3.5 Stars

Well that was a cute YA holiday romance!

I think the author's handling of anxiety was done with care and consideration and that Paige was a relatable teen suffering from this disorder. It took me a while to buy into the romance but I ended up thinking it was quite adorable. I love 'Sliding Doors' type stories and I think this will be a good addition to the library. ( )

I liked the premise of two doors and which one to walk through, while wondering what happens when you walk through one and not the other. How does it change your future. Kind of reminds me of Sliding Doors Movie. Paige’s anxiety got to me and it was good to see the different coping mechanisms she used, in addition to finally agreeing to help. This was a good holiday read. ( )

This was such a cute book. Paige is the main character who deals with anxiety and living life as a teenager trying to figure out the world. When she’s presented with two amazing opportunities at Christmas, she’s torn on what to do. Does she go with her mom to New York City, a place she’s alway wanted to go? Or does she go to her best friend’s Fitz’s cabin in the woods where there will be snow? Paige relies on a Magic 8 ball as she tries to figure out decisions to make on a daily basis. The way this book was written was an unique on and I absolutely loved how Kara wrote it. I was rooting for one fate more than the other but I was really happy how this turned out. It’s an adorable romance book and I highly recommend it for an easy read to get away from craziness of the world we live in. ( )

I really liked how this handled the heroine’s mental health struggles, but the romances weren’t my favorite.

Decision making is never easy for Paige and it’s downright impossible to choose between experiencing snow for the first time with her friend Fitz who’s the boy she’s secretly in love with or Christmas in New York with her mom which would be a dream come true for Paige and her travel writer aspirations.

One Way or Another alternates between Paige’s two fates, the snowy cabin and New York, with the start of each chapter clearly marking time and place so there isn’t any confusion for the reader.

I found both Fitz and Harrison likable enough (although I did sorta want Harrison to be less curmudgeonly/brokenhearted so I could “see” more of New York at Christmas), my issues with the romances weren’t about either guy being unworthy. It’s just that the snowy cabin fate tested my tolerance limit for interruptions by other characters and Paige cutting off Fitz every time he tried to tell her how he feels. Generally I’m a fan of delayed gratification in romance novels, I get that it’s important to prolong tension, however, at a certain point here the interruptions/cut off conversations seemed excessive and forced and I longed for Fitz to say what he had to say already and produce some forward momentum. As for the New York fate, with Harrison still bruised from his breakup and Paige pining over Fitz, they did have chemistry but I found it hard to completely invest in them when I couldn’t stop questioning whether their hearts were really in it or not.

While there are plenty of other readers who enjoyed the romantic aspects of this book more than I did, what I think most everyone can agree on is the depiction of Paige’s anxiety disorder. The author convincingly conveyed the seriousness of what Paige is going through, how it affects every aspect of her life, the frustration with herself, the panic, and the spiraling thoughts. I may not have cared all that much about the romances, but I most definitely cared about Paige and her receiving help and support. ( )