Thank you for the advanced copy.

I struggled with this, I did finish it but the fantasy aspect I could not get my head around. I struggled with the timeline jump.

It is well written and the characters are likeable. A vast percentage will love this.

I really wanted to like this book, but struggled to get through it. The storyline was not terribly developed and was predictable. I was hoping for a good ending but was disappointed.

*Review set to auto publish on my blog on Wednesday 5th July at 9am*

I’ve never read this author before so it was the blurb that drew me to the book. I love sliding doors; alternate timelines; tales of amnesia, and the like so this sounded right up my street.

First off I think it’s important to share that I read this book in two sittings but in under 24 hours (probably in about 15ish hours). So it held my attention well. It was easy to read, likeable characters and the two different timelines were easy to follow. The author was able to weave side characters through both sides of the story, we met a fair number under different circumstances that seemed consistent.

This book isn’t going to make you think overly about any of the themes, which is exactly what I was looking for from it. The main male character is a bit of a manic pixie dream boy, perfect in every way. But so is the main female character. I feel like everyone in the story was nice and rich and making the best of their lot in life. Which isn’t a bad thing, if that’s what you’re looking for. It’s definitely a feel good beach/holiday read. I’d recommend if for anyone looking for a wee bit of light escapism (as long as you can accept a multiverse storyline with no attempt to explain the science behind it, which I’m good with!).

This was a really interesting read for many reasons: it gave me a different perspective for any thoughts I had for what ifs, it was very interesting how she analyzed her feelings and thoughts on certain things as they were different from her own perspective, and finally...the end. The end completely threw me off. It was very predictable throughout the story but it was a very sweet discovering with a slight romance in it. I wouldn't completely say this is a romance book but she does figure out her what if moments in the very beginning of the book about marrying her fiancé. I actually liked how each character had something different yet similar in the 2 versions she experienced. If I were her I would be frustrated too at the end but I do wonder if she ever got married...

I would recommend this to anyone who likes a predictable story, slight romance with a side of mystery, and self discovery. This was a good read but I wish it had a little less predictability.

what went well: I liked the premise

even better if: the perspective didn't shift so much from liv's first persono perspective and jake's third person perspective. It would have been better if like it was actually exlained why liv woke up in a new world and how she got there. i also didn't get why the title is named that because it doesn't reflect that in the book. The writing was also really clunky so I didn't get that.

This was a book that started out really interesting and quickly turned into kind of a miss for me. I was under the impression that it was a romance but there was a lot of fantasy/magic in the book that i simply was not expecting. It was a very interesting premise and I think had a lot of potential, but it ended up feeling a little clunky for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A mix of ‘Sliding doors’ meets ‘Gone Girl’. A great book that I couldn’t put down and read in one sitting. The emotional turmoil of all the characters was palpable and had me hooked. Can’t wait to read what CJ Connolly does next!

A predictable, easy read. Nothing profound or fascinating here. But gets the job done if you want something simple to read.

This was a good beach read. A unique “what if” story. I think the characters were lacking some, but overall enjoyable read!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. The book's premise caught my attention, and I was engrossed in the story. Liv and Jake are meant for each other, and I found my heart breaking for them throughout the story. It’s also wild to think about how much one person’s life can affect others. The impact that Liv’s existence had on her friends and family’s lives was fascinating. Things that I would never think would change were different in the alternative universe, which made me reflect a lot.

That said, it would have been fun to see Liv do some things she never did in her ordinary world. We didn’t see much of that, and I think it would have added a fun layer to the book.

What threw me for a loop was the switch between first-person POV in Liv’s chapters to third-person POV in Jake’s chapters. It grated at me, but that might be because I prefer the first-person POV. That said, it didn’t take away from the book so much that I wouldn’t recommend it. Also, the ending was a bit abrupt, and I would have liked to of seen a little bit more or an epilogue.

