where you can see the progression of the relationship, and the growth of the characters. And while the beginning was well done on this one, I felt the middle was just so full of comings and goings and missed opportunities that it actually started to get frustrating for me, as a reader. At the end I wasn't really invested anymore. I will still recommend this to other readers (what fell flat for me may be amazing to someone else).

I was looking forward to How to Save a Life after reading about it, but unfortunately, it’s uniqueness fell flat for me. I enjoyed the 20 year timeframe but found the dual POV very repetitive. The characters, Ted and Marianne, were enjoyable, and how their lives entwined, but the chemistry just wasn’t there. I would recommend for a story of serendipity and missed opportunities.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley.

He was on the edge and ready to leave the life he had. She'd had the rug pulled out from her and was leaving her relationship behind when a chance meeting meant he was still alive and she was ready for a new life. For years and years they constantly thought about each other, each never far from the others thoughts. Such a wonderful book that also deals with depression in a very sympathetic way. The 2 stories entwined effortlessly and created one beautiful story.

This story takes place in two time frames, early 90's and twelve years later. Marianne, 21 y/o, wandering the city after she experiences a shock, happens across Ted who is in the act of jumping off a bridge. She manages to gather herself enough to calmly talk him down. They walk away but are never far from each other's thoughts.

Fast forward. They *almost* meet up again several times, over and over. Do they finally meet up and realize who the other is? What happens to their personal development? Has Ted ever tried to commit suicide again?

All these answers are spoilers, and I don't write them, so read it for yourself. I think this book will appeal to a younger audience, perhaps New Adult category.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

I really wanted to love this book….the premise was fascinating, and I was captivated by how they met, how she saved him, and how obsessed they were by each other after such a short but momentous encounter. I didn’t mind the times that fate stepped in to keep them apart, but then I felt like it just took way too long, and I got frustrated. Too much of the story seemed contrived, and after a while I wanted both of them to just get on with their lives, together or not.

I thought this was a really good read. It was an interesting concept for a story. Thanks for the opportunity to read & review this book.

The description and the book blurb was really promising. I also liked the beginning of the book but was really disappointed with the timeline after that. 70% in and still the main characters haven’t reunited. I didn’t like that it took like 20 years for them to reconnect and the ending was week. This book had a lot of potential in my opinion, if it didn’t dragged that long and had better ending. I think the characters deserved more.

How To Save A Life follows Ted and Marianne after a fateful night where Marianne stops Ted from jumping off a bridge. The story spans over the next 20 years, alternating between each characters POV on the same days and their just-missed encounters.

Although I loved the idea of this book, the execution fell a little flat. It was a quick, easy read with short chapters which I enjoyed. I loved that the story highlighted the impact that one moment can have on a person and their trajectory. That fateful night led to important paths in both Ted and Marianne’s lives, including their careers.

There were many moments in the book where they cross paths, but don’t actually meet. Instead of this building excitement and anticipation for me, I was left wanting more. Although I liked getting dual POV, there were times where it felt very repetitive. The time jumps were sometimes hard to follow and I didn’t love the huge time gaps between chapters.

The ending felt a bit rushed to me and I would have liked to see it played out more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC.

This story had such an appealing storyline and the title totally drew me in and was a precursor to me ultimately choosing to read this book. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It wasn't as fast paced and eventful as I'd have liked but I did like the jumps through time, witnessing how both Ted and Marianne's lives change but how they ultimately both hold onto that fateful moment that brought them together.

I'll be honest, I wanted to be moved to tears by this story, it had such a great concept. But while it didn't touch me as deeply as I'd have preferred and it just all fell a little flat in the end, it was a pleasant read.

Definitely something I'd recommend if you enjoy stories with the missed opportunity, lost love trope.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for this arc.

A heart-warming story of true love ambushed by missed connections and bad timing. Both of the main characters are likeable and I was hoping they would get together art some point. I love the way the duelling POVs are presented. It has a sliding doors feel, although it's not a sliding doors premise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

I really wanted to love this book as it tackles PTSD and mental health issues, and a 'SLIDING DOORS' moment. I wanted to care about Ted and Marianne but unfortunately I thought they lacked emotional depth and the dialogue and story line felt fairly predictable. Sadly, I wasn't invested in the characters enough to care what happened and the book left me disappointed.

2.5 Stars

I feel like the blurb doesn’t do a great job describing what this story is, and I think a large part of that is it fails to mention the time jumps.

Ted is about to end his life, when a random girl dressed in a fairy costume convinces him not to jump. The girl, Marianne, quickly leaves after saving Ted. The two of them never exchanged names or numbers, but they both become obsessed with finding the other again after that night.

This story spans 20+ years. Each chapter switches POV between Ted and Marianne and also states the month and the year the chapter takes place in. I found the dual POV to be ineffective in this book. Ted’s chapters would go first, and then we would read the exact same thing from Marianne’s perspective next. Sometimes they would be doing different things, but most of the time it was basically a repeat of the previous chapter.

This is because Ted and Marianne end up being in the same place and just passing one another by very often without realizing it. I understand the point is to show how their fates are entwined and how close they come to meeting so many times, but it started feeling gimmicky. Especially when they both happened to travel to Spain at the same time and stayed at the same resort but still did not bump into each other… It was just so random and unnecessary.

