Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Is the grass always greener on the other side? In I’m “What If It’s You by Jilly Gagnon?” Laurel Everett finder herself asking this question when she finds a ring in her boyfriend Ollie’s sock drawer. Lucky for Laurel, her close friend Drew is working on an AI project at the company they both work for that just might allow her to find the answers to all her “what ifs”.

As a lover of magical realism and STEM romance, this book was right up my alley! I really enjoyed the blend of the different genres. Laurel’s workaholic tendencies really resonated with me as I am a person who has made her career a huge focal point in her life. As someone who is constantly anxious about the future, I could also relate to her need to see the “what ifs” in her life.

It was sometimes hard to follow along with the explanations of the quantum physics concepts and the computer programming. It didn’t take away from the story per se, but I did find myself having to reread certain parts to grasp what was happening.

Overall a wonderful and thought-provoking story! 4.5/5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC if this book. This is a great concept. And the results were done well if a little confusing. The science got a little in the weeds for me and I skipped over a lot of it. I was left surprised by the initial results of what happens to Laurel but satisfied in the end.

This has a really interesting comcept. When I first read the blurb It reminded me of the Netflix movie where it follows a FMC who makes a choice and which pathes each leads. But it's very different while still exploring the what if. Which I enjoyed. I liked that the book is romance but not just solely romance the story takes other aspects of what if into account and has a lot of science. I appreciate the time the book took and didn't just go to the quick answers in the trope. Not that it's a trope you see too much in books. Sometimes you also see it more with a wish of Christmas wish scenario and this was a more grounded approach I enjoyed. Unique and refreshing story in general and in the "tropes"

“Usually I’m not exactly the chatty one.” I caught the quirk of his eyebrow, his wry grin. Tenderness squeezed my heart while anxiety vised harder around my lungs. “Did something happen? At work, maybe?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ollie’s eyebrows shot up. “That you have a hard job and sometimes it can be stressful?” He squinted at me, tongue moving in his cheek thoughtfully. “What else would it mean?”

While the sliding door trope is a popular avenue for exploring what could have been, I enjoyed considering the parallel universes idea. If you’ve ever wondered what could have been if you’d only… you’ll enjoy the telling of Laurel, who stumbles into an alternate reality that leaves her questioning whether she made the right choice many years ago.

Excellent writing and character development, although I did spend some time wondering why she didn’t just tell Drew what was going on in the first place.

I normally love STEM RomComs but couldn’t get into this one. I even tried “read aloud” but it didn’t help.

Thank you Ballantine for granting me an ARC!

Thank you for the ARC!

I was really excited for this as the premise was really interesting! Who wouldn’t want to live the what if?

Laurel freaks out when she founds the ring her boyfriend of five years plans to propose with. Turns out the fancy tech company she works at has a quantum computer that allows to visit alternate dimensions - and the computer happens to be built by her coworker who once asked her out.

So Laurel decides to use the computer and lives the alternate life where she is with the coworker and not her boyfriend but she also kind of gets stuck and ends up living both lives at random times.

I wish I liked this more but there was too much rather unexpectedly confusing quantum physics stuff going around and Laurel was rather annoying because all she did was complain about her life and then the alternate one. The love interests didn’t seem to have much of a personality than being stereotypes. The writing was good though.

I wanted to lije this story I really did I tried I realize this waan5 for me When I started reading I waa enjoying where the story was going. Chapter after chapter it like me in the corner maze I couldnt bring myself to finish it I didn't care how it would end.

Thank you, Netgalley and RHP, for this ARC!

In What If It’s You, Jilly Gagnon expertly weaves romance, speculative fiction, and introspection into a captivating story with a unique premise. The plot follows Laurel Everett, who, after finding an engagement ring in her boyfriend Ollie’s drawer, is suddenly flooded with doubts. Lucky for her, her company’s secret technology allows her to see what her life could have been like if she'd chosen a life with Drew, a colleague she has a little crush on.

As Laurel alternates between two realities, the novel explores more than a simple love triangle, touching on themes of personal growth, identity, and the choices we make. Laurel reevaluates her past, present, and what she truly wants for her future. The science fiction twist was just perfect and fresh (and the reason I picked this up to start with!)

Gagnon manages to balance the alternate timelines with a focus on Laurel’s personal journey, making the novel not just about romance but about self-discovery. It is a refreshing and insightful exploration of the classic “what if” scenario, forcing both the character and the reader to reflect on love, identity, and life’s biggest decisions.

I'm still undecided on this one after having finished it over a week ago. I really liked the premise and thought it had a unique spin on the typical love triangle trope - plus, I think we all have a person or scenario we often wonder about the "what-ifs" had things happened differently. That being said, this was VERY science-heavy, to the point I was having trouble following some parts. I thought it was going to be more of a sci-fi/Ali Hazelwood-esque idea, but there were certainly things in this book that went over my head. Had I had more of a science background, I think I would have enjoyed it more as I really did like the storyline! Great ideas and characters, I just wasn't the intended audience.

