Not a story for me. Horrible. Too much tech talk and little set up of characters and story line. Idea of time travel or parallel travel set up was not interesting to me. Could not finish.

This was the first romance in a long time that actually had me questioning whether the main character would get their happily ever after—but in a good way!

Synopsis: Laurel is a marketer at a social media company and is killing it at work. She has some childhood baggage and a funny and kind BF who maybe doesn't quite meet his potential. When she finds an engagement ring in his sock drawer, she starts spiraling (hello, anxiety my old friend) and wonders how anyone actually knows they're "meant to be." She specifically wonders what would have happened if she'd said "yes" to a date from a friendly coworker years before. With the help of AltR, a new AI program at work that gives users a glimpse into a possible alternate reality, she has a chance to find out.

I loved this book and am SO grateful I was able to snag an ARC to read and review. It's a "smart" romance (I kind of hate that descriptor, but I'm not sure how else to word it) in that it has some science themes (think Ali Hazelwood), but it also goes really deep into the main character's emotions, motivations, and childhood traumas. I don't have a science background, but the quantum-related parts also worked well for me.

Do not recommend getting 3/4 of the way through right before bed or you, like me, might end up staying up too late on a work night.

A fun take on the “what if…I chose a different man to date” musing.

Five years ago, Laurel began dating Ollie. In the present day, she is alarmed to find an engagement ring. Even though she loves Ollie, she doesn’t think she’s ready for marriage. Laurel begins to wonder where she would be now if she had accepted her coworker Drew’s offer to go on a date five years ago. And soon, she doesn’t have to wonder as she seems to be able to slip into an alternate universe - one in which she said yes to Drew.

It took me a few chapters to get into the story - overall, it is charming and a bit chaotically paced. Laurel begins to learn more about herself and how she treats others, and starts to appreciate what she has in her real life. There is a nice balance of romance vs. self-discovery themes. The themes aren’t explored in great detail which gives the novel a sweet, light feel. Recommended to anyone looking for a zippy read about finding out if the grass is actually greener on the other side. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

A thought provoking book about second chances.

I found the premise interesting. This book asks if we should hold onto the past or let go. I think the author interpreted this question in an intriguing way with including AI technology that allows characters to travel and semi-experience "what ifs". I thought that was creative and different for the romance genre. I also thought the author did a good job descripting the characters' dilemmas. I enjoyed her writing style and thought she had a lot of quotable lines.

My only qualm would be that the pacing seemed a bit off.

Otherwise an intriguing book.

This book dives into the saying "the grass isn't always greener on the other side." And I had a lot fun with it. And definitely each path we choose changes everyone's lives involved. Laurel, Ollie and Drew proved that. Our experiences make us who we are.
#ARCreview thank you #NetGalley #WhatIfItsYou

This broke my brain.
This one felt, far too intimate for my liking due to the fact that I secretly always freaking think about this situation.

This was EVERYTHING I wanted and thought it would be.

I enjoyed everything and have zero complaints. Can’t wait to read more from Jilly!

What If It's You - a cosmic quantum conundrum of what ifs

I don't deal well with physics and its been ages since interstellar. My only time loop novels have been Rachel Lynn Solomon's Past Present Future. With that, this book felt like a cross between Love and Other Words by Emily Henry meets the women in STEM by Ali Hazelwood.

How many times have we what-ifed anything in life? Being female, I believe it is an instrinsic characteristic to overthink and overanalyze and run mutiple threads of possibilities to build idiot proof life plans. When one such strong female, aka Laurel Everett, gets the opportunity to explore an alternate romance with a possible work husband using AI, she doesn't get a chance to back out.

The story follows Laurel through her self-actualization process, discovering what she has been growing into and what she can't grow without - essentially growing into her own self and molding her life and loves, being honest with expectations and no taking things for granted.

Jilly Gagnon walks a fine balance between the introspection of the heroine and the nuances in science which enable the quantum leaps, the supporting cast of characters are well etched and the ending is fulfilling (Especially the epilogue!). Thanks to Netgalley and Random house Publishing Group for sharing the ARC!

Who hasn’t wondered (briefly!) about the one that got away? Laurel has a lovely bohemian life in Boston with her perfectly nice, sexy, music-making boyfriend who is on the verge of proposing… but after five years, she’s not sure she’s ready for marriage and kids. She worries that Ollie’s holding her back (or maybe that she’s holding him back), and sometimes wonders if she should have said yes when her work bestie Drew asked her out shortly after she started dating Ollie.

Drew, engaged in developing an alternative reality project for their employer, Pixel, invites Laurel to set up a profile and help beta-test the AltR software by fixating on a moment where she could have made a different choice for a new outcome. After running through several options, she thinks about the coffee date, and voila! finds herself in a new reality where she lives in Drew’s condo and has a much more polished life–but is she happier? More importantly, will her future ultimately be happier/more successful? The software glitches her back and forth between her real life and the new reality, until she enlists the help of Dana, an MIT professor interested in alternative reality research.

The narrative transitions back and forth smoothly as Laurel waffles over which path to choose. I didn’t find her to be a very likable character, and her past trauma and abandonment issues were not sufficiently resolved, but her choice is ultimately soundly reasoned through, the science is solid, and the method that works to break the algorithm is risky but redeems her. A minor quibble: the cover art shows the same Laurel twice, with a different guy, even though the author makes it clear that the Laurel in Drew’s timeline is more posh and differently styled. The story was a great thought experiment and may appeal to fans of Ali Hazelwood.

I received a free advance reader’s review copy of #WhatIfItsYou via #NetGalley, courtesy of #RandomHouse. This review will be posted to Hip Librarians Book Blog, Facebook and GoodReads on May 13, 2025.