Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon (2025), by Annie Mare, is a fun, cozy, modern-day romance with science fiction elements. When Tressa Fay receives a text message meant for someone else, she lets the sender—an engineer named Meryl—know she has the wrong number. Unexpectedly, the exchange turns flirty, and the two women end up planning a spur-of-the-moment date. But when they try to meet up, they can’t find each other, and they both believe they’ve been stood up.
The truth, however, is much weirder! Tressa Fay soon gets a visit from Meryl’s sister and friend, who inform her that Meryl has been missing for a month, and demand to know what she knows. As it turns out, the Meryl that Tressa Fay has been texting with is five months in the past. With the help of their friends and loved ones, Tressa Fay and past Meryl must work to discover the truth behind Meryl’s disappearance so that they can try to prevent it from happening in the first place.
This book is full of witty dialogue, yearning, and found family vibes. It’s much heavier on the romance than the science fiction—though there’s a lot of speculation about the nature of time travel, it’s not too technical and is easily skimmed over if that’s not your thing. I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoyed One Last Stop (2021) by Casey McQuiston.