It's fun to check out a romance from 20 years ago and a bit crazy to realize that 90s were 20 years ago! Fun flashback read.

This book was extremely enjoyable. A fun romcom , travelling back in time to the days before mobiles and media.it was full of nostalgia, easy to read with great characters. Loved the song titles as chapter headings. An absolute gem of a book 
Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood  Books and Shari  for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

What If? by Shari Low was a great book that I struggled to put down. The main character Carly decides she needs to settle down and feels like one of her six great loves of her life really could of been ‘the one’.  So Carly quits her job and sets off round the world to find these six men. Will she find ‘the one’?

shari low writes a typical romance novel. she's cute and fun and all lovely and that's sometimes just waht we all need isn't it? valentineds ady!

Have you ever wondered what might have happened if you stayed with your ex? Did you leave the love of your life behind? Well, that’s just what Carly Cooper thinks she has done and she’s decided to do something about it. Her mission to track down her previous partners takes her across the globe on the adventure of a lifetime.

This was a thrilling trip back into the 1990s with plenty of twists and turns along the way. With a fantastic protagonist and likeable characters throughout, this is an immensely fun read. With plenty of wit and humour, it’s packed with Shari Low’s typical sass and flair.

I’ve read a couple of books by Shari Low and enjoyed them thoroughly, this was no exception to that rule. Her uplifting, warm-hearted style is perfect for enjoyable light reading. I would definitely be packing her books to take on holiday!

If you’re looking for a good romance book, you needn’t look any further.

4,5 Stars

This book covers a span of about 12 years, from the late 80s up until 1999. It was also written 20 years ago, which I didn't minded a bit. I still remember those times before social media and smartphones myself.

It seems a bit exaggerated that Carly had no problem at all to always find a job and on top of that a man who was totally in love with her. No matter where she went, it all turned out great for her. But maybe she was simply that good at her job managing night-clubs, and maybe she was so stunning to appeal to all those men. I didn't really care, because I really liked Carly and especially the way Shari Low narrated her quest to re-visit her former boyfriends to find an answer to her question "What if I hadn't run away that time? What if he was the one for me?"

It reminded me of the movie "What's your number" with Anna Faris, who is on a similar search for her true love. But it also quite original in its plot. You can guess that she is not ending up with the first men she is hunting down, since so much of the book is still left. But you're still not sure how it will all end (although I guessed the 'final' guy correctly), and at the final wedding scene everything seems possible.

Very funny and entertaining chick-lit by Shari Low, who once again focusses not only on the love part of her story but also on a very tight friendship between a group of girls, whose scenes I enjoyed just as much as the ones with the lads.

Quick, fun read. I really enjoyed this one. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. This one had me laughing.

I have not picked up the author’s work previously, but I wanted to see what kind of books were being written in this genre all those years ago.
At the start of the book, the author does remind us about the lack of social media and how at the point phones were still tethered to a spot. This reminder is quite essential since (even with the knowledge that I am in the past), I wanted her to jump onto Facebook or use the internet in some way.


Carly Cooper is not a very likeable person, she is self-centred but does care about her immediate circle of family and friends. It makes it hard to watch her fumble through the past and hurt so many people in the process. After every subsequent heart that is broken, she does not seem to learn much from it. It is a dual timeline narrative showing her make those mistakes and in realtime, she is trying to figure out if that was Mr Right all along. I liked the range of travel she ends up doing, and since she works with people, it also brings local ex-pat culture into the foray. Overall it was an entertaining book ( with good friendships), and if given a chance, I might pick up the sequel that is due soon.


It is light with a few more profound moments but is mostly about a woman who looks back at her adventurous past and finally puts some lingering questions to rest. I did guess the ending, but in this genre, that is not necessarily a bad thing, I just did not understand how Carly did not see it coming.

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

What a good book this was great storyline, great characters,  twists and turns galore,  was hooked to it x

This is the story (or you could call it a journey) of Carly, a character that is very relatable and very normal.  The reader will no doubt be able to find a character within this story, if not Carly herself, to relate to. This will make it even more gripping for the reader. Carly's  story is told over 20 Chapters (+Epilogue) and is spilt into 2 parts. One thing that is unique straight off about this story is that every chapter has a song attached to it. Now the song may not be mentioned in the chapter but its like this book has come with its very own playlist. The ideal songs to take you back to the year in question. 
Readers will find that this book is easy to get into as the chapters flick between Present Carly and Past Carly. I found that as Carly was telling me about her past relationships, that I had a favorite, one who I wanted to be picked in the end. Although my favorite of Carly's past loves was not the one picked, the ending of this story is still brilliant. 
Overall I absolutely adored this book, it is 100% relatable which means readers will have a hard time putting it down. It is very easy to read in one sitting and can easily be described as a Laugh out Loud Rom Com. This book will have its readers laughing. Readers won't want to put it down. I know I didn't.

Packed with nostalgia What If? had me laughing and cringing throughout and the pop themed chapter titles are just the perfect added touch. 

This books allows us to follow the exuberant and at sometimes exhausting life of Carly Cooper as she hunts down her ex’s from the past in case she accidentally missed out on ‘the one’. 

Shari has an amazing talent for bringing so many different characters to life and making you fall in love with their personalities and adventures. Carly Cooper is no exception as she manages to stay so funny and relatable even during her craziest of escapades with the help of some of her fantastic friends. 

