Mrs. Nash's Ashes was absolutely delightful from start to finish. Told in two timelines, equally as enjoyable love stories in both timelines, I adored this debut from Sarah Adler and I cannot wait to read more from her in the future.

Thank you to Berkley Romance for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

“Maybe his relationship with Vanessa wasn’t that different from mine with Josh- just shorter-lived and longer ago. We were both used by the people who claimed to care about us. Except Hollis looked at his parents’ fractured marriage, his father’s tendency to jump from coed to coed , and Vanessa’s deceit, and saw evidence that lasting love is a lie; while I put three tablespoons of my elderly best friend in my backpack and booked a flight to Florida to prove that it isn’t foolish to keep believing someone might genuinely care for someone else for a lifetime.”
Millicent Watts-Cohen is on a mission to reunite her elderly best friend with the woman she fell in love with over eighty years ago, but she could never have imagined that would consist of her booking a flight from Washington D.C to Key West with three tablespoons of Mrs. Nash’s ashes in her backpack. A lot of mishaps happen along the way when she teams up with cynical writer Hollis Hollenbeck to reunite the two long-lost lovers, and she is determined to prove to him that true love really does exist.

I absolutely loved this quirky story! It’s unique, and unlike anything else I have ever read before. Silly and lovable Millicent was a perfect match for grumpy and gruff Hollis. Their connection was utterly adorable, and their banter was immensely entertaining. It kept me reading long into the night. I greatly enjoyed not only Millicent and Hollis’s relationship but also that of Millicent and Mrs. Nash and Mrs. Nash and Elsie. Mrs. Nash was there for Millicent during a very difficult time in her life, and they became close friends when she moved in with her. I appreciated the way Millicent felt loyal to Mrs. Nash and continued with this mission to reunite her with her Elsie even after she passes away. The relationship that they had was special. Overall, this was just a super fun read, and I am excited to read more by Sarah Adler!

If you’re a fan of funny and quirky stories like those of Claire Kingsley and Pippa Grant, then give this a try. I don’t think you will regret it!

~ Michelle

Short synopsis: Millie is determined to keep her promise to reunite her recently deceased friends ashes with her long lost love across country. When there’s a problem with the flights, she ends up riding cross country with grumpy Hollis Hollenbeck.

My thoughts: I did not expect to love this one as much as I did! This was the perfect mix of humor, heartwarming moments, personal growth and vulnerability, and romance!

The flashback stories between Rose and Elsie were short and sweet, but so well done. I think that while the majority of the story was focused on Millie and Hollis we definitely were able to feel the passion and love between Rose and Elsie.

Such a great romance that I’ll be thinking about for a long time to come!

Read if you love:
🚘 Grump/Sunshine
🚘 Forced proximity
🚘 Long lost love
🚘 Only one bed
🚘 Flashback

Thank you so much to Berkley and PRH Audio for an early copy of this book! Publication date was yesterday!

Loved, loved, loved this book!
It's fun, it's funky and it's fresh. If I hadn't known this was a debut author, I would have never known by the writing because it's absolutely brilliant!
Imagine going on a road trip, now imaging this road trip with a reluctant travel mate whose romantic notions don't exactly match up with yours and the ashes of an elderly friend you are going to reunite with a special friend.
The characters................I liked her better than him in this rom com, but he grew on me and I got to liking him too. She is a former child tv star, used to people recognizing her, she can deal with the recognition as long as they're not rude. He's a struggling writer who won't share his manuscript with her, he also tries to keep up a grumpy front and this is where he grew on me, he becomes more likable as he starts to like more of the things she does and becomes more agreeable to things.
A discovered secret leads to a big blow up, will this relationship recover in time? Mrs. Nash's ashes take quite the cross-country trip with these two, if only they could hear the conversations being had!
Sweet, sexy, romantic, heartwarming and may just make you shed a tear or two.
Have I said already that I loved it? I can't wait to see what's up next for this author. You're going to love this awesome and fun relaxation summery beach read book.

Pub Date 23 May 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Mrs. Nash’s Ashes by @sarahadlerwrites is a beautiful and special book. It’s a book about love and loss told in multiple timelines. Millie is determined to personally reunite her recently deceased friend, Mrs. Nash with the love of her life. Traveling with three tablespoons of her ashes, Millie is headed on this adventure to honor her friend.

I found the love between Millie and Mrs. Nash to be so special.

After an glitch with the airline, Millie is scrabbling to find alternative travel arrangements. Imagine her luck (or misfortune- it’s all about perspective, right?!), Millie runs into Hollis. A man she met moons ago.

The two end up on quite the adventure together.

The book allows us to also get to know Mrs. Nash, the life she lived and the loves she lost. I can’t help but feel that this book will stay with me.

My sincerest thank you to @berkleyromance for the gifted free copy of this book!

Millie's friend and roommate, Mrs. Nash, passes away and Millie is bound and determined to reunite Mrs. Nash with her long lost love. But the clock is ticking and her cancelled flight to Florida has her grasping at any means necessary to get south. Luckily, an acquaintance, Hollis, misses the same flight. The bad news? He's friends with her ex.
I love the forced proximity of a road trip romance. There's so much room for tension and chemistry to develop (as in the limited space of a car's interior). I appreciate that they at least knew of each other for a couple of years as background to what could be insta-love. The secondary romance flashbacks pulled away from the story of Millie and Hollis. I'm not sure how it could have been incorporated differently but I wanted to get back to the car trip each and every time.
Thanks to Berkley and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

Mrs. Nash’s Ashes, a debut novel by Sara Adler, is a beautiful, humorous, amazing multigenerational story that takes the reader on an unexpected, interesting, humorous road trip with a grumpy guy and a sunshiny gal as they take Mrs. Nash’s ashes to be reunited with her long-lost love. Emotional and sweet, sad, thoughtful, and at times hilarious, the quirky characters in this dual-timeline story captured my heart and attention, not wanting to put this book down.

