A fun, realistic romance novel with witty prose and hilarious storytelling. Would recommend this one!

What an absolutely fabulous book. The follow up to the equally fabulous What If and another triumph of writing for this brilliant author.
The story of What Now brings us up to date and we meet Carly Cooper, whose exploits we were introduced to in What If. She is married but soon to be divorced from Mark who was, she thought, the love of her life but is still surrounded by her friends.
The characters in the book are well thought out and very realistic. The exploits of Carly, her family and friends will have you laughing and crying alternately and the book also covers some serious issues very tenderly, such as sexting, bullying, guilt and loss.
The chasing this book also include ones that appear in others if Shari Low’s books and Val, one of my particular favourites is large and loud in this one. Her comments abs exploits made me laugh out loud, especially when she was searching for Matthew McConahay apparently practicing naked yoga when she and the friends visited LA.
The ending is very fitting and I look forward to more novels from this author and catching up with the characters who have become like well loved friends.
5 star review and very highly recommended.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book! I've not read a lot of chick lit recently and was starting to think it wasn't for me. This book has just firmly put it back as one of my favourite genres. After a particularly rubbish week this was just the uplifting sort of read that I needed.
I was worried that I hadn't read the first book in the series, especially when there were so many mentions of "what happened to Carole" but then I realised that hadn't been a part of the first book either, once I got over that this worked well as a standalone novel.
I loved the friendships that Carly has with her girldriends, and the easy relationship she has with her boys and the complicated relationships with the men in her life. Yes this is completely unbelievable, escapism. But that is exactly why I love it.
I have spent most of the time reading this, shaking and crying with laughter. It's the perfect read to escape a wet day in lockdown.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

A lovely read and book by Shari Low.

Carly, about twenty years ago, Carly decided to go on an epic quest, that was to track down all the men she’d ever loved, lost, hoping that one of them was her Mr Right.

After two decades and having two teenage sons later, shes now thinking that she may have got it all wrong. Having gone through a lot of years and now things have changed, she’s left thinking ‘What Now?’

Now, in the process of going through a divorce and her sons leaving for a break on the horizon,

With her trusted girlfriends, Carly’s off to Los Angeles again. But to find that carefree, wild Carly that she used to be.

But what she discovers isn’t what she used to be but uncovers a few home truths, now making her realise if her marriage is worth the effort of saving or is it to little to late and a new happy-ever-after...........

Shari Low's newest book "What Now?" is a sequel to "What If?" & i would recommend that you read them in order. So as not to be confused to who's who. This book is hilarious and I loved learning what happened to Carly Cooper & her lovable, crazy gang(family). We learn what happens after she finds her true love & reading it was a delight. As all of Shari's books are. Don't want to say too much as to what it's about because I tend to add spoilers if I do. If you love a good chick lit book with lovable,  hilarious characters then I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and BoldWood Books for my early review copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoy this author's books and this was no exception. Very readable, engaging story which was a welcome escape. Great characters and warm humorous style of writing. Recommend.

Having loved what if recently, I was thrilled to be able to read ‘What now?’ And it lived up to its excellent predecessor. I really loved this book and couldn’t put it down. You don’t need to have read the first as it does refresh you but better if you have. Carly and her friends have such close friendships and to follow Carly through middle life and the choices and baggage she has. This book made me laugh and cry - highly recommend.

In 'What If?', we followed Carly on her quest to track down her previous boyfriends in the hope that she would find her Mr Right. 20 years and 2 sons later, with a divorce on the horizon, she's back wondering if she really made the right choice at the end of her quest. Now, we follow Carly to LA with her group of trusted friends in the hopes that they will find the carefree and adventurous Carly Cooper that they all once knew. During her journey, she discovers a few home truths and has to decide whether to save her marriage or to find the happy-ever-after she may have lost.

What can I say?!

I really REALLY enjoyed this book from start to finish. In the beginning, I wasn't quite sure where it was going to go but the overall premise of the story drew me in anyway, especially because I only finished reading 'What If?' a couple months ago so the story was still fresh in my mind.

This book was great and for me, better than the first book for different reasons. The first one being the fact that they were more grown up. I don't know what it is, but reading this book now, after reading the first one and seeing how they all grew up and how their lives turned out after Carly's quest in the first book, was just such a great thing to read. It really dug into reality a bit more than the first one did and I appreciated that. Carly read super well in this book and while she had naturally matured along with the book, she was still (to an extent) the same Carly Cooper that we grew to love in book one.

Another thing that I absolutely loved in this book was the raw emotion that it instilled. I actually shed a few tears at one point in the book and when you read it, you'll understand why. It was beautifully done and hats off to Shari Low for it. Everything from the writing, the storyline, the past & present tense changes was just so perfectly done and I'm so glad I got to go on this life journey again with Carly. To top it off, the introduction of Aunt Val was brilliant. What a character!

