There’s something magical about falling in love, so it’s no surprise that authors who write about love often use magic in their tales—specifically, a type of magic that allows their protagonist to go back or forward in time to experience their life in a different way. In What If It’s You?, author Jilly Gagnon decides to use science to explore this trope, and this choice helps take the book to a different level.
Laurel Everett, an executive at the tech company Pixel, isn’t exactly overjoyed when she finds an engagement ring in her boyfriend Ollie’s sock drawer. Instead, she wonders what her life would have been like had she said yes to dating Drew, a co-worker who asked her out shortly after she met Ollie. Thanks to Drew’s new alternate reality program, Laurel can get an answer to that question due to the quantum physics that powers the program.
When she wakes up next to Drew, she’s shocked but not surprised. In this timeline, Drew is the high-powered Pixel executive, and Laurel has quit her job to write a novel. As the computer glitches and Laurel is shunted back and forth between two timelines, she has to figure out a way to stay in place—and which timeline she wants.
What If It’s You? has some physics in it, but like most romcoms, the story relies on chemistry. And Laurel has chemistry with both her leading men, but as the story progresses, she realizes that her choice is about more than which man she wants to end up with. What is the life she wants to lead? And, more importantly, what if being with her is the wrong timeline for Drew or Ollie?
Laurel is definitely a heroine to root for. She’s smart and funny, but what elevates her above other protagonists in the genre is her concern for her love interests. Not only does she ask, “what if it’s you,” but also “what if it’s not me?” What if being with Laurel means a lesser life for Ollie? What if Drew didn’t want to be with her to begin with?
What If It’s You? is a highly enjoyable, quick read. But I still don’t understand quantum physics. Maybe in another universe, there’s a version of me that does.
Thanks to Random House for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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