{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
The Premise – We’ve all thought it: If I’d only said or done something just a little bit differently, then my life would be completely changed.

“…she was writing a dissertation on the philosophy of counterfactuals, “if….then” statements like: If I hadn’t been assigned a cubical in the science library, I would never have met Amar. Or, if I’d remembered to pack my birth control pills on our camping trip to the redwoods, Leah wouldn’t exist.”

If….then. That is the underlying premise of Kate Hope Day’s debut, so aptly titled. Neighbors in a small college town in central Oregon begin to catch glimpses of themselves and their loved ones in slightly altered realities. Mark sees a disheveled, somewhat scary version of himself lurking near his home. His wife Ginny sees herself with a different partner, but still living in the home she shares with Mark. Samara Mehta, grieving the recent loss of her mother, sees her mom out front, alive and healthy. And, new mother Cass, stuck at home quietly falling apart, finds herself rescued by a very much alive Mrs. Mehta. No one wants to talk about what they’re seeing because each chalks it up to stress, exhaustion, or sorrow. No one wants to admit that they just might be starting to fall apart. As the visions come and go, each wonders what the “if” might be to make the “then” reality.

Lots of Mystery – Besides the entire premise which constantly has you wondering, many other questions arise in If, Then. Ginny herself becomes a mystery as her real life begins to take on elements of the life in her visions. Samara uncovers secrets about her mother, which leave us all wondering.

Samara blinks. She tries to reorganize the facts in her mind. What she thought she knew about her parents, and what she knows now.”

Cass, perhaps the biggest mystery of all, has more insight than the others into what might be happening, but for much of the story she’s completely in the dark. And Mark’s visions of himself leave many questions, starting with, “Why is Mark so terrified by them?” It was a fun journey as all the questions finally came together in the end.

Dystopia Light – I like a good dystopian story, but I know it’s a genre that some struggle with. If that describes you than If, Then is a perfect book to try. Yes, there are dystopian elements, and the book leaves you thinking, but this is not the story of a cataclysmic world event that alters life on Earth. It’s about one small town and a series of events that changes the people living there. It was a perfect size dose of dystopia.

What Didn’t
Cass & Her PhD. – In the story Cass had stopped working on her philosophy PhD. after becoming pregnant. With a daughter only a few months old and a husband on an extended research trip, Cass decides to go back to her thesis. I was fine with all this, but I felt like Day should have either taken it further, or not as much. As it was, that part of Cass’s story became a little messy and felt like it was forced into the larger context of her story. For me, Cass was really the most interesting character because of the variety of things she saw and I’d have liked to know more about that aspect of Cass. Why was her reality so different from that of her neighbors?

{The Final Assessment}
I thoroughly enjoyed If, Then. It was the perfect palate cleanser in the middle of my winter reading. I found it just different enough to keep me constantly engaged, but never so out-there I was rolling my eyes. The characters were well thought out and completely likeable. Best of all, I liked the reminder that everyone might have different possible versions of themselves…if only. Grade: B+

Note: I received a copy of this book from the Random House (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review. Thank you.

If, Then falls somewhere between sci-fi, literary fiction, and dystopian literature. The story follows multiple characters near a dormant volcano in Oregon who are experiencing strange visions of an alternate universe and it is fully of what-if's: Are they crazy? What do the visions mean? Was there a warning? How do they know what's real?

This novel mixes the oddities of science fiction with authentic and realistic literary characters and truly encourages the reader to stay curious until the very end. I found myself not only questioning which of the parallel realities were true but also hoping for ones that I knew to be fiction.

