No matter how many times the Sliding Doors theme has been done, I'm a sucker for it. So when I was approved for Miller's alternate timeline novel, it rose to the very top of my to-read list.

The first word that comes to mind is bittersweet - each timeline had wins and losses, happiness and terrible grief. It makes you wonder if timing really is everything, and what determines how much time we have.

Lucy spontaneously quits her job at an ad agency where she is constantly overlooked, and makes 2 connections that night - stranger Caleb, and old boyfriend Max. What's next for our heroine isn't necessarily written in the stars. In one timeline, Lucy stays in town, gets together with Caleb and writes a novel; she has some ups and downs, but does she have regrets? In an alternate timeline, she leaves her shore town for London to join THE ad agency, get back together with Max and face aching betrayal and sadness - but perhaps, receives the best gift of all.

In the end, it's obvious whom Lucy is supposed to be with forever - but at what cost?

The novel ran a tiny bit long and interest dipped a bit in the middle but overall the book is a worthwhile look at how our decisions, big and small, change us for good.

Thank you Netgalley for the preview!

What Might Have Been is a women’s fiction novel about a young woman faced with two completely different outcomes depending on whether she will “stay” in her smaller coastal city, write a novel and date a local man or “go” to London and pursue a career in ad writing and reunite with the guy from her past that got away.
When Lucy impulsively quits her job as an advertising planner in Shoreley she drowns her sorrows in a virgin cocktail at a local pub. Her horoscope said she would meet her soulmate that night and that’s on her mind when she finds herself seated next to handsome local photographer Caleb. But minutes into their conversation her ex boyfriend Max appears on the street. Ten years prior during her last year at university Max broke her heart and Lucy never got the closure she needed. Lucy runs out to speak to Max and the old magic is still there between them. In alternating chapters the author shows what Lucy’s life would look like if she stays in Shoreley, finishes the novel she started ten years ago and dates Caleb versus moving to London, interviewing for a writing position at an ad agency and picking up the relationship with Max where it ended a decade ago.
In both scenarios there are sacrifices, comprises and disappointments. But there is a lot of love, passion and fulfillment.
What Might Have Been is a thoughtful and enjoyable read that speaks to all of us who have wondered what the different outcomes of a choice could look like, if there is such thing as a soulmate and whether we all find each other in the end. There are also serious conversations about moving forward after a frightening assault, forgiveness after a betrayal and pursuing your dreams even after rejection.
I recommend What Might Have Been to anyone that enjoys women’s fiction stories about love and living your best life.
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A sliding doors type of story.. A what if kind of story.. if she goes left, what will happen and if she goes right, what will happen. How one simple change can alter a whole life.. for better or for worse. Lucy is heading toward this most important time and she is the e last one to know it. In one instance, she quits her job that has been awful for her.. the people and the job.. heads to a local seaside pub and meets a new guy Caleb and also runs into an ex Max.. being unemployed Lucy is at a cross roads. Should she focus 100% on a writing career. Work with a writing group and just give an honest try. Or should she love to London and take a posh job, that she can write day to day but can’t focus on writing a book. If she stays she can finally chase that writing freak and see how her relationship will grow. If she goes, she can live in London and not worry about money anytime. Also Max is in London & with the new job and her new life she can face Max and work out why they broke up all those years ago.
The storylines intertwine and as Lucy lives out each one you can’t help but hope she continues on one particular path. Both stories are heartwarming/heartbreaking.. can Lucy find her soul mate? Is there such a thing as a soul mate? How will it play out? This was a four star read for me, I read it pretty quickly to see how it would end. I liked the writing and really liked the characters.. What Might Have Been, really makes you think.. and I like a story like that.. I want to thank Netgalley & Holly Miller for my copy, it was a pleasure reading it. I hope you enjoy it too..

If you enjoyed the movie Sliding Doors starring Gywneth Paltrow then don't miss this book. I thought this was a uniquely written story following Lucy Lambert as she is presented with a big life choice following leaving her job abruptly: Does she stay in her small town and follow her dream of writing a novel OR move to London with her best friend? Each chapter looks at Lucy's life from both decisions. There's both a "Stay" storyline and a "Go" storyline.

What I liked about this book:
It didn't take me long to settle into this writing style and before I knew it I was immersed in both settings. I love thinking about how drastically different life could go with one decision. And so I loved how these stories flowed alongside one another. The author definitely took one storyline in a direction I was not expecting so there was that element of surprise for me which I liked.

