Five First Chances

"A compassionate ode to the beautiful messiness of being human." ― Glendy Vanderah

"Reminiscent of Matt Haig's The Midnight Library and Rebecca Serle's In Five Years." ― Booklist

A life-affirming debut that blends a poignant exploration of friendship and loss with a truly unforgettable love story.

What would you do if you had one more chance for the life of your dreams?

Lou feels like she is stuck on the wrong path: alone, in a city far from home, watching other people be happy. When the man she's in love with announces his engagement to someone else, Lou is consumed by 'what ifs'.

That's when she finds herself slipping back in time to a night two years ago, where one small decision changed everything...

Suddenly, Lou has a chance to fix her mistakes. But as her choices lead her down roads she never could have imagined, she finds herself stuck in a time loop of her own making. And with each slip, Lou notices her life intersecting with one person again and again. A friend of a friend who once lived on the periphery, who is slowly becoming the one person who makes her feel like she might finally be on the right track.

Lou is about to realize that our greatest love stories aren't always the ones we expected, but are the ones we choose to fight for.

For anyone who has ever felt stuck on the wrong path comes a stunning, time-bending love story that challenges what it means to get things "right." This is a book that will pull at your heartstrings and make you realize that our world is full of inspiring people poised to change everything...and you might just be one of them.

Sarah Jost is a Swiss national who has been living in the UK since 2008. She works as a Housemistress and French teacher at a girls’ school, which she considers an immersive course in character study. Sarah lives in Buckinghamshire with her partner Luke and their adorable and destructive puppy Winnie. Five First Chances is her debut.