The transitions between characters happen quickly and often, but Kate wrote the story in a way that feels natural and readable. I found myself flying through chapters, wanting to know more and more about her characters' thoughts and feelings

Thank you for the free review copy NetGalley + Random House

If, Then is a quiet, speculative novel about four neighbors living in suburban Oregon. Ginny and Mark are an unhappily married couple, Samara is a young woman coping with the recent death of her mother, and Cass is a young mom who's had to sacrifice her academic ambitions for motherhood. Gradually the novel introduces the possibility of parallel realities which have begun to overlap, as each character starts to see visions of an alternate version of themselves. Throughout the course of the short novel we study each of these characters and unearth the decisions each of them made which prevented their other self's reality from coming to fruition.

While I enjoyed this from start to finish and found the ending in particular to be utterly brilliant, I ultimately think I was hoping for more from this novel's speculative angle. Suburban life is chronicled convincingly, and each character is constructed carefully, but I don't think this digs deep enough to be the kind of character-driven novel it's trying to be. This could have been offset by the concept of parallel realities playing a larger role, but instead, that element is more of a vehicle used by the author to explore the novel's central concept: if I had done this instead of that, then what would have happened as a result? Still, it's a quick and thought-provoking read, and though it's underdeveloped in places I think some of the ideas it raises are interesting enough to make up for that. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced copy provided in exchange for an honest review.

Kate Hope Day creates a fascinating novel with If, Then. Characters Ginny, Mark, Samara, and Cass all have issues they grapple with, and things become topsy turvy when they begin to see their lives playing out in parallel realities. It's an interesting meditation on "what if?" that is ambitious and largely successful.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review.

What if you had taken a left turn instead of a right turn? What if you blinked and when you opened your eyes and your whole world had taken a shift?

If, Then is the story of a cul-de-sac in Oregon. Ginny is an over-worked chief of surgery who is married to Mark, a scientist. Samara has returned home to help during her mother's illness - and now, after her mother's sudden death, is trying to decide if she wants to stay or go back to Seattle. Cass is a new mother and former brilliant student.

They all get a glimpse into another world - Ginny is with Edith, a nurse at the hospital, Mark sees himself with terror in his eyes, dirty and scared. Samara sees her mother. Cass sees herself pregnant.

This is science fiction/thriller/fiction. It's part Sliding Doors, part something that I've never read. Alternate realities - do they exist? can they be predicted by frogs? Kate Hope Day has created a world that makes us ask If....Then....and what.....and when....and where.....and how.

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

Everyone says Broken Mountain is dormant, but Mark has his doubts. His study of local frogs makes him worried, then a vision of himself bedraggled and haunted leaves him terrified. His wife Ginny, a surgeon, is also having visions of another life, where she's having an affair with her coworker Edith. Samara sees her mother alive and well. Cass is just trying to survive the demands of her newborn, but her previous work in philosophy might hold the key to their condition. Just four ordinary lives beset by seismic shifts both literal and figurative.

What I Liked

This was a very fast paced read that had you flying through the lives if the four propionate characters. I have been reading a lot of big novels such as The Count of Monte Cristo, so reading such a fast paced book, that didn't feel rushed was wonderful and just what I needed.

I also enjoyed how this was a science fiction novel that wasn't too out there. It just blurred the lines between alternate realities and did so in a really interesting way. As I was reading this I was almost getting NOS4A2 vibes in this respect. It was just a little science fiction that really lit up the story. It takes a skilled writer to just take something small and build a story like this surrounding it.

The writing in this novel was done really well. It takes talent in my eyes to be able to create a story that shifts so much between characters, time, and in some cases reality as the characters know it. If I had tried to do such a thing there would be plot holes left and right. Additionally, her writing style is very enjoyable to a point I will be looking into her future books, I hope she writes more.

What I Didn't Like

Personally for me I did not get fully attached to any of the characters. This does not mean they were poorly written or anything like that. I just think because there were four main characters and the story flew by so quickly I didn't really get a chance to connect with them. The characters themselves were interesting, especially since they seemed to be "battling" and experiencing such different things in their lives.

