Review: What If – Kelly Rae

One fateful night during high school Katie Wright loses everything: her father, the first man she ever loved, dies in a car accident and Chris Staller, the first boy she’s ever loved, breaks her heart. Fast-forward ten years and Katie is a beautiful, successful woman who has spent the past decade doing her best to make her life all about work, keeping everyone at arms length—friends and lovers alike. But she’s lonely and beginning to awaken to the fact that pretending to be happy and content doesn’t mean she actually is. Working through her emotional challenges while maintaining a stellar career reputation has been tricky, but she’s always determined to come out on top.

Paying a visit to her old high school, Katie runs into Chris, now a dedicated PE teacher who pines for the one he let get away: her. An upstanding member of the community and a much better man than he was a boy, Chris is determined to win Katie back at all cost. But Katie is less than receptive to the idea, and when he lays down a challenge, she is determined to come out on top again.

Series:
Release Date:  May 1, 2012
Publisher:  Blossom Press
Source: Bewitching Book Tours
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

Katie and Chris were high school sweethearts.  She asked him out by mistake, but it ended up being the best mistake she ever made.  But when his popularity started to rise at school, he started pushing Katie to the back burner for other girls.  Their love story came to an abrupt end when Katie catches Chris kissing another girl at a party and calls her father to pick her up.  Only her father never makes it to get her, as he’s in an accident with a drunk driver.

Fast forward ten years and we find Katie Wright making her way back to her hometown as the new Assistant DA.  She’s not sure why she needed to take this job, but she has and it’s given her a chance to reconnect with her best friend after leaving everything behind after her father died.

What If is about letting go of the past, forgiving yourself and trying to make a future with the one person that makes you happy.  Chris and Katie definitely do not have an easy road with their relationship.  They have their past relationship to work through, which would be enough, but they also have Katie’s grief and the way it’s tainted her world to deal with.  But Chris is a man who is absolutely determined to win back the heart of the only woman he’s over loved, so he’s willing to take a lot from Katie (almost a little too much in my opinion).  But eventually, Katie is able to open her eyes and ask that question “what if” and make the choice that will make her happiest.