An intriguing read for which I had no expectations it having read this author’s first book. I loved the way the story was narrated and I enjoyed the characters.
A refreshingly unique read but not a traditional romance.
4.5 stars

The premise of this book was so intriguing to me! I felt like the story had great potential, though I realise I should have tempered my expectations a little given that this is a New Adult romance. As a result, the plot centred around the romance (duh) and didn’t really unpack the other elements. I felt it didn’t really deliver on Liv having “a chance to do all the things she never did”, as she never really attempted to do things differently or alter her life course in any significant way.

The main thing I didn’t love about this book was that it switched between first-person POV (in Liv’s chapters) and third-person POV (in Jake’s chapters). This may have been a stylistic choice that was just lost on me, but it felt jarring every time it switched. I sort of thought it may have been leading up to an “and then I woke up” style ending where it turned out Liv had been thinking as Jake which would have explained the POV switch, but THANKFULLY it didn’t end that way, so idk what the POV switching was about.

Overall I had a pretty good time with this book, I would definitely recommend it for anyone interested in New Adult romance or ‘what if’ style stories.

I quite enjoyed this book - I found it to be quite intriguing.

Olivia and Jake are childhood sweethearts, engaged to be married and are celebrating this engagement anniversary in a secluded spot that has a quarry. Olivia goes for a walk, loses her balance and falls over a rocky cliff's edge into water.

It is here that the book splits into two parallel worlds; one with Olivia's 'real' present and the 'present' that she falls into - the one where she died in the same spot as a twelve year old. The 'real' present is told from Jake's perspective and the world that Olivia falls into is seen from her point of view. She enters a world where her family have trouble believing who she is as they buried her years ago and Jake is no longer hers. Everything is different.

Jake's perspective tells the story of searching for his missing Olivia and the trauma that he endures after she goes missing.

I thought that the entire parallel world concept was pretty well executed. The only downside for me was that the actual ending was very abrupt; it just seemed to lack closure. The ending could have really done with an epilogue.

I thought “The Love of My Other Life” was an amazing debut novel by C.J. Connolly, and her second published work, “The Love I Could Have Had” was a wonderful variation on similar themes.

The book is the story of Olivia, whose perfect life is upended when she becomes displaced in an alternative reality in which she died as a young person. Seemingly back from the dead, so many things are similar in this new world, yet fundamentally different.

In the “original” world, Olivia worries that her life choices have limited her or if there are better possibilities should she have made different choices. Faced with a new reality, in which her fiancé, Jake Johnson, is happily with another woman she has time to consider what makes her happy and what she wants. But, can she make her way back to that perfect life?

This book was a bit harder than Connolly’s first novel, which does explore the ideas of different choices and other versions of our lives. The story moves between Olivia’s experiences in the new world and Jake’s perspective in the original world. He is devastated by Olivia’s disappearance, there is a criminal investigation, people wonder if he’s murdered Liv, and he struggles with both the loss of his only lover and with not knowing what became of her.

Yet, there were wonderful things to think about in the book – the possibility of endless realities that play out as a cosmic choose-your-own-adventure. Set in North Carolina, the beach town vibes also helped warm up the story.

Thankfully the book is not too long, which makes the separation of our romantic couple bearable, and each of Olivia and Jake recall their time together so that we have happier memories to balance out heavier moments.
C.J. Connolly writes books similar to Emily Henry and Mhairi McFarlane – happy/sad novels exploring people’s daily lives in entertaining, heartfelt ways.

I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher / NetGalley but the review is my own.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A woman goes missing amd returns in an alternate reality. So many unanswered questions.

And another one… I just adore C.J. Connolly’s books so much! Her stories are super easy to read, unforgettable, intriguing, and very well written! I absolutely devoured this story of Jake and Olivia and felt so invested in them and what would become of them by the end of it all.

I know a few readers that wished for a little more at the end, but I just enjoyed every second of this book. I cannot wait for her next one!

