Carly Cooper is 3o, single, and is currently living in Richmond, London where she is earning a living as an Accounts Manager for a tissue paper product company, but she doesn't like her job. She loves her nights out with the girls and thinks she has met her ideal man, 'the one', having been engaged on five, nearly six, occasions. Now, Carly feels that one of the men that got away might have been perfect for her, but which one? However, there is another problem - the chaps are scattered across the world, thus, Carly gives up her job and embarks on a mission to track them all down...

I'm so pleased that I chose to read this new edition of Shari Low's first novel What If? Set in the 90s, this romance was reminiscent of the days before the explosion of social media, smartphones, and Google. The first part of the book is mostly concerned with Carly's romantic mishaps, told through flashbacks which I found highly entertaining. The second part followed Carly as she tracked down all of her exes to see if she ought to have left them. I loved Shari Low's characterisation, particularly of Carly herself, who was confident, independent, witty, and outgoing. Her loyal, eccentric friends were a large feature of the story and I also liked that chapters included a reference to a song from the era.

This was a nostalgic, delightful, and funny story that saw a younger Carly fall in and out of love with a succession of young fellows. Her experiences involved a lot of boozing, and her searches took her from Glasgow to Hong Kong, and others in-between.

A sequel is coming in early 2021 called What Now? and I am very much looking forward to being with Carly again.

Thank you to Shari Low, Boldwood Books, Rachel's Random Resources and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this novel at my request. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

Like the synopsis says "The book that started it all!" This was Shari Low's first published novel back in 2001, and she is re releasing it for us.

Carly Cooper is thirty years old and it's 8 months until the new millennium. She is having one of those "I need to take charge of my life" moments. So, she decides to go and hunt down the men that she loved and lost in her life, to see if there is a chance to rekindle the flames. Has she already met Mr Right?

"No one ever tells you men are like knickers – after a time, they get grey and washed out and they can have a tendency to fall down when you least expect it. Or, even worse, you find a perfect pair that you love, only to discover that your shape is changing and they don’t fit any more, no matter how much you try to pull them up."

If this story was set in this day and age, Carly would have had a much easier time of finding her past loves. But, back in 1999 it was a whole lot different 😊 And, this story took me back in time and gave me all the feels for that era. It was very nostalgic.

Carly is a great main character. I loved her va va voom for life. At eighteen she decided that university life wasn't for her, so took herself to a travel agent without telling her parents and jetted off to Amsterdam with no clue as to her next step in life. From there she manages to carve out a career for herself. The past narrative follows Carly through these years, and we get to meet the men that she loves and leaves. But, has she inadvertently left Mr Right?

Cue present day Carly, she uses that carefree attitude of hers again. And, sets off on an adventure to recapture her past loves. Will she find what she's looking for?

What If is a fantastic chic lit story, one of those that surprises you. I went into this book thinking it would be your everyday finding love romance. But, Low's writing and the journey we are taken on make this a great read. Definitely worth a read.

Note I was gifted an e-copy of this book by the publishers via Netgalley, for a blog tour

I can't believe that I have only just picked up a copy of this given it was released 20 years ago, what a read! I love Cooper she is a girl after my own heart and made me laugh throughout. Cooper is that friend that we all love and admire as although an absolute disaster in love, she always turns up to the party with the best stories.

Once I had read the first few chapters, I was completely hooked and wanted to ignore life and escape between these wonderful pages. I loved how it skipped between present day and the past as we got to know Cooper and her friends.

A story that makes you reflect on life and your decisions and provided a front row seat to a wonderful adventure. I am so excited to hear that we get to meet these characters again early next year as this was hilarious and oh so memorable to read

I am delighted today to be joining the tour to celebrate 20 years since Shari released What If?, her debut novel.

I adore the retro vibe of this novel now. No social media or easy internet access makes this such a great adventure because after all – who hasn’t ever thought What If?

How interesting would life be if we had the ability to see what could have been if we’d taken a different choice at select moments in time? Nobody can do that but after several ‘almost’ attempts at a wedding Carly begins to wonder if she’s already let the perfect partner slip through her fingertips. She gives up everything and sets out on a journey to track down all her exes to find out if one was truly The One.

This was such an amusing and witty story as Carly embarks to answer the question that many of us have asked at somepoint in out lives. For me it was a journey to the time of my late teens and early twenties and I devoured every nostaligic moment from the music to the fashions and the buzz words around the millenium and Shari did a fabulous job of capturing this era and immportalising it in her book.

Shari writes her stories with witt and humour and combined with lovable characters it makes for an utterly charming read.

I adored everything about this book and highly recommend it.

This is the 20th anniversary of Shari Low's first novel 'What If'. It was originally written in 1999 as we enter a new millennium and Britney was at her best. I literally fell in love with Carly.

The book is full of hilarious events that I likened to my own early adulthood. The obligatory girls holiday when you're eighteen - it made my belly hurt from laughing.

Each chapter is named after legendary iconic songs from the past; Robbie Williams, The Communards, Cher, The Spice Girls, Yazz, Mel and Kim (what a tune), the list goes on.

