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This Time Will Be Different
On this side of the veil, the living and dead mingle freely. Only those who have witnessed death personally--or just barely escaped the grasp themselves--can see spirits.
Aaron has long gotten used to having the sight. But when he comes home from studying abroad for college to help care for his ailing father, he runs right back into the person who gave it to him in the first place--his abusive ex, Dmitri.
In a desperate bid to rid himself of this spirit, Aaron joins forces with Amanda, an old friend eager to gain the sight who has connections to the tenuous world of mediums.
And while Dmitri is a little too ready to let go, an abiding karmic bond has already sealed Aaron’s fate with Dmitri’s. To truly free himself, Aaron must confront the truth of their relationship, before he loses everything he holds dear.
Dark, raw, and emotional, This Time Will Be Different is perfect for fans of Life is Strange, School Spirits, and any other good ghost story.
Aaron has long gotten used to having the sight. But when he comes home from studying abroad for college to help care for his ailing father, he runs right back into the person who gave it to him in the first place--his abusive ex, Dmitri.
In a desperate bid to rid himself of this spirit, Aaron joins forces with Amanda, an old friend eager to gain the sight who has connections to the tenuous world of mediums.
And while Dmitri is a little too ready to let go, an abiding karmic bond has already sealed Aaron’s fate with Dmitri’s. To truly free himself, Aaron must confront the truth of their relationship, before he loses everything he holds dear.
Dark, raw, and emotional, This Time Will Be Different is perfect for fans of Life is Strange, School Spirits, and any other good ghost story.
335 pages, ebook
Published July 12, 2026
About the author
Rachel E. Wilder
2 books1 followerRachel E. Wilder (they/them) is an indie author based in upstate New York. Rachel has been writing for nearly 20 years in all kinds of genres: fantasy, horror, sci-fi, literary/contemporary, magical realism. Having gotten their start writing Danny Phantom fanfiction, Rachel fell in love with language and storytelling and quickly branched out.
Rachel has an undergraduate degree in creative writing, and a master's in library science. In addition to writing fiction, they have experience writing grants, organizational copy, and academic papers. They are also a skilled developmental and copyeditor. When not writing, Rachel enjoys gaming, hiking, baking, and cooking.
Rachel lives at home with their partner Killian and their cat Xeno.
Rachel has an undergraduate degree in creative writing, and a master's in library science. In addition to writing fiction, they have experience writing grants, organizational copy, and academic papers. They are also a skilled developmental and copyeditor. When not writing, Rachel enjoys gaming, hiking, baking, and cooking.
Rachel lives at home with their partner Killian and their cat Xeno.
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Review of advance copy received from Author
“ɪ ꜱᴀᴡ ʏᴏᴜ, ᴀɴᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ꜱᴏ ʙᴇᴀᴜᴛɪꜰᴜʟ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴏ–ꜰᴜᴄᴋᴇᴅ ᴜᴘ.”
— 𝕬𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆.
💚 He has POTS and can see ghosts
💚 She's his childhood friend ... And the one who almost was
💚 Mixed POV
💚 What if mediums were everywhere?
💚 Bi4bi second chance romance
💚 Clean new adult
💚 Overcoming trauma and grief
An interesting take on the medium concept, but ....
When I was a teenager, I read a book about a girl whose name might or might not have been Lucy who was involved with a pastor and could see ghosts. I can't remember the title, but I do remember how much I loved the concept. That's why paranormal books with a medium as the main character will always have a special place in my heart.
"𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚—𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧. 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨."
This Time Will Be Different started strong with the classic trope of "someone returns to their hometown because of this and that and now all hell is breaking loose." We meet Aaron, our MMC, and I appreciated that he isn't your typical romance hero. Aaron is chronically ill, has POTS, has a slim build, and is still trying to heal from the abuse he suffered at the hands of his ex boyfie, Dmitry.
“𝙂𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛. 𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙖𝙢? 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡?”
Now, I have to admit, I've read sapphic books before, but I'd never crossed over to the other side of the river. Reading a romance from the perspective of a bi man was a new experience for me, and I found it fascinating. Even though the story is set in modern times, Aaron reminds us that many people are still dealing with homophobia. That was genuinely eye opening. Is it really still that bad, even in America? I can only hope things continue to get better.