I recommend this book if you enjoy:
- Multi-verse tropes (I love them!)
- Dual POV
- Emotional yet heartwarming stories
- Likeable characters
- Quick reads that keep you intrigued and wanting to know what happens at the end
- The thought that life can change in the matter of an instant or if you ever stopped to think if you made one different choice, how your life may have looked instead
- A little bit of mystery in your romance story
- Reading about destiny and soulmates

Liv and Jake have been together since they were kids and are engaged to be married. They are out near a lake one day celebrating and after contemplating what could be missing from her seemingly perfect life, Liv slips off the cliff and falls into the lake. Her body is never found and to her family and Jake, Liv is missing and is never found. When Liv wakes up, she is in the hospital. Her engagement ring is missing. Nobody knows who she is. Her family doesn't know her and Jake is in love with someone else.

OMG, this book! I was so back and forth about whether or not I wanted Liv to go back and end up with Jake or whether or not I wanted her to end up with the hunky cop. Then, I felt bad because Jake was so wonderful. Okay, enough of my inner struggle...

There is a very powerful love story in this book. It is obvious from the very beginning how much these two love each other. Connolly weaves that truth throughout the entire story. Jake never wavers. Even multiverse Jake can't stay away from the Liv that comes back to his reality. And while Liv questions it at the beginning...well, you just need to read it to see how she comes to terms with it and what she's willing to do for it. I love how Liv comes to appreciate her family and I hope there continues to be growth there.

What I didn't like- the abrupt ending. I get it, but I didn't like it. I needed more, such as an epilogue. Can we get a bonus epilogue out there somewhere?

Thanks to NetGalley and Joffe Books for this ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The premise of this book is what sparked my initial interest…who hasn’t thought about what life might be like if you made different choices along the way? Olivia, our protagonist, has these thoughts as she celebrates her engagement anniversary with her childhood love, Jake. But when a celebratory outing at a quarry has Olivia slipping off a waterside cliff, instead of waking on the shore she wakes in a hospital bed without a soul knowing who she is and no engagement ring on her finger. All of a sudden, with nothing certain, Olivia has a chance to see what her life could have looked like and decide whether that’s better than the life she’s already lived.

As I said, the premise is what got my interest peaked and I did find myself wanting to learn more about Olivia as I read. I found her relatable and her romance with Jake to be charming. Curiosity on how she tackles being an unknown in her otherwise familiar life kept me turning the pages, and I found myself invested in whether she was able to build new relationships with her family, and whether those relationships kept her in her new reality, or if she ended up going back to her new life.

However, I felt that there were other parts of the books that distracted from the main plot. I think Olivia’s story would have been better told if this story had one main storyline and one narrator. I kept trying to figure out where Jake’s viewpoint played in the overall storyline and still can’t figure out the answer to that question. If I skipped those chapters, I don’t think I would have missed anything from the overall story. I also found the non-linear timeline to be a distraction. There is no reason we needed to see Olivia on Aug 17th on one chapter, and the next chapter see Jake on Aug 8th. I found myself having to flip back and forth to keep track and it took my attention away from the story.

This story fits the bill as a lighthearted, fast beach read, something that can keep the reader entertained without much effort. I finished this book with a smile on my face, and while there are pieces of it that didn’t fit my taste, I think it was still an endearing story overall. Anyone looking for something light and sweet should enjoy this book.

**A special thank you to Joffe Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion!**

This was a fun read. I didn’t read the description closely and thought this was just going to be a “wakes up with amnesia” story, but it was much more than that! I usually don’t like alternating narrators but it worked so well here. My only complaint is once you know what is happening it’s predictable. The ending is abrupt, I definitely wish there had been a few more chapters or even just an epilogue.

This book was so good! But boy did it put me on an emotional Rollercoaster, but I wouldng have it any other way. I started this book and read it in one sitting. I could not stop reading it until it was done! I loved this!
I just reviewed THE LOVE I COULD HAVE HAD by C.J. Connolly. #THELOVEICOULDHAVEHAD #NetGalley
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