This story is a perfect reminder about living life to your fullest and not waiting until you’re dying to make it count. I loved the support that Ava had from her parents and two best friends. They loved her, listened to her, let her be and gave her a kick in the butt when needed. There was a romance with the photographer, James but I didn’t quite feel the connection between the two but it was nice seeing them fall for each other.

This was my first time reading a book by Tammy Robinson and she has left me a blurbing mess. I teared up twice when I first started reading and was able to hang on until the last few chapters. I was a wreck and full out crying as this story reminded me of a good friend and her battle that she sadly lost with cancer. This book also had me doing a lot of self reflection as I myself haven’t been living life to the fullest and that is something I need to change. This was a well written, heartbreaking story that will stay with me for a very long time.

2.5 Stars / 1 Steam Fans

Sadly, unless you are looking for a story that continuously bashes you over the head with grief, death, and cancer, then Photos of You is probably NOT the book for you. Grand Central Publishing provided a physical copy of Photos of You, and Netgalley provided an ebook. I was very excited about the premise behind exploring the last year of someone's life after being given a terminal diagnosis. However, Photos of You was torture for me, and when something happens around the 85% mark it almost got chucked across my living room. As I said to start Photos of You is very heavy in the themes of grief, death, and cancer virtually to the point that I am reevaluating my medical history. Maybe that is the point, but I wasn't a fan. I gave it a fair chance to recover, which it never did.

Video review available in Week 8 Feb 16 – 22 weekly book reviews.

For other video book reviews, check out my YouTube Channel: Steph's Romance Book Talk.

Ava is 28 when she learns her cancer is back and it’s terminal. She knows she doesn’t have much time left so she tries to make the most of every day. Ava’s one dream has always been to have a wedding. She doesn’t have a groom but her family and friends help her plan the special day as a celebration of her life. There is so much to learn from this book from the emphasis on being a strong advocate for your own health to living you life fully in whatever way you choose to. The book makes you stop and think about your own decisions in how you spend the precious time we have to live. It’s a tough read as Ava’s health declines. Have the tissues handy but make sure you pick up this book.
Thank you HBG Canada for the free review copy!

Ava Green was beginning to think that cancer was just something in her past. She thought she had seen the last of hospitals and treatments that ravaged her increasingly frail body. Cruelly, she was wrong.

She may not be able to stop cancer from stealing her life, but she won’t let it steal her dream of a beautiful wedding day. With the loving support of both family and friends, her dream is on the way to becoming a reality. But she never imagined that she would find true love along the way.

“One more question.”
“OK.”
“It’s a big one,” I warn. “And you have to promise you’ll answer honestly.”
He looks at me curiously. “OK.”
“Have you ever been in love?”
I like that he doesn’t answer immediately. That he respects me enough to give the question his proper consideration. “Yes, once.”
“What was it like?”
He looks down and starts fiddling with his camera, adjusting settings or something, and I think I’ve gone too far. That he is trying to think of a polite way to tell me to mind my own business.
“It was both amazing and awful,” he says finally.
“Awful? Why?”
“Because when it’s over, when it all goes wrong, you think you’ll never survive.”
“But you did.”
“I did.”
“So is it true what they say? That it’s better to have loved and lost than never have loved at all?”
“I’m not sure. And that’s me being honest.”
I sigh deeply. “Thank you.”
“Do you question all guys like this?”
“Only the cute ones.” I smile sweetly.

James Gable never expected the subject of his latest photo assignment to be so captivating. Ava is beautiful, unabashedly forthright and she’s dying. He simply can’t stop thinking about her and knows the risk he’s taking by getting emotionally involved with someone who is terminally ill. And even still, he’s going all in.

Falling in love should be one of the happiest moments of your life. For Ava and James, it’s also one of the most heartbreaking.

“You will never forget a lost love. This inexplicable thing that is love is too powerful for that. But you must never let it make you bitter. Never let it mark you so badly that you close off that part of you. Self-protection might keep your heart safe, but will you truly be alive?
Love has no past, and no future. Love just is.
I promise you, when you are on your deathbed, those painful times will no longer have the power to hurt you. You will only remember the good, the beautiful, the spectacular. You will only remember how it felt to be loved, and to love another.
Yes, love hurts.
But love also heals.”

Tammy Robinson has written a love letter to life in The Photos of You.
With gentle prose, she takes you on a journey that reminds you of exactly how precious life really is. Everything about it – from the characters to the story itself – feels reverent. Like watching a star as it shoots across the sky.