I also wasn’t the biggest fan of the giant time gaps. It took me out of the story and made me not connect with the characters as well. Ted would meet a girl in one chapter, and the next time we get his POV it’s been a couple years and now they’re engaged. I just missed this entire relationship!

Despite all the flaws this story had, I still cared about the characters. I found Ted’s perspective more interesting than Marianne’s, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading what these characters were up to and how their lives progressed. The repetition and time jumps did annoy me and ruin my reading experience, but at the same time I’m not mad I read this book. I loved Clare Swatman’s novel “Before We Grow Old” and I want to continue reading her other work. This one just wasn’t a favorite of mine, but she’s still a great writer.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I finished How To Save A Life in one sitting, so I'd say that's a great indication of how good this book is. So much that I loved here. I always appreciate books that tackle mental health topics, especially when they are done in a respectful and realistic manner. The dual POV and long timeline really made this book for me; I stayed on the hook the whole time and could not put the book down. I liked how their lives intertwined, yet it was not an easy journey to find each other after the first meeting. The story certainly isn't pretty a lot of the time, but wow was it a compelling read. I strongly recommend How To Save A Life and will be adding it to my list for favorite books of the year.

Thanks to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for this ARC; this is my honest and voluntary review.

I enjoyed the concept of this book, how one small action can have a huge impact. This is the story of Ted, who is at the end of his rope and is ready to take his own life...enter Marianne who happens along and ends up saving his life. They both can't stop thinking about this chance meeting and wish they could continue their relationship. The book then jumps back in forth in time with a series of missed meetings, chances etc. I loved how the characters kept each other moving forward without knowing they were doing that for each other. I also loved the concept of how one moment can change someone's life forever. A hopeful, touching story!

I liked the concept of a love story stretching over the course of 20 years but the execution of this one fell short for me. Not at all what I expected. It felt overly repetitive, the time jumps were tough to follow, and the serendipitous way the MCs would always almost see each other felt a tad ridiculous after awhile. It was like missed connections on steroids.

I really thought I'd like this book but unfortunately it didn't lived up to my expectations. The prompt was really promising and I love these kinds of stories- the ones that plays with fate and destiny..but the writing for this one failed to made me ugly-cry.
It started really good but for me, the chapters were too short, not enough to give me a good grip on what the characters are going through. The writing style too fell too short for me, I didn't feel emotions I thought I'd feel. I was really sad because I really wanted to love this book when I started reading it.
*thanks to the author and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book*

I liked the concept of the story, and the blurb and cover caught my attention. The story is about Ted who wants to end his life and Marianne who just caught her boyfriend cheating on her. While she's ready to go home, she finds Ted on the bridge about to follow through with his thought and convinces him not to jump. After that there were some time jumps where they coincidentally keep crossing paths but don't actually meet. Though twelve years later they finally manage to stay together. Their individual character growth was amazingly portrayed. But there were a lot of time jumps and through the span of all those years, sometimes I found it hard to keep up with what's going on. The ending felt lackluster but I would've liked it more if it had been a little longer. All the missed connections had me on the brink of frustration. Though the message that the book conveyed was trivial and real. Overall, it was a normal, drama free, lovely, refreshing read about how one little action can save someone's life. So, if you like the right person wrong time trope, you should definitely try this one.

Thank you Netgalley & Boldwood Books for this ARC

I thought the beginning of the book was great, with a ton of potential to be an epic love story. Instead, there is a long series of "close, but so far away" moments over a twenty-year period. I found it frustrating and then I was disappointed by the ending's lack of interaction between the two characters. I'd say this was just an ok read for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for access to this arc.

Trigger warning this book deals with suicide and mental health. I loved this book and the depth of the characters as we meet them throughout the book at different points in their life. I thought the author dealt with the subject of suicide and what happens afterwards to that person if they don't go through with it really well.

Below is my review, as found on Goodreads with a bit more detail added in!

How to Save a Life is definitely one of the most unique books I have read this year, both in writing style and in plot. The story follows two characters, Marianne and Ted, after a night where the former stops the latter from jumping off a bridge. Although it's yet to be published, it takes place in 1991 and spans 20 years, alternating between POVs of the two characters. This book deals with heavy topics like depression and anxiety, shows healthy and toxic familial relationships, and shows quite literally what I would think a "normal" day would look like for these characters in that time period. The reader feels that sense of normalcy, which allows for a complete immersion into the lives of Ted and Marianne. I was completely invested in their story, waiting to see how it would turn out.

Although I wasn't the biggest fan of the characters and their decisions, I know that it was all to build up to a certain moment. I love how the author played with the idea of near-chance encounters, showing how one second can be all that it takes to miss a moment. She also highlighted the importance that one action or word can have in the life of a complete stranger. Everything that we do matters, even if it seems trivial for us.

I found the ending to be a little disappointing and anti-climactic, but perhaps that was the point: we were to experience Marianne and Ted's journeys, not necessarily the outcome. Although I believe it'd have been great to see how Ted and Marianne would have handled that conversation, and whether they would really have been "home" for each other. After all, despite the monumental moment of December 1991, they know nothing about each other! Emotional chastity is a big thing, and with the buildup of them being told by others that their images of each other in their heads may not match up to reality, I would have thought the ending to reflect that as well.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read that is refreshing from the drama and craziness in most modern contemporaries!