Book Review - The Year of What If by Phaedra Patrick - #HolidayReading Gambia

 The Amazon Purchase link below is an Amazon Affiliate link.

Amazon UK

Title: The Year Of What If

Author: Phaedra Patrick

Format reviewed: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Aria

Publication Date: 16th January 2025

Rating: 4 Stars

Can the future be rewritten?

On the verge of her second marriage, Carla Carter knows she's finally found the one. She and her fiancé, Tom, met through Logical Love, a dating agency she founded for the pragmatically minded, and she's confident that, together, they will dispel an old family curse claiming Carter women are unlucky in love.

But Carla's highly superstitious family insists she visit a fortune teller before her big day, and the tarot cards reveal that a different man holds the key to Carla's happiness – someone she met while travelling during a gap year, twenty-one years ago. This startling information spurs Carla to trace and revisit the ex-boyfriends she met during that time before she walks down the aisle.

From Barcelona to Amsterdam, Turkey to Paris, will Carla find her perfect match? And can a face from her past help Carla rewrite her entire family history, forever?

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.