Ideal Life : A Novel - Evelyn Skye

Pre-order. Published 24 September 2026 — we'll send your copy on publication day. Order now and we'll put one aside for you. Free UK delivery on orders over £20, or collect from the shop in Oxford's Covered Market.

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In New York Times bestselling author Evelyn Skye's warmhearted and lightly magical novel, an opportunity to turn back time gives a scientist the chance to pursue her ideal life, only to realize it might keep her from truly living. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Taylor Jenkins Reid. What if you could rewind the last twenty-four hours and perfect your life? Embarrassing email typo? Corrected and perfected. Missed workout? Rescheduled and crushed. Awkward conversation? Smoothed out and charmed. On the eve of Talia Morgan's neuroscience startup's major acquisition, a glitch in her app leads to catastrophe, and everything she's worked for crumbles in a single night. Then Talia wakes up with a mysterious watch that lets her rewind the last twenty-four hours. Suddenly, she can prevent the glitch, ace that crucial meeting, and savor perfect Sunday afternoons with Sam, her brilliant best friend who's quietly loved her for nearly two decades. But what starts as a tool for good soon becomes a dangerous temptation to turn back every messy moment and optimize her life until it's flawless. When one rewind goes too far, though, Talia begins to see that the imperfect version of her life might be the only one worth living. From New York Times bestselling author Evelyn Skye comes a story that asks whether our relentless pursuit of an ideal life might be keeping us from truly living at all.