You will experience almost every emotion imaginable while trying (and failing) to hold back the onslaught of tears that her words will evoke. And it’s not a lesson that you will soon forget…

You will need a box of kleenex for this book. It was one I could not put down at all. Tears pouring down my face and sobbing. But oh so good. The best book I have read so far this year.
Ava turns 28 and finds out that the cancer she had 3 years ago is back and there is nothing they can do for her except to manage the pain. She is upset of course and knows she will never marry or have children. She is an only child so her parents will be losing their only child. Her 2 best friends are there for her throughout everything. Her best friend, Amanda, posts on social media and what happens is unbelievable. The outpouring from strangers is so unreal. Her friends and family decide to help her throw her wedding without a groom and she wants to do this to say goodbye to everyone and to celebrate her life. A woman's magazine finds out and they want to cover her story and get her words out there on what her life is like.
It is a day later after reading this book and I am still wrecked. This author makes you have all the feels.
Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for this book to review.

I was hesitant to pick this book up despite being sent the ARC in an e-mail because I was worried it would be just a bit too sad and I figured I needed to be in the right headspace to read it. I was right - it is incredibly sad, but it is also immensely hopeful, completely beautiful, and so worth the time. We learn in the first few pages that our beloved main character, 28-yr-old Ava, has been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer after being in remission for several years. She has a couple of unbelievably close, fantastic girlfriends and two adoring parents. Many of her short years on earth were affected by her cancer. She decides to have a "wedding" in which she is the bride but there is no groom as a bit of a celebration of life and the story takes off from there.

These pages are full of love, hopeful message, and poignant thoughts and observations about life. Ava is brave, but she is also sad and bitter about her situation at times. The ending of this book was lovely despite its sadness and I adored every moment with these interesting and fun characters. The setting of the book is also gorgeous and important at times - the descriptions of some of the locations were breathtaking and made me feel like hopping on a plane to New Zealand tomorrow.

Fans of Me Before You will love this book.

This book!! I loved every single thing about it. On Ava Green’s 28th birthday, she finds out it’ll be her last. Her cancer has returned and is terminal. The one thing she’s always wanted to do is have a wedding, and despite having no groom, her friends and family work to make her dream come true. I don’t want to say more than that, even though the synopsis does, but just know that the process of planning this huge event is filled with so many emotions and surprises.

I think we could all learn from Ava, she strives to live her last days to the fullest. She knows she deserves happiness every single day, but also realistically shows fear and vulnerability as she explores the most difficult days of her life. She’s an advocate for her health and the health of others.

I felt every single emotion reading this book. You know you are fully invested in a book when you read it with a smile on your face, and then are later trying to see words through falling tears. Tammy Robinson wrote about a heartbreaking subject, filled it with hope, Joy and vulnerability and then beautifully brought you beside a strong, brave woman and her family in their darkest hours. This one will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to Read Forever and NetGalley for gifting me the copy to review. I “wished for it” on NG and let out a little squeal when it was granted. Thank you. 𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶 comes out 2/18.

This was such a beautiful journey!

”Love has no past, and no future. Love just is.”

Ava was such a lovely character to learn about. This book isn't necessarily anything brand new, but it is a beautiful look at life, and what we want out of life. My poor heart had a tough time through various portions of this book.

End of life books are always hard for me. Yes, this book had some cliche's, and maybe some corny lines. I don't care though. It's a beautiful journey. This is the kind of book that should have gotten more popular than Me Before You.

Please give this book a read, and a try. Just bring your box of tissues.

“Don’t spend your last days here on earth dying. If you have something you want to do, make sure you do it. You hear me?”

4/5 Stars

Wow! Ok…*wipes away tears* This book for sure had me crying throughout the whole book, but also gave me so many reasons to smile. It’s a very beautiful book that has a lot of kind messages. I definitely understand why it is that these kind of emotional reads are so addicting for some people. This is the kind of read that asks with it’s whole heart that you slow down and reassess how you’re spending your life. Making you double-check that you’re focused on your priorities and have those ducks all in a row. I think it’s good to try to, if not face, then at least glance at your mortality every once in a while.

So this book is about Ava, who’s had cancer. That’s not new, but she thought it was gone. Turns out, it’s not and there’s no cure this time. Faced with the quickly approaching end, she decides that the only thing she truly wants to do is have a wedding, no groom required. When the story goes viral, a magazine gets involved as does a very cute photographer, who proves to Ava that life is about quality over quantity.

