A Day Like This

A Novel

By: Kelley McNeil

Narrated by: Amanda Leigh Cobb

What if everything you’ve ever loved, ever known, ever believed to be true...just disappeared?

Annie Beyers has everything - a beautiful house, a loving husband, and an adorable daughter. It’s a day like any other when she takes Hannah to the pediatrician...until she wakes hours later from a car accident. When she asks for her daughter, confused doctors tell Annie that Hannah never existed. In fact, nothing after waking from the crash is the same as Annie remembers. Five happy years of her life apparently never happened.

Annie’s marriage is coming to an end. Now a successful artist living in Manhattan, she’s no longer home in their beloved upstate farmhouse. Her long-estranged sister is more like a best friend, and her recently deceased dog is alive and well. With each passing day, Annie’s remembered past and unfamiliar present begin to blur. Haunted by visions of Hannah, and with knowledge of things she can’t explain, Annie wonders...is everyone lying to her?

The search for answers leads Annie down an illuminating path far from home, to reconcile the memories with reality and to discover the truth about the life she’s living.

©2021 by Kelley McNeil. (P)2021 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Amanda Leigh Cobb embodies the voice of Annie, who is struggling to make sense of the new world she finds herself in, a world in which Hannah never existed, her 'yellow house' is gone, and her marriage has ended. As the story shifts between a present she doesn't recognize and a past happy life with Hannah and her husband, Cobb's voice is filled with emotion. She often sounds frustrated and on the edge of tears as Annie tries to make sense of a past and present that do not fit together.”—AudioFile Magazine

“…fresh and absorbing.”—Booklist

“A literary masterpiece of magical realism, A Day Like This is a riveting read and showcases author Kelley McNeil’s impressive flair for original and narrative driven storytelling.”—Midwest Book Review

“The concept of this novel is intriguing, a skillful blend of novel and quantum mechanics and exploring the what-ifs of life.”—Midwest Book Review

Kept my attention!

Good book, it just got a little long winded. It could have been edited down by an hour or so without losing anything.

Fantastical Mystery

This was quite interesting and a great book to cozy up with during our winter storm. The cover portrays the story very well! The painting's blurred lines are a nod to Annie's fuzzy memories and also her being a professional artist. This debut novel is top notch, characters are authentic and real, the plot was well thought out. The touches of mysticism and otherworldly were a great bonus, I love how the author incorporated it into the story in a believable way, you know without ruining the entire novel - I hate when that happens! She's got a lot of talent. The story isn't just about amnesia and trying to recover memories after a head injury - there's plenty of books and movies with that plotline. This book explores a little known phenomenon called The Mandela Effect and parallel universes, and it's done in such a way that you hope, for Annie's sake, it's real. The ending was a bit too neat, very clean cut, and I didn't like that so much, but I'm not mad about it. It was actually pretty cool. Great book, especially for a debut! 5 gold stars 🤩

A Day Like This

This is a story that grabs your heart from the first page and keeps you coming back for more. It also is a story that opens up reality possibilities and leaves you with…what IF

Pleasant and interesting read

An interesting story that kept me wondering what the outcome would be. Likable characters with a pleasant and easy to listen tone.

Light hearted

This book is different from my norm, so I was hesitant at first. it kept my interest and it wasn't dark. It was a well written story that makes you appreciate the love and bond a mother has with her children.

So disappointed

I’m not sure where to start. I enjoyed most of the book, I found myself wanting to read and find out what happened. However, the ending left me feeling, meh. This novel had a chance to really knock it out of the park with its subject matter, but it really missed the mark. I kept thinking the reason might be trauma related but hoped it would be about multiple dimensions. I don’t want to spoil it so I’ll just say it really fell flat.

Loved it!

I rarely give a book 5 stars but I thought this story was so well done! I listened to it in the car on a trip for 4 hours and had to finish it the next day. The subject was clever. Original. Good character development and a very creative story. At the end it made sense. All of the loose ends were tied. Extremely satisfying. I highly recommend reading this one.

Not your usual predictable book

I rarely write reviews on the audiobooks I listen to which is about 3-5 per week depending upon their length.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book, it moved along nicely and didn’t feel it lagged in parts like many books I listen to.

Another joy was that it really wasn’t predictable like many others I listen to. It was really wonderful wondering how it would end rather than listening complacently toward an ending you’ve seen coming for a while.

The narrator was very skilled with the different accents from characters that popped up now and then. I will definitely be looking up more of her books to listen to in the future (both narrator and author).

Well done-great ending!

This novel was well written and easy to listen to. It moved along smoothly. The characters are fleshed out nicely and the ending is- well - you decide for yourself.

Captivating

The narration is what makes this book come alive. You can actually feel all the emotions in one voice. The story was original and it left me at peace with all the possibilities one life can hold. The whole premise of the story, however improbable ends up staying with you and making you question reality as we view it. Will be looking for more books by this author and also by this narrator!!