Review of When We Crossed Paths Again

[Kendal Low]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "When We Crossed Paths Again" by Andrew Hirschhorn.]

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2 out of 5 stars

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Carolyn has just arrived at Eastwood University, looking to leave behind her difficult home life and upbringing. It is there that she meets Robbie, an aspiring lawyer. After feeling an instant connection, the two begin a relationship that will span decades – a relationship filled with fights, sadness, love, and eventually happiness. When We Crossed Paths Again by Andrew Hirschhon revolves around Robbie and Carolyn as they make their way through their lives, facing illnesses, legal battles, and failed relationships.

The premise of this book sounded very intriguing to me when I first read the synopsis. However, I am disappointed to say that I did not connect to the book at all. The formatting of the book felt slightly cramped, as each new chapter began on the same page as the previous chapter ended. I believe that beginning new chapters on a fresh page would improve the flow of the story, making it feel less rushed. Speaking of feeling rushed, the book time-jumped through many years at a time, which made it exceptionally difficult to take the time and connect with Robbie and Carolyn as people. Their relationship is extremely up and down, and the audience has no time to get used to the back-and-forth before being thrown into the future. It felt overdone and unnecessary. The characters were also not very well-developed.

Furthermore, I found it disappointing that instead of showing us Carolyn and Robbie’s careers and struggles, the audience was told about them instead. Additionally, it was made clear that Carolyn had a turbulent upbringing, but it was never discussed in depth. This was a hugely missed opportunity to connect the audience with Carolyn’s struggles.

Unfortunately, the book was also poorly edited. I found many simple errors that could have been easily avoided had the book been read through by an editor. It upsets me that I have very few positive points to make about the book. However, one thing I did appreciate was the way the author represented Carolyn and Robbie’s relationship, showing the audience that “right person, wrong time” is a very real sentiment. I agree that if it is meant to be it will be. I also enjoyed the representation of some very serious illnesses in the book. The author handled them respectfully and kindly.

While I do believe this book has a great amount of potential, it needs a fair amount of work for it to be as good as it can be. So, for the reasons mentioned above, I rate this book 2 out of 5 stars.

While the book wasn’t necessarily for me, I would still happily recommend it to readers who enjoy romance novels with surface-level characters and development. I don’t believe anyone looking for a particularly deep or meaningful story would find this book engaging.

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When We Crossed Paths Again
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[Pooja Loya]

It's a much based on love which you don't get at home and been found outside which you get so I liked the book

[Tobi Adefila]

The title of the book alone is catchy. This is the type of book I would love to read. Thanks for the review