I love anything vintage and have fond memories of the 90s. When this decade started, I was only 9 years old and so it saw me live my teens. Thinking back to my teen self, if I would have been older when this book came out, I DEFINITELY would have been drawn to it.

The cover on the first edition and the version I reviewed would have caught my attention and the synopsis would have made me buy it. Some decades later, I still love vintage stuff and brightly coloured book covers. I was eager to review this and was hooked form start to finish. The first page resonated with how I have felt quite a lot over the years as I have seen friends move away, marry or have kids. Some have not but most have and I sympathised with Carly straight away, especially as her idea of a girl’s night in would be mine, too. And that hasn’t changed even though circumstance has meant I too have moved on with life and married.

Oh, and…..the mention of ER! That took me back. I was, and amstill hooked on that show. I would come back home from school, and after a snack homework and dinner I would be sucked into my favourite medical drama. Carly seems a lot like me in that respect. I did not have as many love interests as her, though. I enjoyed how the parts referencing her love life played out and felt she was strong to realise how, rather than getting hung up on what her friends were doing, she was going on a quest. At this point, I was thinking “go, Carly!” and was cheering her on even more. At 31, she still hasn’t found “the one” and ends up going to wherever they are.

The book takes us on a literal and emotional journey back to Carly’s past. But which of her “Mr Rights” dated back then will be right now? Will there be one or more to choose from, or none? There is a HUGE amount of anticipation in the book and I did not want Carly hurt. I wanted her to find love and be happy. To be able to build her own life in spite of the fact everyone she knows has moved on.

Every book I have reviewed by Shari Low is full of emotional twists and turns as well as characters to love. The mix of throwback-themed plot, vintage TV and the way romance is intermingled makes this a 5 star winner of a book for me. What If is about nostalgia, wondering where you may be if you had done something else back in the day and of trying to move on when everyone else seems to have life sorted.

Carly is strong, funny and honest and a protagonist to root for. I am so pleased to have the honour of reviewing What If in the 20th year since its initial publication.

Massive congratulations Shari and thanks to Shari Low, Rachel’s Random Resources and Boldwood Books for an honest and voluntary review. A must for young adults and adults of the 90s and more recent times. I hope it brings you as much nostalgia and fun as it did me and I hope you love this book just as much as I did. The perfect feelgood novel for taking a break from crazy current times and just for any time when you fancy a little nostalgia.

5 sparkly stars.

I just love Shari Low and will read anything she writes. What If did not disappoint. Wonderful read, I highly recommend.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

I’m a huge fan of Shari Low’s brilliant books and it was such a joy to go back to where it all began with the reissuing of her first novel, What If? As punchy, uplifting and addictive as ever, whether you are a devoted fan or a first time reader of Shari’s, you are sure to enjoy What If?

In 1999, Carly Cooper is a single thirty year old woman who has come very close to saying I do to six different men, however, there was always a voice at the back of her head telling her that she might be making a huge mistake. Carly has always cried off and broken off her engagements, but lately she cannot shake off this feeling that maybe she might have turned her back on ‘The One’. Could Carly have been too hasty in writing off her six potential husbands? Has she let Mr Right slip through her fingers? As she begins to play the What If? game, Carly decides to see once and for all whether Prince Charming had been right underneath her nose all along, so she quits her job, moves out of her flat and vows to track down all the men she has ever loved. Will Carly be successful in her quest? Or is she setting herself up for failure and disappointment?

There is, however, a teensy weensy problem. Her boyfriends are scattered all across the world and with this being 1999, Carly cannot just look them up on social media or find them on a dating app. Still she refuses to be deterred and is not about to balk at the first hurdle – not when true love is in her sights. As Carly begins her journey to find out whether one of her exes could be a potential Mr Right, she starts to wonder whether true love could truly be within reach. Should Carly have thought twice before calling time on any one of her relationships? Did she really make the biggest mistake of her life by dumping what could possibly be her Prince Charming? Or was she right all along and had saved herself a lot of heartache?

