Rating: 4.5 Stars

Following her divorce, Carla was determined to love based on logic and not emotion. As she was set to marry again, she had her fortune read and was advised that she met someone very critical to her future happiness during her gap year over two decades ago. This motivated Carla to revisit her gap year exes, but would this trip down memory lane ruin her chances of finding her happily ever after?

I will never hesitate to pick up a Phaedra Patrick book because I know I am in store for a fabulous, feel-good story. Once again, Patrick crafted a tale that captured my attention from page one and presented me with several surprises along the way. I was intrigued and cared so deeply for everyone involved as I crossed my fingers for Carla and her family to find the happiness they deserved.

The focus on family was something that emerged early in the book. This family of strong women were quite close. Maybe they bonded over the curse and losses? Who knows, but I loved their dynamic and the way they never failed to catch each other when they fell. It was such a pleasure spending time with them as they experienced their highs and lows.

The bulk of this tale was spent retracing Carla's gap year through Europe. Patrick transported me to some beautiful places as Carla faced her past. It was interesting the way she began to see her past romantic situations in a different light, getting the necessary closure, discovering a lot about herself and how the curse had been influencing her romantic relationships.

During her travels, Carla also connected with people from her mother's past. Being so young at the time of her mother's death, there were a lot of gaps to fill, and it was so lovely that one of her mother's friends was able to do that for Carla.

But, this was a story about what-ifs, and Carla spent her time pondering many of them. I appreciated the various ways this theme was explored and really pleased with how the time and reflection helped Carla grow. I will admit that I thought the story would go in a different way, but I wouldn't say I was disappointed.

In the end, Patrick had the entire family heading in the right direction. I was happy and hopeful for them as they embraced and moved towards a brighter future.

Phaedra Patrick’s stories are, for the most part, quests of one sort or another. In The Year of What If, the main character, Carla, goes on a quest to find the answer to a Tarot card reader’s mysterious message. Along the way she accidentally finds the mysterious, meaningful man from her gap year, and she gets some life changing news.

Carla comes from an extremely superstitious and quirky family. Since her divorce, she eschews all that is not fact based. She goes as far as starting a matchmaking company that is algorithm based. She leaves nothing to chance or fate. She and her fiancé Tom believe they are the perfect match based on Carla’s algorithm, but in Sandra-Bullock-movie style, forces pull the couple in opposite directions. Could fate be telling them something or just testing Carla’s algorithm results?

I found Carla’s family odd, messy, and well meaning—just the way I like book families. I found Tom, the fiancé, to be boring and flat. I couldn’t get behind their relationship as it seemed to be narrowly defined and only by Tom. However, I found something to enjoy, like, or love about each of the men from Carla’s gap year. Especially her ex-husband Aaron.

As with Ms. Patrick’s previous books, The Year of What If is a journey back to family—whether that family is by nature or a “found family”. The author’s writing style is engaging and accessible, and that made it easy to follow and engage with the protagonist's emotions. Ms. Patrick excellently illustrates how the people in our lives shape and influence us. The twist and little mystery that Carla sleuths out kept me interested in the storyline. I enjoyed Carla’s growth and many aspects of the book’s denouement, however, I was looking for a different ending.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins, Harlequin Trade Publishing Park Row Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest heartwarming book by a favorite, Phaedra Patrick. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars rounded up!

Carla Carter is about to get married and she knows that he's the one for her. She founded a dating service, Logical Love, after her first marriage fell apart. Carla is convinced that her and Tom will prove wrong her family curse that the Carter women are unlucky in love. But when her family organizes a bachelorette party to visit a fortune teller, she's thrown by the results. The tarot cards reveal that the love of Carla's life is someone she encountered two decades ago on a gap year. To prove the fortune wrong, Carla sets off to Europe, tracking down her exes.

As with all Patrick's books, the reader meets such interesting and quirky characters. Plus, this one is also a tour of European cities, as Carla tries to reconnect with her exes. In doing so, she meets people that open her eyes to her family history and her own beliefs. Is there really a family curse? Or is it more of a self-fulfilling prophecy that's been handed down? Carla has the chance of a lifetime to really go back and see where other paths may have led her. The end was pitch perfect!

