What If It’s You?

Gagnon (Scenes of the Crime) puts a high-tech twist on a classic love triangle in this clever contemporary. After Laurel Everett finds an engagement ring in her boyfriend Ollie’s sock drawer, she deliberately sabotages their dinner date at a Boston restaurant, hoping to avoid a public proposal, as she is unsure if she is ready for marriage. Her fear of commitment is partly triggered by her lingering crush on handsome Drew, her coworker at tech company Pixel. When Laurel tries out an alternate reality program designed by Drew, she finds herself catapulted into a different world where she and him are in a long-term relationship. A glitch leaves her randomly toggling between these two realities, forcing her to decide which life—and which man—is right for her. Gagnon does not draw this mystery out long; Laurel fairly quickly realizes the depth of her feelings for one of her two suitors, and then the central plot becomes more about how she’ll break free of the AR to stay with him. The romance sparkles, and Gagnon makes the science believable enough to suspend disbelief. Readers are sure to be sucked in. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary. (May)