Unfortunately, I did not finish this one. I read about half of it but I couldn't get into it. I hated the characters and was just bored by it. Sorry it just wasn't for me.

This book was a DNF for me. I got to 30% and decided it was not for me. Hopefully it will be a good fit for someone else!

I really enjoyed the author’s The Little Italian Hotel so I was excited for her new book. This one delivered the same charm that I was hoping for. Her writing is engaging and makes for an easy read. I enjoyed following Carla from city to city, as she looks to her past for answers. After embarking on her journey, Carla learns a lot about herself, finds some answers she was looking for, and some surprises she did not expect. I was surprised by the direction of the story, but I did enjoy the ending. I would recommend this one.

Carla didn’t believe in the family relationship curse.

She knows she found the love of her life and wanted to prove them wrong.

But then her family took her on a mystery evening to have her fortune read.

She didn’t want to have her future read or determined by tarot cards.

She went ahead anyway and had it done, but then she couldn’t get the revelations out of her head.

Wonder if there really is someone from her past she is meant to spend the rest of her life with instead of fiancé Tom who will be her husband in three weeks.

Still determined to break the family curse, she heads back to Spain to find one of her loves from when she was 22 years old.

What will she find?

It was fun following Carla.

Ms Patrick’s newest will have you also thinking about “what if” as you share everything with the lovely characters. 4/5

Thank you to the publisher for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book overall! It was an easy read, but did lack some plot for me. I felt the family curse was not enough to keep me fully engaged. However I enjoyed her writing style and thoughtful story telling.

This is a delightful and engaging read that showcases the author's unique writing style and super authentic voice. The story of Carla and Tom connecting through a dating agency that Carla founded for people who haven't faired well romantically is quite intriguing. Carla's superstitious family and the notion of a curse underscores the complex dynamics and add depth and relatability to the narrative, making it easy to empathize with her journey.

While the elements of a fortune teller, tarot cards, and magical realism weren't my favorite aspects, and the idea of visiting ex-boyfriends to determine if 'The One' is still out there (and to dispel family lore) felt a bit unconventional for my taste, the book remains an entertaining read overall.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the complimentary copy.

I really enjoyed the premise of this book, as ridiculous as it is. A logical woman who comes from a family of spiritual women grows up being told that their family suffers from a love curse. As she is about to marry a man she thinks is her perfect match a few situations arise that make her need more security in her decision. After an unsettling tarot card reading she decides to embark on a journey to reunite with the men she had connection with during her gap year many years back. She hopes that by confronting her past she will feel more sure of her future.

There's nothing wrong with this book. The characters are sweet and plot of fun. I just didn't fall in love with anyone. Carla was a bit bland and her reasoning for going on her love quest felt flimsy. I did enjoy her relationships with the women in her life but as a whole this story was a bit flat for me. I still think Phaedra Patrick is a lovely writer though and worth exploring.

This book was good, but not my favorite. I loved the bit of whimsy, in trying to break a family curse. And I loved the idea of using logic to find a spouse, and there that can lead you. It was a fun read for sure.

Phaedra Patrick writes stories with heart and warmth. She creates characters with whom readers will enjoy spending time in stories that are about human relationships.

In The Year of What If, protagonist Carla has tried to live life through her mind and logic, rather than with her heart. That heart led her to a first marriage that did not last. Carla subsequently went, against the grain of her family that believes in portents, card readings and more, to form a dating agency based on evidence and careful matches. BUT…what if Carla’s premise is wrong?

Carla is engaged to marry someone with whom she has a very close match. Tom is kind, good and mostly a very safe partner. However, for reasons that readers will learn, Carla starts to think back on relationships that she had during her one time of breaking free when she traveled abroad. Watch for what she then does.

Who should Carla be with? How should she decide? Readers will want the best for her as they read this novel.

Carla and the other characters engage the reader. This is a good choice for an enjoyable summer escape. It will appeal to Ruth Hogan fans.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

This book had a great plot line. Before she gets married she meets a fortune teller who prompts her to relive her gap year romances. However this book was dragged on and it was hard for me to stay into it. One of the bigger problems I had was the author went back and forth with the other characters names- using “mom” or “grandma” sometimes when describing them but then mostly using their first names other times. It might not make sense in this review- but there were so many names involved it was really hard to keep straight the women in the family at least. I also had beef with her up and leaving her company in a crisis but that’s just the workaholic in me ha! BUT 3 stars because I think this overall was a cute and different book (even though I was rooting for the wrong guy lol). Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this free read!

thank you netgalley for the e-arc. i liked the premise, i liked the traveling through the countries, i liked the level of description of the scenery and food but that's where what i liked stops. who would travel to other countries to see if she left love behind years ago and actually meets past men and just does nothing about it!!? i wouldn't expect her to cheat on her fiance but at least see where things go beyond surface conversations or maybe vet the men online before you travel so you can see if they are weirdos! the connections carla had with the women in her life meant a lot more to me than any man in this book. AND! she just lets her husband cheat and barely questions him and when she does she's like "oh alright, nothing happened." idiots.