Carla's about to get married but first she's exploring her past, thanks to a fortune teller her family took her to see. Tom's a good guy but is he really the one or is she truly cursed to never find true love, as some in her family believe? Off she goes to follow the path of her gap year, talking to old boyfriends but more importantly learning about herself, her mother, and her relationship. Each stop, each person, makes her think about both the past and the future. This might seem a bit of an impulsive and implausible trip but it works and it's one that will make you smile. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Good storytelling makes this a good read.

If you like reading about fortune tellers, tarot cards, and family curses and secrets, The Year of What If is for you. After a visit to Myrtle, a fortune teller, Carla decides to retrace her gap year adventures across Europe before her upcoming nuptials. The ending wasn't the way I expected it to be. In all, this is an enjoyable book. Thanks to one of my favorite authors, Phaedra Patrick, publisher Park Row, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Carla has it all figured out. She’s about to get married to Tom, her perfect match she met through the dating company she founded, Logical Love. When her sister Jess takes her to Myrtle the fortune teller on her bachelorette party, Carla worries she won’t be able to outrun her family curse. She embarks on an adventure to reunite with past exes and save her family from the curse that’s haunted them for over a hundred years.

I had no expectations going into this book and was very pleasantly surprised. It was an interesting, enjoyable read. I just wanted more romance from this story.

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to Harlequin Publishing and NetGalley for the advance readers copy!

Thank you Netgalley and Park Row for the chance to read The year of what if by Phaedra Patrick. Ever since I first read The library of lost and found, I wanted to continue reading her books. Her follow up books, The secrets of Love Story bridge, and The messy lives of book people cemented her in my must read category.
Have you ever reached a point in your life that you sit and ponder your "What ifs" in your past? Carla, previously divorced now owns a match-making business based on logic. Planning on a second marriage with Tom, who she met through her business, she feels confident that it will work out until a tarot card reading leaves her wondering "What if". Carla ends up setting off to Europe to retrace her gap year trip, and the men she met there. What if one of them were her true love? As with her previous books, it dwells on themes of family, love, secrets and the mystery of a family curse. Totally enjoyed it!

After a trip to a fortune teller on the eve of her wedding, Carla Carter begins to question if the man she's marrying is "the one". She embarks on an adventure visiting her past boyfriends from her gap year of college to see if she may have made a mistake with one of them. As Carla set out on her trip across Europe, I was intrigued by her transformation from a straight laced, very analytical person to the carefree spirit she was before her first marriage ended in divorce. An uplifting tale of one woman's journey that will leave you wondering about what your life would be like if you had made different choices.

3.5 stars rounded up
A heart-felt novel about a bride-to-be, a family curse and a whirlwind European adventure!

42 year-old Carla Carter is about to get married for the second time and she's certain that she's found the one as she met her fiancé, Tom, through the dating agency she owns which uses an algorithm to match couples based on their answers to practical questions. And unlike the other members of her family, she doesn't believe that the women in her family are doomed at love thanks to a 100 year-old curse. But Carla starts to question everything when a tarot card reading mere weeks before her wedding implies that one of the men she met on her gap year trip across Europe 21 years earlier is the love of her life. Carla tries to brush it aside but when Tom goes off to the US for several weeks for a gaming conference, she decides to retrace her gap year travels from Manchester to Spain, Portugal, Amsterdam, Sardinia, Italy and Paris and reconnect with the men who were important to her in each place.

An easy-to-read, enjoyable story of family, love, secrets and a bit of mystery relating to the curse. The characters are likeable and I quite enjoyed Carla's travels around Europe as she pondered the question "what if?" This is the second book that I have enjoyed by this author (having read The Little Italian Hotel last summer) - her books seem to be perfect for when you're looking for a feel-good summer read with some armchair travel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending a digital ARC of this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Year of What If by Phaedra Patrick is a delightful romp across Europe with shades of It's A Wonderful Life as main character Carla Carter revisits places and people of her past in hopes of making a decision regarding her future.
This well-written, engaging story also has a serious side, as Patrick touches on the topics of superstition, interpretation, and how belief in something can influence a person in both positive and negative ways. The author brings the varied settings to life, and the characters are diverse, realistic, and entertaining. At its core the book is based in romance, and is sure to appeal to all fans of the genre.
I am grateful for the ARC of #TheYearofWhatIf that I received through #NetGalley.

