By: Lauren Connolly
“I know I’m the worst sister because I hate my brother for dying. But I do. And I Don’t think I can forgive him.”
At her brother Josh’s funeral, Maddie learns that Josh has tasked her with spreading his ashes in 8 different locations – 8 states that he never got to visit. He also tasked his best friend Dom to do this with her. The problem is that Maddie had a one night stand with Dom, and then he proposed to another girl the next day. So she REALLY does NOT want to do this with Dom. As they visit all the places Josh wanted them to go, they revisit their history and learn things about each other that they never knew. It almost seems like Josh is setting them up, even in death.
This book was amazing. I have so many thoughts but I don’t even know how to put them all into words and organize them. I laughed while reading, I cried, I felt heartbreak, and I felt love. There’s so much to this book aside from the romance and Connelly handled it all perfectly.
Throughout the whole book is the theme of grief. Everyone processes grief in their own way, and Maddie struggled to process hers. It felt so real and so honest. Taking time for herself to process her grief and get help was such a positive way to handle things.
Then there’s a these of family throughout the book as well. Maddie didn’t have a great upbringing and her mother and grandmother were less than stellar people. Dom may have been Josh’s best friend, but Dom’s family became like a second family for Maddie. Maddie also had amazing friends in Seattle that were like family. It really just solidified that family isn’t always blood relation, but who you choose to have around you.
Onto the Romance! The build up, the history between the two characters really made everything that happened between them feel raw, honest, and real. There was no instalove. There was no falling at someone’s feet. The characters were mature and learned to be vulnerable with each other.
This really is a beautiful book, and one that I think everyone should read.
Publish date: December 3, 2024
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