There’s no way around it, I cried. Obviously, this book deals with a lot of heaviness. I found it interesting that the book focuses less on the cancer and more about the idea of knowing your time is running out. You could swap out cancer for any other terminal disease pretty easy. I didn’t mind this since I’m pretty full on the whole “cancer story” thing. Not to say that this book is free of all that, but it’s not overwhelming in a way that turned me off the novel.

I liked Ava a lot, while reading I kept hoping that I, if in the same position, would have as much grace as she did. But I’m a complainer, so I doubt it. While Ava was always kind and did her best to be happy, I’m glad that the book didn’t shy away from letting us know how angry she could get. However, I do wish that I could have actually seen that more. The book mainly shows her in this angelic light and only mentions occasionally that she still feels anger.

I just didn’t like that her story went so viral and that she was showered with so much love when, (as is mentioned in the book) so many other people are also dying of cancer. Like-everyday. It didn’t make all that much sense to me that people would be so fascinated with her story when there are so many others just like it.

James was a great character I really did like him. I admired his bravery to love in spite of the impending heart-break. He was kind, considerate, and very sweet. I wish that he’d had more time to develop. He had a quick backstory that explained some things, but I just wanted more. I understand that Ava was the focus though.

One of the best parts of the book was reading about Ava’s support structure, particularly, her mom. I really loved her mom, but her story just made me so sad. To have to look at your child and know that there will, very soon, come a day where you will look at her face for the very last time. As a parent, you just want to protect your child and so watching Ava’s mom fight to keep Ava not just alive, but as happy as possible, for as long as possible, was amazing.

My only funny/stupid American story about this book is that I did not notice that it took place in Not America until around halfway through the book. Then, I realized that they were using km instead of miles and I just thought “huh, how odd”. Then, they measured weight in kilos instead of pounds and I was very confused. Eventually, I realized (only through googling constellations) that the book took place in New Zealand. So that was pretty funny. I should have just read the author bio, but oh well.

I would like to complain about weird off-hand comments about indigenous people that I found rather insulting. I won’t elaborate too much because it’s not really central to the book, but yeah…calling indigenous people “primitive” and implying cannibalism is definitely not what I would have gone with.

TL;DR: I loved the way this book made me pause, gave me a good cry, and gave me the chance to glance at my own mortality. I loved the cute romance even when it broke my heart. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to tear their heart to pieces.

Early Copy provided by Forever Pub in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Before I picked up this book I didn't know it was possible to cry through 80% of a book, but apparently it is. I'm a huge crier so I'm sure it isn't shocking how much cried while reading Photos of You. The last three generations of women in my family have been affected by breast cancer so this particular disease is very emotional for me. If this particular disease is triggering, this may be a hard book for you to get through.

This book is such an emotional novel that it's hard to put down. I was feeling all the feels as I read along through Eva's struggles and her final experiences. I found her to be a realistic, but inspirational character that I know I'll be thinking of long after I've finished. Her words emphasizing how important experiences are and how overly materialistic our society is a message everyone should hear. You can't take it with you and the only things you'll cherish at the end are your memories and the good times.

Another positive about this book is how it brings awareness for self checks at all ages and that you need to be your own advocate. Doctors are merely human and are currently the 3rd leading cause of death among Americans. While we rely on their opinions and diagnoses, if you feel dismissed or spoken down to you should seek another opinion.

This is a highly emotional novel I think everyone should read. It helps you learn from the perspective of someone with less time than they'd like. Hopefully it helps others reevaluate what and who is important in their lives so they live while they still can. Tomorrow is never promised.

Life is short, and we should make the most of it! I’m left thinking about many thing in my life after reading this book! It is incredibly well written. The author knows how to give you so much feeling. This is a story about Ava, who finds out cancer has returned with no way of being treated. She only has so much time left on earth and has decided to throw herself a wedding with no groom. It was something she’s always wanted. Throughout the story we get to see the world through Ava’s eyes & what she’s feeling. It’s extremely eye opening and sometimes saddening! There’s also a lot of love, new & old. I would highly recommend this to book to everyone! Just be ready for possible tears! It was a fantastic read!

