A couple of months ago I reviewed What if? which was the first book Shari wrote. Set in late 80s and 90s, it was an unforgettabe story of looking for second chances and true love, families and friendships, throwing all the caution to the wind and trying to find Mr Right.

In What Now? we are back into Carly Cooper's world, just twenty years later. Not everything has worked out for our fun-loving heroine. She has two fabulous teenage sons and sometimes wonders how lucky she is to have them. She still has her family of choice: her loyal friends, their partners and their offspring (yes, the parties these ones throw are as noisy and full of joy as you can imagine). On the minus side, her marriage is on the rocks. Her soon to be ex-husband (not naming him on the off chance you still haven't read the previous book) and Carly still respect each other and will always be there for their kids, but it turns out that too much work and not enough time dedicated to your family isn't a recipe for a marital bliss.
Carly's friends and her one of a kind aunt Val tell her Carly has changed. She has lost her spark and spontaneity. Yes, life in general and having kids makes us grow up and start weighing all the pros and cons before making a decision. But overthinking things doesn't mean the course of action we take is going to be the right one, or the only right one. Carly Cooper is off on a journey again!

Shari Low knows how to create interesting characters. Even if it's a secondary one and we get just a glimpse of their life, it is still fascinating. Carly is blessed with a large group of friends, so the cast is quite large, but they are all diverse and unique, and complement each other to create a most colourful patchwork of life. One of her original friends has passed away and we feel how she is mourned and remembered every day.

The age group Carly and her friends belong to -late forties-early fifties- is one of the most uderrepresented ones. It is as if once you settled down and had kids, you are just supposed to get on with your routine and keep quiet. You can't even complain about your changing body and raging perimenopausal hormones or feel you betrayed your true identity by not pursuing your dreams. What about your relationship with your own aging parents? Don't even start me on thinking that things were a whole lot simpler before your kids became teenagers.

What Now? is a great sequel to Shari's first book. Perhaps, a bit more realistic, but still as entertaining.
In case, you were wondering, there is a happily ever after, but it isn't just the destination that counts, it's the journey!

Thank you to Rachel, NetGalley and Boldwood Books for the review copy. All opinions aremy own and were not influenced in any way.

Shari Low has done it again, she has created a book that will leave you feeling happy and sad, make you laugh, yet also cry. I wanted to grab my favourite girls and hug them close with lots of wine flowing. Hopefully one day soon girls!

How happy I was to hear from Carly again, whose point of view the story is told from. Carly Cooper is a legend with the best friends you ever could want. They have the best friendship and are more like family. Think Sex and The City and twenty years later add family/kids into the mix. 

Carly has changed from the carefree and adventurous women she was before. Which left me feeling sad for her and wanting her to get back to feeling more like herself, just maybe not as wild this time! Of course her friends wasn’t going to let her suffer alone. 

Carly’s trip to LA was an experience. I love how all the girls had her back. The fun they had together was great. I really cannot wait for holidays again with my girls. It really is a funny book, filled with lots of laugh out moments, which is exactly what I needed right now in lockdown. There was also heartache, and I really felt for them all but the bond the girls shared was very special. I was glad to read even with the heartache Carly was still hilarious!

Sam was the best friend/ex you could ever want, with that dream house in LA. I really want to go to LA and even more so after reading this book.

Mark still had something about him and I felt sad for him at the beginning. I was still torn as much as the first book with who I liked more out of Carly’s lovers! LOL.

I absolutely love the writing style and the characters Shari creates. Also, Aunt Val deserves a massive shout out as she was just brilliant and a ray of sunshine. On the opposite scale we have Estelle well wasn’t she a piece of work!

Each chapter kept me wanting more. I literally did not want this to end, equally though I wanted to know if Carly got her happy-ever-after.

If you haven’t read What If? I highly recommend it, just because it’s great. Even though this book explains everything that happened in the first book, the first book was just as fabulous and funny as the ladies were a lot younger and finding their way in life.

Romance, heartache, friendships, forever love and trips to New York and LA. What is not to love?!

Here’s to us all living our best lives, with our soulmates 😊

When I started this book, I did not realise that it was a sequel (my own fault), but I found it so easy to read and I did not need to have read the first book to enjoy the second.
Carly and her husband have split up after 20 years of marriage. When her ex decides to take their 2 teenage sons on an extended holiday, Carly has the perfect opportunity to take some time for herself and reassess what it is she is after in life. Fortunately, she has an awesome group of encouraging friends who are more than willing to give Carly the push she needs to achieve this.  Whilst on her trip, she must face the demons from her past that she is desperately hiding from and decide whether she wants to give her marriage another chance.  
This book was hilarious and so enjoyable!

