Unfortunately I couldn't finish the ARC itself because the formatting was poor. The sentences were disjointed, the paragraphs were confusing and the dialogue wasn't organised very well so I don't feel it's fair to continue reading the book when I actually can't give the book itself a proper review due to the formatting issue. I'll rate what I read as a three star because I enjoyed what I read, but eventually the formatting just broke me.

I really love the way this story was told. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it but Ivy and Abe lives were so interesting. I enjoyed the passing of time and the different decades. I was really engaged with the characters and finished it in one sitting.

Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the read!

Are Ivy and Abe destined to be together? This is a number of stories where throughout many years, different realities are given for when Ivy meets Abe, be it when they are in their 60s, when they are already married to other people, as teenagers or as small children.

It was an interesting set of stories, some of the themes or events kept cropping up or some of the story that in one reality affected Ivy, affected Abe in the another reality which sort of lacked any imagination. The one thing that frustrated me was the illness that Ivy's mum was suffering from. It felt like it took far too many alternate realities before it was revealed what she had wrong with her.

I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review.

This wasn’t really a sliding doors or time travel novel it was more lots of short stories of Ivy and Abe in different relationship scenarios such as young children/ adulterous couple, married, old, briefly met.
I have mixed feelings about this book. There were far too many short situations that each time I started book again I had to flick back to remember where I was. Some I really enjoyed and some were just forgettable. It just felt a bit messy and I couldn’t connect with any character because then they changed again. Though there were a few nice touches that sometimes linked the stories.
I didn’t dislike it but I didn’t love it.

Brilliant concept, but I just didn't feel connected to the characters as much as I had hoped. And I have to admit I felt as there were so many "complete" stories within the book, it was difficult to feel that there was a true ending.

Two and a half star rating.
Ivy and Abe first meet at primary school and are inseparable until fate gets in the way. Several times in several lifetimes. Sounded great, but ultimately I found it disappointing after expecting something along the lines of Fearney or Time Travellers Wife. It came across as too “bitty” and disjointed and it didn’t help that I wasn’t keen on either Ivy or Abe! An obviously talented author, so sorry not to have enjoyed this love story/ies more.

The blurb sounded so charming but the book was not for me. I couldn't push myself through it. I DNFed it. Again, I felt like the book was everyone but me.

Sincere thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to review the book in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book but did find it a little confusing as first when it switched to the next 'time' they met. I loved the characters and have always felt that fate plays a part in when you meet someone and what might happen if the circumstances change.

The idea of this book is really good.
However the execution is not quite there.

The blurb, i thought was fantastic and I really enjoyed the beginning of the book - how Ivy and Abe meet up again after many years of being apart.

But this was where I really began to struggle. Far too many repetitions for me with the whole "what if" of their relationship. To be honest, I'm amazed I finished the book.

Well done me for battling through it.

An unusual book, even though the story of girl meets boy is a story most told.

I think it is best read in one sitting or certainly without huge gaps like I did because of working.

I liked it but found it a little confusing at points but that was down to not having much time whilst reading it.

A cosy, heartwarming set of tales narrated through a clever concept loosely based on quantum physics. Each story set at a different time in Ivy and Abes lives giving a completely different situation. Although enjoyable I did sometimes struggle to recall which setting I was reading when returning to the book.

I’ve been reading a lot of crime and thriller books lately so this was a nice palate cleanser. In the vein of Sliding Doors, it follows Ivy and Abe across different times in their lives and how it would pan out if they met then. My only complaint was I loved Ivy and Abe so much I felt cheated to not truly get to experience a happy ever after with them. Thank you to Michael Joseph, Netgalley and the author for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this book. All the “what ifs”.. so many love stories that might have been.
Loved Ivy and Abe in every different circumstance.

I loved the first chapter of this book and really wish that the author had written an entire book based on the one story. It felt a little like a mesh of different ideas for a book based on two characters, without having a full book's worth of story to write about, so the many ideas were cobbled together. It is beautifully written but the repetitive nature - especially of the illness and question of the tests - was sometimes quite draining. I would like to read other books by this author as, like I said, the writing is quite beautiful.

So this books is very sliding doors and all about alternate realities... Which I thought I'd like... Maybe I still would but I cannot get away with it...

It started out slowly and I was a little confused the blurb I read made it seem like it would start when they were kids and how they went their separate ways, and then they'd meet again and end up going their separate ways only to meet again much later in life and explore themselves again.

Having read the first part I was a little puzzled about where wit was going to go. So I made it to the second story and was even more confused so I checked the blurb out (a different source) which sounded pretty cool...

So I continued with the story only to be bored with the entire new story that was being told... I guess its just not what I was expecting and I cannot get attached to any of the characters.

So sadly I'm adding this to my did not finish pile.

A charming book. A bit like a number of short stories joined together by some common characters and other themes. Covering around 50 years, backwards and forwards, this is the story of an on and off, 'will they? won't they?' relationship between Ivy and Abe. A combination of Sliding Door and The Versions of Us, with a little bit of Life After Life thrown in.
I didn't always find it flowed as well as I would have liked, but it showed good insight into relationships at various ages and eras. Ivy and Abe were not always likeable, but the book gave a good insight into their lives, their hopes, and their demons. I know a number of my friends would like it and I think it will do well.
For me it is a 3.5 stars.
Thank you for allowing me to read and review the novel. #NetGalley #IvyAndAbe

I was really looking forward to reading this book but unfortunately felt a little disappointed. It's a great concept and could have been a really good story line. Unlike "Sliding Doors" each time Ivy and Abe meet it is in a different year - things in their lives are at a different point, sometimes one of them is married, sometimes one of them or both of them are widowed.

I'm not sure how many times the story gets told of Ivy and Abe, but I began to get bored. I started to get the stories mixed up - what was it they were doing in this one? I didn't care much for either character and so found it hard to buy into the book. In fact I liked the first story the most and maybe after that I just felt the other ones didn't matter to me.

If you can manage to read it one go then maybe you would enjoy it more and not get so mixed up as I did!

I'm giving this book 3 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Netgalley for an ARC for review.

A sweet story told in quite an original way. Ivy and Abe's love story is told and retold to show what would have happened if they had met at different times in their lives. Would they have survived as a couple had they met as children, as teenagers, as 20 somethings, etc.

My only criticism would be that in the later years narratives there is a lot more telling than doing and it gets a little slow and boring but as the years go back and into the earlier years of their lives the narrative is a lot more dynamic.

An enjoyable read.

I loved the concept behind the book and I loved the style of writing.
The different stories were sometimes a bit confusing but the book is enjoyable on the whole and I liked it.
It's romance with a literary flavour as the characters and the style of writing are more sophisticated.
Recommended!
Many thanks to Michael Joseph and Netgalley for this ARC

A sweet enough book, at first I had no idea what was going on but eventually twigged. Clever concept. I thought Abe was a bit annoying as he kept letting her down but I liked him well enough. Very interesting setup for a novel.