this book had a very interesting plot thats what drew me to it! Sadly it was not my favorite book it felt like I had to drag on to read it. I think for me I'm just not that big into science so a lot of what the book was talking about did not make a lot of sense to me. I did find it interesting how she was learning stuff from each world or side.

This book kept me on the edge of my seat and was almost like a thriller in that for the first half I genuinely didn't know what was going to happen next. The writing is great, the world building is great, the issue for me is just that it wasn't exactly what I expect as a romance genre reader.

I'll avoid mentioning anything related to who the main character has her HEA with (although beware many other reviews here do spoil that) because at least for me it was not clear was I was supposed to be rooting for until deep into the book. Again, this was quite suspenseful and kept me turning pages but when I started seeing signs that I was rooting for the wrong couple, I felt a little disappointed at cute parts of the book that would have otherwise made me happy to see the "right" couple succeeding.

Overall if you're a fan of romantic suspense and want something that diverges from the typical romance script, I wholeheartedly recommend this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

What an interesting story. I enjoyed the little bit of tech meets romance concept in the story very much. I further appreciate the character getting to appreciate multiple places of happiness. Thank you for the opportunity to read this one.

Laurel finds an engagement ring hidden at the back of her boyfriend’s drawer, the scares her because she isn’t quite sure about the whole “forever“ thing. She works at Pixel, a social media company, and has a flirtatious relationship with a coworker named Drew. Drew has developed an AI that uses quantum mechanics to explore alternate universe theory. He allows her to use a virtual reality program to alter certain points in the past, and she wakes up in a completely different time stream.

This book wasn’t for me, I wasn’t really excited about the romance, the love triangle, and the alternate universe theory and explanation into quantum physics was just too much. There was so much explanation about the physics of alternate universes that my eyes glazed over a bit. I read an advanced copy of another book that explores this type of sliding doors/butterfly effect/vanilla sky “the one that got away“ storyline, and I really loved that book. “Some other time” by Angela Brown comes out in February, I rated that five stars, this one is such a similar theme, but comes out a few months later. It’s difficult with a romance when you aren’t really rooting for the main character to end up with the male main character. This book was just missing something for me. But it could be for people that understand this and are very into quantum physics and understand it better than I do.

Thanks to NetGalley and random house for the ARC. Book to be published May 13, 2025.

I loved the premise and structure of this book, especially how the author brought the complex concept of quantum physics to life in such an accessible way. I especially enjoyed the character Ollie, who stood out as a bright spot in the narrative. The 'is the grass always greener?' theme was quite thought-provoking, and I would definitely recommend this book to my friends. I found myself wanting more movement throughout the story. The interiority of the main character, Laurel, was strong, but I would have preferred more showing than telling—seeing emotions unfold through action rather than being confined to thoughts. There was a lot of pause and think which some readers love and the author did a great job with the inner thoughts.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC, please still love me after this review…

Peeps, I really wanted to like this book, the premise is exciting, and who doesn’t love a Sliding Doors moment?? The problem is… we open with this girl, Laurel, who appears to be in a loving healthy relationship (with a dude named, Ollie) and she is freaking out over an engagement ring. THEN, we spend the first 40% of this book coming up with ZERO reasons as to why they wouldn’t work, besides her working with this guy Drew, who also seems charming.

Now, you will not find me forcing anyone to marry someone simply because there’s no reason not to, BUT I would like to be sold on why this may not work, so I can empathize with Laurel. Ollie seems great, and I really don’t find Laurel very endearing, and don’t really have a vested interest in her journey. I find myself wondering who I’m supposed to be invested in… Drew, Laurel, Ollie? I’m not quite sure and don’t have the energy to find out. PLUS the sliding doors moment is brought on by AI, WHICH, reminds me of work. Books are my method of escape, the last thing I want is to be constantly reminded of that which I’m escaping from!

Anywho, just because I’m not in the right place to finish this, doesn’t mean you should ignore this book. The other reviews here seem to like it, hence why she’s in “DNF but I respect it”, give it a chance and then come back and tell me what I missed.

Laurel is terrified of marrying her boyfriend of five years, Ollie. And her fear leads to her asking a quantum computer/AI program 'what if...' she had said yes to going out with a co-worker instead of her musician boyfriend?