The Year of What if, by Phaedra Patrick, tells the story of one woman's quest to affirm that her fiancé is truly the "right" choice. Burdened by a family curse, a disastrous first marriage, and a tarot reading, she sets off to revisit the men she met in Europe during her gap year twenty years before. This is a fun, light, and a relatively fast read. The characters are quirky but likable, the settings are breathtaking, and the plot is intricately paced. I rated it 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4. Thanks to NetGalley and Park Row for the opportunity to read a digital ARC. It was a pleasure.

Loved it! I was excited to read this because I loved Phaedra Patrick's previous books. This one definitely didn't disappoint. I really wasn't sure of Tom and Carla's relationship. Sure, they got the highest matching score with the dating agency. They just didn't seem to have any spark and they were about to get married. What's good on paper and high compatibility doesn't always mean your perfect for each other. If a tarot card and a trip to a fortune teller can make you question your whole relationship, are you you really meant for each other? That's exactly what happened to Carla. Plus, she's dealing with a family curse. Tom jumped on the chance to go to a board game convention right before his wedding. Carla's mad he ran into an old girlfriend even though she's traipsing around Europe looking for her lost loves. What's the chance that these guys would still be in the same location or even remember her after twenty-one years? It seems highly unlikely, but I was definitely along for the ride and couldn't wait to meet them. For someone who doesn't believe in family curses, Carla goes to a lot of trouble to find her lost love. I enjoyed traveling with Carla.
Loved all the descriptions. My favorite part was discovering who Carla was meant to find. It was very unexpected and a wonderful surprise. Her whole family is crazy, but in a good way. I was definitely shocked by Aaron, Carla's ex-husband, and they reason for their divorce.

Definitely recommend the book. Loved the characters, writing style and story. The book was full of friendship, family relationships, love, loss, family curses and so much more. Look forward to reading more books by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harlequin Trade Publishing through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I was delighted to see a new book by Phaedra Patrick so I picked it up immediately. I had previously read [book:The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper|26722820], [book:The Library of Lost and Found|39873227] and [book:The Messy Lives of Book People|57938945] and enjoyed every single one of them.

Description:
Can the future be rewritten?

On the verge of her second marriage, Carla Carter knows she’s found the one. She and her fiancé, Tom, met through Logical Love, a dating agency she founded for the pragmatically minded, and she’s confident that, together, they'll dispel an old family curse claiming Carter women are unlucky in love.

But when Carla’s superstitious family insists she visit a fortune teller before her big day, the tarot reveals that the love of Carla’s life is not Tom, but one of the men she dated on a gap year—twenty-one years ago. With her wedding just weeks away, Carla sets off across Europe, tracking down her exes from that unforgettable year to prove the fortune wrong. From Spain to Portugal, Italy to France, will one of them be her perfect match? And could a face from Carla's past help her rewrite her entire family history forever?

My Thoughts:
This was a charming book and was true to the author's previous style. I liked the magical aspect of the curse on the family and the fortune teller. Carla's search for true love was daunting with questions raised by the fortune teller driving the plot and Carla's search. Her company and way it matched people was interesting and different. It was interesting to see what happened to the men Carla had met during her gap year. Delving into the origins of the family curse was fun. I loved the characters in the book, some were quirky and overall they were fun. I think we all think about "what if" sometimes.

Thanks to Park Row through Netgalley for an advance copy.

A fun and entertaining read. I thought Carla was likeable and her journey was compelling and kept me reading. I will look for other books by Phaedra Patrick. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Title: The Year of What If
Author: Phaedra Patrick
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4 out of 5

Can the future be rewritten?

On the verge of her second marriage, Carla Carter knows she’s found the one. She and her fiancé, Tom, met through Logical Love, a dating agency she founded for the pragmatically minded, and she’s confident that, together, they'll dispel an old family curse claiming Carter women are unlucky in love.

But when Carla’s superstitious family insists she visit a fortune teller before her big day, the tarot reveals that the love of Carla’s life is not Tom, but one of the men she dated on a gap year—twenty-one years ago. With her wedding just weeks away, Carla sets off across Europe, tracking down her exes from that unforgettable year to prove the fortune wrong. From Spain to Portugal, Italy to France, will one of them be her perfect match? And could a face from Carla's past help her rewrite her entire family history forever?