Carla owns her own match making company and is about to get married for the 2nd time believing she's breaking the family curse. She met someone whom she has a high match thru her own company. Then her sister brings her to a fortune teller who suggests otherwise and she finds out her match making software wasn't correct for her and her fiance

"The Year of What If" by Phaedra Patrick

The book explores love, self-discovery, and the intricacies of past and current relationships. The story revolves around a woman grappling with uncertainty about her relationship due to a family curse. To seek clarity, she travels across Europe to find her past loves and understand whether the prediction of a past love being her true love holds any truth and whether the curse will continue to affect her impending marriage.

Throughout the book, the fiancé is never far from the main character's thoughts. She wonders about past relationships, questioning if she is destined to marry her perfect match. Initially, the narrative paints their relationship as mundane and unfulfilling, urging the protagonist to re-evaluate her feelings and commitments.

As she revisits her past loves, the protagonist undergoes a transformation. Each encounter with a former flame helps her realize what she truly values in her fiancé, leading to a deeper understanding of her emotions and desires. The theme "you don't know what you got until it's gone" resonates strongly as she learns to appreciate the qualities she once overlooked in her partner.

Phaedra Patrick's writing style is engaging and accessible, making it easy for readers to follow along with the protagonist's emotional journey. The author excels in illustrating how the people in our lives shape who we are and influence how we meet our needs. This aspect of the book is particularly thought-provoking, encouraging readers to reflect on their own relationships and personal growth.

One of the highlights of the book is the unexpected ending, which adds a refreshing twist to the protagonist's journey of self-discovery.

Overall, "The Year of What If" is an enjoyable read that offers a unique perspective on love and relationships. If you have ever questioned whether you married the right person or pondered over past loves, this book might provide you with valuable insights and a renewed appreciation for your current relationship.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in a heartfelt story about love, personal growth, and the complexities of human connections.

I really loved The Messy Lives of Book People and The Library of Lost and Found. Romance, per se, is not my usual genre, but I enjoyed the love letters to books that those two works represented, and enjoyed the way Patrick wrote enough to give a more traditional romantic storyline a go, particularly given the concept of "the curse" and the interplay between logic and heart.

It was a sweet read, but not really my jam overall, being a little more like a traditional romance than I prefer. Still, her characterizations are always very well presented and I do enjoy her narrative style on the whole. I just wasn't as drawn to the concept here as I was to the previous books. The whole idea of "what if" is a fabulous one, it just felt like it was a bit of a stretch for this uber-rational woman to hunt down men from her past, some of whom she'd only had tangential interactions with... It felt unlikely, and the interactions felt a little over-designed to teach her lessons. I get that this was likely the point, but it made the read feel a little more forced than organic to me.

THE YEAR OF WHAT IFS
by Phaedra Patrick. On sale June 25/24

From the author of THE LITTLE ITALIAN HOTEL, THE MESSY LIVES OF BOOK PEOPLE and THE CURIOUS CHARMS OF ARTHUR PEPPER, comes a delightful story of Carla, who is about to tie the knot with her ultimate mate, Tom (84% match on her Logical Love Dating app). Her family has a curse on them, so she has to be absolutely sure. Her younger sister drags her to a fortune teller and she tells her there is someone who has loved her almost her whole life and she must go find him in Europe, a place she visited during her gap year when she was 21.

Luckily her fiancé is off to California for a conference, so Carla throws caution to the wind and goes to find the men she met many, many years ago. You’ll delight in following her to meet the 6 men in her previous life, all the while discovering more and more about the mysterious family curse.

Quirky, delightful and full of “armchair traveling, THE YEAR OF WHAT IFS will have you getting out the TAROT cards!

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book ahead of publication! My review will appear on my blog on 5/30/24. I will also feature the review on Instagram that same day and post my review to Goodreads, The Storygraph, Fable, and retail sites.

Review:

I went into this book thinking it would be one of those magical, second-chance romcoms, and while that's not what I got, I still found this to be a heartwarming and charming story about love, fate, and second chances.

The book focuses on protagonist Carla Carter. Carla is a practical woman - unlike the other women in her family who carry Tarot cards and crystals because they believe they are cursed when it comes to matters of the heart. After an awful marriage and divorce, Carla believes that people can find the perfect mate with a little logic, science, and math, so she starts a company called "Logical Love." Since its inception, Carla and her staff have managed to match up hundreds of people who have gone on to discover their happily ever after. Carla even met Tom using her algorithm, and the two are set to get married in a few weeks.