It leads to her sliding between two realities - her real life World O, and World D where her co-worker Drew is her boyfriend.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book. The first slips into each reality were on the slower side, but they picked up after that, making you feel how frantic Laurel is to be in the reality she wants to stay in. And I wasn't bothered by the quantum jargon. It was easy enough for me to follow.

I'm giving four stars because I do wish the author would have made each reality feel 100% real to Laurel - similar to the "Amy's Choice" episode of Doctor Who. Where Laurel would have felt completely certain that each reality was World A to her. Then it would have made her choice more satisfactory - because she would have chosen the kind of man and relationship she wants to be in.

I did however, enjoy her growth as a character.
<i>"I realized that it's not just about who I want to be with, it's about how I want to be with them."</i>

I think this is an easy sci-fi romance for beginners to get into.

**I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.**

This was a kinda fun take on the "sliding doors" concept relying on technology to provide our hero with an alternate reality to explore what could have been if she'd chosen to date her co-worker, Drew instead of her soon-to-be finance, Ollie.

My biggest issue with the book is that one of these realities is quickly dismissed as "not right." (which makes this book more like a 3.5 for me) Laurel feels like it's basically cheating to be with Drew, so she simply bides her time in his reality. The book is actually less about missing out on a her shot with Drew, as it is confirming if she's ready to marry, Ollie, the man she's already with in the initial reality.

For me personally, this made the story a little bit dull. There isn't any tension of the tug of war between the two options. Instead, there's mostly a lot of worrying if the reality she prefers is as perfect as she wants it to be. Ollie also comes off as basically perfect, so Laurel's fretting about marrying him reads as a little odd. Also, her life with Drew also seems lovely, but there's some reaching to make it seem like a very bad choice.

Word of warning, this book is tech heavy. It didn't bother me, but it is enough that it might be overwhelming to some readers who want more romance and less quantum physics.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I was so drawn to the concept of this book. I am someone who loves to ask themselves “what if” so seeing a book with that being the main premise of the relationship I was sold. I was happy to be able to receive this as an e-ARC from NetGalley! This was only my second ARC i have received so i was so excited to dive in and i am a sucker for a good romance book!
This book was super easy to read and I liked the pace of it. While I did like the pace of it there were moments that I had to go back and re-read because of some of the physics aspects and other things but I was able to get through it!
I liked that the main character was really working on herself rather than focusing just on the romance aspect of it vs. your typical romance book where they can tend to lose themselves when someone else comes into the equation. I really enjoy a romance book where the romance is there to enhance the overall story not be the end all be all. Don’t get me wrong I also love a romance where that’s all there is but its nice to have substance within the story as well.
The author does a great job of adding funny little moments as well as some humor throughout the story that adds to the charm and makes reading so much fun!
I would recommend anyone who loves romance books to give this one a shot. It’s a nice refreshing story that I haven’t really seem done much, you don’t see many second chance romance that are started because of What Ifs.

I am giving it 4 star because while I did enjoy the story it was lacking just a little something else to really give it that edge!

ARC releasing 5/13/25. A parallel universe romance. Requested this ARC because I’m a sucker for parallel universes, but didn’t look into the book or the author, which was a mistake. I truly cannot handle any more books with 30something year old characters who don’t have conversations with each other!!! Just talk!! The main character was selfish, boring, unlikable, and a fat zero in communication skills.

DNF

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for sending me a free ARC in return for an honest review.

Unfortunately, I did not like this book. I only made it to around 10% before I had to stop. I realized while reading this book that I don’t like the infidelity trope. Perhaps if I connected with Laurel from the start I would feel more sympathetic, however, I didn’t really connect with her. My breaking point when she called Drew her “work husband.”

What If It’s You is a fun and insightful take on the classic “what if” scenario. I loved the blend of science fiction, romance and self-discovery. The story not only asks what could have been but forces the reader to think on choice, love, and the paths we take.

Okay, so I'm giving this book a 3.5 star rating (rounding up to
4) - now hear me out on this one. This is a good book, I think where I struggle is when the book starts talking about the techie quantum computer type topics. Whenever these topics came into play, I found myself getting very confused and then I just felt lost in a sense. In the beginning, I really did not enjoy the main female character (Laurel, she felt very full of herself and just not a character I enjoyed at all! As the story progressed though, I finally started to get to know her more and she started to grow on me. I loved the idea of being able to see the what ifs. What if I chose this person over this person, what if I said this versus this, what if I did this instead of this? I will say I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I understood it more, the jumping between worlds and times confused me quite a bit, but even with being confused, I truly did enjoy the story and the aspect behind the story. All in all, if you love reading more sci-fi type books, this book would definitely be for you!

