From the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Named “Best Book of the Summer” by Glamour * Good Housekeeping * Cosmopolitan * PopSugar * Bustle * Goodreads
From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.
At the age of twenty-nine, Hannah Martin still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She has lived in six different cities and held countless meaningless jobs since graduating college. On the heels of leaving yet another city, Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles and takes up residence in her best friend Gabby’s guestroom. Shortly after getting back to town, Hannah goes out to a bar one night with Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend, Ethan.
Just after midnight, Gabby asks Hannah if she’s ready to go. A moment later, Ethan offers to give her a ride later if she wants to stay. Hannah hesitates. What happens if she leaves with Gabby? What happens if she leaves with Ethan?
In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each decision. Quickly, these parallel universes develop into radically different stories with large-scale consequences for Hannah, as well as the people around her. As the two alternate realities run their course, Maybe in Another Life raises questions about fate and true love: Is anything meant to be? How much in our life is determined by chance? And perhaps, most compellingly: Is there such a thing as a soul mate?
Hannah believes there is. And, in both worlds, she believes she’s found him.
So I had this whole great review typed out but apparently it did not post! Disappointing but here are few thoughts on this book.
I surprisingly enjoyed this book. I’m not a huge fan of anything usually labeled as “chick lit” but a friend found this an interesting read, and I trust said friend with her reading suggestions (she’s about 95/100 right now with recommendations). Hannah was an easy enough character to like. I think being in the same age group as the main character, often questioning a lot of the same things, is why I really enjoyed this book. It’s always comforting to know you are not the only one going through a particularly difficult time in your life. It was also an interesting retrospective on the choices we make and how those choices define us. While I wasn’t crazy about how boy-focused Hannah’s universes became.
Overall a wonderful read! I ended up reading this in one day. The plot alternates between the two choices Hannah makes and made me anxious to find out how each one ended up.
