It took me a while to settle in to this book - my Kindle wasn't displaying it very well, so I found it difficult. I'm not usually a fan of the "Sliding Doors type books" but this was a well told tale of two loves. Again, Holly Miller has written another great book with a beautiful ending.

I loved the 'sliding doors' premise. It's done so cleverly in this novel... beautifully written and full of heart, it puts you in and you won't want to stop reading until you turn the last page.

I found it a bit predictable so it lost a 🌟

But overall it's an emotional rollercoaster, I was very glad I jumped on.

I adored this book, the concept, the story arc. I loved it all.

This book is two stories, following the main character, Lucy. We are luck yo see her the two choices she makes and how different her lives are.

I loved how the author linked the two narratives not just with Lucy and the two men, Max and Caleb, but via her friends and family.

I couldn't tell how the book was going to go, I read it super quick and had to read huge chucks of the book daily, to fire me to the end.

Loved it. I would love to read more from this writer.

The ‘Sliding Doors’ style story always appeal to me, that’s why I was excited to get into this one.

It was well written and pretty easy to read. Some parts felt a bit too slow for my personal preference and I have to admit the middle became a bit of a slog - it lost me a little bit. This may have also been to do with the chapter lengths - they were quite long.

Lucy was a really well written character and I liked seeing both sides to the story - both LI’s completely flawed and loveable at the same time. The concept worked quite well but something just didn’t click for me.

On the whole, if you enjoy a contemporary novel on the whole ‘what might have been’ trope - this one is definitely for you.

This was a brilliantly easy read. I liked the sliding doors premise of how the decisions you make can have a huge effect on the direction your life takes. I found the characters were funny and likeable. I would read another Holly Miller.

Absolutely gorgeous read which has left me crying. This is beautiful in everyway and I need more. I have devoured this in just one sitting.

Not my usual read, however I thoroughly enjoyed this one, A great read and I absolutely loved the dual storyline it flowed well and I thought the sliding doors appeal was something I would definitely like to read again. My first Holly muller and not my last !

As a rule I usually like reading dual time line books. This one however,I did have difficulty and issues with.i found the pace if this book very slow and hard going.
The storylines weren't too bad.

I absolutely adored this book. I loved that it was written as two parts, one part written as Lucy staying in her home town and doing one job and the other part of her leaving and starting a different job. Both scenarios involve different men and follow different paths that do meet along the way and intertwine. I loved all the characters and how it covered family, friendships and fall outs. It has all the feels and it did make me cry. Such a wonderful book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily.
I won't reproduce the blurb here, suffice to say there is a 'sliding doors' situation where Lucy has a choice to make and lucky readers are given details of how both paths work out. Along the way are beautiful, prosaic descriptions of emotions and some heart-rending scenarios that show life is never completely easy, whatever we do. At the heart of the book is the idea of one soulmate, which I believe in whole-heartedly, but you might disagree or even change your mind after reading this clever fictional creation. The reader is presented with 2 stories, with facts and events which appear in both, clearly differentiated by 'stay' or 'go' segments. If I had one criticism it would be that the story is spread over about 3 years, sometimes with a gap of 6 months, and I would have found it helpful to be given a month and year to indicate the lapse of time.
I'm now going to sign up to follow this author!

I read this book during the wee small hours when feeding my new baby-it was perfect escapism, easy to read and put down and pick up again. I liked the sliding doors premise and had no problem keeping track of each timeliness despite being sleep deprived. I was invested in the characters and approve of the tidy ending.

Thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for providing a DRC. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I was hoping to. Both stories had so many issues and the secondary characters were so annoying. I couldn't believe they were old enough to consider themselves as adults. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a book about teenagers. I apologize, I don't like to write bad reviews, and I honestly wish the best for the author. I hope other people will like it and write good things about it. But I was just really not into it.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book for a honest review.

Thins is the first Holly Miller book I've read and I have to say it won't be the last.
I loved this book....it's 2 stories in one!
I loved reading about Lucy & Max and Lucy & Caleb!! And the ending was lovely!!

This is an easy read which is just what I needed!!