Carly Cooper, in her late twenties and works high up in sales within the toilet roll industry (if only we knew then what we know now about the significance of loo roll - COVID19) and is enjoying the single life but is on a journey to find Mr Right. She is wondering if she found Mr Right in one of her exes but did she trample him down in place of Mr Wrong.

Each chapter is a retelling of how the relationships with each of her exes has panned out with the occasional jolt back to present day. Each one made me smile and reminisce of my own past.

It is a fantastic story and just brilliantly written. I have since bought a couple more of Shari Low's work and I cant wait to get stuck in.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Favorite Quotes:

I can’t help thinking, ‘What if this is it?’ What if this is the way my life is going to be until I’m having Zimmer races up and down the corridor of my retirement home, flirting with old men and cheating at bingo?

I once overheard a woman on a bus saying that he’s the guy that she would nominate to look for her G-spot and not care if he didn’t find it.

He’s been chucked more times than an Olympic javelin… when girls look at Michael, they see a tall, almost good -looking guy, with an eccentric dress sense and ‘Sucker’ tattooed on his forehead… His goddess is definitely out there, I tell him, he’s just going to the wrong temples.

Every time my mother cast eyes on me, she clasped a damp cloth to her brow and muttered that I had obviously inherited my lack of scruples from my dad’s side of the family. She even took to praying for me at mass. I tried to console her with the thought that Mary Magdalene had been a bit of a tart and God forgave her, but it fell on deaf ears.

Carol looks at her watch. ‘I do believe it’s happy hour,’ she exclaims. ‘Carol, it’s only two o’clock.’ ‘Well, I’m happy and two o’clock is as good an hour as any.

They can’t decide on names for the babies. We suggested ‘American’ and ‘Express’; at least then she’ll bond with them immediately.


My Review:

I adored this irreverently amusing and cleverly crafted book and am now totally enamored with the vastly witty and agile writing style of the wordsmith Shari Low. I had read her work once before and now I remember why I had added to my list of favorite authors and placed every book on her Goodreads listing to my clinically obese TBR.

Written from the singular POV of the ever-resilient and appallingly fickle yet infinitely endearing Carly Cooper who was in the midst of a midlife crisis while facing down multiple issues including her single status, a tattered litany of failed relationships, and the approaching milestone of age-thirty while in the throes of the millennium bug. This being a re-release of Ms. Low’s first book and written in 1999, there were popular culture references and levity that anyone born in this century may not fully grasp that involved the media, Betamax tapes, CDs, Margaret Thatcher, the Y2K bug, 80’s hair and shoulder pads, and huge cell phones. Being so old that I rode to school on a dinosaur while the earth’s crust was cooling, I had no such problem and lapped it up like a graceless glutton at an all you can eat buffet. I continue to covet my bloated TBR listing of her page, as I am a chronically relapsing dieter with a sweet tooth for clever wit.

This had me hooked from the start! A gloriously funny, enchanting, romantic comedy with plenty of laugh out loud moments and doses of ‘cringeworthy-ness’ that has the reader curling their toes in empathy for the main character Carly, whose love-life is a perpetual roller-coaster of heady romances and hasty retreats!

Set in 1999, in an era before social media and smart phones, and despite celebrating 20 years since its first release, the author manages to keep you captivated by the narrative. The song-themed chapter titles offer a lovely nostalgic bonus.

I’m particularly excited to discover that author Shari Low has already delved into the possible future lives of the characters and am now eagerly anticipating the release of ‘What Now?’ in 2021.

A highly recommended read!

This was my first book from this author and overall I was pleased. At first, I thought I was reading a brand new book, only to realize this was actually a 20th anniversary reprint of the author's very first novel! I thought that was a fun little surprise and I enjoyed that the novel took place in the 90's. It was like a blast from the past.

The story was about a thirty something woman who was not content with her job selling toilet paper and her single status. While she had been in many relationships and even engaged, multiple times, nothing ever lasted. In an attempt to right some wrongs and change the path of her life she quits her job and embarks on a journey to track down all of her exes.

While this book was light, fun and at times quite hysterical, it was a bit slow moving in the beginning. At the start of the book, the main character actually annoyed me. The way she blew threw men at rapid rates only to get engaged and immediately regret it was kind of mind boggling. I'm glad I stuck it out because it was an enjoyable read, but it took a long time to come together.

So it has clearly been a really tough year for everyone. We all need a little break, something to make us laugh and smile. A little levity can get us through the day and this is definitely that book. Regardless of our age who hasn’t had the internal conversation of “What if?” If you say no you’re probably either lying to yourself or in denial. The year is 1999. On the precipice of the new millennium Carly is single and questioning so many of her choices and decisions. Will she ever meet “the right one” or has she already met, dated and dismissed him. She gives up her apartment, quits her job and begins her journey to reconnect with all of her ex-fiances to see if she missed the “right one” and how she got where she is today. Her journey is an absolute hoot. I literally laughed out loud and found myself wanting her to get her HEA and be happy. I adored his sweet funny fun read. I do want to know what is next for her for she is such a wonderful character. I hope that whomever reads this review enjoys this book as much as I did. It provides the perfect escapism we all need.

