I thought this book was written and was quickly drawn into the characters and what was going on in their lives. When they start to see alternative versions of themselves, they begin to question if they are living their best lives and how to better their situations. The stories all end up enmeshed and resolved well by the end. This author is someone to watch in the future. She is creative and develops innovative stories that will leave you thinking. Thanks for the ARC, Net Galley.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is a tough one for me to rate. I was excited at the mention of parallel worlds and that part was done very well. The story line was interesting and I enjoyed it. I felt the characters had little depth and couldn’t connect. Then the end came unexpectedly and left me scratching my head. So I’m rating this 3.5 as opposed to a four.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review/opinion.

I was immediately intrigued in this book simply based on the idea of the four main characters, four neighbours, witnessing alternate versions of themselves. I love anything regarding alternate timelines or parallel universes.

The story starts out incredibly strong. The writing was great, and the characters were fully fleshed out and I felt like I genuinely got to know the characters. I loved the exploration of each person, and as we got further into the story and discovering the parallels and watching their stories evolve.

However, I ended this book slightly disappointed. I kept hoping the characters would discuss with one another the things they were seeing. Ginny and Mark would've been the best case scenario and most plausible since they are married, but that never happens. I felt like the climax was rushed, because all of a sudden the book was just ... over. It also felt a little muddy at times -- for example, when I was reading about Mark and Other Mark, and how those story-lines would overlap with, let's say, Cass and Other Cass, I would have to remind myself which version of each other character was experiencing what. I felt like I had missed something at times.

Overall, I think it is a great premise and it's executed well, but there are just some areas that didn't work well for me.

I was really intrigued by this book and looked forward to the concept of a parallel universe/reality. How would these visions the characters had change the decisions they made? The story was easy to delve into and the characters were all very interesting. I liked the way the book was written with the character's overlapping stories. However when I got to the end, I was left feeling disappointed. Surely, I couldn't be so close to the end! The visions weren't really explored as much as I thought they would be and there wasn't much of an explanation for them. I feel like there was a bunch of buildup without much follow through.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for this Advanced Reader Copy.

I've got to believe that everyone at some point has wondered how their life would be different if even one of the choices they made in their life were different. The 'road less traveled' is a popular trope; but If, Then tackles it in a refreshing way - allowing the four neighbors who make up this novel to view these differences through a series of 'visions'. There is Ginny - a doctor with an unraveling family life and visions of an attractive coworker living in her home. Mark - Ginny's husband and wildlife scientist whose work hints an impending devastation for their tiny Oregon community. Samara - a young real estate agent whose mother has recently passed due to complications of surgery....and finally Cass - a new mother and brilliant scholar who is trying to balance her new life with the old.

To be honest, this novel and the characters were quite intriguing on their own. I almost felt like the 'visions', or at least the way they manifested, were superfluous to the story. This novel could hold it's ground just with the interconnecting plot lines and unrest of the characters in their own lives. Either way, though, it didn't harm the story at all.

"If, Then" By Kate Hope Day from Random House is a suburban 'what if' story set in a small town in Oregon. In fact, the main players all live in the same cul-de-sac. Ginny is struggling between forbidden desires and responsibilities. Mark, her scientist husband, takes care of their 11 year old son and tries to predict disasters through frog behavior. Samara has returned home to mourn the recent death of her mother and ends up accidentally taking over her real estate business. Cass is struggling at home alone with her newborn and trying to get back on track to her philosophic studies. What all these characters have in common besides their cul-de-sac is that as their neighborhood supposedly dormant volcano starts to come back to life, they see glimpses of alternate realities into a parallel life, into what 'might have been'.

I love books set in areas other than where I live (New Jersey), it makes me feel like I took a trip. This author really brings that setting to life, especially since the plot is very much dependent on the local geography.

