Book Review: Another Time – Another Chance

Author Steve Wilhelm gets falling in love right in his novel, “Another Time – Another Chance.” His ability to weave the magic of new love into a truly beautiful story of desire, hope, and healing is exceptional.  The story of a man, in this case, Daniel, whose life swarms with the blessing of beautiful women to whom he claims his love for, is at first a little bit one dimensional.  After all, the man has it all.  It seems, at first glance, when initially reading, that Daniel just got a great round of good luck and lives in bliss.  Where’s the plot?  Oh boy … keep reading.  Wilhelm introduces the idea of regret, that often not so distant companion of all things what if?  He does so in such a twist of fate, a simple moment of wonder, that the story takes on a life of its own.  What if we could go back and change things?  What if we didn’t have to wonder about the effects of our choices?

Daniel, having it all already, chooses to open Pandora’s box.  His memory plays tricks on him, to the point of his memory being completely erased for some period of time.  He cannot seem to shake off the idea that whatever it is that is missing, might be important.  He is given an opportunity to re-trace his life, to literally go back in time, to discover what it is he is missing and ultimately, find out what may have been.

As the reader I was at first angry at Daniel.  In fact, I had a lot of emotion.  Daniel had everything – a great wife, a loving daughter, a picture perfect everything.  Why risk what he had by challenging his memory to recall things that possibly were erased for a good reason?   Why, when he discovers what that memory is, does he want to immerse himself in it?  I struggled with the transition the author takes from Daniel in “real” life to Daniel “going back.”  However, Wilhelm doesn’t disappoint.  The new “life” Daniel finds is one that sucks you in and breathes a new life entirely into the novel.

The cliffhanger ebbs and flows throughout the second half of the novel, and I found myself getting more and more excited for a perceived outcome, one that I was sure was going to take place.  I couldn’t put this book down, not until I knew what was going to happen when Daniel woke up from his jaunt down memory lane.

Then, the author does the most difficult thing of all and does so in such a way that if he were here, in my living room, I would have smacked him on the shoulder.  He went somewhere I didn’t even think possible.   The ending leaves you breathless, and desperately wanting more.

Quite the love story, but also a novel that leaves you contemplating your own life, your own regrets and choices, and in the end provides a path that astonishes.  Five stars for this novel, pick it up today on Amazon!