This book is a trip down memory lane that covers plenty of bumpy ground. A few dramatic diversions help lead us perfectly to Carly’s final destination and all before the times of dodgy Sat Navs.

Excellent read once again from Shari Low. Was good to see how the answer to the age old question What if? panned out. Loved the way the story jumped back and forwards between different time frames.

A love story with lots of humour and one-liners. I loved it.

I really enjoyed this book. The concept of it was really good - all women wonder what their exes are up to at some point in their lives. Well Carly Cooper goes further than just wondering, she actually goes in search of them to see if mr wrong was actually mr right. The story flits from past to present, so you get to know all about the exes. I did like the main character Carly but she did annoy me slightly at how she fell hard and fast for each of her exes.

I especially liked how each chapter had a song title to it, I would then be singing that song in my head throughout the chapter. It was like I had my own karaoke going on whilst reading this book. 

I’m so excited that there will be a sequel called What Now which is being released in January 2021. 
Huge thanks to Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

Such a cute and fun read! Perfect distraction in life right now. Really enjoyable characters and story and hard to put down! It was really enjoyable to read!

A sucker for nostalgia-this book was perfect for me. The protagonist Carly was a calamity in every sense but I loved her and her crazy ways. A great story about friendship, lost loves and life choices.

I loved this although did struggle to keep track of all the time changes without clear signposting so it sometimes took me a little while to work out whether it was past or present. 

Carly is extremely likeable if not a bit chaotic but that just adds to the frenetic pace of the book. I can’t wait to hear what’s happened to everyone between now and then when the sequel’s released - the book was tied up with what felt like multiple shotgun weddings!

Thank you to @rachelsrandomresources  for inviting me in this tour and to @netgalley and @sharilowbooks for a copy of this book to read.
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I have read a few of Shari Low’s books before and have enjoyed each one and this was no different, it did not disappoint! 
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Set in the 90’s before social media, smart phones and google were huge! (Take me back to then except let me keep Bookstagram!) 
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Carly has given up everything in life to dedicate time to find Mr Right, after having several relationships that could have been close but then letting them go! 
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Perfect for anybody who enjoys a light hearted romcom to snuggle up with and an added enjoyment which I love is each chapter is named after a song title.
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A sequel is due to be released early 2021 which is exciting! #blogtour #romcom

Wow, what a lot has changed in twenty years! It is twenty years since this book was first published, so readers travel back to 1999 when reading it. Carly Cooper is thirty and thinking of all her ex-boyfriends and pondering if she accidentally let the man who is her soul mate disappear from her life. She decides to catch up with them all, find out what’s happened to them and to see if they’re still attracted to each other or not. In Part One, you learn about all her ex-boyfriends and what happened with them . . . . and in Part Two we journey with Carly as she sets off to track them all down again.

This is a fun romcom, filled with great characters, multiple romances and everything from a decade of relationships revisited. Through it all the close friendship between Carly and her girlfriends provides support, laughter and surprises. It is a lovely read and I can’t wait to read the sequel, What Now?, which is due to be published in January 2021.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy of this book which I have voluntarily read and honestly reviewed.

'What If?' is a 20th anniversary reprint of Shari Low's novel. I found this to be fun, uplifting and light read tat was truly enjoyable. This 90's romance was reminiscent of the days before the explosion of social media, smart phones, and pre-Netflix and chill, and I loved the nostalgic feeling reading this book brought to my life.


What If is such a cute story about 30 something Carly Cooper who is ready to make a change in her life. To move forward and learn from her past mistakes, she quits her job and tracks her exes in the far corners of the world. Full of hilarious and crazy moments, this was exactly what I need to cure my pandemic blues and the travel bug that had been pestering in me.


Shari Low is the queen of hilarious and heartwarming romcoms that is smart, witty, and swoon worthy. This re-release of her debut novel really proves her brilliance and how her stories truly stands the test of time. I recommend this amazing and fun escape read to a new generation of modern readers that will find Shari Low's brilliance relevant and timeless.

5☆ An Uplifting, Fun, Light Hearted, Witty 
Must Read!

What If? is a humorous, very entertaining, lighthearted and uplifting romp about relationships and discovering what if the one you let go, really happens to be the love of your life! 

That's exactly what Carly is contemplating.
She is reminiscing on her past relationships, right from the very start where she lost her virginity to present day.
She believes that somewhere in her eclectic bunch of ex boyfriends, one of those could be "The One" ..... and she's determined to find him!

Even if that means giving up everything to find him. Oh and that also means travelling to various countries to find them all.

I absolutely loved this story. Carly's backstories of how she comes to meet each of the men in question was humorous, endearing and heartfelt.
She had me smiling and giggling, and wow did she have some fun!

This is an Enjoyable and thoroughly Entertaining read about friendship, family, self discovery, finding the one that got away and relationships.

All of the added lil features set in the 90s just bought back lots of memories and the song titles for the Chapters....Brill idea! Had me singing away and asking Alexa to play them! So big thumbs up there!

I adore Shari Low's books and once again she had written an absolute Gem of a book!
So if you love Women's Fiction, filled with Humour, Love, Lust, Drama, Adventure, and bopping away to classic 90s music, then I Highly, Highly Recommend you pick up a copy of What If?.


Thank you to Rachel Random Resources for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.