Although Ginny's professional stresses were very close to home for me, I somehow didn't emphasize with her character. I found it difficult to believe that someone who was so cold to her own family would suddenly discover any kind of passion elsewhere-it just didn't fit with her demonstrated emotional range. The rest of the storyline played out in a predictable way, almost like a standard 'action movie'. I found myself wishing for a more complex ending.

I would recommend this book for a light and entertaining read for lovers of suburban fiction (if there's such a genre), but not for anyone looking for a thought-provoking novel.

Really enjoyed this amazing read. The characters were very believable, and the story was intriguing, a blend of science fiction and drama. Well rounded and kept me reading into the night. I look forward to more from this promising author.

This was a book that I could not get into. Each chapter was a short story in itself and I assume they will all tie together at some point as one name pops up in each of the stories, but I just didn't care.
Chapter 2 was a woman who was grieving her mother, but when everything she did involved hearing her mother tell her what to do next, I was turned off.
Chapter 3 was a grad student who argued with her mentor,, but kept saying she would call him months later, though no real reason was given why she would forgive his words and want to talk to him again.
There was nothing to make me want to keep reading.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

If, Then takes place under a dormant mountain in Oregon where neighbors who live on a cul de sac are the main characters. Lately things have been a little strange, because when the ground shakes and their mouth tastes tangy, they are able to see themselves, but not really themselves, in an alternate life. A creative plot, brilliantly written, that holds its own from start to finish. I highly recommend.

It's a good thing I started this book on a slow day. Once I started reading, I didn't want to put it down. The fascinating stories and twisty plot lines demanded my full attention from the start. Reading this book was like walking through an MC Escher artwork. The overlapping stories take you in one direction, then the next thing you know you're somewhere else, like in Escher's staircase. I would attempt a synopsis here, but I couldn't do it justice. I'll just say that the lives of the people in Clearing, Oregon are s literally and figuratively shaken up when the nearby volcanic Broken Mountain starts to rumble.

There are some novels that I dread reaching the end and other novels where I'm looking forward to the end. With this novel, I was a bit surprised when I realized that I was at the end because I felt like we missed a few crucial scenes where readers had a better chance of realizing that we have not only come around full circle, but were made more aware of which circle we just completed.

To some degree, I felt like this was a novel that was written with the hopes of being made into big screen (are all novels written with that hope?). This may be why there were gaps because if this was on the big screen, we'd see things more clearly. As a reader, I understood what was going on but wasn't sure all of what I was reading needed to go on. There's an unhappy married couple who see each other in different realms, the wife lusting over a colleague of the same sex and the husband fearing he could delve into an Unabomber type madness. Their young son just gets stuck in their messy marriage. What's maddening about the novel is how little anyone talks about their out of body experiences. Dead relatives return. Duplicates of their selves surface. One moment the reader is here, then into the past, then into another a parallel universe. We don't get to know the husband who is on a research trip while the wife is left alone with an infant daughter. At one point in another universe, we see her give birth to an infant son. There were so many characters, most from the same neighborhood and job, but we never got to see them delve deeper into their real connectedness because we were always nose diving into another planetary experience and then the novel just tied up a few ends and that was that.

🌸🌸🌸🌸 out of 5 🌸s
This is a fascinating book, and exceptionally readable. The characters are utterly human, a fact that not only adds to but propels the story.
An intriguing exploration of the motives that drive us all, the book centers around the ultimate "what if." What if we could glimpse the alternate realities in which we might live?
I absolutely recommend this book.

We have all heard of Parallel Universes, imagined how our alternate selves live.
Author Kate Hope Day takes us to a neighborhood close to Broken Mountain, were the inhabitants of a small neighborhood will meet their alternate selves as they proceed with their lives.
The premise is an interesting one, my only regret, the author, in my opinion, missed a great
opportunity to delve deeper into this aspect of the novel, expending the protagonists meeting with
their other worldly selves, engage them somehow deeper into the story line. Otherwise I really enjoyed this novel, the characters are well developed, the story line is cohesive. It is an interesting, enjoyable read.

