Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid is a cute, easy-to-read romance novel. After a failed relationship and living in multiple cities, Hannah decides to go back home to LA, where she grew up. As her parents and sister moved to live in London, her home is really the home of her childhood friend Gabby. Gabby welcomes her with the open arms.
Gabby and Hannah attend Hannah’s homecoming party with some old friends, including her old boyfriend Ethan. There are some residual feelings on both sides. As the night progresses, and Gabby and her husband are ready to leave the party, Hannah needs to decide if she is going with them or staying longer with Ethan. Each decision takes her on a unique and completely different life path. Do people make those choices at random, or do they make them driven by pre-determined fate? Is there a soulmate, is there only one, or there could be many soulmates? Those are some of the questions that are explored in this novel. Hannah has two life stories, based on her decision to leave the party or stay. Even though she ends up with different people in the two scenarios, in each one she felt her life was great, and she was with the right person. In either, she thought she met her soulmate. What's consistent in either path is her true friendship with Gabby and the love of her family. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It is a quick read, might not be super deep or too complex, but it does get us thinking about the paths we've taken and where they took us. And what if...