Someone Else's Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews
This is about grief but also about accepting grief and learning to navigate through it. This follows the journey of a sibling, who lost her sister to cancer. And just when she thought, the grief was overwhelming and on top of that medical bills were gonna crush their family, a bucket list miracle happens. No spoilers. You can guess this from the title and the blurb itself. Now coming to the story, it's a mixture of sadness and hope, as it should be. The book doesn't just try to be hopelessly optimistic, it tries to show you the reality and then make you learn how to hope in that situation. Not only just the way a person grieves but it also shows the medical bill reality, the worldly things one has to deal with on top of the grief. I think it was done very well to show all aspects of this grieving process and its aftermath and reality. I think the way it catches up to the hope part and intertwined it with the grief part, it was done well. The characters were someone you'd grow to care about. Maybe it'll take a little time for the actual bucket list plot to kick in, but worry not the previous part is equally important as to why the plot needed to be worked out that way. This book is grounded into reality but also reminds you that even in reality it isn't all about loss, it's about living, it's about memories, it's about cherishing moments. So overall, it was a nice engaging read, that will break your heart and mend it too.

Matthews is a great writer. This will be a difficult story for some to read, so please pay attention to trigger warnings. I thought she was very sensitive when dealing with cancer in her storyline, and it felt very realistic. The only critique I have is that I think the story could have moved quicker. Perhaps the first section could have been a 1-2 chapter prologue. We get to starting the bucket list at the 20% mark, when I would have liked to see that at 10%.

Thanks to Matthews, the publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC!

I'm sorry but I don't want to read a book that begins with the main character's sister dying of cancer. Too depressing. And what happened after very predictable: the dead woman leaves a to-do list, a bucket list, to her sister. And weird Instagram videos pre-filmed, and the romantic sub-plot was very cheesy. Basically it's the movie "P.S. I love you" with a dead sister instead of a dead husband. I don't recommend this book except if you like tear-jerking lifetime movies.

When I read the description for this book I was instantly intrigued. It sounded so thought provoking. Would I be able to finish my loved one’s bucket list? Could I continue on in my grief? Beyond the influencer aspect and consumerism of the thing, I was touched by it. There’s so much emotion written into these pages, and it’s not all grief. I laughed out loud so many times. A very cathartic read for sure. #TeamKelly 
Brenda Scott Wazlo conveyed the grief and the humor deftly. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Thank you to Amy T. Matthews, Kensington Books, Highbridge Audio, and NetGalley for the gifted copies.

What a good book. Would you ever do someone else's bucket list. It was the type of book that has you thinking.
I enjoyed this one very much.
Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to receive this book.

This story of Jodie and Bree enveloped me right away. What others found depressing, I found honest and real. Death and grief are tough subjects, but I went into it with hope.

Parts of this story were interesting. I enjoyed the concept, Bree’s communications to her family, Jodie’s growth, and particularly, the first and last chapter.

However, the book was a miss for me. It was so drawn out that it missed the opportunity to be meaningful. There was a lot of unnecessary conversation. I typically read a book in less than a week, but this one took me more than six weeks.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Someone Else's Bucket List caught my attention for what I hoped would be a ‘live life to the full’ story. It was and it wasn’t. When Jodie’s outgoing Instagram influencer sister Bree dies of leukaemia, she is given the task of completing her bucket list in order to not only fulfil it but also to help the family pay medical bills. For me, it took some time to actually get to the bucket list and the focus on medical debt played too much of a role from what I was hoping to read about. Still, with themes of sisterly love, grief, and finding oneself Someone Else's Bucket List comes together to make this a book sure to appeal to readers of this family type genre.

So hard to articulate a review from me.

Grief-packed. Hopeful. Life-affirming. The kindness of others. Chosen family. Sweet story.

I've never read anything from this author before and hope there's more goodness from her to come. I'll be looking out for more from her.

It took me a few days to really get into this book, because once I realized how much I was going to cry I had to find quiet time to really read and absorb the book. Lord help if they make it into a movie, being a box of Kleenex!

Title: Someone Else's Bucket List
Author: Amy T. Matthews
Genre: Women's Fiction
Rating: 3.50
Pub Date: May 23, 2023

I received complimentary eARC of this book from Kensington Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted #Ad

T H R E E • W O R D S

Bittersweet • Uplifting • Unsurprising

📖 S Y N O P S I S

When outgoing social media influencer, Bree, leaves crippling medical debt behind after her death from leukemia, her final wish is for her introverted younger sister, Jodie, to take over her accounts and complete her bucket list.