I recommend it to anyone who loves an interesting, well written novel.

Thank you to Random House Publishing

for this enjoyable arc



Thank you NetGalley for the arc

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for this Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review.

This novel settles you into a cozy Oregon town and introduces four neighbors, each struggling with life's typical problems. One by one they each experience sudden visions of themselves in alternate lives. I found it pleasant to read and enjoyed getting to know each character, and think many people who enjoy reading about the interconnecting lives of neighbors and exploring how each choice we make impacts the trajectory of our lives will enjoy this book.

The idea of alternate realities is popular in fiction now, so I was excited to see if this book would offer a new take on the idea. Ultimately, I found myself disappointed by the novel. It's tough to speak in depth about the plot without spoiling, but I felt like the story only scratched the surface of this intriguing concept, and found it to move along very slowly without much really happening. I do think the book will have appeal, this is just my personal reading experience as compared to other novels with similar concepts to If, Then.

A thoroughly enjoyable and stimulating read. The novel was very well-written, the characters were real and appealing to me, and the plot - as the epidemic of mysterious visions escalated - kept you hooked. As the story unfolds, you realize that this coastal Oregon town is plagued by more than the threat of seismic activity and volcanic eruptions. A few of the visions lead to life-changing decisions, and things will never be the same. I was intrigued by one of the character's TOE - that there is a multiverse, as opposed to one universe, where multiple versions of each life plays out. This story will linger in your thoughts long after you have read the final page.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this book and in exchange provide honest feedback.

Four neighbors in Oregon begin to see alternate versions of themselves and don't know why. As the book progresses, we learn about how each character is dealing with a particular adversity and how these visions fit into that. This started out strong for me, but I was left feeling disappointed. When I read the summary, I thought this was a really cool concept. A bunch of people see alternate versions of themselves that alter how they see things and the choices they make? A character driven novel? Sounds interesting!

I don't want to say much more about the plot because I think that is part of the reason I was left feeling disappointed. In an attempt to market the book, the story was made out to be something that it isn't - more sci-fi and dramatic. While the characters were well developed and interesting, the book didn't live up to what I thought was its full potential. For example, the why behind the visions wasn't really explored in depth and in the last section of the book, it seemed like the timeline wasn't really what we thought, but then it kind of veered in a different direction. (I feel like I'm struggling to properly explain, but in an attempt to keep this as spoiler free as possible, this is the best I can do.)

Ultimately, If,Then was good. The visions the characters had didn't play as much of a part as I thought they would. In the absence of this, was a very good story with interesting people and lessons to learn. I think most people will be able to look past the criticisms I had and enjoy this immensely. The writing was strong - the plot just needed some flushing out in parts (for me). I look forward to seeing other reviews and welcome anyone who would like to discuss what I think would be a great pick for a book club!

Thanks for the early review copy!

I picked this because of the cover and the intense plot. It was a strange read. I will be checking out more from this author.

I was a bit disappointed by this book. The characters have depth, although I think there may have been too many of them without enough connection between them. The science fiction ideas were intriguing, but we never got to the science behind those ideas or an explanation as to why people were able to see between realities. The characters were never given a chance to discuss what they had seen with each other, so they never had much of an "aha moment" and neither did we. While I think that many others will enjoy this character-driven story, I was looking for more explanation and more technical content. In an alternate reality, I would love to read Cass' paper delving further into the application (rather than theory) of Counterfactuals.

A unique adventure of a novel .Characters living their everyday lives get a glimpse of an alternate life a road that could of been taken,So well written drew me in from the first pages highly recommend,#netgalley #lfthen

A fantastic debut! There are a few "first novel' issues with the story which amount to things maybe not being as fleshed out as they could have been, but strong characters and a solid, original plot with excellent storytelling more than makes up for it. Day is a very talented author who is only going to grow, and I very much look forward to her next offering.