If Only is a wonderful story about three friends and the issues they are having in their lives and how friendship always wins in the end. Great story.

Following the lives, and loves of three friends, If Only by Angela Marsons is a bit different from anything I've read in a while.

Three very different friends with different outlooks on life, priorities and desires.

I laughed out loud, I despaired, I gasped and I cried but ultimately I cheered as these amazing women took control of their lives, their families and their desires.

Definitely a good introduction to this side of Angela Marsons work.

What many readers of the Kim Stone series possibly don't know is that Angela Marsons, Queen of the West Mids crime scene that she is, also has form when it comes to the old Women's fiction too. I read and loved her two none crime titles, Dear Mother and The Forgotten Woman, so it wasn't so much of a leap of faith for me to pick up this title as it was a moment of wondering what delights she would be serving up this time. What I found in If Only, was a warm and often funny story of life, love and friendships, delivered through the eyes of three close friends, Cher, Deb and Sarah.

I think that any woman reading this book will find something to identify with amongst the friendship and day to day madness that makes up our three protagonists lives. Unrequited love, illicit affairs and cold feet, or at least strong doubts about forthcoming nuptials, maybe even just getting trollied on cheap booze whilst setting the world to rights. Most of us have been there are some stage. Perhaps not chucking the contents of your spice rack around the garden whilst trying to cast spells, but that's a minor detail ...

I really did like all three of the women in this story, Yes ... it can be argued that Sarah should know better and being 'the other woman' is never a good look on anyone, no matter who they are. But she still had redeeming qualities, her love of her friends for one thing, and you do get the sense she is trying, even if the object of her affections is really not the perfect answer she hoped he'd be. Then there is Cher. Bless her. She's the kind of woman I'd likely slap to be fair,mooning after her boss and missing the obvious. Whilst bubbly, there really is that sense that she doesn't understand her true worth and, once again, the object of her affections is far from being the perfect guy either. Then there is Deb. Confident, strong and absolutely with her perfect match. She's straight talking, forthright ... and so absolutely full of doubt and insecurity about her twice postponed wedding that I found myself rooting for her. And for her to slap her soon to be mother in law. Can you tell I have a limited tolerance of typical female behaviour patterns ...

The story is full of humour, a particular scene featuring Sarah and her family a stark reminder why you should never go swimming whilst drunk (no pun intended). But aside from those times when you will be chuckling along with. the friends, maybe even at them, there are some very tender and romantic moments too, the author kicking it up a notch when a certain someone finally makes his feelings for one of the three. friends very clear. But the moral of the story? Well, be careful what you wish for. Do the friends get their heart's desire? Well, maybe they do, maybe they don't, but tempting face has consequences and it's very important to always read the small print when doing a deal with fate.

Funny, romantic, with a Lindsey Kelk kind of vibe (yes I've read the odd pastel covered book in my time!) its undoubtedly just a cracking good read, fans of the author, and fans of rom-coms are going to love this. If you like audiobooks, then it is brilliantly narrated by Alex Tregear who really brings the friendships and their individual dilemmas to life. Definitely recommended.

4.5 happy stars!

I've read all of Angela Marson's crime books - and love them!
So this was an unexpected treat because it was a heartfelt, lovely story about life, love and friendship.

I really enjoyed it on audio - thanks so much Bookouture, via Netgalley for the copy. It was read beautifully.

I'm pretty sure I've met all these characters throughout my life. I could even give them a name of people I've know and has been in every situation describe in this wonderful book. I know is fiction but it is definitely very real.

I still don't know why for society is so wrong to be alone. Why do we have to be married or in a relationship? I've never understood why is that so important. Why people need to have children if they want any? Why?

And I've realized that it's not just us being criticize, guys also go through that, if they don't get "settled down" by a certain age people around them also start "worrying" about whether if they are gay or not, and WHAT IF?

🧨🧨 may contains spoiler 🧨🧨
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A whooping 3⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thankyou #netgalley for the arc copy for a honest review!
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The truth? I was about to DNF the story. But I tried to finish of the book as it was written okay.
The three characters are not my cup of tea. They were a bunch of middle age women but act as a teenager. One is actually like her boss but they do not even connect?? I don't quite understand and I tried to ... as much as I can.
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Only 3⭐️⭐️⭐️ as the writer did her best on this story but of course the 3 characters are out of place and won't connect to each other.
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❤️shaye.reads

The information about this book said it was perfect for fans of Shari Low and Sophie Kinsella, so I had high hopes for this book. Having listened to the story I would personally not say it’s for fans of Shari Low as much as for fans of Sophie Kinsella. The reason for this is that until now I have always loved the characters in Shari Low’s books, whereas the latest books by Sophie Kinsella have been a bit of a miss for me. So if you loved the last couple of Sophie Kinsella books you may very well love this book too!

