This was an interesting concept for a book and it went back and forth between two realities. It kept my attention but it wasn't my favorite book

This novel had such unique promise: a romance wrapped in quantum physics, but the execution made it hard to engage. I struggled to connect with the FMC, whose detachment and lack of emotional depth made the narrative feel tedious. The scientific exposition was dense and often bogged down the pacing, overwhelming the romantic arc. Thank you to Jilly Gagnon, St. Martin’s Press / Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Torn between two timelines and two very different futures, a woman must navigate love, identity, and quantum chaos in a world where one wrong choice could erase her completely.

I’ve been chasing the feeling that Sliding Doors gives me in book form for years… and I’m still coming up short. Like most parallel universe stories, I realllllly cared about one timeline (OLLIE!) and really did not give a hoot about the other, but maybe that is the point? Regardless, it would have been easier for me to care about both timelines if Laurel didn’t drive me up the wall. Special shoutout for the thought and effort that went into the AI of it all!

I do really like Jilly’s books, so I’ll be back for more as long as I never have to meet Laurel again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I normally avoid multiple universe trips like the plague, but I took a chance on this one. I appreciated how the author brought in enough "reality" to make the premise feel possible. Plus, who doesn't love a Schrödinger's cat reference! Laurel's experience in this book is the perfect example to use to describe the saying be careful what you wish for -- though, considering the epilogue, maybe fate has a way of making things happen no matter what.

The premise of this book is fascinating, but the story feels so unrealistic at times that it's hard for me to stay invested, so unfortunately I had to DNF at 47%.

What If It's You by Jilly Gagnon explores the idea of alternate realities and what life could be if we made one choice differently. Laurel, the MC, works for a company that is developing AR technology that allows users to experience alternate realities based on making a different choice at a pivotal moment in their lives. When she volunteers to be a test user, somehow she begins to live two realities at the same time, one with her longtime boyfriend, and the other with her work best friend.

I really wanted to like the story, but it's hard to stay invested for a couple reasons. The main one is it's hard not to feel like this story is little more than a glorified cheating trope. While some might not consider what the MC does as cheating (since there aren't any physical boundaries being crossed), there is definitely some emotional cheating. I mean, if the MC didn't have any feelings for the other guy, there wouldn't even be a story. The other reason is that it's a bit unrealistic how quickly the MC accepts the alternate reality and doesn't try very hard to figure out what's going on. In fact, she gets so invested in the other reality that she even gets mad at her "boyfriend" for things like she has actually been with him this whole time, even though she can't even be sure that it's actually her real life.

I tried finishing this book and kept picking it up and putting it down, but it has gotten to a point where I know I'm not going to be any more invested than when I started out. But I gave this 2 stars instead of my usual 1 star for DNFs because I think the idea of the story is unique and has potential.

Even though this book isn't for me, it could work for someone who wants a lighthearted rom-com and would be willing to suspend their belief a little more.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Dell for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

What If It's You? is available everywhere now.

This book was ok but not for me. I was hoping for an interesting second-chance romance but what I got was a flat no romance anywhere with an annoying FMC. I did like the tech, was an interesting idea. If you like red-flag FMC and futuristic technology, you will prob like this book.

..................SPOILER SUMMARY AHEAD.................

The FMC is in a committed relationship but decides it's boring because the MMC does repetitive nice things for her all the time (but it's not her fault at all in her opinion with no communication to him). So now she wants to date someone else that asked her out years ago, that she never even dated. So I'm not sure how this is a second-chance romance if there wasn't a first chance.

The FMC basically uses tech to run a simulation and decides the other guy isn't what she wanted either but all of a sudden is MADLY IN LOVE with the MMC. So she goes from being revolted by the MMC in the beginning to being madly in love after finding out the other guy isn't what she thought he would be like. So many red flags, MMC should RUN.

*Provided a DRC (digital review copy) from the publisher for review. All opinions are my own.

In this fun alternate universe romance novel, readers meet Laurel Everett, an ambitious worker at a massive tech company, just as her longtime boyfriend Ollie is about to propose to her. However, the event makes Laurel wonder if she had gone on a date with her work crush Drew shortly after she and Ollie had met -- and the AltR project at work will one day give her the chance to view alternate realities. When the program works and Laurel starts living her alternate life with Drew, she enjoys the differences in this life, but she keeps slipping between both realities, which forces her to wonder if this hypothetical is as straightforward as she had thought. With a fascinating premise and a few great tropes, readers will love the two different relationships and the different parts of Laurel’s personality that they bring out. The settings are well-written and packed with details, and the characters are also complex figures with interesting motivations depending on the timeline. Similarly, Laurel’s character arcs in the two timelines make her grow and change in some interesting ways, and her relationships with Dave, Ollie, and other characters add some great depth to her character development in this entertaining new release.

Honestly, I did not finish this one. I just could not get through the main female character and the way she was written, i just hated her and all her decisions. I liked the premise a lot and wanted to like it, just needed a different lead.