What didn't work for me:
At times it started to feel repetitive and slow. I also had a difficult time connecting with the main character.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and the way it made me think about the decisions we make in life. I would certainly read more by this author.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the digital review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this book "What Might Have Been" and all opinions expressed are my own. What would happen if Lucy stayed? or what would happen if she goes? This was a interesting story and you keep thinking which life is the one for her.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

I read this book in one sitting! Which man will she choose? I was torn between both love interests but I’m happy with how it all ended!

What Might Have Been by Holly Miller is exactly the kinda of story I love. A classic “what if”. The difference in this book, compared to others of this kind I’ve read, is I couldn’t decide which path I wanted to be the “real” one! The stay or go. They both had me invested in their stories and I couldn’t say which one I wanted for Lucy the most.
This was such a great story and really well executed! I think so many will enjoy this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this story and it’s varying time frames. I found myself not knowing which to root for, and I did not expect that!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this book.

This was a quick read and I ended up enjoying it more than I initially thought I would.

It starts off with Lucy, a bit about her life, a bit about her last, and then to a point where she would a choice. Stay in her little town, or move to London. Choose Caleb, or choose [the one that got away] Max. It alternates between 'stay' and 'go' and how that one choice effects her life throughout the next few years. What kind of person would she have been if she made one different choice, how would her life had been different. I was not emotionally invested however, and I didn't really feel anything even in big moments like I was supposed to.aybe the writing, maybe the setting, I'm not sure. Overall, it was pretty good book that other people will definitely like more than I did.

2.5 stars - some of this writing is very beautiful and I never actively hated what I was reading, but the story progressed very slowly and the stakes never seemed to materialize. I was bored for the second half of the story and blatantly preferred one timeline over the other - I don't think the Go timeline ever recovers from its big twist and I never "forgave" the characters in that world. I also have issues with storylines of grown people who have never attempted creative writing at all creating novels and being told they have amazing talent right off the bat.

I am such a sucker for stories that deal with parallel universes, and naturally, I enjoyed this one. In this story, we follow Lucy after she quits her job and her decision to stay in her hometown or go to London will ultimately determine the trajectory of her love life and professional career.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book is how Lucy’s timelines shift her perspective on destiny and her belief in soul mates. What’s really interesting is that she believes in both of her timelines that she is destined to end up with Max/Caleb. For example, when she is with Caleb, Lucy thinks about how it’s ever possible to love anyone else besides him and she even emphasizes what a mistake it would have been to pursue Max again. However, it’s also interesting that Lucy’s best friend Jools ends up with the same guy even under different circumstances – which leads me to believe that Miller is making an argument for cases for different types of romantic relationships and destiny.

I also really enjoyed reading about Lucy’s relationship with her sister and her friend Jools. In many contemporary romance novels, the story tends to revolve around the main character and the love interest, but in this case, I think the author did a great job of involving the side characters and incorporating them into Lucy’s drama. Jools’s side story was really cute! And learning about Tash dealing with infidelity in her relationship also helped Lucy grow and make her own decisions.

Even though there were some fantastic scenes throughout the narrative, there was also way too much going on in both timelines for my personal liking. Instead of being engaging, the story became really bogged down with new developments in the relationship every chapter. This also created a major pacing issue for me in the middle of the story and I almost felt like I was losing interest in finishing the book. Ultimately, the *minor spoiler alert* huge plot twist at the end saved the book because I couldn’t put down the book in the final 10%.

Ultimately, I really enjoyed reading this book, even though the pacing didn’t work well with my taste in the middle of the story. If you liked watching Sliding Doors (1998) or reading Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid, give this book a go!

Special thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, for sharing a digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Overall rating: 3 / 5 Stars

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I love stories that flip flop back and forth between two possible choices. I really did enjoy this book, though I kind of hated both possible endings Lucy could have had! I was hoping for more closure and justice on her traumatic past, but I think the author did a great job of addressing the topic. Overall a very enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book! The only reason I didn’t give it more stars is because I just read a similar book/ story line so it felt familiar. Overall, I found myself very interested in the staying or going story line and I would honestly re read this story again! 4/5⭐️!

Thank you so much for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This contemporary romance novel tells us the same story from two different timelines. A What If? if you will. I have really enjoyed books in the past that have this similar plot set up and I was pleased, The ending was emotional and I really loved what she did here. Will be reading her again.

