Ehh. It was a good attempt but I think overall the author was trying to do too many things with this storyline. I felt there were a lot of plot holes at the end, and I was not satisfied with the ending.

*Thank you to Net Galley and Knopf Publishing for the advance copy*

This book was difficult to get through. I love the premise and was hoping that this was a book written for older adults facing loss and taking a risk at a pivotal moment in life. I really wish that this book focused more on Jessie's experience. There were too many characters in this book and with all the love triangles created, and never really expanded upon, it became difficult to track character's relationships to each other and their motivations. All of the dramatic elements of this book were anti-climactic and much of the action seemed highly unrealistic. I really enjoyed Kat's journals and wish that Jessie connecting with those journals is what guided the plot of this book.

What an uncomfortable read this was. The characters were all annoying and dimwitted. In the beginning of her cruise career Jessie is worried about a character spreading norovirus all over the ship. That character does go out partying all over the ship but the norovirus is never spoken of again.

Instead we get lots of cringeworthy remarks about history, race, sexism, rape, sexuality and pretty much every other topic. For some reason all of the characters spoke like their dialog had been translated into broken up English from a myriad of other languages. Very strange.

This just wasn't for me. Apart from terrible characters and a lackluster plot what's left to rate a book as a good read? Honestly I can't believe I finished it.

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Wanted to like this book more. Slow in the plot.
Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

This book wasn't a great fit for me. As some praise, I do absolutely love original the storyline is, and it's great to have a lesbian as a main character. It's also great to have an older main character who is still lively and making changes, big decisions, and actively pursuing life. Unfortunately, this book just didn't land with me; a lot of the characters didn't feel fleshed out enough, especially some of the side characters, like Gail, Ben, and Mona. There was also some strange dynamics in terms of sexuality, gender identity, and even race that didn't sit well with me. I also felt uncomfortable with having refugees used as basically a tool for the main character to get some perspective; it felt like making a real-life, ongoing tragedy simply a literary device. I wanted to love this book based on the description, but I simply didn't.

I did not enjoy this book at all. Unsympathetic characters and a very lackluster storyline. I had high hopes and was very disappointed.