DNF @ 25%

I was very excited to start reading "What if it's You?" but unfortunately it is not for me. There are a lot of different genres (romance, magical realism, sci-fi) but this book doesn't really do any of them well. I didn't like the main character or really care about learning who she would pick. This is a shorter book and it might have benefited from being longer so we could learn more about the character before jumping into the what ifs.

Rated 3 stars. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC ebook.

In all honesty this one was hard to get into for me. It starts off slow and then builds on the quantum physics of the plot and I found it very easy to get lost in. Laurel finds herself spiraling on the what ifs when the proposition of forever is placed in front of her and she can’t let go. Once she can see what would have been if she said yes to Drew 5 years ago, she has to make a choice on what life was right for her. One of my favorite quotes from this book is “sometimes outsiders have the clearest view of the thing” I did enjoy that she essentially was an outsider looking into her own life and that helped her ask more important internal questions about the person she wanted to become. I really enjoyed the epilogue and how what’s meant to be will always find its way.

This was a "What could have been?" story with some romance, some physics, and a lot of twists along the way. Laurel finds an engagement ring from her long-time boyfriend. Rather than being excited, it's makes her wonder how life could have been different if she'd agreed to a date with her coworker Drew long ago. And thanks to some new technology, she can now explore how that might have played out. And the two timelines just go from there. This was one that kept me reading as I wanted to know how Laurel's two lives were going to play out. There was an overlay of some physics things which are definitely not me, but I found I could mostly follow along. I thought this was a unique take on this kind of story that I dug. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this May 2025 release.

I had a feeling that this book wouldn’t be my favorite because of the premise but I stayed because I wanted to know what would happen and where the story would go. So because she found the ring now she’s wondering if this is what she truly wants? I never really liked love triangles because it never end with who I’m rooting for. This book was so science heavy for me and I wanted more romance and character development. It got to the point where I didn’t even care who ended up with who. I forgot I was even reading a romance. This book is for someone. Just not me.

What a well-done book! It's a great "what-if" scenario, brought to life through technology. The idea of writing a book about 2 parallel lives seems so daunting, but this one is done so well! Laurel goes back and forth between 2 lives, and really gets to know herself and what she really wants for her future. She takes a deep dive in getting to know herself, which helps her realize what path she should be on in her life. I was so impressed with how well this book was written, and really got into the 2 timelines she was living. Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of htis book in exchange for my honest review!

Laurel works for a tech company and her friendship with the lead tech, Drew gets her an invitation to experiment with the newest quantum computer program they have developed. Logging in after hours, Laurel somehow manages to leave behind an incomplete profile which continues to run even after she has logged out. Looking for an answer to her question of "What if she had accepted Drew's invitation for a date 5 years earlier?" sends the computer and Laurel searching for answers both in the here and now and in an alternate universe where she does end up with Drew instead of the love of her "real life", Ollie. Unfortunately, the computer has the ability to switch Laurel from one universe to the other when she least expects it. Trying to navigate her "normal" life in two worlds is confusing and frightening and when funding for the program means that the quantum computer might need to be shut down, it may also mean that Laurel will cease to exist in either universe.
This was an intriguing plot which unfortunately just dragged on for far too long. Too much self-psychiatry.

This was a really clever book! I really identified with the protagonist, her anxiety and indecision felt like it was written about me! I would absolutely do something like she did just to gain some clarity and comfort. Laurel was so real, I loved that! Some of the quantum physics and computing went way over my head but the author worked really hard to make it digestible. The plot line was out there but it worked in her setup. The choices were vivid and interesting, I found myself wondering what would come next. Any book that I can’t guess the “twist” or ending is usually a winner in my book (pardon the pun!) Great story and great characters.

this book was so interesting! as a certified stem girly, i love that it go pretty deep into physics. made me think while soothing it over with the romance.

i really think this book had so many layers to it, much more than i was expecting. i loved seeing laurel’s growth as a character. also the epilogue had me screaming, arguably the perfect way to tie it all up!

thank you netgalley and everyone involved for this arc!

I received this ARC from NetGalley and I was super excited about the premise. This is a modern spin on the classic “what if” trope. Laurel feels relatable because of her apprehension of the future and what she what’s for herself which feels very Zilellenial. I also really love a story where you don’t know if the character will get a happy ending so it kept me on the edge of my seat.

The last quarter of this book pushed it from 4 stars to 5 for me. It’s the closest I’ve come to a book making me cry!! THE EPILOGUE! I love it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher of this ARC for allowing me to read it in exchange for my honest review.

Interesting take on multiple universes and they could possibly affect each other. Laurel's journey of self discovery was Interesting and challenging.