Caroline is at a crossroads. Her grandmother is sick, maybe dying. Like the rest of her family, Caroline’s been at Gram’s bedside since her stroke. With the pressure building, all Caroline wants to do is escape–both her family and the reality of Gram’s failing health. So when Caroline’s best friend offers to take her to a party one fateful Friday night, she must choose: stay by Gram’s side, or go to the party and live her life.

The consequence of this one decision will split Caroline’s fate into two separate paths–and she’s about to live them both.

Friendships are tested and family drama hits an all-new high as Caroline attempts to rebuild old relationships, and even make a few new ones. If she stays, her longtime crush, Joel, might finally notice her, but if she goes, Chris, the charming college boy, might prove to be everything she’s ever wanted.

Though there are two distinct ways for her fate to unfold, there is only one happy ending…(Cover and synopsis from Goodreads)

I haven’t read any books by Cat Patrick or Suzanne Young, but I have their books on my TBR list.  But I think that Just Like Fate was a great showcase of their talents.  I really enjoyed the story, loved the dual realities, and I felt like, even though Caroline had two different storylines, I knew her voice.  And nothing she said or did seemed off or weird.  I think that shows that these authors worked together well and that they are talented at their craft.

I loved the setup of the book, how at the end of the second chapter, Caroline must make a decision to stay at the hospital with her grandmother or go to a party with her best friend, and after that there are two chapter threes, two chapter fours, etc., one in which she chose to stay and one in which she chose to go.  I did get a bit confused with the storylines, however.  I didn’t read the book straight through so I would find myself thinking, “Okay, wait. What just happened in that ‘Stay’ chapter?”  So, being the chart and list lover that I am, I made a chart with all the major events, one side for ‘Stay’ and one side for ‘Go’.  This made it a lot easier for me to follow along.

And I loved Chris.  He just may be a new book boyfriend of mine…  And I enjoyed several of the other characters, too, but I really liked Caroline, which is kind of strange.  Lately with the books I’ve read, I’ve been loving the side characters and feeling okay about the main characters.  But in Just Like Fate, I felt like Caroline was very realistic.  She didn’t always make the right choices, but, like the message of the book, our choices make us who we are, and I felt like Caroline learned from her mistakes and was all the stronger of a character for making those mistakes.

My rating for Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young:

4 large stars.  I really enjoyed the book but it didn’t have that extra oomph to rate 5 stars from me.  But I can’t wait to read more books from both of these authors!

Disclaimer:  I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I was not compensated in any other way for this review.