I really enjoyed this book but I am a sucker for a wrapped up ending and this does not have one! It was very interesting to see which events happened in both timelines.

I liked this story, as I often like the two paths concept (i.e. Maybe In Another Life, Two Lives of Lydia Bird) and it was a pretty fast and easy read.

hat Might Have Been by Holly Miller explores the concept of fate and choices through a dual-narrative following Lucy's life down two potential paths. I love books that explore how choices can impact our life - even the small ones - in a huge way. The "what if" scenario and the exploration of destiny versus chance offer a unique and thought-provoking concept that is explored really well in this book! Following both potential paths for Lucy creates suspense and allows readers to connect with different relationships and experiences and I loved the focus on love and self-discovery. I recommend this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I requested this one because I always wonder about the other "lives" that might have happened with different choices...I'm not going to lie, when I realized it was an English book, so to speak, I almost didn't keep going. I don't often play well with those books and I figure I can't give them the review they might deserve...but this one surprised me and I liked it a lot...MAN, did it hit me in the feels every now and then...I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever wondered about other lives and to anyone who likes contemporary romance novels.

I’m gonna be honest that I don’t remember even requesting this one so I’m gonna bow out. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley

This was really interesting between the alternate realities. Not my typical type of read but I loved that difference for this book.

I thought the author did a great job with the characters and I really liked getting to know them.

I love a Sliding Doors-type story, so I was of course drawn to What Might Have Been by Holly Miller.

Protagonist Lucy finds herself at a crossroads - should she stay or should she go? As usual, there are two men - Max and Caleb - but, it's also a journey of her own self-discovery at the heart of this book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Why did I wait so long to read this book? It was amazing and reminded me of so many of my favorite novels. Really, you need to read this gem of a book.

In What Might Have Been, Holly Miller explores Lucy's life at a crossroads: what happens if she made one decision or another? It's not quite Sliding Doors, because Lucy has ownership of her decision, but haven't we all wondered "what if?" at some point? For Lucy, she is sitting at a bar after quitting her job because she was yet again looked over for a promotion. She meets Caleb and they talk briefly and seem to hit it off, but then she sees Max outside. Max is her "one that got away," her first love. Their relationship ended a decade ago and Lucy didn't quite understand why. They clearly have kept tabs on each other, though, because Max knew she'd be in that area and was hoping to run into her. Lucy's life is at a crossroads: she can either stay and work a meaningless job while she writes a novel (her dream), or she can move to London, where Max is located and she has connections for what could be a dream job.

The book then splits and follows Lucy taking each of those paths. In "Stay," she reconnects with Caleb and works on her novel. In "Go," she moves to London to rekindle her old romance with Max. Some of the same events occur in both timelines, which is interesting, and where Lucy is affects how those events go.

Overall, I loved the format of this book. I liked the two different paths and the information that was shared in each. There was an incident from Lucy's past that I think took a little to long to divulge and work through, but aside from that, this was an enjoyable read (to be fair, I love second chance romances!).

Sliding door stories are some of my favorite ways to manipulate time, so my expectations for this one were high, especially after really enjoying The Sight of You. For the most part I really enjoyed this one, but it dragged in the middle which took away from some of the overall effect of the story. I also found some of the way Miller executed the sliding doors device got a little too confusing. Despite those things, I thought the ending to be very satisfying and enjoyed it overall.

This wasn't my cup of tea. I liked the idea for the story but not the story itself. Probably wouldn't be inclined to recommend unless someone was looking for this exact storyline.

I'm always, always a sucker for a "what might have been" story, where the book splits into two timelines and plays out what might happen to the MC depending on a certain decision they make. In WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN (appropriately named), Lucy has a decision to make once she abruptly quits her job. Should she STAY in her beachside hometown, live with her sister, save money, and pursue writing her novel full time? Or should she GO live with her friend in London in her spare room and take on the cushy advertising job she's also dreamed about?

Lucy runs into her ex Max, who she believed was her soulmate before he inexplicably broke up with her toward the end of college, and this spurs her decision-making. In the STAY timeline, she decided to put Max in the past and pursues the cute guy Caleb she also met the same night. The two have to work through some things, like Caleb's pending divorce, but she finds herself very happy pursuing her writing dream and spending more time with her sister and nephew. In GO, she reconnects with Max and the two have to try to figure out how to make their relationship work once some major secrets get revealed.

