Review: Feels Like the First Time
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
By Kimberly Packard
Romance, Time-Slip, RomCom
Publisher: Abalos Publishing
Publication Date: 16 June 2026
SYNOPSIS
Blink and your life’s halfway over. What if that happens literally?
College party girl Emily Murray bounces through majors and boys until an ill-advised art major leads her to a rebellious relationship with an aspiring rock star. When her father cuts off the college fund—and her boyfriend ditches her to chase a record deal—Emily spirals, hard.
One shaved head and emotional black out later, she wakes up thirty years in the future, living a life she doesn’t recognize as a successful therapist and engaged to a total stranger.
With no apparent way to rewind the clock, Emily scrambles to make sense of her new reality. With a wedding date looming and a competitive therapist threatening her fragile career, Emily is forced to question: Was this really the future she was meant for?
Witty, sharp and unexpectedly heartwarming, Feels Like the First Time, the highly anticipated follow up to This Time Around, is a love letter to our younger selves, reminding us that even when we feel lost, we often end up exactly where we need to be.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberly Packard is an award-winning author of women’s fiction and romance.
When she isn’t writing, she can be found planning her next trip, asking her dog what’s in his mouth or curled up with a book. She resides in Texas with her husband Colby, a clever cat named Oliver and a precocious black lab named Tully.
Feels Like the First Time by Kimberly Packard is a time-slip story that is a companion to Packard’s previous book, This Time Around. Feels Like the First Time is about Emily Murray, a woman who spends her college years floating amongst relationships, majors, and questionable life choices. While she is experiencing a break up, and therefore a breakdown, she finds herself waking up 30 years in the future. She realizes that she’s constructed a pretty nice life for herself…so how did she get there?
I loved how this story blended contemporary romance with speculative elements while keeping personal growth and self-discovery at the heart of the narrative. The emotional moments hit hard, but they're balanced perfectly with humor, making for an engaging and enjoyable read.
I love romance novels, but I really love novels that have one or both main characters show personal growth. And in Feels Like the First Time, it is very much about looking back to your past and wondering (and appreciating) how all the messy decisions we make are what makes up our lives. Emily is relatable and enjoyable to read as she discovers (or re-discovers) who she is.
I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys seeing the full circle in novels - the growth and emotion of it all.
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