Author: Holly Miller
Series: None
Publication Date: January 18, 2022
Publisher: Putnam
Pages: 368
Obtained: publisher via NetGalley
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Had me at the Sliding Doors comparison
Grab, Just get it at the library, or Remove from your TBR list? Grab
Summary: What if “meant to be” happened twice? Lucy is at a crossroads. The same night she quits her thankless job she meets Caleb, a local photographer in her seaside town, and has a run-in with Max—the once love of her life. As Lucy decides the right path forward—finally pursue her dream of becoming a writer or move to London and revive her career—her choice will change her life in unimaginable ways. Stay. After a decade of trying to run from her dream, Lucy is finally facing her fears and putting pen to page. With her budding romance with handsome, artistic Caleb, she has more inspiration now than ever. But can Lucy and Caleb open themselves up after their past heartbreaks? And will their different paths take them to the same place? Go. Lucy can’t believe her luck when a room in her best friend’s London house share opens up and she lands a job at the prestigious Supernova. It gives her the courage to face Max, who’s serendipitous encounter still has her reeling, and ask what really happened almost a decade ago? But does she really want to know, when being together feels like fate? In concurrent storylines that track what would have happened if Lucy chose to Stay or Go, What Might Have Been is a sweeping story that poses the questions: is it destiny or chance that decides who we are meant to be, and who we are meant to love? And is there such a thing as a soul mate? ~amazon.com
Review: I love stories that have the "what if" aspect and Ms. Miller makes the 2 paths easy to distinguish in What Might Have Been by calling them Stay or Go. One night after Lucy quits her job she goes to a local pub and meets Caleb but then she also sees the one that got away, Max. This is when it is split into Go - Max or Stay - Caleb. Both stories are compelling for different reasons. For all of us I'm sure there's the one person we always wonder what would have happened if you had stayed together. For Lucy she gets to live that out by bumping into Max and moving to London. Except their story isn't all rainbows and butterflies, there is a big WTF moment that I'm not sure I could have gotten over or forgiven.
With Caleb it's new, fresh and exciting. Caleb isn't like all the other guys she's dated, he's a bit off her type, which isn't a bad thing according to Lucy's sister. Except Caleb does come with some baggage that Lucy needs to work her way through, even though he's been nothing but up front with her. Where Lucy and Max jump right back to where they were 10 years prior; Caleb and Lucy take their time to get to know each other.
Often I felt that Lucy and Max were trying to make up for lost time without truly understanding where they currently were in their lives. At times I felt that Lucy gave up herself and her dreams to be with Max. There are a few other things that kept this book from being a 5 ⭐ novel for me but I'll let you read and figure it out.
What happens throughout the book is learning about the relationships and how each path has a different effect on other friendships and relationships in Lucy’s life. It always comes full circle.
I really loved this book, but the most important question for those who have read is: #teamMax or #teamCaleb.
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