Review: What If by A.J. Pine

What If 
by A.J. Pine
Released Date: December 8th 2014 by Entangled Publishing
Series: f Only... #2
Pages: 300
View/Purchase: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N
Author's Links: Website, Goodreads, Twitter

Sometimes it takes letting go of the past to find out who you want to be.

During his semester abroad, Griffin Reed almost gave his heart to a girl who loved someone else. Lesson learned. Now he’s home, where following in his father’s footsteps may not be what he wants, but it’s what his parents expect. It might be taking the easy road, but he doesn’t see a way out.

Something that could have killed Maggie Kendall took away the person she used to be instead. Her condition makes her dependent on sticky notes, photos, and medication just to get through each day. The last thing she needs is a distraction—or someone new to disappoint.

What they refuse to see is they are perfect for each other. Maggie makes Griffin want to be a better man, and he makes her believe a future is possible. But these two have to find a way to share the secrets ripping them apart, if they’re ever going to have a chance at happiness.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

My Review:

What If is A.J. Pine's second book in the If Only Series, If Only been the first book which I did not read prior to reading this book. Now, What If can be read as a stand-alone, the author does a good job explaining what happened in the first book that I see no need to read it unless you actually want to know more of Griffin's past. 

After spending some time abroad, Griffin Reed has come back home ready to move on with his life. Having learned a few lessons on love, he knows that he is not ready to give his heart to anyone anytime soon. But that soon changes when an unexpected encounter makes him question whether giving his heart to Maggie might just be what he needs in order to move on.

Maggie Kendall has lived her life with a condition that requires her to depend on her closets friends, and on her trusted sticky notes, photos, and medication to get by. It is important to her to take pictures of just about anything in order to remember people and/or events. Now the last thing that she wants is a distraction, and not just any distraction, she can't afford to have a romantic relationship with anyone, afraid of disappointing the other person. Take a turn of events and she meets the one person she can't seem to forget or get enough of. She does everything to establish a safe distance between her and Griffin, but destiny has other plans and he keeps coming back to her. 

Afraid of not taking a risk, she decides to give him a chance, and that's when their relationship takes off. As the two start to learn more about each other, she learn about Griffin's past love and of his family. When she learns that Griffin might not be strong enough to adjust to her condition, she turns her back on him, but Griffin is determined to win her back no matter what, and to do that he is going to have to make decisions that might just change his future for good. 

What I enjoyed about the book is how complex the characters are, they both have their own pasts that they want to move away from, and the author does a good job exploring that. It was beautifully written, and realistic enough that it made it enjoyable to read. Now I do wish there was more development towards the end, it felt a bit rushed. The characters have an instant chemistry that was carried throughout the book, that worked really well. Overall, I would definitely recommend anyone to read the book, even though I didn't read the “first” book, it would be fine to read What If as a stand-alone novel. 

*ARC provided by Entangled Publishing in return for an honest review*

My Rating: 

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