sadly this book was not for me I found it hard to connect with and I gave up at 10% so will not review publicly

While this book was tonaly quite different from the author's debut, I loved it just as much. It has just the right amount of sci-fi, timey-whimey elements without making the readers feel bogged down in the technical aspects. Instead, it focuses on the characters, their relationships, and their sense of identity. An absolutely fantastic read, and one I'd recommend to anyone who loves time travel romcoms!

Love and Other Paradoxes follows Cambridge student Joe and time-traveller Esi, whose paths cross unexpectedly when Esi travels back in time in an attempt to change the past. Having studied Joe in school, praised as a modern-day-Shakespeare, Esi has no interest at all in meeting the poet; but when they bump into each other and Joe discovers where Esi is from, he forces her to use her knowledge of the future to help him land his dream girl. But the more time they spend together, the more they start falling for each other, and they find themselves wondering 1) if it’s possible to change the past and 2) if you should…

I really enjoyed this book! It did take me a little while to get into it as Joe’s stubborn (and frequently entitled) personality was initially a little annoying, but he progressed so much as the story went on and as he spent more time with Esi, who I loved. I found the romance elements to be really strong, and his interactions with both Diana and Esi felt incredibly natural and realistic, despite often being manufactured. There were a lot of sweet moments that had me smiling at the pages, and the sub-plot about Esi’s real reason for travelling back in time was very moving as well.

The premise of this story is so unique and well-done, and I loved the charming Cambridge setting. This is the second book I’ve read by Catriona Silvey, and she’s definitely becoming an auto-buy author for me. Her contemporary style of sci-fi feels so fun and unique, and I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next.

This was absolutely my sort of book. It was sweet, it was funny, and it had a philosophical look at time travel, and whether the future is set in stone, or whether our actions cause what happens.

I loved how pretentious Joe was and I loved seeing him change over the course of the novel as Esi and Diana had an effect over him. I loved how the two romances in the book were so different from each other and how it was easy to infer which was the right one for him.

I am a big fan of time travel in fiction and I really enjoyed how it was used in this book. I liked the idea of the tourist groups heading back in time to see their favourite poet as a student and giving him gifts.

Overall this was fun, relaxing and easy to read.

I loved it! It’s hard to talk about too much without spoiling the plot, but this book is a brilliant twist on time travel, making what can occasionally be a complex plot point into a fun, romantic romp in a vivid university setting. I read Catriona’s debut - also brilliant by the way - and I’m so pleased that book two was as, if not more, enjoyable.

I enjoyed this - it was an easy breezy romantic comedy. I liked the character development of Joseph Greene much more than Esi - she seemed quite selfish apart from that she chose to stay at the end. I enjoyed the concept, but at times I felt a bit detached from the dialogue/characters as it wasn’t fully immersive and after setting up a big third act conflict the ending just seemed a bit easy to resolve for me. I would have preferred more character development but it was still a good, quick read. I’d probably try this author again to see her grow because I enjoyed this, I just didn’t adore it.

This was a fun read! Joe, a student at Cambridge, starts to notice weird groups of people staring at him in an intensely odd manner. It is only when he bumps into Esi, a time traveller from the future, and he reads about his future success as a poet that everything starts to make sense.

However, knowing the future is not a good thing for Joe as he starts to mess with fate and change the timeline. Suddenly, he meets his future wife too soon, and their happy marriage looks destined to never happen. Esi, has a mission of her own, but finds herself coaching Joe in techniques to woo Diana, and ensure his timeline is not distorted. Of course, the path of true love nevers runs smoothly, and Joe finds himself falling for Esi - a girl from the future who must return to it…

The quantum physics of the time travel hurt my head when reading this, but I loved their adventures, coincidences and incidents. The setting of Cambridge felt compelling and beutiful - that’s now a city I need to visit and explore! Don’t dismiss anyone or anything in this book at it has an unexpected ending, which really caught me unawares.