Photos of You

📚 Book Review 📚
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Photos of You
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by @tammyrobinsonauthor

RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
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At some point in your life you might reflect on what you would do if you had 6 months or a year left to live. For 28 year old Ava Green, that is exactly what she’s faced with.
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SUMMARY: When Ava Green turns twenty-eight, she discovers this will be her last birthday. The cancer she thought she'd beaten three years ago is back -- only now it's terminal, and she's not going to waste any of the time she has left. All she truly wants is the one thing she's been dreaming of since she was a little girl: a wedding. The only problem: She doesn't have a groom.
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REVIEW: This book blew me away. I knew it would be sad, but it was just as heartwarming and endearing. You feel along with such depth as Ava’s friends and family help her navigate through planning her celebration of life wedding and her last months with as much grace and happiness as possible. James was the perfect companion for her and you can feel the real and raw emotions of their love throughout the story. This book really brings home the importance of living your best life and to relish in the simple moments. To cherish things like the salty sea air, or the feel of a loved one curled up next to you as you sleep. It’s those simple, little moments that truly matter in the end.
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I finished this book in ONE day and would highly recommend it!!
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Thank you @foreverpub and @netgalley for this book to review.

Ava Green turns twenty-eight on the same day she is given the overwhelming news that she has terminal cancer.

Despite having made a bucket list of all the adventures she'd like to fulfill during her lifetime, Ava realizes more than anything, what she'd always wanted was a wedding and to be loved.

There may be no groom, but Ava enlists the help of her family and friends to assist in planning her big day - one where she can be present to celebrate her life.

But is it really too late for love?

Photos of You was the right combination of love, sadness, and information - bringing awareness to cancer and the need for self-advocacy, especially at a young age.

Thank you to Netgalley for both the extended preview and ARC of Photos of You by Tammy Robinson.

This book was so emotional and heartfelt—I got tears many times throughout the story. Upon hearing of her terminal cancer diagnosis, Ava decides she wants a wedding before she passes. She doesn’t have a groom but that’s not stopping her. I don’t want to give away other spoilers but this book is so, so good and will remind you of the power of love! Have some tissues ready at all times while reading! :( Highly recommended!

I'm not crying, you are! Okay, that's a lie.

This book was beautiful, heartbreaking, and everything I hoped it would be.

When Ava learns her cancer is back and is too far advanced for treatment, she vows to enjoy the time she has left and do the one thing she's always dreamt of - get married. If that sounds cliche it's because it is. I still loved every second of it!

Ava is so easy to relate to which makes this novel hit hard. She's inspirational, yes, but she's also human. She's angry that her cancer is back. It isn't fair and she isn't afraid to show that vulnerable side. James, her love interest, is just as raw and emotional.

The book was predictable but sometimes that works. I highly recommend this one!

A beautifully written book on death and truly living. Cancer and love are a tough subject to write together because we know there will never be a happily ever after. The characters of Ava and James were well constructed and Ava's messages of living were made clear. A good book if you need a cry.

I think this was a case of it's not you, it's me. I wanted to connect to this book but I had trouble... maybe because it started right at the beginning of her re-diagnosis (i.e. no backstory)? I felt the beginning was slow, but after about 100 pages it picked up, but I still felt a little bored and found myself skimming parts. I teared up a little, but didn't get as emotional as I thought. It was super depressing for me... but I know so many people that loved this one, so if you're interested in reading, I would still give this one a shot!

Unfortunately, I just did not connect with the characters in this one. The plot was heartbreaking but there was something keeping me from resonating with emotions of the characters. I was expecting this to be an ugly cry for me but ended up relatively dry-eyed!

“Don’t wait until you’re dying to start living.” When Ava’s cancer returns, she is given a terminal diagnosis. Ava doesn’t have a bucket list, but the one thing she has always wanted is to get married, even if she’s missing a groom. As her story goes viral, there are many that step up to make her dreams come true. As Ava’s life ebbs, love flows. A book that tugs at the heartstrings. A story of living life to the fullest even when you’re dying. “Live your best life. It’s the only one you’ll get.”

"Don't wait until your dying to start living."

This book gives you great perspective - a good reminder to not take everything we have for granted.

You will love Ava. Her life, her crazy moments, wonderful attitude, her incredible family and friends and the gorgeous places she gets to visit.

Photos of You is filled with breathtaking photos, heart wrenching moments, romance, humor and moments that make you look at yourself and realize we need to be more grateful for each day -- since it's all a gift.

5 stars from me

*Recv'd a copy via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*