If you are looking for a book with some science fiction-freaky Friday kind of vibes then this is the book for you. Laurel Everett, has accidentally found an engagement ring in her boyfriend Ollies sock drawer, and now she is freaking out. Are they ready for marriage? Is her relationship with Ollie “forever” material? or are their differences just too different? When her “work-husband” Drew, asks to show her his newest tech advancement, an alternate reality machine, Laurel thinks this just might be the thing to help her find clarity. She can now ask the machine “what if” she said yes to a date with Drew all those years ago… When it seems like the program can’t handle the answer to her question laurel goes home and goes to sleep, only to wake up in a reality that’s way different than the one she is used to. In this reality she is with Drew, and everything seems perfect on paper, but she doesn’t understand how she got there or why she can’t remember anything about her life with Drew. Looking for answers leads Laurel down a road that keeps bouncing between realities and forces her to decide which reality is worth fighting to keep. I loved the Science fiction – Romance hybrid that is this book. I frequently dabble in romance and science fiction is my preferred genre, so it was a real treat to have the two combined. Laurel, Drew and Ollie are all perfectly conflicting characters; being the restless dreamer, the nerd and the artist, but they work well together. You get to fall into Laurel’s shoes and really think about what life would be best for her. This book isn’t too heavy in the witty banter, but there are some tropes you would expect to find in a romance book, and you will still get warm and fuzzies. I feel like this story is more of a cozy sci-fi read than what you would expect from something with a romance tag, but the story is very reminiscent of romance media like Sliding Doors, Maybe in Another Life and Look Both Ways. If you’re a sci-fi fan and looking for something light and fun, then this is the book for you. If you are a romance fan and you’re looking for something a little different and thought-provoking, be sure to pick up a copy of this book.

This book was not what I was expecting. It really felt like there was too much physics and not enough romance. It really got bogged down with the actual going back and forth between the two worlds and the "I don't remember..." I didn't really like Laurel, Ollie or Drew or feel anything for them at all. The spice scenes felt very amature to me and the book could have done without them and not lost anything to me. The best and redeeming part of the book was the epilogue. Thank you to Netgalley and the published for an eARC of this book.

While I found the concept of the book to be very interesting and I loved the witty banter, I found myself pulled out of the book by the sci-fi lean. I still enjoyed it and thought it was a fun read, but it wasn’t my favorite.

What If It’s You? is such a clever, heartfelt, and utterly addictive read. Laurel’s journey between two lives; one with her longtime boyfriend and one with her work crush, is full of humor, heart, and high-stakes tension thanks to the brilliant AltR project concept. Jilly Gagnon perfectly balances romance, self-discovery, and sci-fi twists, making this a story that’s impossible to put down. By the end, I was cheering, swooning, and completely moved, and definitely one of my favorite reads of the year!

Not what I expected, but still enjoyable. I wasn't a big fan of the ending, but I still enjoyed other aspects of this book.

Laurel wonders what a lot of us wonder - Did we choose the right person & the right path for our life? Laurel has the opportunity to actually look at both paths when she realizes that the quantum computer she is working with will let her. There is always a glitch though, She slips between the "real" world and the one she always wondered about. Can she choose the right path for her, or will she get stuck and maybe deleted?

This was such an interesting concept for a book. I was immediately intrigued by the blurb and the early reviews. A great summer read that feels like a 90s romcom. This was my first read by this author and I will definitely be picking up more by her!

Really interesting premise but not sure I could all the way relate to the FMC / found her really that likeable. I felt like the flow of the story was almost too scifi-y leaning, but the banter and romance was cute.

What If It’s You by Jilly Gagnon puts a tech twist on Sliding Doors, what if you could go into an alternate reality where your choice made you end up with another guy?

Laurel Everett knows her boyfriend Ollie is about to propose, and instead of excitement, she has a feeling of dread. She starts daydreaming about what if with her work friend Drew, who is a programmer for an alternate reality software setup. Laurel ends up switching back and forth between her current reality and a world where she picked Drew when he asked her out so many years ago.

It’s an interesting premise but very slanted towards one side. So the story was less about who she would choose and more about why she is acting the way she is. I liked it but I thought the story was a little drawn out.

What If It’s You? by Jilly Gagnon had a really unique and intriguing premise that pulled me in right away. The time-jumping and alternate timelines added a fun twist to the story, and I appreciated how different it felt from other YA romances.

That said, I struggled with the romantic storyline. The main character being torn between two guys — especially after finding the ring — felt a bit dragged out and repetitive. There was a lot of back and forth over who she should be with and why, and it started to lose its emotional impact for me. The later part of the book shifted more into her struggle to return to her original timeline, which was interesting, but the romance just never fully clicked.

Overall, I liked the book and its originality, but the romantic arc didn't quite deliver what I was hoping for.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Publishing for my DRC!

While I usually enjoy Gagnon’s smart and quirky romance novels, this one took me out of the story with its uninteresting MMC’s and weird soft sci-fi. The premise tries for Sliding Doors but ends up more like a half hour Star Trek episode. It was a miss for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

2 stars- I was curious about the plot but upon reading, this felt disjointed and just a bit offputting. thanks netgalley & the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review