Lucy Lambert, who never drinks, walks into a pub (as people who never drink often do. And yes, I know you can get food there, too, but still). Newly unemployed, she consults her horoscope, which informs her that “Today will see you head off on a new career path. If you’re single, this could also be the day you bump into your soulmate”. She then encounters an attractive guy, Caleb, at the bar, and, mid-conversation, spies her ex, Max, on the street. Lucy ponders her future, at which point the narrative splits into chapters labeled “Stay” and “Go”. In Stay, she remains in her hometown of Shoreley and dates Caleb, while in Go she moves to London and reconciles with Max.

What Might Have Been has a slow start before settling into a rhythm. Somewhere around the thirty-percent mark certain revelations occur that lead the stories in an interesting direction and mark a true divergence in the two narratives. Before that, the first third suffers from the sense that Lucy’s life is virtually the same no matter her choice: she goes on dates with her two love interests, and at one point we’re privy to hearing the exact same story about her parents.

It’s entirely possible to feel like you’ve met these characters before. Lucy is not so much a familiar version of a British women’s fiction protagonist as one indistinguishable from all that have gone before her, with her innocuous parents, quaint home town, and her wilting personal and professional dreams. Lucy’s main aspiration in life is to be a writer. But Lucy/Miller’s prose is the equivalent of painting your walls gray: it does the job but relies on lots of decoration – plot twists and short, fast scenes – to keep it interesting. In the book’s world, Lucy is such a talented individual that within six months of taking her first job in London, she makes a “40 Under 40” list. Pardon me while I check to see if this book is tagged as ‘Fantasy’. The men, as well, are very predictable. Spoiler alert: rich guys who work as attorneys = less good, artsy guys who do photography in Bali = more good. I reviewed a book in 2019, Mhairi McFarlane’s Don’t You Forget About Me, which is very similar on paper but far snappier and more satisfying.

What Might Have Been has a vague aura of vindictiveness to it: the conclusion of one main character’s storyline feels like a punishment, and one of Lucy’s ‘happy’ endings is based as much on material as emotional success, achieved at the expense of someone else. Miller’s prior novel, The Sight of You, was lovely and unique because of its compassionate heart – I wrote in my DIK review for it that I cried trying to describe it to someone. Knowing what Miller can accomplish, it’s impossible, here, not to wonder what might have been.

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