Jodie is shocked by a new post on her sister's Instagram feed. The post challenges Jodie to complete Bree's very public bucket list. From “Fly over Antarctica," to “Perform a walk-on cameo in a Broadway musical," if Jodie does it—and keeps all Bree's followers—a corporate sponsor will pay off the staggering medical debt.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Someone Else's Bucket List is another 2023 release that caught my interest mostly for the grief aspect. The premise really sounded like something that would make a good story, however, there were a few key problems for me.

I absolutely loved Claude! Bree's best friend is a secondary character, but to me she plays such a pivotal role throughout the story - and at times I was much more interested in her story than the bucket list. I do wish there'd been a bit more of her perspective and grief from a friend perspective intertwined.

And while I appreciated the idea of Jodie venturing out of her comfort zone to complete Bree's bucket list; a part of me also felt uncomfortable with the idea of forcing a grieving person to undertake someone else's 'dreams'. Yes, Jodie learns a lot along the way, but she's clearly very uncomfortable in many of the situations.

In my opinion, the romance just wasn't necessary - feeling more like fluff to me than anything else. In fact, it drew away from the main story, and because of this the writing became highly repetitive and drawn out. Add in rehashing Jodie and Kelly's past, and there just felt like a lot could have easily been edited out to make the story flow better.

Overall, Someone Else's Bucket List is an uplifting story of finding oneself and allowing joy and grief to co-exist. It's certainly nothing extraordinary but worth reading by anyone who has been touched by the loss of a loved one (although I definitely wouldn't recommend it to anyone in early grief as I doubt it would sit very well).

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• anyone looking for something uplifting
• readers who like stories about sisters

⚠️ CW: cancer, grief, death, sibling death, death of parent, death of child, vomit, suicide

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"Grief was like weather: it had seasons and moods, and it could always take a turn for the worse."

"That was the thing about death, it put someone out of reach forever. You could never ever ask them a questions, ever again."

"Things pass, Jodie. But love stays. Nothing disappears, things just transform."

A story about a sister who is roped into finishing her sister's bucket after her death. Although the premise could be sad and there were moments for sure, this was a sweet story about a a woman who is forced out of her comfort zone and starts to live a little. Her sister, an influencer, also required her to do all this through social media. So many things mentioned made me cringe with the reality of social media and the life of an influencer (and in fact the author even states the "grossness" of it all). A great read for anytime.

When Jodie's successful, beautiful, social media influencer sister Bree gets cancer, everyone rallies around. As it becomes apparent chemo and then a bone marrow transplant aren't working, time runs out. We skip ahead a bit to the next year's Thanksgiving, and Bree's best friend Claudia rallying the family to celebrate in the way Bree wanted them too. The dinner ends with a scheduled Instagram post from Bree. She wants her sister Jodie to finish the last few items on her bucket list, and has arranged for a sponsor who will finish paying off the heavy load of debt the family has incurred with Bree's treatments. It's a heartwarming story, really, even though parts of it seem beyond Jodie's control and seem circus like until she takes a stand with Iris Air's assistant, Cheryl. There's a lot of grief, a lot of hope and story I just had to keep reading without wanting to stop.

Thank you to NetGalley for this beautiful and powerful story of life and grief.
Jodie is an anxious and quiet person who loses her vibrate and successful globe-trotting influencer sister to leukemia. Their family is drowning in grief and medical debt. Then discovered her sister had prerecorded a challenge asking her sister to complete her life bucket list. Jodie decides to embark on this adventure to honor his sister and have the debt paid off by a sponsor.
The story was beautiful, inspiring, and heartwarming as well as heartbreaking.

I started reading SOMEONE ELSE'S BUCKET LIST while travelling a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. I love @amytmatthews_author other books (if you haven't checked out Kit McBride Gets a Wife or the newly released Marrying Off Morgan McBride written under her Amy Barry pen name, run, don't walk) but this concept sounded heavier than what I usually go for in my escapist reading.

However!

It was an emotional delight.

Did I cry? Absolutely. A couple of times. Did I laugh? Often. Did I fall in love with Bree and Jodie and Kelly and Claude and does Claude need her own book ASAP and did my heart break for the entire Boyd family? Yes to all of the above.

