Book Review: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Rating: 4.25/5

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Adult Fiction

Warnings: Miscarriage, car accident, external marital affairs

Read if you liked: The Two Lives of Lydia Bird or In Five Years

Review: Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She’s about to be 30, has lived in too many cities to count, and had had endless jobs since graduating college. After deciding New York is not the city for her, she moves back to her hometown of LA to live with her best friend Gabby. Soon after getting back, Hannah runs into the “one who got away” Ethan.

When having to make the choice of who to go home with Gabby or Ethan, she must make a choice that will change her life forever…who does she choose? And what does that choice look like? In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. These parallel universes have very different stories but yet similar enough to make you question fate and true love. Is there anything meant to be? Does one choice change the rest of our life?

We all know Amelia LOVES a TJR novel, hence the binge reading and reviewing all of her backlist. I think this one sits firmly at 4 or 5 out of the 6 right now. It was better than your average book because TJR really knows how to make you question life and the universe in a unique way.

There were some major lessons that life is always going to turn out how it’s supposed to even when you make different choices…the journey just looks different. Both Hannah’s were happy at the end of the book and living a similar journey. But…I will say I was mildly disappointed with the ending, I know right? Possible spoiler? Not really sure if I call it that, but I didn’t know which life was “real” at the end and the rational part of my brain wanted to know but I guess the point was…both could be real.

Things I loved: Gabby is seriously the most amazing friend and the way she phrases things is pure gold. I love a multiverse to see what different decisions look like. Forever and always ~ the thought provoking writing that send me into a life spiral thinking hard about my feelings.

Things I didn’t care for: Loving cinnamon rolls and high buns are not personality traits but these little things didn’t bother me enough to not love the book but I did really want cinnamon rolls after hearing about the SO much.  Hannah’s family dynamic, it felt so weird to me…why would you leave one kid in the states by herself and not take her?

Love,

A