I laughed. I cried. I got angry and excited and everything in between so it's no surprise that this was definitely a five star read for me!

This is one of the first books I have read, written with the actual time difference between the two. Two decades have elapsed in the lives of the protagonists that we were introduced to in the first book, and two decades have passed in the writing of it. It was written and placed in the time pre-pandemic else there would have been a whole other extra angle to the narrative!
I must say that I did not enjoy the first as much, mostly because I found it hard to like the flighty Carly. This experience was a whole lot better. Carly has many more facets to her personality now, and it is inherently who she is now. As with the book, my review is for people who have both read or not read the previous work. The author juxtaposes events with those that we knew of previously and those that happened in the intervening years to provide appropriate context. There are some (very few) chapters verbatim from the first book, ensuring that you do not need to pick the first up.
In the first book, Carly tracked a few significant exes to check if they were Mr Right. She finds her happily-ever-after for then. This book is about what happens after. Carly Cooper has a close-knit group of friends, one of whom lives next door. They are all an integral part of each other's lives and their children's. At the beginning of the book, we know that Carly is in trouble again and begins with a dramatic change in her life. Her friends rally around her and try to give her a new lease of life. This brings about a lot of introspection as well as the examination of changes that ageing and time brings in all their inter-relationships. It does not go too deep enough to linger but does track the changes that happen gradually throughout the book.
Carly's bodily changes are referenced one too many times for my liking, but given the mental state she is in, it is believable that she thinks about it that aggressively. It is filled with family and friends and an overall quick read. It had some more touchy-feely moments than others, but overall I was satisfied when I put the book down (although I did not really like the ending choice, which is saying something).
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

I absolutely loved What If? and was excited when Boldwood emailed me about Shari Low's 2021 novel, What Now? Carly was fun and 30 in What If? and now, 20 years on, her life has moved on.

She is a mother to two sons, and has split from her husband. They seem to have a comfortable home and I enjoyed the banter and relationship between her and her sons.

Understandably, she wasn't going to be relaxed and carefree. She now does not have her husband, and the boys don't have their father in their lives so much.

There's something "off" about Carly still, like she's lost her spark. We see her go through the motions of daily life and how her love for her sons fits in. She gets nostalgic for when she was younger and the boys were small. This was done in such a way that it was heartwarming though.

I get the impression that she and her husband Mark were good parents and still are despite their not being together anymore.

Carly does still have her close group of friends, who I really liked. Val is great and everything she says is a real pick-me-up. The friendship between them all is one that has truly stood the test of time and this is uplifting.

What Now? has an air of Sex and the City 2 with a trip of a lifetime for the friends. But will it really be that way? Mark has decided to fly off to the US with their sons and the reveal of that does not come in the best way of moment for Carly.

Well, she thinks she's entitled to do what she wants, too. True, she's hurt and shocked, but they're his sons too. She thinks she may be stuck at home (and here, I had a memory of Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones' Diary. And the song "All By Myself").

Carly does get quite down at some points in this book and she's not as happy as 20 years ago. Pushing 50 and a size 14 (facts which, by the way, seem to drag her down even more) were mentioned a tad too much for my liking. But it did fit to illustrate her low points. If you can see it from that point of view then you'll see this novel is a realistic portrayal of who she is now.

I liked how she relaxed around her friends and I think she did the very best for her sons all the way through the book.

Her ex Sam still has a special place in her heart. He's out in the States too. Will she rekindle some of those feelings she had? Will the trip and being with friends make her feel she has finally "moved on?" or has Carly changed forever despite all the good things in life?

What Now? is such a contrast from What If?, and I loved that. It really showed the progression of Carly's life. Where What If? is funky, throwback "real 90s" and dreamy, What Now? is Carly's reality right now. The rough the smooth, the joys, tears, heartache and the friends who have stuck by her throughout the years.

Each chapter is titled with a song like Sister Sledge's We Are Family. If I could add to it, I'd add the Friends TV show song I'll Be There for You which just fits perfectly to describe Carly's relationships with her friends and how close-knit they are.

I was pleased to find another reference to the TV show ER and George Clooney (and yes, I did find him handsome although I was in my teens and early 20s back when ER was on TV). Carly's and my own passion for that show and the fact we both have the DVDs (one of the best purchases I ever made) was something that made me identify with her.

I'm glad she had her forever friends there to help her out in life.

What Now? is realistic, gripping, thought-provoking (it certainly made me miss friends who weren't in my life anymore because of circumstance). It made me question whether my own life is full enough.

True, Carly does not have the extra challenges I do because of my disabilities, and just personal situation. There is no pandemic in this book.

In short, it made me smile, laugh, feel for Carly and also feel hope. Wonderful escapism from current circumstances.

