An interesting book, enjoyed the characters but wasn’t a huge fan of the endig of the story, felt a little letdown.

If Only focuses on Erin, her granny, and her friend group. I loved them all. The characters were really well-developed. Erin's living in London, and has just walked away from her fiancé. The storyline was generally good. and loved the general feel of the book but not a massive fan of the ending 3/5 stars

Why do we second guess ourselves? Erin's gone home to Ireland after canceling her wedding and while she thought the trip would soothe, it also opens up old wounds. What would you do differently? This is very much about coming to accept that our choices, whatever they are, are meant to be. A good read.

I loved this book so much, such a lighted hearted lovely read that I needed! Such an amazing debut that I would recommend again and again. Looking forward to reading Melanie Murphy’s next book.

A lovely sliding doors book with Erin being given the opportunity to see what different choices would have made to her life. Great characters and a lovely read that kept me hooked.

I love this concept for a plot. Very fun and thought provoking. I really enjoyed this book and it definitely made me cry a few times. Really excited to see what this writer comes up with in future.

This is the first book I’ve read by this author and I have to admit not my usual genre but I loved it. This book is well written and the story is really good.

If Only is the story of Erin, who at 30 has broken off her engagement and travels home to Ireland to tell her family. Whilst in Ireland, her mysterious grandmother gifts her with a necklace that allows her to see if her decision has been the right one. Whilst the premise of this sounded magical and full of promise, the novel itself was sadly anything but. I found it littered with clichès and tropes, from the stereotypical gay best friend to the “magical” grandmother, and so much more. It was very predictable and frustrating, and not at all what I’d hope to see in this day and age with slurs and insults given “jokingly”. I felt Erin (can I just say here that naming your character Erin when she comes from *Ireland* is just plain lazy?!) was shallow and very two-dimensional, and lacked any real personal power or motivation. The writing is also very immature and lacked imagination. Not a good read at all. Avoid.

I received an e-ARC from the publisher, Hachette Books Ireland, through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly, I want to say that I really like Melanie Murphy and enjoy watching her videos on You Tube and keeping up with her on social media.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book, a mean wouldn't we all like to know what would have happened if we had made a different decision in our lives? Really fascinating idea which I thought was genius! I would say I would have really liked to have seen a few more alternative lives in Erin's life as for me these were the best parts of the book.

I really liked Erin's best friend with his wittiness and sarcastic comments. He was delightfully funny. I also really liked her grandmother.

The main problem I had was with Erin who I found to be so self centred and downright annoying and whiny throughout the book. I don't always have to like the main character but I at least have to be rooting for her but I felt I didn't care enough about her unfortunately.

That being said the ending made me cry and the last 20% of the book was by far my favourite so its a solid 3.5 stars from me.

Really sweet story and compelling central characters. It did exactly what it says on the tin and was a very nice read.

Erin is 30 years old and not happy with her life. She is going home to Ireland to celebrate her birthday with family and tell them the bad news, she has broken off her engagement. While there she received a necklace from her grandmother, it can show her how different decisions could have changed her life. If Only is a good title for the book. If you're older and often second guess past decisions this is a read that will put some light on possibilities. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book totally surprised me. Honestly, I went into it not sure if I would love it -- it's not my typical genre of preference and I think I did judge it by the cover quite a lot (the cover does not do the book justice at all and feels a bit mismatched). But, I wanted to read it because Melanie Murphy is bloody fabulous and I loved her writing in her non-fiction book.

My point is, I loved this. It surpassed my expectations, definitely.

It was the perfect balance of all of the things. It had sweet bits, but no sickly sweet. It had magic, but it wasn't over the top. It had darker, more serious parts about eating disorders and mental health and grief but it did it in a way that felt respectful and realistic without it casting a shadow over the whole book.

Most of all, I just loved the characters. I loved that all of them were flawed and realistic and I loved that friendships were such a big part of the book, Erin and Reid's friendship totally had my heart. Her granny cracked me up too, she was lovely and reminds me a lot of my own granny.

Erin was a great main character. She was so easy to relate to and I loved that, I loved that she didn't have the perfect life, even in the end. I loved she was a representation of achievable happiness, because plenty of us have moments where we feel like our lives aren't what we expected or like we're not where we should be based on some arbitrary timeline (I think that's why this genre usually isn't for me, the endings are often happy to a fault which isn't my thing).

The only thing that comes to mind that I don't like is that I don't have access to Erin's necklace, because that would definitely come in handy.

Anyway, I'd rate the book 4 stars out of 5 and I'm really looking forward to whatever Melanie writes next.

Just to note: the review has been cross-posted to Amazon, but it hasn't been approved yet. Will add link once it has.

Unfortunately I really struggled to get into this, but I've heard really great things from others so I think it just wasn't for me.