“--𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙢. 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”
Telling the story through Aaron's POV made him feel real. He's already in the acceptance stage of his illness. He isn't drowning in self pity. I loved how he could joke about his condition and even use self deprecating humor in a way that made me chuckle.
His relationship with his family was sooo complicated. I actually found it funny that almost nobody in this book is straight or "normal." Everyone is either queer or disabled. His sister is deaf. His best friend is gay. His father is trans. Even Aaron's hair is curly and refuses to be straight. But one thing I really respected was that, despite how angry he was, Aaron never misgendered his father.
𝘼𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙞𝙨-𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩-𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧’𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙠? 𝙃𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚. “𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮.
“𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙’𝙫𝙚. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙…”
𝙄 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬. “𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙?”
That said ... I really struggled with the writing.
Somehow, Aaron's internal monologue never seemed able to stay focused. It often jumped from one thought or scene to another without a proper transition. I'm not sure how to describe it. Maybe it felt very ... fragmented??? Like, the story was scattered all over the place. At first, the mystery was enough to keep me reading, and on the bright side, the book is short.
But the more I read, the more frustrated I became because of how repetitive everything felt. Aaron didn't really do much to solve the mystery. I understand why he kept postponing things as he had a lot going on, but it became exhausting to watch him act like everything was fine. I mean bro, you're literally ughh dying?
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜
–𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚
𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝?
Aaron's two love interests, Dmitry and Amanda, couldn't have been more different. And I don't just mean because Dmitry is an abusive manipulative piece of shit. But bcs Amanda felt criminally underdeveloped.
We learn so much about Dmitry. I could tell you all about his personality and his background. But Amanda? She barely has any defining traits. It felt like she only existed so Aaron would have another romantic option. Her entire personality boiled down to "nice girl who loves the hero" which is a shame because I can absolutely see myself liking her if she weren't so ... Eh, plain? Maybe a few chapters from her POV would have helped. Or even more flashbacks focused solely on her relationship with Aaron.
“𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.”
Even if it was sweet, I'm sorry but I just didn't buy the romance. :(
And the ending ... What was that? Seriously WHAT WAS THAT? I still don't understand what actually happened. We spend over 250 pages wondering about "the promise" only for the reveal to be ... confusing? I cri. I'm honestly mad. Like, mad MAD. What was that supposed to be???
I think it was meant to be a shocking plot twist, but to me it ended up feeling anticlimactic instead??? Now I'm just sitting here wondering how to rate a book that offered such an interesting perspective while also leaving me so disappointed. I guess great ideas were everywhere. Great execution was not.
— 𝕬𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖆.
💚 He has POTS and can see ghosts
💚 She's his childhood friend ... And the one who almost was
💚 Mixed POV
💚 What if mediums were everywhere?
💚 Bi4bi second chance romance
💚 Clean new adult
💚 Overcoming trauma and grief
An interesting take on the medium concept, but ....
When I was a teenager, I read a book about a girl whose name might or might not have been Lucy who was involved with a pastor and could see ghosts. I can't remember the title, but I do remember how much I loved the concept. That's why paranormal books with a medium as the main character will always have a special place in my heart.
"𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚—𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧. 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙨."
This Time Will Be Different started strong with the classic trope of "someone returns to their hometown because of this and that and now all hell is breaking loose." We meet Aaron, our MMC, and I appreciated that he isn't your typical romance hero. Aaron is chronically ill, has POTS, has a slim build, and is still trying to heal from the abuse he suffered at the hands of his ex boyfie, Dmitry.
“𝙂𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙛. 𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙖𝙢? 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡?”
Now, I have to admit, I've read sapphic books before, but I'd never crossed over to the other side of the river. Reading a romance from the perspective of a bi man was a new experience for me, and I found it fascinating. Even though the story is set in modern times, Aaron reminds us that many people are still dealing with homophobia. That was genuinely eye opening. Is it really still that bad, even in America? I can only hope things continue to get better.
“--𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙢. 𝘼 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛.”
Telling the story through Aaron's POV made him feel real. He's already in the acceptance stage of his illness. He isn't drowning in self pity. I loved how he could joke about his condition and even use self deprecating humor in a way that made me chuckle.
