A sliding doors kind of book, but the story is interesting enough that you don't know how the alternate life is going to be. A good read, and original enough not to be a rehash of the film.

If like me you believe in fate and love the film 'Serendipity', you'll enjoy this well-written 'what if' story. Most people in a long-term relationship wonder, whether they are with their soulmate, or if under different circumstances they would be with someone else. This story explores Liv's decision taken at the cusp of the 21st-century, stay with Nate or split up and live their lives apart.

A story of two halves, the outcome of being 'without him' is explored first and then 'with him'. There's friendship, conflict, romance and sadness but the ultimate conclusion is satisfying in both stories. The setting and relationships are believable, and though flawed, the characters endear themselves to the reader, and you want them to find happiness and fulfilment.

The pacing of the story makes it easy to read, and even though the storyline focuses on ordinary, everyday life, it is full of suspense, poignancy, laughter and love and makes this a lovely lighthearted read.

With or Without You is the perfect holiday read. I can’t imagine anyone who hasn’t thought about the outcome had they made a difference decision in their lives. This book explore that notion, and whilst the author has her own thought on the subject, I found myself strongly preferring one of the outcomes over the other. Definitely worth a read.

From the author of One Day in December (which I also have a copy of) comes With or Without You. Shari Low lets us into the lives of Liv, a palliative care nurse and Nate, her university love and who she is convinced is her soulmate. They get hitched and all is well for 5 years. That is, until the closing minutes of 1999 when they decide they should take separate paths in life.

But, are they really better off without each other? Twenty years follow where life takes its course with milestone events such as 30th birthdays weddings births and more.

Shari Low's latest is a well-paced novel with a wonderful mix of suspense romance heartbreak important events and a dose of fun, too. I was smiling at some of the opening parts particularly. The book is set in Scotland and is atmospheric and realistic.

There's a lot to like about this book and the character development, setting and pacing is good. I did feel though that after 1999, a lot of the book was about Liv's life and told from her point of view. That's good to show that she is strong and does what she can with what she's dealt in life. We see family and friends as well as work are important to her. That's great and I was happy with the portrayal of all this.

However, I would have liked more of Nate's side of the story, as in, how did everything that happened affect him? How did he feel after and what did he do to move on in life? What were his family's or friends' take on what happened?

Despite a simple premise, Shari takes the plot and characters and weaves it into a realistic story and the plot moves along well.

I think the book will appeal to anyone who has had any kind of relationship and, to those who are going through harder times in love, may this book serve as a fun book in which to follow the life of a powerful strong main character. The cover is lovely too.

Recommended if you like this type of story, other books by Shari Low and books by JoJo Moyes and/ or Marian Keyes. Which I do. The title, cover and synopsis made me request this book and I enjoyed Shari Low's easy-to-follow yet gripping writing style.

Thanks to Shari Low and Aria for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. Blog tour on 7th June.

Six years into her marriage Liv begins to think she has made a mistake and should leave her husband Nat.
The story then divides into two strands, her life when she leaves Nat and then the second writing of her life as she chooses to stay with him.
Neither story has any substance. Nothing really happens. I found it difficult to believe she would end up with the same set of friends if her marriage broke up as if she had with Nat. Life isn’t like that.
All in all this is done much better by Lionel Shriver in The Post Birthday World.

Like Sliding Doors, this novel explores the "what if?" Question behind one choice made by the main character, and explores the two paths she could have taken.

I really enjoyed the book, and love the idea behind it too. I did find it quite tricky to engage with the second half of the novel in comparison with the first - I perhaps would have enjoyed more or a connection between the two stories instead of two totally separate halves.

Having said that I did really enjoy reading it

Really enjoyable look at making a decision - and the implications of it. How would life have turned out?
It’s a similar concept to Sliding Doors, where we play out Liv’s life Without Nate and then Liv’s life With Nate.

So we have Liv, palliative care nurse who’s trying to decide whether to stay with Nate, PE teacher. There’s Liv’s besties - Chloe, an A&E nurse and Sasha, another teacher, and then there’s Justin who drinks too much... plus the lost love of Chloe’s life, Connor and dishy doctor Richard! this motley crew are great together and it’s interesting to see which way the story turns and what’s fated...

