What Might Have Been tells a story of choices and what Lucy's life looks like in the two different choices. In her two different storylines you see a relationship with two different men, Max and Caleb. I'm sad to say the book wasn't my cup of tea and find it a task to read. I failed to connect with the book and the characters, I normally don't mind simultaneous timelines but hated it in this book and I didn't find myself invested in Lucy's journey.

This is my second book by this author and both are great contemporary romantic reads.

This one follows Lucy. After 8 years in her current job quits after her boss hires someone else for a promotion. Lucy is drowning her sorrows in a bar when she gets talking to a guy. Then not long after she sees her ex-boyfriend walk past the bar and she leaves the guy at the bar to go and talk to him.

Then the book splits into two halves. A bit like the Sliding Door film. What would have happened if she made a different choice.

One follows Lucy as she gets back with her Ex and moves to London and starts a new job in her perfect position. The other follows Lucy if she goes on a date with the guy at the bar, stays home and starts to write a novel.

I really loved seeing how Lucy's life could have been different from just that one choice she made. I did enjoy the chapters more when she stayed home trying to write a novel. I did shed a few tears along the way reading this book. And to be honest, at the end of the book I couldn't decide which path I thought was right for Lucy. It also had me thinking about the choices I make in my life.

Really enjoyed this one. 4/5 stars

After reading Miller’s debut, The Sight of You, I had high hopes for her second book. In her latest offering, we follow main character Lucy at a crossroads in her life - deciding whether to move to London and the chance of a fresh start and the job she’s been after for years, with the possibility of rekindling a past relationship, or staying put in her hometown Shoreley to follow her lifelong dream of becoming an author. Think Sliding Doors. There’s a content warning in here which is a potential spoiler - check out at the end if you want to know more.

This was such an engaging read - I loved Max and Caleb from both of her “what if” lies; whilst they’re very different they each have their own swoon factor. But her relationship with each leading man are just so engaging, so romantic and just lovely. I loved how her lives with these men unfolded.

Miller is also great at putting her characters throw difficult situations, and in this she effectively has written two stories - so when a huge secret is revealed in one of the lives, Lucy from the other life continues blissfully unaware - and that’s so heartbreaking.

The theme running through this story is all about following your dreams, and I loved how it’s not just the dreams of our main character Lucy - it’s for all the characters in this story. And I loved how this story plays out. Another great read from Miller (but for me it lacked the emotional sucker punch of her debut).

Thanks to NetGalley, the team at Hodder & Stoughton, and the author for the opportunity to read this review copy.

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⚠️Content warning/potential spoilers: there’s reference to date rape/sexual assault and the after effects ⚠️

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

This story is told in two timelines and viewpoints

Lucy has a choice to make - Go or Stay

She’s just quit her job, it wasn’t what she was informed she’d be doing eventually. As she loves reading her horoscopes, she reads on her phone what’s in store for her today and it says…today she will meet her soulmate.

Debating whether to stay where she’s lives her whole life and follow her dream or go and take up a job in London.

Nearing making a decision, Lucy goes to the pub, where she meets Caleb. Whilst talking to him, looking out the window she sees her ex Max, unable to stop herself, goes to say hello.

Both these characters are a part of her future, the path she chooses will determine how that future will look like.

No matter which path we choose, our future is already planned in front of us, it’s just how we get there that matters.

It was nice how the stories were linked together, not knowing which path Lucy would take.

As for how this book ended, well, that was sad, I never saw that coming.

Recommend this Book.

This is a book that will stay with me for a long time. It’s such a great read and so though provoking.

I love the 'sliding doors' idea - and so was super excited for this.
However, this book was just a little too difficult to follow at times. It also felt quite slow paced - which is unusual for a book with dual timelines.

I just couldn't get into this book fully.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for approving me for this arc

I enjoy Miller’s writing but this didn’t quite hit the spot for me I was a big fan of the back and forth but the concept is really good!

This one had an interesting concept with the duel storylines and possible paths for Lucy’s future to take. Overall the outcome wasn’t worth the read. I thought it was very drawn out and had little desire to return to this book unfortunately.

WHAT IF.......
What if, when Lucy walks away from her job she moves to London?
What if, when Lucy walks away from her job she stays, gets a part time job and starts to write a novel?
Will she be happy? Will she meet the one?
Real life is full of decisions and roads not taken. This novel takes both roads and allows Lucy to find out what if.
Sometimes with novels like this it is difficult to remember which character is on which path in which timeline. 'What Might Have Been' was very easy to follow and emotionally uplifting.
Certainly a book for discussion.