The main character in this book, Lucy, just walked out of her job, she had no idea about her next steps.
She wanted to become a writer. But men get in the way. She finds it hard to know what to do.
The story is very relatable and makes you want to read on.
She has to decide whether to stay where she is or escape to london.
One decision can change the course of your whole life ! This book takes a look at what someone’s life might look like if they made a different choice.
It’s a totally gripping read.

This is a book with a dual timeline: Lucy has a big decision to make in her life and Miller plots a story which explores the idea of 'what if' with both of Lucy's options. Life A is with Max, her first love who inexplicably walked away from their relationship just as they were meant to be planning a future together. Life B is with Caleb; a man who Lucy meets by chance (just as she co-incidentally bumps into Max) and Lucy explores where their attraction will take her.

I did enjoy the book, but it took me a long time to warm to Lucy. She irritated me somewhat, particularly when a relationship breakdown leads to a fairly predictable outcome which becomes her 'deep' secret which stops Lucy for persuing her long held ambitions and dreams.

However, I am glad I stuck with it. The relationships with Max and Caleb are well-drawn out and I was worried how the book would actually end. I knew Lucy could only end up in one life, but which would it be and how would that be resolved?

Lots of twists, some predictable, some totally unexpected! Enjoy the ride when you read this one.

I thought this was a really sweet story about the different other life can take based on a single choice. It reminded me of Laura Barnett’s book The Versions of Us, which is a longtime favourite of mine.

I thought Lucy was a really interesting character and different characteristics were brought out of her based on either other she chose. I liked seeing the situations be mirrored, to see both sides of the coin as it were.

The supporting cast were also really well written, they didn’t feel like sidekicks or throwaway side plots that distracted from the novel, they complimented Lucy’s journey beautifully! I particularly enjoyed Jools and Nigel, and how they ended up together no matter what.

One thing I’m really glad this novel touched on was communication. There were occasions where things were communicated very badly, and that added to the conflict, but then other situations where even very tricky things were communicated so clearly, that it reaffirmed my love of this novel.

If you like What if stories on a good day, then this should absolutely go to the top of your TBR. It’s funny, heartwarming, devastating, thoughtful and it gives you hope for humanity. I absolutely adored it and I’m so glad I preordered the hardcover because this cover is so stunning that it deserves to be displayed!

I liked the premise of this book and, while the story is told well, I did find it a little slow going. I stuck with it and found it to be an enjoyable story, however, I've only given two stars as it just didn't wow me.

Thank you to the publisher, netgalley and the author for allowing me to read this eARC, I feel so blessed to be able to have critical conversations about great books and recommend books to my book club.

This is a general women's fiction book that is beautifully written and well-formatted. The pacing was beautiful and the characters relatable, I loved the ending and felt fully satisfied with this book everything was well wrapped up.

After reading (and really enjoying) Miller’s debut The Sight of You , I was made up when I got an E-arc of her new book What Might Have Been. I didn’t know what to expect from this one but, long story short, I wasn’t disappointed.

This book follows Lucy after she walks out of her job and has two chance encounters: one with the one that got away and another with a stranger in a bar. Following this, the book covers two “what ifs” – what if Lucy follows Max to London and what if she stays put at home with Max?

Through alternating “Stay” and “Go” chapters, the reader is taken on an exciting, and not entirely predictable, ride. Though it took a bit of time for me to get used to, once I did, it was easy to follow and flowed well.

There were pros and cons with each romance, each life and each man which made the read interesting- just when I picked my favourite leading man, the other surprised me!

It’s difficult to follow up from an impressive debut but Miller certainly does with this book. As much as we all try to practice being content, there’s no doubt we all have these “what if” moments…Miller is just brave enough to put it into words.

What Might Have Been is a lovely novel by Holly Miller, and really had me drawn in and kept me wanting to read more. I've read a few books that have followed the dynamic of switching-between-alternate-lives-chapter-by-chapter, and I've often found it confusing - with both lives rather similar. Miller uses this structure in a great way, because there is a great difference between the two lives played out: different location, different living situation, different love interest. Because of that it not once felt like one fell over the other, and instead played out nicely into a rom-com dream of 'what-ifs'.