This is the second book by Phaedra Patrick I have read and it didn't disappoint, ticking lots of boxes. Carla Carter is about to get married, and she has everything - a great fiancé, Tom, a thriving business (Logical Love, a matchmaking service) and a loving family. As part of her hen do, her very superstitious family arrange a visit to a fortune teller, Myrtle, Myrtle, a distance relative, reveals that true happiness lies not with Tom but with someone Carla met on a gap year many years before. Myrtle also reminds Carla about a family curse - that true and lasting love is not possible for the Carter women. Carla decides to re-vist her exes who all live in Europe, and prove Myrtle wrong... 'The Year of What if' is a great escapist read with travel, mystery and romance.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable. The plot is one that is engaging

A decent relaxing read.

Carla runs a matchmaking company named “Logical Love”. She is set to marry Tom, after a failed first marriage with Aaron. Tom is a gaming consultant. Carla is pressured by her family to see a fortune teller - Myrtle. Myrtle tells her that there is someone waiting for her a distance away in Europe whom she has met before. Carla is dismissive, and yet curious. Her sister Jess, who works with Carla, says that she feels Myrtle is good. Tom is set to go to US on business for 2 weeks just before their marriage. Carla decides she will visit Europe and meet the men she had known briefly from her previous visit and see what comes out of it.

As a light read, this is ok – you can breeze through the book quickly. I liked Carla’s character, while Tom’s character is very typical and hence less striking. The story shuffles inconsistently between being realistic and unlikely in many instances. Though brief, I liked Aaron’s character, especially as there is growth from experience. There are some surprises (some quite unnecessary) with respect to Carla’s family. I would have liked to see a better developed & reasoned ending.

I really enjoyed this story, once I put my scepticism towards family curses and fortune tellers to one side, as they are key forces in this book.

Carla after having her fortune told at her hen party, decides she needs to revisit her gap year and track down some of the significant men she met on it, to try to decide once and for all if Tom is the one before they tie the knot.

And once the action makes it into Europe, I was hooked, as i do love a bit of travel, and there were multiple countries, and various encounters on the way.

I was invested in Carla's quest, and I only wanted good things for her. There are some rather emotional bits in the book, but overall its rather uplifting and heartwarming.

I loved the various directions the plot went in, and was definitely pleased with the final outcomes.

Another really enjoyable book from this always very readable author.

Thank you to Aria and Netgalley for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

Carla Carter's family are superstitious. A witch is supposed to have put a curse on the family one hundred years ago.

Carla does not believe her family has a relationship curse. She's found the man she loves and is just about to get married to Tom. But her family wants her to get a Tarot reading. Carla now wishes she hadn't had the reading as she can't get her reading out of her mind, Is she really meant to be with someone from her past or is Tom the real love of her life?

Phaedra Patrick has brought us a romantic story with a difference. Secrets are revealed as Carla sets out to meet the men she had dated when she was twenty-five. The characters are well-rounded, there were some surprises along the way. I love Phaedra's writing style.

Published 16th January 2025

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AriaAndAries and the author #PhaedraPatrick for my ARC of #TheYearOfWhatIf in exchange for an honest review.

In The Year of What If, Phaedra Patrick blends charm, humor, and heartfelt emotion into a delightful tale of love, family, and self-discovery. Carla Carter’s journey—from confident matchmaking entrepreneur to a woman questioning everything she thought she knew about love—takes readers on a memorable adventure across Europe and into the depths of her heart.

The story begins with Carla on the brink of her second marriage, determined to defy the Carter family curse of doomed relationships. Her Logical Love agency symbolizes her faith in pragmatism over superstition, but a family-driven visit to a fortune teller throws her meticulously planned life into chaos. The tarot’s claim—that her true soulmate is someone from her gap year two decades ago—sets the stage for a whirlwind quest to track down her former flames.

Carla’s travels to Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France are as much about revisiting her past as they are about finding clarity for her future. The narrative is rich with vivid settings, intriguing encounters, and layers of mystery tied to her family’s supposed curse. Along the way, Carla unearths secrets, faces old wounds, and learns that love—like life—is often unpredictable and beautifully messy.

Patrick’s writing shines with wit and warmth, making Carla’s journey feel relatable despite its whimsical premise. The characters, from Carla’s superstitious relatives to her quirky exes, are well-drawn and engaging. The balance of humor, emotional depth, and mystery keeps the pages turning, while the exploration of themes like loss, destiny, and self-acceptance adds a poignant touch.