What Might Have Been is going to be one of my top reads of 2022. One night after making a spontaneous life change, Lucy is in a bar where she runs into the handsome photographer Caleb. While conversing with this intriguing man, she spots her first love, Max, out the window. She has two options she can pursue: does she follow Max to London to rekindle a past romance, or does she stay in her small hometown to explore a new relationship with Caleb. With two storylines, we find out what happens if she were to stay and if she were to go. Exploring the idea of soulmates, or if we choose who to love, Holly Miller's writing is exceptional. Her characters have depth and her story was believable - I didn't want it to end!
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Thank you to the author, PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. #WhatMightHaveBeen #NetGalley
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Rating: 5/5
Publication: January 18, 2022

The ultimate “what if”…just when Lucy is at a crossroad in her life; she just quit her job after being passed over (again) for a promotion when she meets Caleb. While chatting with Caleb, she sees Max outside the pub. Max, the one who got away a decade ago. What follows in alternating chapters/sections is, “stay” and see where things go with Caleb and writing her novel, or “go” and take the job at a big ad agency and see if Max really is the one.

This was such a great story! I’m not usually a fan of alternate realities, but this was done so well. I’m Team Caleb all the way! After also loving “The Sight of You”, Miller has quickly become a must read author!

After quitting her job and meeting two men at a bar - Caleb, the charming photographer she has just met, and Max, her long lost love - Lucy is faced with a choice; stay in her small hometown of Shoreley and see what new opportunities it brings, or go to London and reunite with Max.

The story lays out the two paths she can take and the alternate reality of her life in each. What would her life be like with Caleb? Would she be happier in London with Max?

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. My only criticism is that having read these other books which I adored, something fell a bit flat to me in this one.

I couldn’t fully connect with a Lucy as a character, nor Max. Caleb was the star of this novel and his character really shines through. I wish I felt that way about all three of the central characters. I also felt the middle section of the book dragged on a bit with no real movement in the story until closer to the end. All-in-all, I would still recommend giving it a try if this is the kind of theme you enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and GP Putnam for an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

“I try not to think about what might have been/
‘cause that was then and we have taken diff’rent roads”
Songwriters: Porter C. Howell/ Brady Seals/ Dwayne Keith O’Brien.

Do you believe in destiny? Or is it within all of us to create our own path?

Lucy is about to find the answer to that most profound question.
Having recently quit her go no-where job, and perhaps looking for a bit of an inspirational sign,
Lucy peruses her phone reading her daily horoscope. She could never imagine…today she will meet her soulmate.

In the spirit of a sliding doors romance this is Lucy’s journey as told from two perspectives.

Simple: Go or stay.

Perhaps no matter what path you choose to take, your destiny is already laid out before you. And in the end, maybe it’s just a matter of how you get there.

I loved how the stories were weaved together, never knowing what path Lucy would ultimately take.
Wonderfully written, when done I couldn’t help but sit back and reflect on the decisions in my own life and the path I chose. My destiny.

The ending, well…I bawled my little eyes out. I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t see any of it coming and now I can’t stop crying.😢

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam.

A mesmerizing journey between what is and what if, Holly Miller’s What Might Have Been begs the question: What if I chose a different path in life? Love is at the heart of the story and whether or not soulmates really do exist. Readers will still be thinking about the premise long after the story has ended.

What Might Have Been by Holly Miller is a contemporary romance novel. The story in the novel is one that is told by showing two different paths from one choice alternating between those different views.

Lucy is at a crossroad in her life after just quitting her job. Lucy has a choice between either staying in her home town and following her dream of becoming a writer or moving to London with her best friend and taking another high pressure job in an agency.

Just as Lucy is about to make her decision setting her path for her future she walks into a pub where she meets Caleb. At the same time that Lucy is chatting with Caleb she sees her ex, Max, out on the street and stops to say hi to him. Caleb and Max will both be a part of Lucy’s future with the path she chooses determining how that future will play out.

Some may think a book like What Might Have Been by Holly Miller may be repetitive or confusing but reading this one I found it to be easy to follow and both directions Lucy’s life took were very different and entertaining. The story is thought provoking in the fact we all make choices daily and of course big choices in life could point one in a different way so it was intriguing to read just how different life could be for the main character. After finishing this one I will keep an eye out for more from this author in the future.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.