REVIEW: If I Were You by Cesca Major

In If I Were You by Cesca Major, Flynn knows that every couple goes through some rough patches. Especially if they’ve been together for two years and are about to take things to the next level and move in together. But something just feels off lately with Amy. Then again, after Flynn’s not so stellar track record in the romance department, he might be projecting. Things go completely off the rails, however, on their way to Amy’s sister’s wedding weekend in Devon. An argument reaches a fever pitch during a bad storm, leaving Flynn and Amy to pull over on a dark country lane. Just as they both begin to yell their frustration, a huge bolt of lightning hits them, altering their weekend–if not the rest of their lives–unexpectedly.

‘Everything feels so solid and real around me. I feel the body I’m in move, I see the hand with the painted nails reach out… And I realise whose body I am in. I’m in Amy’s body. And she is in mine.’

When Amy comes to in the rain on the side of the road, she’s horrified to realize *she’s in Flynn’s body* somehow. Knowing this weekend is make or break for her beloved older sister, needing to be there as her support and her head bridesmaid, Amy has no clue how she and Flynn can make this work. There are so many things he doesn’t know about her relationship with Laura or things in her own past. But she has a feeling there’s a lot Flynn hasn’t explained about himself either, which will make things tricky being around his former school mates. Let alone, you know, being in a guy’s body, not knowing how to carry herself or act around people. All Amy knows for certain is if they are going to convince everyone nothing’s wrong, she and Flynn will have to do so as a team. It’s just too bad that as they (barely) make it through day one it becomes clear that communication is not their strong suit at the moment.

‘It seems swapping bodies might be the least of my problems.’

A body swap romance that added even more chaos to an already anxiety-filled wedding weekend getaway, IF I WERE YOU ran the emotional gamut and then some, but in a good way.

‘We can work together: we’re a couple, a team. Of course we can pull this off. Can’t we?’

IF I WERE YOU ratcheted up the awkwardness of a body swap story tenfold with the complicated relationships between main characters Amy and Flynn as well as with their friends and loved ones. And I have to be honest that the middle of the book–as one might expect from this type of story–was a big old mess of missteps, flubs, and face-palm moments. Which made my anxiety spike. (lol) But in between all those comical shenanigans and issues, there was a sweetness and tenderness between Flynn and Amy that made me continue to cheer them on, even when they made me shake my head with their actions or lack of communication.

I truly thought Cesca Major’s writing voice was impressive. Not only did she weave together several darker bits of Amy’s and Flynn’s pasts, pointing out how it affected them as adults, but she also showed such insight into male and female personal relationships–including gender bias. The couple had to navigate everything from lifelong friendships to the intricacies of family ties. And all of that was further complicated due to both Flynn *and* Amy not being totally honest about their history with a few of the wedding attendees. Cue the drama.

But as Amy and Flynn began to piece together what was holding them back in their own relationship and what specifically they needed to talk out (mostly about past trauma), it was easy to see why they were drawn together in the first place. Flynn and Amy were a well-balanced pair. Well, when they were actively communicating, that is. And seeing themselves through their own eyes, while it was a bit mind-bending, they learned how loved they already were by those around them–and how surprisingly different (and difficult) the other gender’s daily lives were. Those scenes about Amy noticing how easy it could be to come across as domineering and Flynn seeing how his opinions were brushed aside, were spot on as well as thoughtful.

QOTD: There was an epic flash mob scene at the end of the book readers will love. Have you ever been part of a flash mob? Or seen one?

Book Info:

Publication: Published: September 24th, 2024 | William Morrow |

From the author of Maybe Next Time comes a funny and emotional read about a couple struggling in their relationship who accidentally swap bodies on their way to a family wedding weekend.

Amy and Flynn have been dating for two years. And they love each other. Don’t they?

Only Amy can’t read Flynn’s mind and Flynn can’t read Amy’s. Little do they know this weekend is make or break.

Amy’s nervous older sister is getting married at the world’s swankiest wedding venue in rural Devon and is relying on her younger sister to be the perfect Chief Bridesmaid. Frustrations on the way to the wedding escalate until both Amy and Flynn are shouting at each other in a country lane during a thunderstorm. Why can’t they see things from the other’s point of view? When lightning strikes, Flynn and Amy are thrown to the ground, and when they stand back up they realize—they’ve switched bodies.

Forced to attend the glamorous wedding weekend as each other is surely an impossible task. With spa mornings, exes, flash mob rehearsals, speeches and more, getting through this swap will test their relationship to breaking point. And when they each discover big secrets in the other’s past—it seems that switching bodies could be the least of their problems. Even if they do manage to swap back—can their relationship survive?