Honestly I have no clue where to start with this book, it has everything you’d want in a book. I fell into the pages to where I didn’t even want to sleep or eat. All I wanted to do was read the words on the pages of this book, I loved the characters and the character development. The whole plot was amazing, being forced to shift to another reality and you have no control over when you can go home when you can see the people you really want to be with? 10/10 I adored this book, I will most definitely be on the lookout for more books from this author. I just can’t get over how great the book was. I really did just fall into the book.

Book Review: What If It’s You by Jill Gagnon

I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) of What If It’s You by Jill Gagnon, and I’m grateful to the publisher and author for the opportunity to provide an honest review. This rom-com, based on the concept of alternate realities, offers a fresh and imaginative take on the classic “what if” scenario. The main character (FMC) works at a tech company developing AI software that lets users explore how their lives might have unfolded if they had made different choices.

I found this book to be a cute, easy read, perfect for unwinding. However, I did feel some frustration with the FMC, particularly regarding her uncertainty in her five-year relationship with her current boyfriend. She came across as a bit self-absorbed and unappreciative of what she had, which made it difficult to fully root for her at first.

That said, her personal growth over the course of the book was one of the highlights. Through her journey into an alternate reality where she dates her “work husband,” she gains a deeper understanding of herself. I loved how driven and hardworking the FMC was, but it’s clear that she missed the important things right in front of her.

The book’s message is a valuable one: the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It was refreshing and different from many romance novels I’ve read, which made it all the more enjoyable.

A multiverse rom com about facing fears, decision making and self discovery ✨️ The concept for this book is relatable: what would life be like if this one decision was made differently? Laurel learns more than she bargained for when she gets stuck in a quantum computer's AI, slipping between different versions of her life. At first glance, she thinks she's deciding between partners. But she eventually realizes it's the version of herself she needs to choose.

As a chronic over-thinker, Laurel's fears of the future and commitment really resonated. Her growth arch was satisfying, and the premise was compelling. She wasn't particularly likable most of the time 😅 but I don't think main characters exist just for us to want to be their friend. The author did a good job simplifying a very complicated concept, answering the most important "whys" behind this multiverse. However, it felt longer than it actually was. The end was sweet but anticlimactic (things were dire until suddenly they weren't). And the lusty romance scenes weren't quite believable (I'm all for embracing sexuality but the suddenness of her ~desires~ amidst the stress of switching worlds was odd).

Thank you Netgally for offering me this ARC in exchange for an honest review 💝

"I realized it's not just about who I want to be with, it's about how I want to be with them."

"I couldn't guarantee that nothing bad would ever happen to us, or that we'd always feel the way we did in this very moment. There's no such thing as guaranteeing happiness, or risk-proofing life. But I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I was exactly where I was supposed to be."

A fun page turning romance futuristic based on a computer AI program that the amain character Laurel is ininterested in playing around with and develops her own profile.But since this is still in it's developmental phases things can go wrong and Laurel finds herself tumbling between two worlds. Sounds a bit confusing but definitely a super fun read!
Grab this book if you're ready for a fabulous adventure! I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
Many thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my review.

Laurel, our female main character, is having doubts about her forever with Ollie. So when she gets the chance to see what could happen if she made a different choice about him years ago, she jumps at the opportunity. Unfortunately, she not only sees what happens, but lives with that experience.

This book had traces of interstellar and black mirror, but was still a romance at its core. The character development of Laurel is honestly very good. She is not unbearable, she is just multifaceted and realizing that those around her are also human beings.

The only thing that took getting used to was the author's writing style. It was very much stream of consciousness, long sentences. It just forced me to slow down reading and reread some parts

I've been having a really difficult time getting through this. For some reason it's just not hooking my attention and pulling me into the book. So what if she gets proposed to by her long time boyfriend? So what if her work husband is great? The prose here just isn't drawing me in but it may be a wonderful read for someone else! Thank you for the opportunity, regardless!