His relationship with his family was sooo complicated. I actually found it funny that almost nobody in this book is straight or "normal." Everyone is either queer or disabled. His sister is deaf. His best friend is gay. His father is trans. Even Aaron's hair is curly and refuses to be straight. But one thing I really respected was that, despite how angry he was, Aaron never misgendered his father.
𝘼𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙞𝙨-𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩-𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣, 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙙𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙄 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙘𝙩𝙤𝙧’𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙘𝙠? 𝙃𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜, 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚. “𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮.
“𝙎𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙’𝙫𝙚. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙥𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧, 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙…”
𝙄 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙬. “𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙?”
That said ... I really struggled with the writing.
Somehow, Aaron's internal monologue never seemed able to stay focused. It often jumped from one thought or scene to another without a proper transition. I'm not sure how to describe it. Maybe it felt very ... fragmented??? Like, the story was scattered all over the place. At first, the mystery was enough to keep me reading, and on the bright side, the book is short.
But the more I read, the more frustrated I became because of how repetitive everything felt. Aaron didn't really do much to solve the mystery. I understand why he kept postponing things as he had a lot going on, but it became exhausting to watch him act like everything was fine. I mean bro, you're literally ughh dying?
𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜
–𝙖 𝙣𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙘𝙚
𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝?
Aaron's two love interests, Dmitry and Amanda, couldn't have been more different. And I don't just mean because Dmitry is an abusive manipulative piece of shit. But bcs Amanda felt criminally underdeveloped.
We learn so much about Dmitry. I could tell you all about his personality and his background. But Amanda? She barely has any defining traits. It felt like she only existed so Aaron would have another romantic option. Her entire personality boiled down to "nice girl who loves the hero" which is a shame because I can absolutely see myself liking her if she weren't so ... Eh, plain? Maybe a few chapters from her POV would have helped. Or even more flashbacks focused solely on her relationship with Aaron.
“𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.”
Even if it was sweet, I'm sorry but I just didn't buy the romance. :(
And the ending ... What was that? Seriously WHAT WAS THAT? I still don't understand what actually happened. We spend over 250 pages wondering about "the promise" only for the reveal to be ... confusing? I cri. I'm honestly mad. Like, mad MAD. What was that supposed to be???
I think it was meant to be a shocking plot twist, but to me it ended up feeling anticlimactic instead??? Now I'm just sitting here wondering how to rate a book that offered such an interesting perspective while also leaving me so disappointed. I guess great ideas were everywhere. Great execution was not.
Review of advance copy
I was hooked from the cover and description and was so glad I was able to read this, it uses the opening chapter to this world and was engaged with the characters. It was a strong start to the Veilside series and was enjoying the paranormal dark fantasy genre of this. The characters were written in a way that worked in what I was expecting and was hooked in their story. Rachel E. Wilder wrote this perfectly and left me wanting to read the next chapter in this series and from Rachel E. Wilder.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy
Book 1 of Veilside.
'Dark, raw, and emotional, This Time Will Be Different is perfect for fans of Life is Strange, School Spirits, and any other good ghost story.'
The characters were well written. Plot was intriguing. World building was solidly drawn. All in all a very good read. Recommend.
Grab a copy!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
'Dark, raw, and emotional, This Time Will Be Different is perfect for fans of Life is Strange, School Spirits, and any other good ghost story.'
The characters were well written. Plot was intriguing. World building was solidly drawn. All in all a very good read. Recommend.
Grab a copy!.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Review of advance copy received from Author
ARC review
Always check trigger warnings before you start reading, just in case if there is anything you can't handle. I liked this book, it was pretty emotional in some parts and I was hooked on reading each chapter to find out what would happen with the characters, I'm pretty satisfied with the ending.
Always check trigger warnings before you start reading, just in case if there is anything you can't handle. I liked this book, it was pretty emotional in some parts and I was hooked on reading each chapter to find out what would happen with the characters, I'm pretty satisfied with the ending.
Review of advance copy received from Author
Thank you to the author for letting me arc read this book. I was hooked just from the cover and blurb and it did not disappoint. I love a good ghost story and I was so happy with the story line and the characters were well written I highly recommend this one!
July 13, 2026
I received an ARC directly from the author in exchange for a free copy of the book
This book was a harder read, but also such a good one. Will read it again in the future
This book was a harder read, but also such a good one. Will read it again in the future
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