I'm always a bit skeptical going into YouTuber's books, partially because there was such a trend years ago with so many well-known internet personalities being granted book deals just because they had a ton of followers online. I have stayed away from most of these books, but I'm really intrigued when a YouTuber decides to publish a novel instead of a memoir. Melanie has now done both of these things, but even so, she has made it clear in her videos that her dream of writing fiction did not start just because she has online popularity and an easy path to book deals. Melanie has wanted to write novels since she was a young child, and I was interested to see what she wrote seeing as I followed her entire journey of writing this novel online. This is a contemporary fiction with a bit of a magical twist, not a unique idea, but it can certainly be done in a new way each time, so this was not a magical twist I had ever read before and that made it even more appealing. To see what I mean, read the synopsis below and then continue into my full spoiler-free thoughts!

As this is a debut fiction from Melanie, I was very impressed by the structure and planning I could see went into the story just from reading it! Sure, I saw the whole writing and editing process in her monthly vlogs, and this book very much reflects the experiences she has shared from her own life online, but there was a clear path that the main character followed. While some of it was predictable, I didn't mind it because I found that I really cared about what happened to Erin and I wanted her to be happy and find the right path in life. There were also a lot of references to 80's tunes (Erin's preferred music genre), which I appreciated as a fan of 80's music myself.

My only complaint would be that it felt a bit incomplete at the end. I know contemporary novels tend to have open endings (usually happy) endings and the reader has no solid conclusion, but this ending felt a bit rushed to me. I wanted a little more about how Erin ended up where she was because it just skipped ahead a few months without explaining how Erin got there emotionally and physically. That said, the ending was still quite satisfying and I left this book feeling like I had read something fulfilling and inspirational. I know Melanie is working on a new fiction project next, so I look forward to seeing more of her writing!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I found it was fast-paced and familiar. It is the first book by this author that I have read and I will be looking out for more! It certainly served as a reminder of the importance of now and the passing of life. Thank you!

I love the Ireland setting for such a sweet story of a woman finding her way. I loved this one!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

All I have to say is WOW. The main character Erin, just turning 40 is questioning her life choices and inherits an heirloom.
I think all of us at one point feels how Erin did.

This is a wonderful engaging read.

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It touched on reaching a milestone , and where are you in life. This book was a page turner , I couldnt put down.

The premise of "If Only", a thirty-something women down on her luck, is exactly the type of book I have been reading lately. As an American, some of the British references and dialogue was difficult to grasp at first, but I got used to it. I have always thought about the "what if's" of my life and would've liked a pendant of my own to use. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I did enjoy and whole heartedly agree with the message of the book of accepting the life we are living now.

If Only - Melanie Murphy

Its been super hot over the past few weeks, and I don't know about you, but when it is roasting outside I just want to sit down and read a fun, contemporary book. You know what I mean? Which is why I chose the beginning of July to settle down with an ARC of If Only by Melanie Murphy.

So, first things first, we have to address the answer in the room. You think you recognise the name Melanie Murphy? Well, that's because she's a pretty big deal on YouTube. I mean, not like Zoella big, but still pretty big. I've been subscribed to her channel for several years now - she's pretty hilarious and very honest, so I expected nothing less for her debut fiction and honestly, this is the perfect warm weather read.

Erin is about to turn thirty and her life is definitely not where she thought it would be. She hates her job, she's jealous of her perfect flatmate - and she has just called off her wedding.

A trip home to Ireland to celebrate her birthday with her beloved grandmother is exactly what Erin needs, and she's spent days preparing herself to break the news about her broken engagement.

What she's not prepared for is the gift she receives: a secret family heirloom that will change everything.

Could this be the answer Erin has been looking for - the key to the happy life she's always dreamed of? Only time will tell...

I had so much fun reading this!
Yes it had a lot of tropes in it and yes, the love interest was obvious from the minute he was introduced, but it was charming and funny and Erin was a great narrator. There's a lot to love about her and her internal fears of turning thirty and not being content in her work or the decisions she's made really resonated with me. I think they are fears that a lot of people have and for Erin they're heightened because as well as having all these "I'm 30 and I should have my life together" thoughts, she has also just ended her engagement and moved in with a very fit and active girl called Rachel that she can't help but compare herself to. Melanie Murphy manages to weave Erin's insecurities with some commentary about how girls are systematically taught to put each other down and make comparisons. The mystical introduction worked really well and seeing Erin gain so much insight and how she learned from each experience was a joy. I also have to say that this was delightfully Irish!

The only thing I would say is that I would have liked it if Erin had come to the decision that she didn't need a relationship to complete her, but she and her eventual partner are cute so I'll let it slide. The whole Finchel thing kind of made me cringe too but I think that's mostly because I am a recovering gleek and Finchel means something very different there! Overall though this was fun, charming and there was a bisexual character which was awesome! This is such a perfect summer read, so make sure to grab a copy for enjoying in the sunshine!