Thanks to Kensington Books, Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was a beautifully written, emotional romance that pulled all my heart strings. When a young influencer dies leaving an incomplete bucket list, it's up to her sister to see it completed. Jodie is nothing like her sister was - she's shy, awkward and feels inferior to almost everyone.

But through the bucket list she meets (and re-meets) the people that will not only help her come to terms with the loss of her beloved sister, but help her find her own place in the world.

All the characters sparkled on the page for me. There were no 'bad people' , just people. I could understand their motivations and characters because they were so real. I loved Kelly of course, who is such a cream puff. Bless Jodie and her obliviousness to her own strengths and attractiveness.

I found Jodie's developing relationship with Claude so beautiful to read. I read the whole book in one sitting. Absolutely gorgeous. Chefs kiss.

Someone Else’s Bucket List
Author: Amy T. Matthews
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 4⭐️

Synopsis: Jodie is gifted a bucket list by her sister, Bree, after she passes away from cancer. If Jodie can complete the last 6 items on the 100 item bucket list, an airline carrier will pay off the rest of Bree’s medical bills. Determined to help her family and remember Bree, Jodie sets off to finish the list.

Thoughts: With grief comes happiness again. I loved how Jodie went from being the shy, younger child to finally understanding who she is and what she wants to do with her life. The portrayal of grief and sadness from the passing of a loved one was well written. I didn’t feel like it was overwhelming the whole story, but it didn’t skim over it either.

Read if:
* Your older sibling was always the gold while you were silver

Thank you to the author and publisher for an ARC!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of someone elses bucket list. this was such a beautiful story of trying to live on after a terrible loss.

This is a story that revolves around the Boyd family. Bree, the older sister, is dying of cancer and knows she does not have
much time left. Her desire is for her sister, Jodie, to finish he bucket list. Jodie finds out what this entails through series of posts on Bree’s Instagram. If Jodie agrees to finish the list, all of the Boyd family’s medical debt will be paid off. Jodie agrees to finish the bucket list but this comes with some big challenges along the way. It was a sad story mixed in with a lot of humor as well. It took me a while to get into this book due to the sadness but I am glad I pushed through to the end. The romance had a big cheese factor at times but it was entertaining for sure. I give this one 3.5 stars. Thank you Net Galley for the advanced copy of this book.

<i>A beautiful story of overcoming grief.</i>

Bree is dying with 6 items left to go on her bucket list. As her last wishes, she wants her sister, Jodie, to complete the remaining bucket list items. Bree entered into a contract with Iris Air to sponsor Jodie to complete this bucket list and post everything to social media in exchange for paying off Bree's crippling medical debt that has left Jodie basically working her life away. The items were to take piano lessons that Bree's parents paid for, but she never took, plant a tree, act out the orgasm scene from Harry Met Sally, a cameo on Broadway, flying over Antarctica and falling in love. We follow Jodie through all of the good and bad times she has while completing this list.

It wasn't so much of the items on the list but the growth of Jodie throughout the book that was beautiful. Seeing her become braver and really learning what she wanted out of life through this journey was amazing. The last chapter learning that Bree had even thought of Jodie when making some last minute adjustments to the list really got me.

This book really pulled at my heartstrings. It was funny, charming, heartbreaking, and cute all at the same time. Would definitely recommend picking this one up!

Thank you Amy T. Matthews, NetGalley, and Kensington Books for the ARC of this book!

This book has one of the most peculiar bucket lists I’ve ever seen.
But when you want to accomplish every point and somehow you can’t figure out if it will be possible, things must change.
 
For a book that focuses on a bucket list, it sure does take time to present the said list. It’s longer than necessary, and the plot suffers from "a bit too much".
 
Bree and Jodie are sisters, but they couldn’t be more opposite of each other. When Bree, a travel influencer, died, it became Jodie’s job to finish her sister's bucket list.
So Jodie, a very shy and introverted character, needs to come out of her shell and face the world of wonders and goals.
 
I felt like Jodie needed more depth, and sometimes I felt like the character wasn’t evolving with the story, which came out a little bit off-putting.
 
On the other side, Jodie’s love for Bree was the thing that made me stay until the end.
 
With lovable characters and a sense of warmth, this book is perfect for someone looking for connection.