The Way I Loved You by Fiona Lucas review – A tale of time travel and long-term love
What would you do if you could relive every anniversary all over again?
The Way I Loved You by Fiona Lucas: Key details
- Publish date: 12 March 2026
- Genre: Romance
- Publisher: HQ
- Available formats: Paperback, audio and ebook
- Series/standalone: Standalone
- Length: 392 pages
Blurb: On their tenth wedding anniversary, Jess and Luke should be on top of the world. But when a minor argument spirals, and a well-meant surprise goes stunningly wrong, their celebratory party ends in disaster, resulting in Luke slamming the front door behind him and Jess sleeping alone.
The next morning, Jess is shocked to find herself waking on the day she first met Luke, twelve years earlier. With each day that follows, Jess is given a chance to relive their wedding anniversaries, and to fix the mistakes that led to the breakdown of their marriage.
Amidst the push and pull of family responsibilities, financial trials and friendship tests, Jess finds herself falling for Luke even harder than she did the first time around. But as the countdown to their tenth anniversary begins, can she ensure that the love story they share has a truly happy ending?
The Way I Loved You by Fiona Lucas: The review
Generally speaking, I’m not a sci-fi fan. But there’s something about some light time travel shenanigans that I absolutely adore, and in The Way I Loved You, it’s handled perfectly. Not that this book is in any way what you’d think of when you hear the words ‘science fiction’; but its themes of jumping through time do fit the bill.
This is the story of Jess and Luke, a couple who, on their 10th wedding anniversary, have an argument so monumental that there’s perhaps no coming back from it. When Jess wakes up the next morning, she’s expecting to have to deal with the fallout. What she’s not expecting is to be in her childhood bedroom, a young 20-something, still living at home.
It’s 12 years earlier, and Jess has woken up on the day she meets Luke for the first time. It takes her a while to realise what’s happening, but she’s given the chance to experience each of their anniversaries all over again, going to sleep each night and waking up a year later. She thinks she has a chance to make things different, see where she went wrong, and stop that world-ending argument from ever happening in the first place.
It’s rare for a romance novel to focus on an existing relationship, and so to read about a long-term couple is seriously refreshing. Even if their relationship might not be all sunshine and roses, it feels tangible and believable. Anyone in a long-term relationship will occasionally see themselves in Jess and Luke: between the arguments, the upset, the love, life that gets in the way, there’s a very real couple here.
Occasionally The Way I Loved You feels frustrating in the way it focuses on Jess and Luke’s arguments. But even if not every moment we spend with this pair is happy, their love remains strong and unwavering; a palpable emotion that really jumps off the page. It’s heart-warming and affirming, a reminder that disagreements happen, but love usually wins out.
If you want a romance novel that’s a little different, that doesn’t focus on the butterflies of new love, that feels real with just a sprinkle of magic, then pick up The Way I Loved You. A wonderful novel, and a must-read for anyone in a long-term relationship.
Thank you to HQ for sending me a copy of the book to facilitate this review.
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