This was a typical rom-com style book. I enjoy this genre so it was easy to read. I didn't particularly like the character or find them to be people I could cheer on, but the story was enjoyable.

I am a big fan of Angela Marsons and have happily devoured all of her exceptional crime novels, so when I saw this stand alone novel, (her first) I had to try it.
Not only is this the first stand alone novel by this author, it is also a complete change of genre, being classified as a Romantic Comedy.

The story revolves around the lives of three 30 something year old single ladies and their love lives.
All three are in various degrees of love life dilemmas…

Deb, Sarah and Cher are best friends and meet regularly over drinks and meals to discuss everything going on in their lives. They know everything about each other and comfortably share their deepest secrets and desires.

Deb is about to be married, she’s planning her wedding for the third time after interference from her future mother in law stalled previous attempts at wedding plans.

Sarah is having a long term relationship with a married man and has decided that the only way to get him to leave his wife is to have a baby with him.

Cher has a huge crush on her manager and is blind to his abuse of powers where she and other employees are concerned.

Be careful what you wish for….might be a good catchphrase for all three of them to consider as they naively navigate their relationship ordeals.
You will get caught up in their day to day lives and wonder at their choices, possibly shaking your head or even cringing at times as you wander through the landscape of their relationship trials with them…not just their romantic relationships, but also familial as well as casual and occupational.

This is easy reading and a well written story by this seasoned author and would be enjoyed by lovers of this genre looking for some light reading.

With book #15 of the excellent Kim Stone crime series soon to be released, it leaves only one more book to come…under the current agreement with Bookouture for 16 books in that crime series.
It would be understandable that the author might wish for a change of scenery, even characters, after 16 books, but I truly hope this venture into Romcom doesn’t augur an end to crime fiction from Angela Marsons…That would be a crime imho.

As a first foray into this genre, If Only was just an ok in my opinion.
whatever Angela Marsons decides to write, she is an author to watch out for.

4⭐️s

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture publishers for my copy to read and review.

If Only is a light-hearted, rom-com about friendship and sisterhood from bestselling crime author Angela Marsons.

What a change! I thoroughly enjoy reading the DI Kim Stone series by this author and always eagerly anticipate a new addition to the series so was quite surprised to see her latest release, ‘If Only’, is actually a romantic comedy. I just had to find out how I felt about this change of genre, but I needn’t have worried, the author is skilled at bringing her characters to life, whatever the genre!

This story takes three best friends, wine, dreams and wishes, add in some surprises, lots of laughter and, of course, romance, mixes them together with their lives and comes out with a fun read that kept me turning the pages. Sometimes, you really need to be careful what you wish for as fate has a habit of twisting things round in unexpected ways . . . and the grass isn’t always greener on the other side!

I really enjoyed the supportive relationship between the friends but admit that I also wanted to (figuratively, only, I promise) knock some sense into them at times! My favourite of the three is definitely Deb who has some serious issues with her manipulative, interfering soon-to-be Mother in law who is so insensitive and nasty for most of the story. I wanted Deb to stand up for herself and stop letting her interfere and changing the wedding plans . . . . Cher is crushing on her boss and hopes he’ll fall in love with her, despite warnings from everyone else about what he’s really like . . . Sarah is having an affair with a married man who she hopes will leave his wife and daughter for her as she assumes then her life will be idyllic. As the three make their wishes, you’ll need to read it for yourself to discover just how things turn out!

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for my copy of this book which I have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.

A fun light hearted book. I enjoyed it but I have to admit that I found the main characters not very likeable which made it hard reading. Enjoyable

I am a huge Angela Marsons fan, so when her new rom com was announced I could not wait to get my hands (or ears) on it. If only is a thoroughly entertaining read. I loved hearing about Cher, Sarah and Deb's lives and the author's brilliant sense of humour shone through. A perfect beach / staycation read. (Reviewed on Audible as I purchased the audio book also)

Thought this was going to be a humorous, easy-read sprinkled with some magic. Honestly, it was difficult to get through, and had to stop reading. Wanted to love it based on the description but couldn't.

This was honestly not one of my favorite books. I had trouble connecting with the characters and I couldn't really relate to any of them or what they were facing. The book dragged a bit for me and I found myself skimming more than reading... which is never a good sign. This ended up being a DNF for me - which is not common at. all.
I couldn't get into the humor and didn't really like to characters. Tough finish for me, for sure.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

Unrequited love,three friends, and a spell book . A summer evening a bit more wine than good sense and three friends find a book of spells , should they? They do with disastrous and humorous results. Cher wants her boss to see her. The book makes that happen in triplicate. It’s a fun splash to the end of summer . Happy reading

I liked the theme of friendship in this book and the connection and camaraderie between the three main characters was obvious from the beginning. I felt a little envious of their closeness as I think those sorts of friendships are quite hard to create and keep in modern adulthood.

I was interested in the main plot line of the romance but found it quite a slow burn situation, so I found myself getting distracted at times. Also, for me, this book did not have the amount of 'laugh out loud' moments I was expecting from the blurb and the humour is mostly more subtle, I thought.

However, this is definitely a sweet book with an interesting message around our desire to always strive for more, better, or different.

What a little gem this book is, proving what we’ve known all along: there really is no end to this multi-million bestselling author’s talent! With sparkling characters and a laugh a minute, I ripped through the story. A light-hearted study of female friendship, IF ONLY was the perfect antidote to troubling times. Writing in a completely different genre is not a skill everyone can claim to have, but Angela Marsons pulls it off effortlessly. Bravo, and a big fat ***** FIVE STARS from me!