That was unexpected. Of course, I have read the description on the cover before started but still... that was something far more different from what I expected here.

At first, I did not feel it at all, but then, page by page, I was so focused on it and lost in the story, that I finished it without even realizing that I spend the last few hours doing nothing but reading.

I like to idea. Two ways of telling the stories. One decision and then life after that. There is a proof that life is never just black and white and every step, even the smallest one, matters. I needed that very, very much.

This book makes me thing about me, my life, how does it look and what I would like to have from it. What I can change, what matters to me most. So it is not only a nice (ok, GREAT!) story to spend some time with but also kinda lesson to stop and take a deep breath.

I'm looking forward to read next book of the author ;)

Lucy's life is at a crossroads; she's lost her job: will she go to London to try and restart her career, or use her savings to rekindle her ambition of writing a novel? Interesting novel that plays with the different ways Lucy's life plays out, depending on what she chooses. I enjoyed it, but it didn't pack the emotional punch for me that Holly Miller's first book, The Sight Of You, did.

Stay in Shorely and see what happens with Caleb or move to London and try again with Max? Who is the soulmate her horoscope said she is about to meet? That's the question facing 20-something Lucy who has been living in her sister's house and nursing the aftereffects of both a broken love affair with Max and something bad that happened while she was traveling in Australia. So why not look at it both ways? Weaving back and forth between Stay chapters with Caleb where Lucy starts a novel and works in a gift shop and GO where she moves to London to flatshare with her friend Jools, work at the ad agency Supernova, and love Max. But Max has a secret which impacts a lot of lives. I liked that Miller has included Lucy's friends and family in the stay/go continuum- her parents, her sister, Jools- and that their lives changed depending on her choices. Everyone's paths cross more than once and the two options are both similar and different enough that the reader will be kept guessing. Lucy occasionally annoyed me (she gets a bit dramatic in spots) but on balance, she's an engaging character you'll root for. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read.

I found this book hard to understand and very silly - stories told twice but in a different way. I did not really enjoy it and therefore can not recommend it.

My thanks to Netgalley for the ARC

I really enjoyed this book. The story moved along at a steady pace and made me want to keep reading.

I loved the ‘Sliding Doors’ concept and found it really interesting to see how these parallel lives would unfold. The switching between lives/narratives was done really well and I was never confused about which timeline I was following.

Holly Miller has a real talent for creating likeable characters, with flaws and depth. I also find the concept of fate fascinating, and the discussion around how we can control our own destiny with cleverly done. I liked how some incidents occurred in both narratives and how despite Lucy’s choices, some things were always meant to be.

It’s another novel by Holly Miller that really packs an emotional punch and I honestly really enjoyed it.

I absolutely loved What Might Have Been by Holly Miller. It was such a beautiful and sweeping romance. It was full of warmth and heart, but also devastating heartbreak. This is a romance that will make you smile wide but also shed a fair few tears.

What Might Have Been is a fantastic sliding doors romance. Our protagonist Lucy finds herself at a crossroads. She’s just quit her job and has no idea what to do next. Does she try to write the novel she’s always wanted to write or move to London to re-start her career? On the same day she quits, she meets Caleb, a handsome stranger in a bar, but also runs into Max, the one time love of her life. What follows
are the two paths that Lucy’s life could have taken, whether she chose Caleb and staying home or moving to London and Max.

I loved the way that Miller told Lucy’s story. After meeting Celeb and seeing Max, each chapter that follows focuses on either stay or go. The alternating chapters follow the same timeline throughout the novel. For the most part Lucy’s choice takes her down very different paths, yet there are inevitable crossovers between them. Never once do you feel as though you are reading the same story, however, instead these crossovers show just how differently things can turn out, raising those what if questions. These ripple effects changes also have an impact beyond Lucy, onto her family and friends as well. It made for such a great read and was so cleverly done.

I really liked Lucy as the main character, I was rooting for her throughout. There were issues from her past that Lucy had to work through throughout her stories, and I enjoyed reading about the different ways she did so. I also loved her friend Jools, she was so supportive and such a great friend throughout. As for Lucy’s love interests, I enjoyed reading about both of them, though I preferred Caleb for her over Max. That said the chemistry was very believable in each case, and you could really feel how much Lucy deeply cared for each of them.

There is a twist towards the end of the book. I would never wish to give anything away, but all I’ll say is be prepared with tissues.