Although Carly may not be as happy as she is in What If? I feel this is still a feel-good book and is one I enjoyed. It shows Shari Low can write a novel that pulls your heartstrings whatever the characters are feeling.

Thanks to Shari Low and Boldwood Books for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

5 stars.

Wow what a read- I adored the first book and was so excited we were getting to spend time with Carly and her wonderful friends again.

This story took us on a whole new adventure with Carly where we met characters from the previous book and a few new ones as well that she has met in the 20 year interlude in the timeline.

An emotionally charged story filled with life long friendships, life altering loss and some big decisions. This is a story that quickly pulled you in and reminded you of the whirlwind that Carly used to be and fills you in on her life and relationships over the past 20 years.

I am so sad to reach the end as I loved Carly as a character, she is vibrant and leaps off the pages and made me laugh throughout. A proper page turner that has left me feeling like I just lost a great group of friends.

What a treat to reunite with old friends. Carly and the gang - Kate, Jess and Carol. I re-read What If? a few days earlier so this sequel, 20 years later, flowed. We catch up with the gang as they near 50, teenage and grown up children, husbands, ex-husbands - one big extended "framily" (I love this term). Carly has recently split with her husband of 19 years, childhood sweetheart Mark Barwick, and her friends stage an intervention (another one) to get her back to life. She's devoted the last 19 years to marriage and family and the Carly we knew has disappeared into middle age and motherhood. Can they get her back by dragging her to old flame Sam's Hollywood pad? I love how her old boyfriend is still part of her life, and an accepted part at that. All is not as comfortable as normal when Carly visits Sam, but she has a great holiday with the girls and the inimitable Aunt Val. It's great to catch up on what happened in the intervening years, some happy, some sad, to see how life has moved on, and to share in the hilarity that ensues when they all get together. How will this work out for Carly, the usual misunderstandings and frustration, not least because the book starts with her in a police cell! This does not disappoint - lives up to the standard of a Shari Low book that I love and expect, and it was such a treat to find out what happened with the girls, not least because I am one of a group of five forever friends in their 50s from Glasgow!! I wish our lives were half as exciting mind you!!!! Thanks Shari for this treat, it was a brilliant way to spend a lockdown weekend, and I hope we'll catch up with them again before another 20 years have passed. #whatnow #netgalley

This bok is a sequel and I did not realize this when I picked it up. Sometimes missing the first book does not make a difference in understanding and enjoying the next but I don't think this was one of those books. I feel as if I missed a lot from the first book so I wish I would have read it first.

I liked how each chapter has a song in the title. It gave you a feel for what was coming.

This book follows on from the previous one but can be read as a stand alone book. The story has moved on twenty years but still works.
Tackling changing relationships, cyber bullying, loads of laugh out loud moments.
Another hit, can't wait to see what Shari does next. Total fan. Enjoy the roller-coaster that is Carly I definitely did.

Well-defined characters, good story, great dialogues - this book has it all. I was invested in Cooper's story right from page 1 and now I want to know what happens next.

This is one of the better books I have read in 2020. It made me laugh and it made me cry. I haven't read the first book in the series yet (I didn't know about it before) but I will surely pick it up now. Not reading the first book didn't make a difference while reading this one.

Thanks to Netgalley, Shari Low, and Boldwood Books for the ARC.

Twenty years after Carly Cooper went on her adventure to find al the men she ever loved, we find her separated and bringing up her two teenage sons.

Having lost her spark and sense of adventure, her girlfriends get together to shake things up. Setting off to LA can she find the parts of herself that she has lost?

This was such a great follow up from What If? I laughed, cried and cheered for Carly the whole way through.

At the end of What If? we saw Carly Cooper realise that her high school boyfriend Mark Barwick was "the one". 20 years later, at the beginning of What Now? they have separated & are on the verge of divorce. They both decide to take separate vacations (Mark with their two sons & Carly with her girlfriends); will they split for good or realise they are meant to be?

I absolutely loved What If? so I was very excited to read this sequel. Shari writes truly amazing, relatable, 'real' characters. I would definitely love to go on holiday with Carly & her friends! This is a wonderful, easy read & the characters will stay with you long after you read the final page.

I'm nearly at the point now where I have read every book Shari Low has written & would encourage everyone to do the same.

I liked it. I liked how the plot developed and the emotions behind every action, I just couldn't connect with the characters. Maybe it was because they're not in my age range, and I couldn't relate to their experience. But aside from that, I liked the story and how it was told.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I like this author and everything she has written. She was a nice story with nice characters but not as good as her previous novels.

The Next Quest....
The sequel, from Shari Low, to ‘What If...’ . We meet up once again with Carly Cooper, following her search to find Mr Right, who is now asking herself...what now..? Carly is on a quest for answers. As ever, both humorous and relatable this is a fun read with a likeable protagonist. Whilst this could be read as a standalone it is more enjoyable having read the first book in the series.