Overall Thoughts

This is a very intriguing and interesting book. The premise of this book reminded me of a combination of books I already enjoyed, while it was all her own. The book flew by, but I can also see how that can be a disservice to this story. Overall, it was a good read in my eyes, I was entertained and I wanted to know what would happen next so I kept turning the pages.  If you want a fast paced read that is a little out of the ordinary and has you thinking about alternate realities/dimensions I suggest this book to you.

Great book, great plot, wonderful characters I really cared about. Although when I read a synopsis of this book I was a little reluctant to request it because it seem to have a slight hint of the supernatural. That being said I really did enjoy reading this book. I was happy with the way everything was tied up in the end. Loved all the characters. I would definitely recommend this book to friends and family. Thanks again for my advanced copy.

A unique and imaginative story in which the suspense builds at a good pace amidst land tremors and visions of character ‘twins’ in an alternate reality. An engrossing read.

*will post in online venues upon publication.

I was so excited to read this book!! I love the idea of alternate realities and this one sounded like it was going to be quite the ride. Unfortunately, I feel like this book just barely glossed over the concept, not really diving too deep. It was slow, underdeveloped, and a bit lackluster for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publilshing Group for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What in the WORLD DID I JUST READ?!?!?!
And I mean that in the best possible way ever! I mean MIND BLOWN!! First of all its a multiverse story....all about parallel lives!

I'm going to be honest here..I don't even have the words to describe this book, especially because I don't want to give anything away. Let's just say that Kate Hope Day is a truly gifted writer who knows how to really suck you in!

I've heard its already slated to become a movie and it hasn't even been released YET!!!! Kate Hope Day just joined my list of favorite authors!

This novel is set in a small mountain town in Oregon, where the 4 POV characters, who all live on the same block, start having visions of an alternate vision of their life each time there is a bit of a tremble from the mountain they live near. It's a quiet book, but the writing is just lovely, and the concept of multiverses is definitely an intriguing one. Both in its domestic drama with just a hint of the fantastic/science fiction, and in the dreamlike writing, it definitely reminded me of Karen Thompson Walker's books Age of Miracles and The Dreamers, so if you are a fan of those books, you will want to check out this one, and vice versa.

The writing is excellent in this book but I had a hard time connecting with the story for some reason. Part science-fiction with alternate timelines and part domestic drama. Interesting premise but I just couldn't get invested in the characters.

Why are Ginny, Mark, Samara, and Cass seeing alternate versions of themselves? It won't be clear early on so go with it and enjoy this for what it is- a literary exploration of how one thing can change our lives. If you opted to turn left instead of right, how would your life differ? There are bigger issues here than a simple turn- Ginny wonders about her sexuality, Samara about her mother and grief, Cass about motherhood and Mark the environment (but is this a metaphor?). These four are neighbors and the oddity they are experiencing seems to be focused only on them. Why? I realize I'm posing a lot of questions but these are what floated through my mind as I read this. It's got lovely writing which carried me through when I was a bit confused about what was going on. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. An interesting read.

I received an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was thoughtful and worth a read as it made me think; it also tired to be many things at once and at times I felt a bit lost, thinking we were still in literary/women's fictional mode when we had bounced to Sci-fi/dystopian mode, and the shift between the four narrators also lead to this bounced-around feeling. I would recommend it more for the ideas and less so for the enjoyment of the actual flow. 3.5 rounded up

What if the reality we inhabit isn't the only one? What if there are parallel worlds in which we - or people very much like us - exist on another place, one just barely out of our reach but not entirely so? This is an elegant novel of the counterfactual - the if, then of the title - peopled by alternate versions of some of the inhabitants of Clearing, Oregon, a mountain community in a subduction zone vof the Cascades whose seismic activity may have nothing , or everything, to do with the bizarre hallucinations that afflict Sarah, whose recently deceased mother still exists in that alternate reality, or Cass, a PhD student whose philosophy studies have been back-burned by the demands of new motherhood but is confused by encounters with her prepartum self, still fully engrossed in her studies , or Ginny, a surgeon who in her dream life is having an affair with Edith, a nurse, and is unconcerned buty her scientist husband's fears about the mountain's stability. The novel's central question is never fully answered - if we could glimpse those parallel lives, would we choose them over the lives we live now? - but the quality of the writing, the luminous prose and well- developed characters - are reasons enough to praise this unusual work of fiction m