This was such a brilliant and unique love story. It’s amazing to think about how much your life could change following one moment, one choice, whether to stay or go. This is a story of choices, love, soulmates, joy and heartbreak. It was brilliant.

Wow this book is really special, I am new to Holly Miller and I loved this so much.
It is set in 2 different timelines based on the life of Lucy. In the beginning, Lucy has walked out on her job and is at a crossroads in her life. Should she move to London, take a job with another agency, with the chance that she maybe able to rekindle her old romance with Max or should she stay in her hometown and write the novel she has always wanted to. This story gives us both options, whether she stays or goes.
I loved this style of writing, so different to what I have recently read and so interesting to see how Lucy's life evolves over the two timelines. The stories were similar in parts with similar events and interesting to see the outcomes in both stories. It makes you think about destiny and if your life really is mapped out. Is it a case that your life may follow a different path through different choices you make but in the end you end up where you belong, it may just take you longer to get there.
Its a roller coaster of a book, be prepared with tissues, its made me laugh and cry and I was not expecting the ending at all. Again, all I can say is what a story

I'm a big fan of Sliding Door-style stories and this one was done incredibly well.
I was definitely invested in both alternating storylines.
I also appreciated that my thoughts on which one of the two lives I would have chosen changed throughout the book.
I also wasn't sure how it would end and the final twist was an unexpected one.
The pace does slow at parts, which is what stopped me from giving it more than 4 stars. But I did certainly enjoy it.
This is the first book that I've read from Holly Miller but I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more books from her.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Lucy‘s life is at a crossroads. Should she stay in the seaside town she grew up in or should she move to London?

While making her decision she runs into her old love Max and on the same night she meets a stranger, Caleb, in a bar.

Now we are told the story in dual timelines and different points of view. The first is told as if she stays and the other if she moves to London.

Reminiscent of sliding doors I can highly recommend this cleverly written book.

HOLLY MILLER - WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN.

This is a sliding doors style story. Two different outcomes, based on choices and circumstance.
Lucy has quit her job
and now finds herself in a situation where she can either stay in her hometown, write the novel she’s always wanted to write and persue a possible new love interest.
OR…
She can head to London and take up a lucrative job where she will basically do what she did in her old job.
London also holds the promise of a new start with Max… her one that got away.

As we follow the two paths that Lucy could possibly take, we are hauled through a range of emotions that will tug at your heartstrings.

This book is clever, thoughtfully written and will touch your heart.

Holly Miller is clearly an exceptional writer, as we discovered in her first book, The Sight Of You.
What Might Have Been, doesn’t disappoint. It’s a moving story, full of heart and love.

I did find that I wanted to give Lucy a bit of a shake at times during the story, but over all, this book is outstanding and has an utterly stunning ending.

Four beautiful and glorious stars from me…
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With thanks to #NetGalley and #Hodder&Stoughton for a digital arc of #What MightHave Been by #HollyMiller.

The book starts with Lucy having quit her job. That night she’s in the local pub and meets a handsome stranger, Caleb, and whilst talking to him spots her ex, the ‘one that got away’ a decade earlier, outside and runs out to see him. Then follows two scenarios – in a ‘sliding doors’ esque style – one where she goes to London to a fancy new job and the prospect of hooking back up with Max, and the other where she stays in her seaside hometown of Shorely to try her hand at writing a novel and getting to know Caleb better.

So far so romantic comedy style book. But it is so much more than that.

As with ‘The Sight of You’ Holly Miller’s writing is exquisite and, despite the modern setting, feels like ‘proper’ literature again.

The storylines run concurrently – shifting between ‘Stay’ and ‘Go’ each chapter. I really enjoyed both storylines – and couldn’t pick a favourite. Neither are plain sailing – but both have a fabulous story arc. There are some very clever crossovers where either the same event happens in both storylines – or very different things happen depending on character’s decisions. It was done flawlessly and shows how clever the author – and editor – have been it making it seamless. (I appreciate I am a geek for admiring such things – but it’s a badge I’m very prepared to wear!)

It also wasn’t predictable at all – and Max and Caleb made very different, but both lovely, leading men.

I also LOVED the final chapter – it left you wondering about soulmates and fate and destiny and what ifs – perfect!

This is not a ‘difficult second album’ book – it’s fabulous again. Holly Miller is definitely going to be a ‘go to’ author for me in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC – and the book’s out in March 2022, so not too long to wait.