With this book, you get the chance to revisit the nineties and eighties briefly and enjoy the first magic novel from this author. Carly on the eve of the millennium is wondering if she's made the best of her life. Has she missed out on the one?

Carly is a likeable character, funny and self-deprecating and you empathise with her. She revisits old relationships (six) and then decides to find her former lovers to see if she made a mistake. This has hilarious, poignant and romantic results and is an entertaining read.

It's a lovely book to explore the late twentieth century and escape this one for a little while.

I received a copy of this book from Boldwood Books via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

From time to time we all have those 'what if' thoughts, covering the decisions we have made about life and love. Carly Cooper is no different, however, over the course of the past twelve years, she has travelled the world and jumped ship from several relationships. Contemplating her life she looks back at her failed relationships and wonders whether she was too eager to leave them behind.

Opting to go on a voyage of self-discovery she quits her job, gives up her Richmond flat and with credit cards in hand she sets about finding the men she left behind. From the boy, she met on holiday at seventeen, the nightclub owner in Amsterdam, her brothers best friend, the Irish farmer, the platonic friend and the bouncer.

Her dating history is retold in the first part of the book before she sets off on her quest to track them all down. Will she discover she was right to leave or whether any of them were 'the one that got away'?

This book is a perfect escape from all the negative news at the moment. It's like a cocktail on a warm beach, satisfying feel good & makes your smile. It's easy go to see how Low is so successful if this was her first novel so many years ago. A great read.

What a wild ride! This book is packed with all the 90s nostalgia you could want right now. I adored following Cooper's tales of falling in and out of love and her travels around the world. This was a laugh-out-loud read that pulled me into every relationship and struggle Cooper faced. This book is 20 years old but the storyline still sucks you in and can still be relatable - although thankfully the internet and cell phones are a thing now!

I can't wait to read the sequel!

Loved this! I have read all of Shari Low’s books and was delighted to see this book from 20 years ago on NetGalley. It’s so funny and heartwarming, the story of Carla and her school friends and Carly’s decision to go travelling to find all of her ex-lovers to see if one of them really had been the one’. I can’t wait to read the sequel when it’s released in 2021.

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down. It's a rom-com that truly is really funny. And I loved the main character. She was so wonderful.

I was SO late getting up this morning having read this book to the very end in bed last night, giggling like mad and trying so very hard not to laugh out loud and waken my husband!

Carly Cooper realises that she's thirty, single, and hates her job. She set out after school to travel and worked in some wonderful locations, almost tying the knot no less than six times but never quite making it to the alter. With the new millennium creeping closer, she decides to revisit with each of them which, in the nineties, meant travelling in person due to the lack of social media, internet and mobiles. Carly decides to pack in her job, quit her flat and ramp up the credit cards by searching out each and every one the former men in her life - surely she slipped up and one of them is 'the one'?

I love Shari Low's novels - her sense of humour is right up my street but - to my horror - I was late in discovering her work so the new edition of her very first novel is one not to be missed! It's no surprise that she was snapped up by a publisher. The laughs start from the very beginning and I absolutely defy anyone not to laugh at this story. Told in alternative chapters of where she went and what she did after leaving school and where she is now as the year 2000 sneaks ever closer, this is fast-paced and very exiting to read! The writing is sharp and succinct, the characterisation is absolutely superb, the humour is extremely infectious and overall it is an hysterically funny, unmissable read! Best of all, there is a follow-up novel in the pipeline catching up with all the characters from this one - I cannot wait! A brilliant, sparkling five star read and one I recommend to everyone who has the ability to laugh.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy and to Rachel's Random Resources for my spot on this tour; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

I loved this first book by Shari Low. Genuinely feel good rom com that had my laughing out loud. I can’t wait to read the sequel and see what has happened to Carly since we last saw her

As a huge fan of the author Shari Low, I was delighted to read and review this book, rereleased 20 years after its initial publication.
Shari Low writes with a passion and enthusiasm for life and her characters are so well written that you believe and invest in them and their lives.
What If is the story of Carly Cooper. Carly has no trouble finding love, however it never seems to go to plan and one boyfriend follows another around the globe, each more disastrous and hilarious than the last.
Moving forward some years Carly decides she needs to reevaluate her life and thinks that the man of her dreams may well be one of her exes. Along with the support of her loyal friends she sets off to track them down chronologically to see which, if an, is Mr Right.
The new novel What Now is due out in Jan 2021 and will allow us to see how Carly and her friends have changed and what is happening now in their lives. I for one can’t wait.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. A five star review and highly recommend.

This is a reprint for the 20th anniversary of this book which I have to say I didn’t read first time around. With that in mind some of it was a little dated but it didn’t detract from the story at all. This book is an easy read that was very light hearted and funny. Looking forward to reading the sequel next year when it is released. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a neat idea. I loved the thought of going back in time to a book not only set but written back then. There’s something so natural about it, no forced references. Really enjoyed it.