But when a fortune teller reveals that her true happiness lies with someone from her past, and her future husband prioritizes a work trip to the USA rather than their honeymoon, Carla wonders if maybe the fortune teller was on to something. Just to be sure, Carla embarks on a journey to revisit all the men she dated during her gap year twenty-one years ago.
As Carla travels from England to Spain to Amsterdam and eventually to Paris, she not only reconnects with her former flames but also rediscovers herself in the process.

The author does a fantastic job of bringing each location to life with vivid descriptions and a keen eye for detail. I felt like I was right there with Carla as she navigated the ups and downs of love and was reminded of why she didn't end up with some of these men (as well as kicked herself for not settling down with others). I also appreciated that we got to spend plenty of time with Carla and her former flames and were really able to understand who they were 21 years ago versus who they are now and why they weren't meant to be.

Patrick's writing is engaging and heartfelt without being overly sappy. As Carla revisits her past relationships, she not only learns from her mistakes but also realizes that love can come in unexpected forms. The message that it's never too late to rewrite your own story is powerful and uplifting. I especially appreciated that the book ended logically and not in your standard Hollywood, "everything is wrapped up in a pretty bow" kind of way, which left me feeling hopeful for Carla's future without rolling my eyes.

What truly makes the book work is its cast of lovable and relatable characters. Carla is a protagonist I could connect with and root for from the moment I met her. Her journey of self-discovery is not only entertaining but also thought-provoking as she learns to let go of her control issues and embrace the unknown. The supporting characters, from Tom, her fiancé, to her eccentric family members, add depth and humor to the story, making it a joy to read. I also really loved her connection with her sister Jess and her mother's best friend.

Overall, I found this to be a charming and feel-good novel that reminds us of the power of love and the importance of taking chances. This is the perfect summer beach read. Whether you're a fan of love stories or simply enjoy a well-crafted tale of redemption, this book might just be what you're looking for.

Phaedra Patrick has an easy writing style that draws you in with a captivating story. Carla Carter is set to be married to Tom but is he really the one? Her family is unlucky at love so she visits a clairvoyant who tells her there is someone from her past that is very important to her future. Carla had taken a gap year before attending college so now she sets out to visit all those men. A light mystery is entwined with this love story that kept me very engaged. This is a go to author for me that does not disappoint! Thank you to Park Row and NetGalley for an advanced eGalley of this book. #TheYearOfWhatIf #PhaedraPatrick #NetGalley

Carla Carter's family is known for being unlucky in love. With the exception of her grandmother all of the women in family have failed relationships, marriages etc and when Carla prepares to walk down the aisle for the second time, she wants to be certain that she's walking towards the right man. She founded a dating agency 'Logical Love' which is how she matched with her Tom, but after her sister and grandmother take her to visit the family fortune teller, it's revealed that Tom might not be the love of her life.

From there Carla takes a journey to meet all the men she met during her European gap year - 21 years ago including a visit to her first husband. In the process she discovers not only important details about her family history, but she finds someone she didn't even know existed in the process.

The Year of What If makes a perfect read for a long plane ride, or a warm afternoon by the pool. You won't want to put it down until the very end!

Thank you NetGalley for a chance to preview The Year of What If by Phaedra Patrick. I enjoyed reading this book. It was a fast, fun story centered on superstitions. The characters were a little flat for me, but it didn't take away from the story, if that makes sense. I have some superstitions myself and found the premise something I can relate to. I would definitely recommend this book.

Carla and Tom are excited for their upcoming wedding in one month. Things take a twist when Tom has a work opportunity to travel to the United States to attend a three week convention in Las Vegas. Carla, feeling dejected because Tom had insisted he did not have time for them to take a honeymoon after they were to be married but he had time to travel before hand to Las Vegas, decides to revisit her trip she had taken ten years prior and reconnect with the men she had met along the way after her bridal shower tarot card reading telling her she would meet a lost love. Secrets are uncovered, surprises are revealed, wounds need to be healed. Fun read. I was given an advanced reader copy by NetGalley and I am freely sharing my review.

I always love Patrick's style and how her characters so quickly come to life. Carla and her family are no exception and I enjoyed this story very much. Carla is one I had a tough time really liking but it didn't detract from the story as a whole for me.