These books usually go one of two ways: the two timelines result in the MC ending up in the same place and/or with the same guy regardless of their decision, OR they end up in two very different places but equally happy. How big of a role does fate or destiny have in our lives? I won't spoil this one but I will say the ending surprised me. I had a clear favorite timeline (STAY) throughout the entire book and I didn't end up enjoying GO very much at all, which is why this book is not rated as highly as it could've been.

All in all, this was a pretty unique take on the parallel lives story and I would recommend it to readers like me who enjoy this kind of thing.

Sign me up for anything Holly wants to write. This book had some themes and circumstances I've read before but put together in a perfectly unique way. I've not read a book quite like this and I need more of Holly's writing. The only book it really puts me in mind of is The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, but, even still, they're so different.
In this sliding doors romance, the reader experiences three years of Lucy's life following what becomes a critical life decision. Should she stay or should she go? In both, Lucy experiences hardship, loss, joy, and love.
Holly explores and expounds on the "what if" with fated love and destiny intermingled with the free agency of choice. Both stories sucked me in, broke my heart, and pieced it back together. It's not the typical love triangle, but I definitely had a favorite love interest and life playout throughout the whole of the book. I love that Holly's ending gave me the lovely bow tie at the end that I was hoping for.
Thank you to Putnam and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Wow. Wow wow wow. That is it, that is my entire summary. I read this book in under 24 hours... I was so invested from the start. The way this is written is so incredibly unique following two different storylines but somehow still magically intertwining. I just... I'm speechless. I loved this book truthfully. I have had books make me reflect, make me feel many emotions, and a few that have made me teary-eyed. But this book made me SOB. This one will stay in my head for a long long time and I will be recommending it for a long time. Truly beautiful.

Absolutely lovely title. I enjoyed it very much and look forward to discussing it with my patrons. I will be adding this author to my "watch" list!

I loved the premise of this book. It’s very similar to sliding doors, which life will she choose, fate as the theme, etc. etc. There was quite a bit of slow paced plot in the middle that I really wished had a little more conflict. Overall, I was happy I read it but it wasn’t very memorable.

📄 Lucy quits her job after her boss hires someone new for the position she’s been promised over & over again. At a crossroads, Lucy must decide between staying in her hometown and finally writing the novel she’s always had in the back of her mind—where she’s just hit it off with Caleb—and moving to London to pursue her dream job as a writer at a marketing agency—where Max, her college sweetheart & one-who-got-away, lives. Branching off from the day Lucy quits her job, meets Caleb, and runs into Max for the first time in ten years, the story follows both of Lucy’s choices—jumping back and forth between her hometown of Shoreley and London; between writing a novel and her dream job; between Caleb and Max.

💭 I really loved this book. Life and relationships have so many twists and turns and complications — it was so interesting to see how Lucy’s life & those around her differed in each choice she had made. It was heartwarming & heartbreaking simultaneously.

👉🏻 This had such an interesting concept and was written beautifully. I also always love reading books written by British authors. There are some potential triggers with this one—so research those before you dive in.

There is no exaggeration when I tell you I have been waiting since the moment I closed the last page on The Sight of You to read more from Holly Miller and the second I got my hands on What Might Have Been, I absolutely devoured every single word. With a unique ability to blow me away emotionally, Miller strikes again! Now, bring on book 3!

This sliding door romance was just so lovely, I wanted to give my kindle a warm hug. I loved wonder what if along side the main character and feeling all the many emotions. It was so beautiful and bittersweet. I loved the complicated and layered emotions. Perfect for a bookclub or buddy read!

I think this is what I wanted The Midnight Library and The Two Lives of Lydia Bird to be.

Lucy has two choices: move to London and take a new job or stay in Shoreley and work on her novel. This book tells of the separate stories of each of those choices. I really enjoyed this book. It was like a Twist-a-plot / Choose Your Own Adventure type that explored the ramifications of the choices we make, big and small, in our daily lives.

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Putnam and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest feedback.