Ultimately, The Year of What If is more than a romantic escapade; it’s a story about rewriting one’s narrative, embracing life’s uncertainties, and rediscovering what truly matters. With its captivating blend of romance, adventure, and heart, this book is a joy to read from start to finish. It’s perfect for fans of feel-good fiction with a touch of magic.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

This was a mainly enjoyable read and I was pleased by the way things were resolved at the end.
There were times when I struggled to like Carla, the main character. Her need to control everything and to check if the grass was greener grated on me a bit. However, she was kind hearted which helped me like her more, and her need for adventure carried me off to some beautifully described locations which cheered up some grey and gloomy winter evenings.
There were some twists I really didn’t see coming in the second half, and they were definitely worth the wait. One of them really helped to clarify why Carla had such a need to process the past. The resolution of the curse storyline was a bit complicated and I’m afraid that part didn’t work so well for me. I also found the use of American English odd when the main character and setting were British, but I imagine that’s to please readers in the US.
Some parts I loved, others were a bit meh for me - hence my overall rating of 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. The storyline follows Carla. She is about to be wed but is having doubts after a fortune teller reading.

It reminded me a little bit of Chinese whispers with the curse, where bits got added and changed over time. I loved the reveal.

A nice, mostly lighthearted, comfort read. It was the perfect escape to sunnier countries.

I am afraid this book was not for me.
I found it implausible as a plot and the characters unbelievable.
The story concerns Carla, who sets out, not long before her wedding, to trace the men she met several years previously travelling in Europe in her twenties.
What sets her off on this quest? A reading from a fortune teller that she is given as a hen party present.
Carla runs a dating agency based on the premise that there is a logical algorithm for finding your soul mate a d is shaken when she runs her own algorithm again, to find her fiancé is no longer her near perfect match.
To be honest, I had no empathy with Carla, and when things blew up in her face, no sympathy either.
I made myself read the book to the end, but personally, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
That said, I have read other books by Phaedra Patrick and have quite enjoyed them as a light read, they all follow much the same pattern, so there must be a loyal band of readers who follow Patrick's books.
I am afraid I am not one of them.
I received an e arc of this title through NetGalley, and the publisher.

I always love books by Phaedra Patrick and The Year of What If was no exception. The characters are sympathetic and relatable and I soon became emotionally invested in their dilemmas and set backs as well as the more fortunate turns of events. Business problems, curses, revisiting lost loves and deciding on new ones all meant that I read the book in a couple of evenings and thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

I couldn’t wait to start this book after reading several of Phaedra’s previous books .

Carla and Tom are engaged to be married after meeting through her dating agency Logical Love. Before their wedding on her superstitious family’s insistence she visits a fortune teller. She then decides to travel across Europe to visit her ex boyfriends to make sure she is marrying the correct man and eliminate her family’s curse What follows is an eventful journey that makea her question everything in her life.

This was a great read which I really enjoyed with some lovely heartfelt moments and great characters along the way

Thanks to NetGalley, Phaedra Patrick and Aria and Aries for an advance copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Carla is a very pragmatic person which puts her at quite a juxtaposition with the rest of her family who are very superstitious. A few weeks before her marriage to Tom her relatives take her to see a fortune teller as part of her hen night and the fortune teller reveals that a man she met 21 years ago will be important in her future which leads her to worry about the future of her relationship with Tom.

I did take a while to get into this but once I did I found it very enjoyable, the characters are great and it was interesting to see the effect the men from her past had on her as well as her worries about Tom. I did predict the direction this book was taking however it was difficult to work out who Carla would end up with. It’s got some good points in here especially about modern day dating and relationships as well as family and was overall very uplifting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Aria & Aries for this ARC.

Carla, 42, believes in maths and logic. The rest of her vast family (sister Jess, grandmother Lucinda, aunts Mimi and Evelyn the most prominent) are deeply superstitious. They claim a hundred year old curse exists that women in their family are destined to be unlucky in love, starting with ill-fated couple Agatha and Lars.

After an acrimonious divorce from first husband Aaron, Carla founds a match-making agency called Logical Love, which heavily relies on questionnaires and pragmatic algorithms. These algorithms have led her to Tom, her fiancé and soon to be husband. The wedding is mere weeks away and this time, Carla will avoid all mistakes and prove her family wrong about the curse.

Then her family take her to a fortune teller called Myrtle who is also a distant relative. She gives her six tarot cards, claiming they represent past lovers and that one of them that she met on her gap year travelling around Europe 21 years ago is her forever love.

So she takes herself off to Barcelona (Pedro), Portugal (Adam), Amsterdam (Ruben), Sardinia (Fidele) and Paris (Aaron), while Tom has swanned off to the US for a boardgames convention.

I love Phaedra Patrick's books. They cover so much. Here, Carla is sent on a journey of self-discovery - not just to find out what she has learnt from her past relationships but also find out more about that inconvenient curse.

What if it never existed but lives on as a self-fulfilling prophecy? What if Tom never was "the one" because their compability was wrongly calculated? And why does she keep finding out deeply important and personal things that nearly derail her path in life?

Altogether, this is a charming book with a very smart core, interesting characters and lovely travel descriptions. There is so much love for partners but also for friends and family that it's really heartwarming. Highly recommended to anyone who likes an eventful story and a slightly open ending. It also has a really gorgeous cover.

4.5 stars