As each day brings with it a whole new set of questions and dilemmas, Carly starts to think that maybe she should have also considered the fact that her Mr Right might not be out there and that maybe her exes might have all moved on and found their own Ms Right. Will Carly ever find her one true love? Or should she quit while she’s ahead?

Shari Low’s What If? is a fun, uplifting and escapist romantic comedy from one of my favourite women’s fiction writers. Sprinkled with plenty of sass, style and sparkle, What If? is a laugh out loud page-turner guaranteed to brighten up your day – and goodness knows we need all the feel-good romantic comedies we can get at the moment.

I thought Carly was a great heroine. She was flawed, resourceful and somebody you can imagine having a laugh with over a glass of wine. As the book is set in 1999, I enjoyed the ‘historical’ aspect of the book and was quite stunned with how much the world has changed in two decades!

Witty, warm-hearted and wonderful, Shari Low’s What If? is an immensely entertaining read you are sure to love.

This book was okay, it wasn’t as interesting as I had hoped but it was a nice way to spend an afternoon reading. I felt like the story could have used a bit more detail, parts felt a bit rushed.

This is a super fun read. I really enjoyed this one!

Many thanks to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thought I would enjoy this book, but it shows how much it is dated (having been originally released circa the year 2000). The considerations just read over-the-top now, and women hardly go jumping around having their 'mid-life' crisis on the verge of turning 30. This just read as 'too much' for me, which then made the character a tad bit hysterical, for thinking her life and love life are over by 28 (!)
This might've been a great book when it came out and was relevant to the times. Just don't think it has aged well

Another great book! Love a good romance and this hit the spot nicely!

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Loved this book. Shari low is becoming a favourite of mine. Being Scottish I love the humour, fabulous characters & hilarious plot highly recommend this book.

It's fun to check out a romance from 20 years ago and a bit crazy to realize that 90s were 20 years ago! Fun flashback read.

This book was extremely enjoyable. A fun romcom , travelling back in time to the days before mobiles and media.it was full of nostalgia, easy to read with great characters. Loved the song titles as chapter headings. An absolute gem of a book
Thank you to Netgalley, Boldwood Books and Shari for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

What If? by Shari Low was a great book that I struggled to put down. The main character Carly decides she needs to settle down and feels like one of her six great loves of her life really could of been ‘the one’. So Carly quits her job and sets off round the world to find these six men. Will she find ‘the one’?

shari low writes a typical romance novel. she's cute and fun and all lovely and that's sometimes just waht we all need isn't it? valentineds ady!

Have you ever wondered what might have happened if you stayed with your ex? Did you leave the love of your life behind? Well, that’s just what Carly Cooper thinks she has done and she’s decided to do something about it. Her mission to track down her previous partners takes her across the globe on the adventure of a lifetime.

This was a thrilling trip back into the 1990s with plenty of twists and turns along the way. With a fantastic protagonist and likeable characters throughout, this is an immensely fun read. With plenty of wit and humour, it’s packed with Shari Low’s typical sass and flair.

I’ve read a couple of books by Shari Low and enjoyed them thoroughly, this was no exception to that rule. Her uplifting, warm-hearted style is perfect for enjoyable light reading. I would definitely be packing her books to take on holiday!

If you’re looking for a good romance book, you needn’t look any further.

4,5 Stars

This book covers a span of about 12 years, from the late 80s up until 1999. It was also written 20 years ago, which I didn't minded a bit. I still remember those times before social media and smartphones myself.

It seems a bit exaggerated that Carly had no problem at all to always find a job and on top of that a man who was totally in love with her. No matter where she went, it all turned out great for her. But maybe she was simply that good at her job managing night-clubs, and maybe she was so stunning to appeal to all those men. I didn't really care, because I really liked Carly and especially the way Shari Low narrated her quest to re-visit her former boyfriends to find an answer to her question "What if I hadn't run away that time? What if he was the one for me?"