Love this mix of romance, sci-fi, time travel and reflection on if we can change the future acting on the past.
Good world building, intriguing plot, likable characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Whimsical, fun, imaginative. This delightful story sees us travelling in time, and all for the love of one very ordinary, as yet undiscovered poet. Their arrival in turn causes the poet to unexpectedly fall in love and from this point, his life spirals into comical chaos.
He seems to have lost sight of who he is and who or what he wants in life.
It’s funny, sometimes sad and in its way, thought provoking. Why shouldn’t there be parallel universes, all with the same characters, just slightly different futures.
If you enjoy something a bit less complicated and a bit more fun, then this is a definite for you.

I loved the concept of this story, anything with a time travel element appeals to me. Whilst I did enjoy this story and found it to be a quick listen I did struggle to like the MC. I loved Esi and her backstory and probably would have preferred her POV.

4.5 stars to be exact!

Love and Other Paradoxes is not your typical rom-com - it features a time travel element which makes it a more complex read than other romances.

There's also a very interesting conclusion to the story too! Everything ties together neatly as well with unexpected links between characters.

This was such an interesting concept. I enjoy all things time travel as I am always fascinated by how they deal with the lore and I thought Silvey had a really fun take on it. I enjoyed the slow burn and how Esi and Joe’s relationship progressed. The twists and turns kept the story flowing and I found the ending very sweet and satisfying. Overall, a great read

Reader, I was bored. And this book started so well until I realised that we were not going to be jumping around lots of different time periods and then...then I got bored. If you liked the movie 'About Time' and want a lot more of that vibe than 'let's travel through time and see different versions of ourselves' then you'll love this book, in fact I insist you pick it up right now. It just was not for me. I felt completely disconnected from the characters (John, mate, no one's going to fix your life or do things for you, you need to get your head out of your arse) and there were moments where it felt like the author was correcting herself? On certain topics? There's an exchange in a pub that felt really odd and didn't add much to the book overall. I think this book had a lot of potential that it never quite rose to, but for those looking for something light and fun, you'll probably enjoy this.

A rather unique love story featuring time travel with some fun characters.
I really liked Esi -the challenge she’d set herself seemed an impossible one but she tackled every hurdle with grace and humility. Her one liners were witty and sharp and delivered brilliantly.
I didn’t warm to Joseph till the end but really liked their building friendship and how this helped him develop as a more rounded character.

Thank you, Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction | HarperVoyager , for providing an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Catriona Silvey is a new author for me. Therefore, I did not have any particular expectations when it came to this book. The premises looked intrueging and I was in the mood for a little romance. This was a good story, not to difficult to follow, right amount of feelings, and very enjoyable.

This story takes place at Cambridge University in 2005/2006. Joe Greene dreams of being a poet, a future where his words will echo through the ages. Esi already knows his future. She is a time-traveller on tour to witness Joe Greene in his student time. In Esi's era, Joe is as renowned as Shakespeare, writing famous love poems about Diana. However, Esi has a different, secret reason for being here. This year, something will happen at Cambridge that will wreck her life and she intends to change it. When she bumps into Joe, she sends his destiny into a tailspin. They both face a crucial question:
Is the future set in stone, or can we rewrite our fates?

The time travel element added a clever twist without overwhelming the story, grounding the sci-fi in real emotional stakes. The chemistry between the characters felt authentic and earned, and while some plot points required a bit more attention, it was still very good. Additionally, the mix of romance was super fun without being too heavy or confusing. Some parts stretched believability a bit, but honestly, I didn’t mind—it was just such a good ride.

Love & Other Paradoxes by Catriona Silvery was an enjoyable read with a great blend of romance, magical realism and time travelling. I thought the premise was fun as I’m a fan of time travelling novels. I loved the Y2K nostalgia too! However, I did find it slow in parts and it took me longer to get into than I thought it would. Overall, it was a unique and entertaining story. If you enjoy a slow burn romance with a twist then check it out

A story of how we may not always be certain on how we want our futures to be...

Thank you Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for giving me this ARC to review.

As a student of Cambridge University, Joe Greene has ambitions to follow in the footsteps of famous poet Byron and make a timeless impact on the world through his world. Esi, on a time-traveling tour to witness history's greatest moments, is already aware of how renowned Joe Greene will become. But isn't aware of how quickly she'll mess up harbouring this secret and sending his life into a tailspin.