In her first novel, IF, THEN, Kate Hope Day presents us with a literary story about four neighbors in Clearing, Oregon, a small town near a volcano called Broken Mountain. Inexplicably, the characters begin to see glimpses of different versions of their lives. While it's implied that these multi-verses are tied to the volcano, you should not enter this book expecting definitive answers..

Ginny is an overworked surgeon who has visions of herself in a lesbian relationship with a coworker. Her husband, Mark, sees a doppelgänger version of himself after what appears to be some kind of natural disaster. Their neighbor, Samara, discovers new information about her dead mother. And Cass hallucinates that she is pregnant again--even though she can barely cope with the child she already has.

I was drawn to the book because of its premise. Haven't we all wondered what life would have been like if we had turned left instead of right? But lest this sound like a science fiction novel, be aware that the sci-fi alternate reality angle is downplayed in favor of the characters' inner lives. I can't pretend like I really understood what was happening in this book. While the writing is strong, the resolution was less explosive than I had expected it to be.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not really sure how I feel about this book. It was okay but it was a bit slow at times and weird. I liked it overall, but I'm not sure I would read it again.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

Four neighbors begin to feel their worlds upend when they start seeing visions of either themselves or a deceased family member. Mark is a devoted father whose visions of himself start him on a paranoid past to protect his family. He’s also convinced that the local volcano Broken Mountain isn’t as dormant as others think. His wife, Ginny, is a surgeon who hasn’t spent much time with her family. She begins to think she has a brain tumor when she begins to see visions of herself apparently having a loving relationship with her female co-worker. Samara is seeing visions of her deceased mother. Cass is a young mother, struggling with taking care of a new baby while her husband is away. She’d like to return to her scholarly work but she’s having visions of herself having another baby.

I’ve become quite interested in alternate realities and the law of attraction so I felt this book was a must read for me, but I definitely have been left with the feeling that something was missing. I had difficulty becoming emotionally involved with these characters and found Cass and Ginny to be annoying. Samara was my favorite character and I loved the scene where she goes to the thrift store where her father had taken all of her deceased mother’s things, gathering them up with the intent to buy them back. She’s really the only character I felt any connection with. The visions of the alternate realities was one thing but when the realities began to overlap, that sometimes became confusing.

This felt like a screenplay for an upcoming TV show and it may well work better in that capacity. While it kept my interest throughout, I didn’t feel it was anything special and can only give this one 3 stars.

I loved the premise of this. And in the publisher descriptions, it was described as appealing to the fan of Little Fires Everywhere and The Immortalists, both books that I loved. Plus, that cover. I love the colors and the imagery. I was very excited to read this one.

Now, to preface my review, I haven’t always recently read the book’s description when I open up my Kindle to read. But I also kind of love that because it helps me avoid spoilers and truly be able to appreciate the story as it unfolds, knowing something about it appealed to me when I requested it.

So, first what I liked. I liked the tone of the book, I loved the setting and how that influenced the overall story. I really liked most of the characters and the story was intriguing. What didn’t I like? I seriously was confused a lot about what was going on.

I’ve read stories where the author is able to switch back and forth through time and even dimensions, but unless I’m missing something, it seemed very random in this story. Plus the visions and alternate reality escalate as the story goes on and I was so lost by the end.

Still, a lot of what threw me may have been changed before a final edit or may be more obvious when you are reading a final, proofed copy of the book. Overall, the concept was thought provoking, I just wished the book was organized differently.

Thank you to Random House Publishers and Netgalley for an e-galley of the book in exchange for my honest review. This one is out March 12, 2019.