“If Only” is about three best friends who all want something. Cher wants her boss to notice and love her. Sarah has been in a relationship with married man for years and now wants his baby. Deb is planning her wedding together with her mother in law which is turning into quite a nightmare.

I loved Deb’s story and literally laughed out loud a few times when hearing about interactions with her mother in law, but I didn’t really care for the other two friends.

The writing was good and the narration was great, I just didn’t like two of the main characters and their love interests, hence my 3 star rating.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to listen to this story in exchange for an honest review.

Maybe it was that I was distracted listening to an audio, maybe I can't identify with twentysomethings anymore, maybe it all just sounded like something I had read before, maybe I never forgave Felicity and Megan for casting a spell that ruined the last season of Felicity - but this was a DNF for me.

Cher, Deb, and Sarah get together for drinks one night and cast a spell from and old book that will make all their wishes come true. Cher has a crush on her boss, Sarah has a married lover, Deb has a terrible mother in law. About 5 chapters in it just all felt so blah, blah, blah. I couldn't keep them straight and all their whining sounded the same.

I have heard Angela Marsons' other books are awesome, so I won't hold this one against her.

DNF at 25%.

The characters are insufferable. Except for Deb.

*Thanks you to the publisher for this eARC.

If Only features three friends, Sarah, Deb, and Cher, each experiencing their own challenges in life. Sarah is struggling with a lover who won't leave his family and commit to her; Deb has an overbearing, constantly interfering soon to be mother-in-law; and Cher is in love with her boss. The three friends jokingly cast a spell one night while they are venting about these frustrations.

It was a cute, fast read, but I found Sarah's attitude and opinions toward her situation very frustrating. She knowingly dated a married man (don't get me wrong, I was just as angry with lover boy) and didn't understand why he was upset when his marriage dissolved and he had to arrange visitation with his daughter. While the characters were very relatable- likeable and flawed and realistic, I was so annoyed with Sarah's situation that it colored the book for me and made it a little less enjoyable. Having said this, I don't regret reading it and did enjoy the rest of it!

**Listened to audio book**

This was a really sweet book. I really enjoyed listening to the audio version as the narrator was brilliant! The plot follows 3 girl friends and the ups and downs of their lives as well as their most wanted things within their lives. I didn't feel like each of the three ladies were fleshed out particularly well - they felt very stereotypical in places. I connected to some more than others, and I think it was because of the generic/stereotypical character traits. At times I was shocked that this book had been written by a female as I didn't feel the author understood women at all.
The plot was ok - but not really anything original. Nothing I haven't read about before.

I'm definitely feel that if I had read the book rather than listened to the audio version I would not have liked it as much for the reasons stated above. I think the narrator of the audio made the book and the characters feel more relatable than actually would have been on the page.

Overall a decent book but nothing particularly stand out or original.

"If Only" is a cute story about three best friends who each have their own ideas of what would make their lives perfect. You follow the characters while they navigate the twists and turns of learning what truly matters. A perfect romantic comedy that will keep you laughing and wanting more.

Loved the narrator - enjoyed listening to this novel.

Well... This was, in my opinion, just horrible!

The story follows 3 women in their late 20s (they are friends, but we have no idea how they are connected), and all 3 so unlikable that I wanted to either slap them or spit in their faces.

Cher is a brainless secretary who is hopelessly in love with her ass of a boss who is only there to humiliate her. She is like a poor 12-year-old dreaming of the day she will meet her favorite boy-band singer and he will fall madly in love with her and they will have a million babies. Well, Cher's like that, just with her boss who doesn't know that she exists.

Sarah is this piece of shit person whom I wanted to strangle. She is in 5 year long relationship with a married mad who has a child, and now she wants to trick him into leaving his family to be with her by becoming pregnant. I mean.... Need I say more?

Deb is a courageless little ant who is afraid to stand up for herself and tell her horrible, controlling, possessive mother-in-law to stick it.

Deb is not that bad, really, I can get where she's coming from, but the other two are just sickening.

I hated the characters, I hated the predictable, boring plot. There were few fun scenes, but not closely enough for me to give this book 2 stars.

Just.... disappointing.