It reminded me of the movie "What's your number" with Anna Faris, who is on a similar search for her true love. But it also quite original in its plot. You can guess that she is not ending up with the first men she is hunting down, since so much of the book is still left. But you're still not sure how it will all end (although I guessed the 'final' guy correctly), and at the final wedding scene everything seems possible.

Very funny and entertaining chick-lit by Shari Low, who once again focusses not only on the love part of her story but also on a very tight friendship between a group of girls, whose scenes I enjoyed just as much as the ones with the lads.

Quick, fun read. I really enjoyed this one. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. This one had me laughing.

I have not picked up the author’s work previously, but I wanted to see what kind of books were being written in this genre all those years ago.
At the start of the book, the author does remind us about the lack of social media and how at the point phones were still tethered to a spot. This reminder is quite essential since (even with the knowledge that I am in the past), I wanted her to jump onto Facebook or use the internet in some way.


Carly Cooper is not a very likeable person, she is self-centred but does care about her immediate circle of family and friends. It makes it hard to watch her fumble through the past and hurt so many people in the process. After every subsequent heart that is broken, she does not seem to learn much from it. It is a dual timeline narrative showing her make those mistakes and in realtime, she is trying to figure out if that was Mr Right all along. I liked the range of travel she ends up doing, and since she works with people, it also brings local ex-pat culture into the foray. Overall it was an entertaining book ( with good friendships), and if given a chance, I might pick up the sequel that is due soon.


It is light with a few more profound moments but is mostly about a woman who looks back at her adventurous past and finally puts some lingering questions to rest. I did guess the ending, but in this genre, that is not necessarily a bad thing, I just did not understand how Carly did not see it coming.

⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

This is the story (or you could call it a journey) of Carly, a character that is very relatable and very normal. The reader will no doubt be able to find a character within this story, if not Carly herself, to relate to. This will make it even more gripping for the reader. Carly's story is told over 20 Chapters (+Epilogue) and is spilt into 2 parts. One thing that is unique straight off about this story is that every chapter has a song attached to it. Now the song may not be mentioned in the chapter but its like this book has come with its very own playlist. The ideal songs to take you back to the year in question.
Readers will find that this book is easy to get into as the chapters flick between Present Carly and Past Carly. I found that as Carly was telling me about her past relationships, that I had a favorite, one who I wanted to be picked in the end. Although my favorite of Carly's past loves was not the one picked, the ending of this story is still brilliant.
Overall I absolutely adored this book, it is 100% relatable which means readers will have a hard time putting it down. It is very easy to read in one sitting and can easily be described as a Laugh out Loud Rom Com. This book will have its readers laughing. Readers won't want to put it down. I know I didn't.

Packed with nostalgia What If? had me laughing and cringing throughout and the pop themed chapter titles are just the perfect added touch.

This books allows us to follow the exuberant and at sometimes exhausting life of Carly Cooper as she hunts down her ex’s from the past in case she accidentally missed out on ‘the one’.

Shari has an amazing talent for bringing so many different characters to life and making you fall in love with their personalities and adventures. Carly Cooper is no exception as she manages to stay so funny and relatable even during her craziest of escapades with the help of some of her fantastic friends.

This book is a trip down memory lane that covers plenty of bumpy ground. A few dramatic diversions help lead us perfectly to Carly’s final destination and all before the times of dodgy Sat Navs.

Excellent read once again from Shari Low. Was good to see how the answer to the age old question What if? panned out. Loved the way the story jumped back and forwards between different time frames.

A love story with lots of humour and one-liners. I loved it.

I really enjoyed this book. The concept of it was really good - all women wonder what their exes are up to at some point in their lives. Well Carly Cooper goes further than just wondering, she actually goes in search of them to see if mr wrong was actually mr right. The story flits from past to present, so you get to know all about the exes. I did like the main character Carly but she did annoy me slightly at how she fell hard and fast for each of her exes.

I especially liked how each chapter had a song title to it, I would then be singing that song in my head throughout the chapter. It was like I had my own karaoke going on whilst reading this book.

I’m so excited that there will be a sequel called What Now which is being released in January 2021.
Huge thanks to Rachel’s Random resources for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.