REVIEW: Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

In Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Hannah Martin is headed home to Los Angeles to stay with her BFF Gabby and regroup. She really thought moving around from city to city across the country would help her find her niche. Her place in the world. But the less-than-stellar ending to her romance in NYC was the final straw. Downtrodden, Hannah knows it’s time to get her life in order before everything passes her by.

‘Fate or not, our lives are still the results of our choices. I’m starting to think that when we don’t own them, we don’t own ourselves.’

When Hannah sees former boyfriend Ethan at her welcome home party at the local bar, her decision whether to stay with him and reconnect or to just go home for the night with Gabby seems like a turning point. What happens next depends upon what she chooses to do. Staying with Ethan could mean the chance at a new beginning with Hannah’s high school sweetheart. Or could there be someone else meant to be her one true love?

‘I no longer believe that all’s fair in love and war. In fact, I’d go so far as to say your actions in love are not an exception to who you are. They are, in fact, the very definition of who you are.’

Some stories are pretty straight forward and leave you sighing happily. Others can make you angry they didn’t follow the ‘normal’ formula. Maybe in Another Life was neither of those. This was a book that not only gave us TWO positive endings, but it raised many questions about fate, destiny, and consequences.

“I know there may be universes out there where I made different choices and they led me somewhere else, led me to someone else. And my heart breaks for every single version of me that didn’t end up with you.”

I honestly would have given this novel a fairly high rating simply for the fact that the unique idea of two concurrent storylines depicting two different endings based on Hannah’s choices worked perfectly. Thankfully, the writing itself was also spot-on. The emotions were realistic and raw, and had me completely wrapped up in Hannah’s situations. And while both endings were left on a happy note, it still gave some room to wonder what might happen in the future for her and the romantic connection(s) she made.

One thing that impressed me was how Taylor Jenkins Reid was able to write the simultaneous storylines by alternating chapters and it wasn’t that confusing. Toward the end when lines began to blur between the two situations I got a little bit muddled, but I thought it was intended to be that way based on how the people and events were intersecting. I know…it’s difficult to understand unless you’ve read the book. I will warn that I can’t really mention too much about the characters, either, without giving away the incredible differences of how things worked out based on what Hannah decided the night Ethan asked her to stay at the party with him.

In true women’s fiction style, Hannah showed a tremendous amount of personal growth. I did like her from the beginning, although I may not have agreed with some decisions she had previously made. But, admirably, she wanted to finally grow up and find her true place in the world. That took guts. It helped that she had the unending support of her friend Gabby, who we also followed in connection with Hannah’s story. I loved the support system they’d built with each other. They were a shining example of what best friends can be. And I think that was what really made the difference between them derailing when things got tough, or getting their act together. That support kept them on the path to healing and finding forever love.

This thought-provoking story is bound to bring up philosophical questions about our lives being predestined, or a product of the choices we make. No matter what school of thought you follow, the intelligence and realistic manner in which Maybe in Another Life was written will catch your attention and hold it until the very final page.

Book Info:

Published July 7th 2015 | by Washington Square Press |

From the acclaimed author of Forever, Interrupted and After I Do comes a breathtaking new novel about a young woman whose fate hinges on the choice she makes after bumping into an old flame; in alternating chapters, we see two possible scenarios unfold—with stunningly different results.

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 storylines, 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.