So I started to read this book and stopped and back tracked to read the first book because while you don’t have to read the first to get what’s going on, I wanted to read about Carly in her carefree days. I’m so glad I did too because it just made this story so much better. I loved Carly and all her relationships, and how cringe worthy she can still be even after all those years later. This story made me laugh, groan at her decision making and even cheer her on wondering if I would make the same decision. I think if you were a fan of Sex in The City or even Bridget Jones you will absolutely love this story.

I loved this thought provoking story about friendships, relationships and parenting in the modern world. Not having read the first in the series, I hadn't seen the 'flighty' Carly of her younger years, but felt that she was now someone I could know and relate to in this read. It's such a feelgood book - I especially liked the support the friends gave each-other through thick and thin, and their relationships were continuing to provide a great support network for their own children too. Such a great uplifting story.

I enjoyed reading 'What If?', the previous book in this series, which is set twenty years ago when Carly Cooper set off to see if any of the men she'd loved and split up with were actually her Mr Right. Having decided one of the was, twenty years and two sons later she's reconsidering her choices and has separated from her husband. Her best friends and Aunt all get her to realise that she's left behind her wild, adventurous self and they set out to help her rediscover herself by travelling over to America with her. Get ready for more journeys, trips down memory lane, meeting up with folks from her past, going viral on the internet, being arrested and several romances, including a second chance romance for Carly! This is another fun read and such a lovely change to go back to visit characters I'd read about to discover what they've done with their lives since the initial story.

Aunt Val is still hilarious! Her besties are totally the best and the story has a lovely mix of humour and kindness as well as some thought provoking scenarios, too. Can Carly re-invent herself as the fun-loving person we met in 'What If?' or has time erased that from her personality? You'll have to read it for yourself and journey with this great gang to find out and discover the role of a cheese grater in it all, too!

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

LOVED. 
Following Carly who has lost her sense of adventure was exactly what I didn't know I needed! This was the perfect sequel to What If? I laughed, cheered, and cried for Carly and I thought I had figured out what she would decide but I was actually wrong!
Definitely pick this one up if you're looking for a funny, sweet, sometimes cringing for the character romance.

I read What If? and What Now? back to back, which is a rarity for me to actually (1) read the first before starting the second and (2) read them one after the other. I am thrilled that I did as they are both fantastic reads that follow along a fun set of characters. If you do pick-up this one without reading the first, you are able to understand everything that is going on with a little thought as there are previous events mentioned that aren’t fully re-explored in flashbacks or other discussions. I would not recommend reading this one and then returning for the first as events in this one spoil what happens in the first. From both novels, it is clear that Shari Low writes about a great group of women that makes you envious of their amazing and supportive friendship (I love my own friends, but I would not mind being adopted into this group)!

Our story about Carly Cooper picks up twenty years after the last novel left off, when she was more carefree at 30 years old. It is 2019 and she now has two sons and has recently separated from her husband. Her sons are written well as they are not only entertaining characters, but I love how relatable they are. Their interactions with their parents are very relatable as I can picture myself saying something similar to mine (even now)! Although she is happy with sons and is confident that she made the right choice in her separation, she starts to feel as if something is missing from her life and her spark is gone. She reminisces about the past and wonders how she got to this point and if she can work to find true happiness for herself.

When her ex-husband, Mark decides to take time off to travel around with their sons, it sets Carly off to wonder why they could not do that together as a family back in the day. It is a great insight into separations where a significant other makes changes only after they are not together anymore and you question why it could not happen before. It is something you see in media and with those around you, if you have not experienced it yourself, and it made Carly’s feelings very relatable. As a way to help Carly get her mind off of it, her friends arrange for them to go to Los Angeles to stay with Carly’s ex-boyfriend, and current friend, Sam Morton. Their friend group, along with Carly’s Aunt Val, takes off for their vacation in the States and Carly’s journey to healing begins.

The story flows really well as you are well into the novel before you even realize it as you become enthralled in the pages and time flies by. The story picks up a lot at the end. The writing itself is simple enough to follow, but still has a lot of heart behind it and is thought-provoking overall. The one thing that does bother me is how obsessed Carly gets with the weight she has gained (a UK size 14 – US size 12) as she is not overweight/big in the slightest. I understand how she can be disappointed in the fact that she’s not as slim as she was in her youth, but it seems to be an overreaction when she’s still an average weight. Weight is a common factor for people to focus on when they are feeling low, which Carly definitely was during a lot of this story, but it just seemed to a little overkill in the amount of times it is mentioned.

