The “sliding doors” plot trope is a favorite of mine. You may be familiar—especially if you’ve seen the movie of the same name with Gwenyth Paltrow! A character approaches a critical point in their life. They can make a choice—do they go left? Or do they go right? From that point on, the narrative splits. We, as readers, follow the character in each reality until there is a moment of resolution and a final choice is made.

In this case, Laurel Everett finds an engagement ring “hidden” in her boyfriend’s dresser drawer. The discovery sends her spiraling. She loves Ollie, but will she love him forever? What about her handsome coworker, Drew? They are good friends, that is true, but there was that time five years ago when he asked her out. Should she have said yes to that date, even though she and Ollie were already dating?

Laurel’s what-if-wonderings weigh heavily on her mind as Drew tells her about the new AI project he and his team have been working on. The program, AltR, may help Laurel choose between Ollie and Drew. But only if she can figure out how to stop switching between realities.

As I said, I’m a big fan of the sliding doors trope … not such a big fan of understanding how the sliding doors work. Jilly Gagnon’s WHAT IF IT’S YOU has much to recommend, but the deep dive into quantum physics wasn’t my jam. I would have preferred more details about the main characters and their relationships instead of adding more characters to the canvas to try to explain to Laurel and the reader what is happening, how, and why.

Ollie, as described, brings a lot of golden retriever energy, which Laurel seems to respond to with waning patience. The small glimpses of their origins as a couple aren’t enough to illustrate the connection that has bound them together for five years. There is a similar issue between Laurel and Drew. We are told that Drew is a genius, and very handsome, and that they click as good friends. However, the motivation behind Laurel’s willingness to walk away from a five-year relationship would have benefited from deeper character development. The references to Laurel’s parents’ failed marriage come out of the blue and are only explored in passing. Yet, their relationship seems to be a considerable issue in Laurel’s relationship decision-making.

I made it about 70% of the way through the book before sighing and just skimmed through to the end so I could find out what would happen. There is too much exposition, too much physics, and too little character connection.

Now, all that said, WHAT IF IT’S YOU has good bones. I found the resolution satisfying; I don’t want to give anything away, but the fact that Laurel’s choice ended up having less to do with either Ollie or Drew was a compelling and meaningful way to wrap up the narrative. (I’m willfully ignoring the epilogue—it just wasn’t necessary, in my opinion.)

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!