I loved the characters- the gang felt real and true to life, although there wasn’t a huge amount of insight into their backgrounds which could have helped provide more context to the dilemmas. I also thought that Liv was a bit insipid - perhaps her lack of decision making ability made me feel this way... but all in all, that didn’t detract from my enjoyment

Interestingly, I wonder what prompted the order - leaving Nate is presented first, i wonder if the story would have been very different if staying with Nate had been the first option. I definitely preferred one version of the story... 💕

This is an overall feel good book. Good strong characters, who are funny and times and likeable.
Written in a “sliding doors” type theme, where the first part of the story is about Liv and Nate breaking up and the second part is what life would be like if they stayed together.
It is a lighthearted easy read and just what I was looking for.

A ' what if' book. What if Liv and Nate had stayed together? What if Liv had gone with her boyfriend to his new job? What if their friends hadn't intervened so often? All these and many other questions are played out in the alternative scenarios.
Live, Nate and their friends are very believable and relatable characters. The story trots along at a lively pace. There is nothing earth shattering, but it's pleasant escapism. I enjoyed it.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

Another alternative life book! Maybe with our horrible president, people are thinking about alternative Earths a la The Flash? LOL. This book was pretty cute, sort of a romantic comedy in book form. Made me want to watch Sliding Doors again.

As the millennium approaches, Liv must make a choice: stay married to the man who’s become more friend than lover or leave her safe marriage and break out on her own in the hopes of finding someone she truly loves and the spark she’s been craving.

A charmingly written Sliding Doors-type romance, With or Without You looks at how different things could be based on those life-defining moments, asking are you ever sure you’ve made the right decision?

The first half of the story follows Liv if she’d chosen to leave Nate, while the second half shows her having stayed with Nate. The characters were authentic, likeable, yet flawed, dealing with the same things we normally deal with in life: children, relationships, growing up, love and loss.

If you like JoJo Moyes or Marian Keyes you’ll love this captivating romance.

Thank you so much to Netgalley for letting me read With or Without You by Shari Low in exchange for my honest review.

The story begins on the stroke of midnight as 1999 turns into the year 2000. Liv is making the big decision whether to stay with her husband Nate or not, after they have spent a year trying to make their marriage of seven years work for them. There's nothing bad happened, it's just that life isn't exciting anymore, rather routine and Liv feels that a lifetime partnership should be more than that. The first part of the book looks at what happens if she leaves him and the second if she stays with him.

Looking at what might happen if a different path had been chosen in life is a popular theme in film and literature: think Sliding Doors, The Versions of Us and It's a Wonderful Life. I think we all wonder 'what if?' on occasion, whether it's a big life-changing decision like Liv made or any of the small decisions we make each day.  Through both sides of the story, we see the consequences, the ripple effect of Liv's decisions. Good things that happen in one version of the story, don't in the other and vice versa. Every decision we make has so many consequences and no-one can predict what they will be. It's a bit like how in It's A Wonderful Life, lots of men on a ship in WW2 died because Harry Bailey wasn't there to save them, because George Bailey hadn't been there to save Harry from drowning when he was a boy.

One thing about Shari Low's writing is that she has a real talent for making me feel fully engaged with her characters. They feel real and they are people I really care about. I really wanted them all to find their happy endings. The characters seemed like a great group of people and there was a lot of laughter in their lives. Liv's mum, Ida, was a hoot! Liv and Nate were part of a very strong friendship group who stuck together in both versions of the story and were a great support to each other no matter what. Justin in particular was someone who needed lots of support and his friends really stuck him. Having experienced trying to support someone with the same problem as him, I know just how hard that can be.

We can never know what the right decision is but can only make the right decision for ourselves at that precise time. We also can never know what would have happened if we had chosen differently, we can only speculate, which is probably just as well! As for what the right decision was for Liv and Nate, well I'll leave you to find that out for yourself. What I will say is that as far as I was concerned, everyone ends up in the right place, with the right people, at the right time. With Or Without You is a thought-provoking and very enjoyable read.

