The Year of What If by Phaedra Patrick #Review

 

I am delighted to join in the celebrations for the latest novel by Phaedra Patrick, The Year of What If. You can read my review of The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper  here and The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy  here

Can the future be rewritten?

On the verge of her second marriage, Carla Carter knows she’s finally found the one. She and her fiancé, Tom, met through Logical Love, a dating agency she founded for the pragmatically minded, and she’s confident that, together, they will dispel an old family curse claiming Carter women are unlucky in love.

But Carla’s highly superstitious family insists she visit a fortune teller before her big day, and the tarot cards reveal that a different man holds the key to Carla’s happiness – someone she met while travelling during a gap year, twenty-one years ago. This startling information spurs Carla to trace and revisit the ex-boyfriends she met during that time before she walks down the aisle.

From Barcelona to Amsterdam, Turkey to Paris, will Carla find her perfect match? And can a face from her past help Carla rewrite her entire family history, forever?

 My Thoughts

Carla is on a quest to discover whether ‘the One’ lies amongst her ex boyfriends or might turn out to be the man she is due to marry. This takes her on a journey around Europe and some meetings with people from her past. Each meeting shows her something about herself that she had not realised. In fact, she realises what she doesn’t want even if she is still confused about what she should do.

Family is everything to Clara but there are secrets and mysteries in her family’s past which have to be faced. In setting up her agency to match partners, Clara has used a pseudo scientific approach to matching her clients. Using algorithms, she sees the process as a straightforward transaction and largely predictable. Her journey to revisit her past shows up the shortcomings of this approach. As she makes her decision as to who she will choose, Clara asserts her independence and coping strategies. Her family is highly superstitious and believes that generations have been cursed in love. She is sceptical at first but finds some answers to the truth behind this view. With plenty of variety in characters and settings, this is a story which carries you along. I did find Tom, her fiancé, somewhat irritating at times but you are never sure who Clara will choose. Despite some catastrophes, this is a hopeful tale as Clara moves past wondering ‘what if? ‘ to looking forward to ‘what next?’

In short: can the past show the way forward?

About the Author

Phaedra Patrick is the bestselling author of several novels, including The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, which has been translated into twenty-five languages worldwide. Her second novel, Rise and Shine Benedict Stone, was made into a Hallmark movie. An award-winning short story writer, she previously studied art and marketing and has worked as a stained glass artist, film festival organizer and communications manager. Phaedra lives in Saddleworth, UK, with her family.

You can follow Phaedra here: X (Twitter) Aria |  X (Phaedra Patrick)  Instagram  |  Instagram Head of Zeus  |  Facebook

Book links 

Thanks to Thanks to Phaedra Patrick, Aria and Rachel of Rachel's Random Resources for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

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