Gleich zu Anfang: Ich hatte wirklich sehr viel Freude mit dem Buch!!

Es geht um Hannah, die Zimtschnecken liebt, ein bisschen lost kst und nirgendwo richtig ankommt, sich aber nach einer gescheiterten Beziehung entscheidet, zurück nach L.A. zu ihrer besten Freundin Gabby zu ziehen. Dort trifft sie Ethan, ihre Highschool-Liebe wieder UND DANN führt eine kleine Entscheidung dazu, dass wir Hannahs Geschichte im Folgenden in 2 verschiedenen Universen verfolgen dürfen.

Das Konzept ist wirklich gut umgesetzt. Ich fand es suoer interessant, die beiden Welten parallel zu lesen, zu sehen, welche Auswirkungen eine solch banale Entscheidung hat und wie aber sich dennoch manche Dinge einfach fügen und alles kommt, wie es kommt.
Die Figuren sind auch alle soo gut geschrieben. Hannah ist so lustig, mutig, einfach zum Liebhaben. Auch die Nebenfiguren (besonders Gabby) sind einfach so toll. Es ist so wholesome alles in allem.

Der Schreibstil ist, wie ich ja bereits wusste, soo gut. Ich bin nur so durch die Seiten gefolgen. Ich mochte, dass die Kapitel so kurz und leicht zum Lesen sind. Man kommt soo schnell durch die Geschichtee. War bisschen traurig, als es vorbei war

Ich hatte so viel Spaß, musste kichern und lachen und den Kopf schütteln und hatte ab und an ein Tränchen in den Augen.
 Es war eine Freudeee. UND es ist leichte Lektüre und trotzdem irgendwie deep und nachdenklich machend zugleich. Kann ich sehr empfehlen :))

Maybe In Another Life is a Taylor Jenkins Reid novel following a woman named Hannah as she makes a choice that changes the trajectory of her life. This book follows both of those choices, whether she goes home with her friends or goes home with her ex boyfriend. 

The setting of Los Angeles was just as beautiful and idyllic as it is in real life, the weather was nice and from what we could see the places were good to visit as well.

I loved the idea of two timelines and seeing what would happen if a person makes one choice over the other. That is such a good concept and one I hope that more books will do in the future! It was nice to see certain things that happened when Hannah either got involved with Ethan or a nurse named Henry. Both men were really nice and good for Hannah so it was hard to chose which one was better! I do still wondered what happened to the sweet stray dog that Ethan and Hannah in the Henry timeline. I hoped that sweet girl was okay.  

Fate is such an interesting thing and I loved how this book talked about it. How sometimes fate can change your life or help you out in ways you never expected. Using Hannah as the person we follow and has her fate decided by one choice was a really nice and relatable idea. I love Taylor Jenkins Reid and I can't wait to read more of her books! 

A simple choice faces Hannah; go home with a friend, or stay out and party with an ex-boyfriend. But what consequences await her? Does she make the 'right' decision? Watch her life unfold in both scenarios in a 'Sliding Doors'esque tale and consider the concepts of fate, soul mates and whether everything happens for a reason. 

I've never really been drawn to this author's works as they're just not my usual genre, but she was the latest pick for my work's book club. When I looked at the blurb for this book, it seemed like the most logical choice for me; the 'what if' scenario is one I do tend to enjoy and so I hoped that would make it a bit easier for me to get through. 

Generally speaking, this is a perfectly good book. Despite jumping between two alternative realities, the narrative is easy to follow, engaging and a little thought provoking. There are certainly darker moments within it, but overall it's also quite a light read. I did enjoy the examination and comparison of the two timelines and how the smallest decision can lead to far reaching consequences, while also being able to see the threads of life weaving their way through both realities. 

That being said, the pairing of certain moments in both realities meant that the story was ultimately very predictable. When taking the genre of the story into consideration, it became even more so - it feels like there should have been more surprises after the major difference at the outset, but there just aren't any. It therefore very quickly became a game of trying to work out where in the other narrative particular events would happen.

I loved the soulmate element, particularly the premise that your soulmate depends on what universe you're in (yay for the multi-verse theory!). It actually fits very well with my own outlook on life - I absolutely believe there is one perfect person out there for everyone. But the choices you make might just change who that person is. I thought this was a very clever spin on the subject and I have to applaud the writer for her beautiful explanation and illustration of the theory.

But, overall there is something missing from this book for me. For a story that does deal with some quite deep ideas and themes, it feels incredibly shallow - I can't say that I engaged with the characters or felt the world coming to life around me as I read. The introduction felt like a last minute addition to serve purely as an info-dump and was pretty much entirely unnecessary, and even those moments where you should have been deeply feeling the characters' feelings were tempered by a lack of anything below the surface.

It's not that there's anything inherently wrong or bad about the book... it just didn't speak to me in the way I hoped it would.

Interesting exploration of meta-universe and our ideal life.

I guess the point is that both realities can be happening concurrently but that really stretches the boundaries of my brain function. I found myself liking one version of the story more than the other but not really loving the outcomes of either. This is not, imo, TJR’s best novel. It was cute, interesting, heart-wrenching but ultimately, just okay. 

Taylor Jenkins Reid is the queen of writing timelines and perspectives. I have nearly made my way through every book she has written and you can really see her writing improve with each book she writes. I definitely enjoyed "Maybe in Another Life" and 'One True Loves more than "Forever, Interrupted" and "After I Do" but every Taylor Jenkins Reid book I consume, draws me in and provides an experience so different to the last. So far nothing has come close to Evelyn Hugo for me. That book and woman will have my heart and soul forever.

The concept for Maybe in Another Life is really interesting. I have always found the idea of alternate and parallel universes equally fascinating and completely overwhelming, so to explore that concept played out in a book was really a fun and new reading experience for me. I really loved Hannah and Gabby's friendship. I really loved Hannah and Ethan's relationship and their friendship. I really loved Hannah and Henry's relationship. I loved Carl and Tina as parents and Gabby teaching her dad about the importance of feminism and equality. There was just so much to love about this book.