This is absolutely wonderful! Everyone faced with a tough decision (particularly in relationships) wonders “what if”...questioning if they did the right thing, make the right choice. This story captures the alternative scenarios brilliantly. Heartwarming, sweet and smarter than your average romance. Definitely recommend!

I wasn't sure what I was expecting from this book, but what I got was a very thought-provoking story which was both very enjoyable but also sad. I loved the characters also.

With or Without you is reminiscent of Sliding Doors ,two scenarios on whether Liv is married to Nate or not .With Liv and her close group of friends the ending is the same whichever path is taken just in a different way .As the Author says "everybody in the end is where they are supposed to be "Very enjoyable read .Many thanks to the Publishers ,The Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

Even with small decisions in life...we wonder if we made the right choice.

Liv and Nate have been married for 6 years. They are best friends...and it's all become very routine. On the eve of the turn of the century (the NEW century), Liv wonders....should she stay or should she go...

What follows is a bit of a 'Sliding Doors'. Going back and forth between a life with and a life without Nate. It's about fate and how one decision could change your fate/life.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book

3.5 star read.

"With or Without You" is two stories in one. Liv and Nate have been together since university. Five years into marriage they aren't sure that they should stay together.

This book reads like a combination of "Sliding Doors" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral". As with both movies, we have a large cast of characters, friends and couples who are the best of friends to one another; and these characters all make appearances in both story-lines.

This story could have dragged a bit, but the way Shari Low moves it along - each chapter marks an event in their lives (30th birthdays, weddings, births, etc), as we follow what Liv's life is like with or without Nate as her husband (because it's important to note that they are still in one another's lives).

This story isn't going to blow your socks off - but it will leave you feeling good. I do wish that we would have had more alternating points of view - we only get Liv's story - I think it would have been great if one story-line had been told from Liv's perspective (the "without you" story) and the other one was told by Nate (the "with you" story).

Overall - an enjoyable read. A little romance, a little self-reflection, a fun cast of characters that will have you cheering them on. thank you Netgalley and Aria for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.

Talk about a fork in the road! Liv and Nate have a good relationship but it's lost its fire so Liv opts for them to separate. Low uses this to write the same story twice- once where they are a couple and once where Liv is on her own. The other characters- their friends and family-remain in the picture but slightly different things happen to them as well. I thought I might be bored with repetition but that was not the case as these really aren't the same stories. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Nicely done, quick read perfect for travel or the beach.

What an excellent book! I am a huge fan of Shari Low, and would compare her books to Marian Keyes which is definitely high praise!
I love the premise of this story, Liv and Nate have a stale marriage and at New Years Eve 1999, they decide whether or not to separate. The book is written in two parts, firstly the consequences for the couple and their friends and family if they separate, then if they stay together. How much do our decisions affect our lives and does fate always play a part? All of the characters, not just the main ones, are brilliantly written and you really care about what happens to them. Desperately sad at times, hilariously funny at others, this is a book with real depth and one to savour. I would highly recommend it. just fantastic.

What a real feel good book. A perfect read for the beach !!

The book centres around one decision made on the eve of the millennium- will Nate and Liv stay together or go their separate ways ? The book is then split into 2. The first part follows the lives of Nate, Liv and their group of friends after they decide to split and the second half shows us what happened when they decided to stay together.

The concept of the book is always something that I think most people have considered. Are our lives mapped out for us or can we change the outcome by making different decisions ? I like the fact that the book is split into 2, rather than trying to cover the different scenarios in alternating chapters, as I think that would have been too confusing.

I absolutely loved the characters, especially Liv and Nate but I have to admit I absolutely loved all their friends too. It’s a book that completely captures you right from the start until the very last page so you can see how their lives turned out.

I brilliant read and one that really makes you think about the decisions we all make in day to day lives and how those decisions can affect those around us.

A must read for the summer and one to definitely pack for your holidays !!

Thank you to Aria and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.