Joe is now aware that the love of his life, his muse, the person who ultimately inspires him and ejects him into stardom is within touching distance, and the responsibility to ensure that happens through match making falls on Esi. Yet Esi came to the past for another outcome, to change the future that had a devastating impact on her life. And as things start to unravel, the pair are faced with answering the ultimate unanswerable question: is our future already written out for us, or can we rewrite them?

Catriona Silvey's imaginative way of telling a fictional story could, for me, rival Ashley Poston. This magical realism, but magical realism with depth. Where you walk away having reflected on some of life's biggest questions. I did sometimes struggle getting into the story, but I do believe this was mostly because of how most books are formatted for ARCs which is understandable. But ultimately, I loved the uniqueness of the story from start to finish where you were think you know the ending but you can't be certain. And Catriona's other book, Meet Me In Another Life, sounds like another work of hers that I will thoroughly enjoy!

Although I love romance stories I don't really enjoy plain romance stories. I always need something extra. A little bit of magic, some sci-fi elements, something adding that little something to make a story more special. So, when I was invited by HarperVoyager to read this digital arc via Netgalley I didn't hesitate. It sounded like the kind of book I currently need. Lighthearted, romantic, and time travel. I was very excited to dive in.

This book is exactly what I expected it to be. The book has a general lighthearted tone and it's a quick and easy read. Although the book has a time-travel element, it's not really a time-travel novel. Apart from a few pages the book takes place in the same world and the same time and although some characters are traveling back and forth between timelines, it's not the main theme of the story. It's more the driving force behind the decisions of these characters.

The book is marketed as a romance and although it IS a romance and the romantic relationship(s) is the core of the story, it doesn't feel like a typical romance. That's partly because of the time travel element. It seems that knowing about your future does complicate things. A lot. Especially the romance. Because if you already know who your epic love is gonna be, why would you spend time listening to what your actual heart is telling you?

And I think that's exactly what makes this book, apart from being simply entertaining, stand out. The science might not be explained in too much detail, although it was clear how everything worked and what was going on, but the dilemmas caused by time travel are really well thought out. The characters have a lot of choices to make, a lot of times their way of thinking and seeing the world is challenged and in the end they have to decide who they want to be.

3.5 ⭐️

Considering the diversity of themes in this book — from love triangles and time travel to mock combat games and philosophy — it seems highly unlikely that they should work together. Oddly enough, though, they do. Providing, that is, you’re equipped to engage in the necessary mental gymnastics.

Cambridge University, 2005.

Meet frustrated poet-come-philosophy student Joe, wannabe actress Diana, and time traveler Esi. The three have never met, until the day their lives clash in spectacular fashion, setting in motion a series of events that threatens to change the course of all their lives.

What brings them together is a book of poetry from the 2030s, which Esi drops, Joe picks up and is shocked to see his name on the cover. In 20 years’ time, so it seems, he’s going to be as famous as Shakespeare and have a wife and muse named Diana Dartnell!

From the off, I was invested in this story and how it would unfold. I felt huge empathy for Esi and her reasons for coming through the wormhole as well as the anxiety she felt about the butterfly effect of any of her actions. And I totally bought into Joe’s delight at his glittering future, his desire to secure it, and the dilemma he faced when things went skew-whiff.

All was going swimmingly, until about two-thirds of the way through when the narrative veered into a discussion on quantum physics and that old philosophical nut: determinism versus free will. While these are topics that I’m genuinely interested in, it fried my brain trying to absorb them while keeping my eye on the plot 🤯

That said, I still enjoyed the way everything played out and the fact that author Catriona Silvey gave me some interesting ideas to ponder. If time-travel tourism were ever to become a thing, sign me up to visit Liverpool in the early days of Beatlemania!

Love and Other Paradoxes is hard to categorise but all the better for it. Catriona Silvey weaves clever writing, rootable characters, time-travel and classic romcom vibes to great effect. After a slightly slow start I became utterly hooked a few chapters in, and finished the rest in one evening. What a compulsive and heart-felt read.