This is my first Angela Marson novel and it won’t be my last as I absolutely loved it!
The story circles around three friends - Cher, Angela and Deb and each have something they are really wishing for that would transform their lives!! One night they drunkenly cast a spell for a bit of a laugh. Will they get their hearts desire?
This author is a fabulous story teller and I couldn’t stop listening to the audio book. Its a fun romantic story but also poignant and heartwarming in places. The narrator is Alex Tregear and she just ‘became’ the voice for this book. a great job done Alex! The audio is out on the 6th of July 2021 and is a must listen! Thank you to Netgalley and to Bookouture for my gifted copy!!!

I was really excited to get this book by one of my favourite authors, Angela Marsons. I love her Kim Stone series, so I was eager to delve into this story, which is a romantic, light-hearted read. To be honest, I found the story a bit hard to get into at first, but at about 25 percent in, I started to enjoy it a lot more and I loved the ending. At first, I found it hard to connect with the characters, but later in the book, I connected with them more.

The story is about three women called Cher, Sarah and Deb, who each have different romantic needs and have different scenarios going on. Cher wants her boss to fall in love with her, but will he? Sarah wants her boyfriend to leave his wife and Deb is having problems with her future mother in law. The women decide to try casting a wishing spell together, to manifest what they want in life. I liked this part of the story. Did they manage to manifest what they wanted? Read the book to find out!

I listened to the audiobook (thankyou so much Bookouture for bringing out audiobooks!) and I really enjoyed it. The narrator was great and the netgalley app worked well for me. I had fun listening to the audiobook while I was doing my house chores and when I wasn't so busy, I switched to the ebook. This was great for me as I could keep reading all day no matter what I was doing. I look forward to more audiobooks from Bookouture. This is a great development which I am really excited about!

Many thanks to Angela Marsons, Bookouture and Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Whenever I read a romance book like this one, I try to be aware of the genre it belongs to and the tropes that are a part of it. So I can give it a fair chance.

This book is very obvious in its use of classic tropes and it's quite easy to guess what's going to happen next, which doesn't have to be a bad thing necessarily. I can still have a good time even though it's predictable. However, that only happened for the final 15% of the book. The rest was harder to read for a few reasons.
At the beginning of the book, one of the characters mentioned that "feminists will frown at her behaviour" or something along the lines. This made me think the book was going to be full of tropes but self-aware and sort of making fun of those tropes, which was an idea I was into. It really wasn't like that, even if there is some "redemption" for some of the characters at the end when they finally open their eyes a little and become aware of what really is going on.
The character of Sarah plans something that I can't quite believe is an ok thing to publish in 2021. The act itself is horrible and the fact that no one tells her to stop is worrying. It romanticizes doing something like that which is not ok.
And of course, the self-deprecating comments are a bit too much. It's tiring to read, multiple times, how an average-sized woman mentions that she should skip meals not to get fat.

If it wasn't for those small details (not so small to me), I could have really enjoyed this book a lot more.
The audiobook was great. The narrator had a clear voice and made good voices for the different characters. Very suited to this genre.

I enjoyed the book and listened to it rather quickly, but I didnt fall in love with it. The book follows 3 friends, each with a different wish in life: To get rid of their mother in law, to get her boyfriend to leave his wife, to have her boss fall in love with her.

I found it frustrating because 2 out of the 3 main characters were extremely immature and it was hard for me to feel bad for them. Messing with a man that you know is married? big no. Dreaming about a boss you have never spoken to, ignoring the rest of your prospects while complaining no one wants you? meh.

I just didn't find necessary to have these 3 stories, I would have enjoyed it much more if we had focus more on one (except sarah, again I'm not here for the cheater and his mistress).

I do have to say the male characters (except the cheater) were great and supportive, but since the story was so divided we barely met them anyway.

So overall it was a quick fun read, but it could have been better.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! It follows three friends and how their love lives pan out. It's so true to life and the feelings we ladies have and is absolutely hysterical in places!!!
The narrator has it all bang on, from doing the voices of characters to putting pauses in for effect. Love, love, love it!!!
Thanks to Net galley for giving me a free ARC copy for an honest review.

I have no words! This was perfection. It was super cute and I couldn’t stop listening to it. I deff recommend if your in a slump this will get you right out.

Narrator 5 stars
Love this narrator and her voice!

Story 4 stars
Um..... Is this Angela Marsons author of the brilliant Kim Stone crime series??? Because of its in fact the same author I am shocked!!!
I really enjoyed this story and the women. I loved them all. This was told so beautifully and if it is the crime writer bonus stars for writing something so bloody good that's outside her normal.
Great job.