Synopsis:
Three best friends Cher, Sarah and Debra living the life they always wished for but wait a sec, is it exactly the way they imagined it to be or is it just a false alarm. Journey of questioning what’s right and wrong begins with a magic spell done on a wimp. Cher will find out the right match while looking for the wrong one. Sarah will lose the wrong guy to find the right career and Debra will find the right family while marrying the right guy.

Characters:

Cher: Office assistant crushing over her boss
Sarah: Works in a bookstore and loves a married man
Debra: Sales Rep turned Sales Manager and engaged
Michael Hunter: Sr. Centre Manager
Dan: Colleague of Cher and Widower
David: Sarah’s love interest
Mark: Fiancé to Debra

Strong Points:
o Interesting plot
o Real life confusions and hidden feelings very well-written
o Light- hearted, romantic read.

Conclusion: Have you ever imagined what would it be like if all your wishes come true just by doing some sort of a spell with herbs & stuff!! Dah uhhhh !! But wait till you read this amazing novel with all the drama and romance. My first read Angela Marsons novel and I am hooked for as long as I continue to read. It is a perfect beach read or even a monsoon read with romance, drama and humor. With 3 female protagonist, the story always felt busy and something happening one after another in atleast one of their lives. I enjoyed reading it with every page being turned.

Thank you #netgalley for the #arc!!

If Only by Angela Marsons in a RomCom featuring three ladies. There is Cher who is in love with her boss, who doesn’t really know she exists. Sarah is David’s mistress and she is trying to get pregnant so as to cement their affair. Deb is the only one in a normal relationship. She is about to get married to Mark. Her only headache is his meddlesome mother.

This was a light, fun read. I can’t say that I liked Cher and Sarah much but Deb was a bit more likeable. As always, Angela’s writing is wonderful. This is what kept me turning pages even if the story turned out to be not for me.

Really enjoyed this book. Was a little worried about the change in direction as I am a huge fan of the Kim stones series but this was a great read, great characters and storyline

If Only is an enjoyable light-hearted well written easy read by Angela Marson. I was looking for a rom com as a break from my usual crime thrillers.
The 3 characters are very likeable. Cher wants her boss to fall in love with her; Sarah wants her married lover to commit with her and have his baby and Deb wants her future mother-in-law to stop interfering with her wedding and to have her own fairytale wedding..
It was a slow burner but once I got in to it, it was funny in places and an enjoyable read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to enjoy If Only, but I really struggled to click with the story. I liked the main characters being 3 friends and following each of them, but it didn't quite work for me.

Angela Marsons has gone rogue and written a RomCom and has shown she’s as good at writing those as she is at writing crime.

I love her Kim Stone series so wondered what this would be like but she’s done it again and written a winner!

If only is a fun story about three best friends who are all very different and all are wishing for something more from their lives….but be careful what you wish for.

An easy read that is funny and lighthearted. A perfect summer read.

Storyline involving three friends who are experiencing trials and tribulations in their own lives, but are still super supportive of each other and stick together through ups and downs.

The plot addresses their personal and professional lives, so there's two things going on for each girl. I do love books with strong female friendships, so this book gets brownie points for that immediately. The pace and setting was pretty good, which I presume can also be credited to the author's background in crime writing. I did appreciate the small wins they had through the story.

Overall, it was a breezy read.

Whoooo boy this was not good. None of the lead characters were even decent people. You’ve got Sarah blathering on about feminism while having an affair and trying to get pregnant by someone else’s husband. Then there’s Cher who thinks no one could possibly love her since she’s not a stick figure, so why not pine over her jerky boss who is obviously a butthole (trying not to curse here) and refuses to see the nice guy in front of her (though why he likes her I have no idea but I will say she’s the most redeemable of the bunch) and finally Deb (are twenty somethings even still named Deb?) who terrorizes her future mother in law instead of being honest and putting her foot down or maybe letting her fiancé have a go at taming his shrew of a mother.

Everyone was so unhappy in this book and their goal seemed to just be to make other people u happie than they are. Why would I want to read about people like that?

What can I say about this author - But, where have you been? This is one of the best authors out there. All her books are just brilliant...........If Only by Angela Marsons is so different to her other books and it was a breath of fresh air..........Its not usually a book I would read, but any book by Angela I would find the time in my busy day to sit and open my kindle and start to read her books. OMG this book did not disappoint....It was brilliant!

This new book by Angela is a stand alone and is so different to her main books. This tells a story of 3 best friends Sarah, Cher and Deb! who each have their so many things going on in their lives. They have a get together at Cher's place with wine, lasagne and cheesecake, they find a small book of spells.
They each take part in a wishing spell. What could go wrong!? Harmless fun and a laugh they say........

So, Sarah wants to be happy, she wants her lover David, to leave his wife Bianca and get married to her.

Cher wants her gorgeous boss to fall in love with her.

And Deb's is going to marry her fiancé, Mark but is having problems with his overbearing mother, Margie. She doesn't care where she goes - Just disappear out of their lives so they can live happily ever after..

1, 2, 3 simple spells bow what could go wrong? They can't come true.......This is just for fun? Yeap just for fun..........But things happens to them and close people around them...................OMG what a brilliant book! Angela you have done it again!!! Another fantastic book! WELL DONE GIRL!!!!

I can not recommend all of Angela''s books.........You will be hooked within the very first pages

Big 5 stars from me...

Big Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for my advanced copy of this book to read