Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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 story lines, 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. – Goodreads

When I was reading the first chapter of this, I was really worried that I was going to hate it. I didn’t click with Hannah right away, and in that first part she seems so… whiny and needy and… terrible. She was not someone I wanted to click with, to be perfectly honest. But then, I kept reading and it clicked and the story got SO GOOD. I’m so glad I stuck with it!

I know I say this a lot, but I really haven’t ever read anything like this before. It’s two separate stories, about the same girl – the only difference is the decision she made one night and how her life played out afterwards. It’s a great reminder of how the littlest things can send your entire life down a completely different track and I love that lesson! Have you ever thought ‘if I had done x instead of x… where would I be right now?’ or ‘if I had taken this job instead of this one… would I have met this person still?’ – it’s crazy to think that all of these seemingly little decisions we make every day of our lives, add up to such big ones!

I will say that I favored one storyline much more than another… the one where Hannah leaves the bar, I think is my favorite. She grows so much because of the incidents that follow, matures and finds someone absolutely perfect for her. On the other hand, I love Hannah and Gabby’s relationship/friendship/being there for eachother in the storyline where she stays at the bar… either way though, I love the book!

I gave Maybe in Another Life 5/5 stars on Goodreads & I definitely say take a chance on this one – stick through the first chapter, stick through until you see the different paths Hannah has in front of her, and I’m betting by then? You’ll be hooked just like I was.