I enjoyed the characters enough not to be bothered by the meandering, but some readers may be put off by it.

Those scenes tended to slow the whole story down. Also, there were a number of scenes that, while they did offer some further character interactions, didn't really move the plot at all. It wasn't a huge deal, maybe a half-dozen times in total, but it was noticeable to me. I say that because there were multiple instances, most frequently during reminiscences, where she conjugated incorrectly. The third-person, present tense works, but it's also pretty clear that it's not the author's comfort zone. How much you like the book will probably depend on how much you like Claire and, fortunately, I liked her a lot. She's also funny, honest, occasionally self-conscious, and loyal to a fault. Claire is frequently abrasive, she deals out cutting sarcasm without much concern over where it lands or who it hits, and she has little or no idea where her life is headed. Personally, I'm pretty sure she and I would be thick as thieves, but your mileage will vary. Claire's kind of a lot to take, and I can see how some readers might not like her. (Seriously, if I were a character in this novel, I'd be dead by the halfway point). The best way to describe A Story of Now is to say that it's a few months in the life of a character these months include self-doubt, aimlessness, family difficulty, new friendships, budding romantic feelings, and an unbelievable amount of alcohol consumption. It's a coming out story, but the main character doesn't actually come out. It's a coming-of-age story, but the main character's already 20. My first thought when trying to come up with a review for this book is, 'I have no idea how to label it.' This is a romance, but the romance doesn't really happen until the last third of the book.

A Story of Now by Emily O’Beirne