Carly’s journey is very thought-provoking as she has to question if her marriage is worth saving or if it is time for a change. She struggles with the idea that Mark may or may not still be the perfect person for her and it was well done to see her inner thoughts and how she weighs the pros and cons of each choice. Her thoughts and actions are more mature, which matches the fact that she is now older in this novel, while still showcasing her original personality that readers enjoyed in the first novel. She goes through a lot of emotions in this story and it was heart-warming and interesting to read how she goes through each. Her friends and family make an excellent support system and I love how Carly cares for them just as much as they care for her. It is very refreshing and enjoyable to read stories with this type of relationship as some novels tend to show a skewed, or even, a one-sided friendship, so it was nice that theirs seemed two-way.

Overall, I enjoyed this one and honestly cannot say if this one or the other was better as they are two entirely different novels in a way, even though they are about the same cast of characters in the same story. Carly’s girlfriend group and Sam are great additions to her time in Los Angeles and they have fun times together, but also manage to have thoughtful conversations. The entire novel manages to balance the fun with the serious to create a fantastic novel! Shari Low has become a must read author for me and I hope to read more of her stories in the future as I greatly enjoy how she centers our main character with a great support system!

**I give a special thank you to Netgalley and Boldwood Books for the ARC to read and review. The opinions expressed are completely my own.**

Such a fun book!  While I haven't read the first book in this series, I certainly didn't feel lost or confused in this follow-up.  Carly is a wonderfully written character-she is likable, relatable, and inspires just a little bit of jealousy at her coolness.  All of the secondary characters were hilarious!  And, this book wasn't nearly as predictable as most romance novels.  What Now?  is a great summer read that will have you laughing until the last page.

I have loved being reunited with Carly and her wonderful fun-loving friends in this hilarious, heartwarming and uplifting sequel to What If?

Shari creates some wonderful characters. Carly is a likeable and complex character, who is clearly adored by her sons and valued by her fabulous friends. I was really rooting for Carly and her happiness throughout this book. The banter, sarcasm and humorous dialogue between the characters provides an uplifting mood, which stands in contrast to some of the more serious themes in the book, including love, loss and being taken advantage of.

Again, Shari has shown her literary talent through her sophisticated use of alternative timelines and flashbacks to develop the character of Carly and for the reader to get to know her journey from the previous story to this one.

Overall, this has been a fun, uplifting and easy read which I have thoroughly enjoyed. It has satisfied my need to know what happened to Carly and her brilliant cast of friends. I would recommend this novel and author to fans of Milly Johnson, Jill Mansell and Heidi Swain.

This is a lively read and I loved Carly's wit and banter which she reserved for her two sons. Family and friends are centre stage throughout. If you have read What if? you will remember Carly as she was as a 30 year old looking for love. Now, you come forward 20 years and find out how her life has moved on and what happened to her group of friends. When you first meet her, she is 50 and feeling the empty nest syndrome. However, you find out that there is more to her sadness than meets the eye.

    In What Now? Carly continues her travels and casts her perceptive eye over life in LA. The cast of characters are colourful and full of life. You also get to see the downside of social media and to witness Carly in all her protective glory as one of her extended group is threatened. The two men in her life, Sam and her ex-husband, Mark, are a good contrast. One micro- manages and the other seems to live and let live. You are left thinking, as Carly did, is it possible to change? 

in short: A sparkling romcom, full of character.

Fun and laughter all wrapped up in a book!

Carly Cooper is a soon-to-be-divorced mum of two and her spirit is flagging; being a grown-up has taken it's toll - well, that is until her posse of friends swoop in and get her on a flight to LA where they hope she will discover her youthful self is alive and kicking. 

I absolutely adore everything I've ever read by Shari Low; she makes my soul giggle like no one else. Her previous novel, What If? was an absolute hoot and I've been waiting for it's sequel to get to the top of my list to find out What's Now? In deference to my other half getting his sleep, I read very little of this one in bed but have spent the morning in fits of hysterics - and I don't think I'll ever grate cheese with a straight face again! The characters in this book are wonderfully crafted; not perfect, not overly flawed - just human. The situations Carly gets herself into are epic and the expert writing makes them even more so. But it's not all high jinks. Carly and her friends, like all of us, have their fair share of highs and lows and I will confess to needing a dab of a tissue here and there. I defy anyone to read this author's work and not feel lighter by the end of it. Absolutely superb, although I would heartily recommend reading both books in order or you miss so much fun! An incredibly uplifting read, well worth all five stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley and to Rachel Gilbey for my stop on this tour; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

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!