I was a little iffy about Carla at first, with her insistence on logic and rules, but she grew on me. I loved her travels, and her bravery in returning to men she had known so long before to see if they were “the one.” Her family was pretty messed up, but I liked their quirkiness. This was a solid, enjoyable read.

Phaedra Patrick is a bestselling author. The Year of What If is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Park Row in exchange for an honest review.)

The Year of What If-a standalone

By- Phaedra Patrick-a new to me author

Publication date 6-25-24 , read 6-28-24

📃 Page count: 336 kindle

Quick Summary: Carla Carter is on marriage #2, and her family wants her to be sure Tom is the one. They have superstitions that their family is ill-fated in love. They force Carla to see a fortune teller, even though she's pragmatic. The fortune teller reveals that Tom is not her true love, but it's one of her exes from her gap year 21 years ago in Europe. She decides to go on a journey revisiting past loves and her family's history.

🤷🏾‍♀️ What to Expect:
⭐Adult/Women's Fic
⭐️ travel
⭐contemporary
⭐romance
⭐family drama
⭐curses/tarot cards
⭐middle age/phases of life


🤔 My Thoughts: I was so jealous of Carla's European vacation. This was a great beachy, summer read of a woman's past and her family's story. I have read many "what if" books where you could change the past, present, or future. I liked the picturesque descriptions of Europe and Carla's stroll down memory lane. Sometimes you discover exes were exes for a reason, and it wastes time and energy worrying about what could have been. And, sometimes revisiting those missed opportunities can reveal true happiness.

Rating: 4/5⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Park Row for this ARC💙 ! I voluntarily give an honest review and all opinions expressed are my own.

Phaedra Patrick is a must-read author for me. Her plots are original and there are often glimmers of hope shining through any darkness and confusion.

Carla’s wedding day is nearing when she discovers from a fortune teller that she may be on the brink of marrying the wrong man. Could the right one be someone she met during a gap year in Europe two decades before? She needs to find out. Carla needs to work through layers of superstitions and stories about their family curse in order to discover the truth.

As much as I love Phaedra Patrick and her writing, this book was challenging for me. Tarot cards and curses are not of interest to me and they were central to the plot. In addition, there just seemed one too many men from the past that she meets. That being said, I loved the descriptions of each city in Europe and the details of her travels. Although I also wanted more from the ending, I will gladly continue to read Phaedra Patrick’s new books. I’m grateful to NetGalley and Park Row for the early digital copy.

Carla Carter is only weeks away from marrying Tom, the man she matched with through her company Logical Love, when her sister & the other women in her family blindfold her and take her to a fortune teller to get their fortunes read. Her sister insists it is just to make certain that Tom is the one for Carla. Carla doesn't believe in fortune telling, or any of the other superstitions her family embraces. That is why her company Logical Love is based solely on algorithms, none of that swiping left or right or filling out dating profiles and people choosing off of superficial things like looks. When the fortune teller reveals that the love of her life is NOT Tom, but is instead one of the men that she dated during her European gap year, Carla decides to revisit all of the men that she dated to make sure there were no sparks, and confirm that they weren't the one.

This was another great romance from this author. I loved the combining of superstitions and love, and trying to decide how to tell what was real & what you had just bought into because of your beliefs. This book had a great cast of characters, and you will really love Carla and the journey she is on - literally and emotionally. This book is perfect for not only romance lovers but also for anyone who just loves a good story.

I’m such a big fan of books by Phaedra Patrick. They are always entertaining, moving, and sweet, and there is something gained by reading them. Characters are likeable and you find yourself rooting for them. Her latest is called The Year of What If and it was excellent!

On the verge of her second marriage, Carla Carter knows she’s finally found the one. She and her fiancé, Tom, met through Logical Love, a dating agency she founded for the pragmatically minded, and she’s confident that, together, they will dispel an old family curse claiming Carter women are unlucky in love.

For peace of mind, Carla’s family insists she visit a fortune teller before she ties the knot. Except the tarot unexpectedly reveals that the love of Carla’s life is not Tom, but one of the several men she briefly dated during her European gap year — twenty-one years ago. Only weeks away from her big day, Carla sets off across Europe to track down her exes from that unforgettable year, desperate to prove the fortune teller wrong. From Spain to Portugal, Italy to France, will one be her perfect match? And can a face from her past help Carla rewrite her entire family history — forever?