Former child star Millie became very close to Mrs. Nash after breaking up with her narcissistic e and moving into her apartment. During Mrs. Nash's last days, she confesses her love for Elsie, a nurse she met during World War II, but lost to the Korean War. Millie discovers that Elsie is not dead, but rather, living in an assisted living facility in Key West. Unfortunately, Mrs. Nash passes away before she can share the news. Now, Millie is grieving and on a mission to reunite Rosie with her love by carrying three spoonfuls of her ashes in her backpack and heading to Miami.

At the airport, Millie crosses paths with her ex-boyfriend's frenemy, Hollis Hollenback, a grumpy, handsome man with writer's block and commitment issues. Despite his gruff exterior, Hollis is actually a cinnamon roll in disguise. When their flight gets cancelled, Millie needs a ride, and Hollis becomes her travel companion. The two of them find themselves in a few humorous circumstances as they ran into problem after problem on their way from D.C. to Key West. It’s not long before they find that the universe has other plans for them: as Hollis enjoys Millie’s outrageousness which get him writing again, and Millie tries to resist her growing attraction to him.

The chapters about Rose and Elsie and their time together during WWII was everything. They knew a love like theirs wouldn’t be accepted and would likely lead to hardship; and even harder feelings. I loved the tenderness as well as the adoration between Elsie and Rose. Their short time together was packed with enough enduring love and sacrifice to carry forward with them the rest of their lives; despite contemplating the paths not taken.

Mrs. Nash’s Ashes brings a story that offers a great balance of characters, a budding and steamy romance, peeks into the past, and a future that is bright. Alternating between the road trip/growing attraction and the past, this vividly-written, emotionally engaging story brings home the expected romance, while delivering the unexpected through a WWII era tale. As you'd expect from the title, some deep subjects get touched on, with compassion and sweetness, as our main couple find their way to one another. I highly recommend Mrs. Nash’s Ashes to other readers and look forward to reading more from Ms. Adler.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I am going to keep this short and sweet- there is something about a road trip romance that will ALWAYS work for me. Millicent and Hollis’s ridiculous and memorable journey to Key West in Florida was the source of so many sweet and hilarious moments. The nostalgia in the form of movie references, constant witty banter and SO MUCH STEAM made Mrs. Nash’s Ashes the perfect escape. The dual storylines of Millicent and Hollis vs. Rose and Elsie were equally delicious but I do wish we got a bit more time with Rose and Elsie! Regardless- this book was just delightful from start to finish!

Read if you like:
♥️ Romances
🚙 Road Trips
🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ Rep
🎥 Child Actors Grown Up
⛅️ Grumpy x Sunshine
🥰 He Falls First

“He might be a kind of a jerk, but he is a snack and that conversation we had back at the restaurant reminded me that I’m an increasingly hungry woman.”

This is a two for one story with flashbacks of Elsie and Rose’s (Mrs. Nash) romance during WW2 and how they weren’t brave enough to love each other after because of the culture and lack of acceptance for their love. Along with their story we also have Millie and Hollis and their road trip taking some of Mrs. Nash’s ashes to Elsie hoping to reunite them.

This is a heartwarming story when you combine the story of Elsie and Rosie and the present day of Millie and Hollis.

I loved how quirky Millie was, and how she was a former child actress which made the fact that Mara Wilson narrated this one so much more fun.

Thank you to Berkley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Mrs. Nash's Ashes is a heartwarming tale of a starry-eyed romantic, a cynical writer, and the ashes of an elderly woman embarking on a road trip of a lifetime. This charming story challenges everything we believe about true love. Adler's writing style is both captivating and engaging, drawing me in with her witty humor and poignant storytelling. The characters are well-developed and relatable, each with their own unique quirks and flaws that make them all the more endearing. As I read Mrs. Nash's Ashes, I found myself laughing out loud at the characters' antics one moment and wiping away tears the next. The story is soft, sweet, and utterly enchanting, leaving readers feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

What's it about (in a nutshell):
Mrs. Nash's Ashes is Sarah Adler's debut story of Millicent Watts-Cohen and her road trip to reunite her friend, Mrs. Nash, with her one true love. Of course, Mrs. Nash has recently passed away, so it's her ashes (3 tablespoons of her ashes, to be exact) that she is traveling down to the Florida Keys with. Also, the transportation system shut down, so she has to find a ride. The results are a fun and heartwarming trip that will do much more than reunite two old loves.
My Reading Experience:
This story surprised me with its depth and scope. I loved all the twists and turns it took on top of the expected journey plot, where the person taking the journey learns what they are looking for while learning more about themselves. It all works together to create a story that is much more than the sum of its parts.

Dual timelines enhance the story and allow me to get to know Mrs. Nash even though she's deceased. I loved getting to know her story, which is incredibly brave and romantic. She is an intriguing character with lots of surprises hidden in her past.

And I adored the grumpy–sunshine romance story. It is witty and snarky and in every way authentic and swoon-worthy. Millie and Hollis are brilliant together, and the thing I missed most after finishing the book is learning how their story ends. I could follow them through a lifetime of adventures, big and small.
Characters:
Millie is the main character of the story. She is sunshine and light – everything that is good. A child actress in her early teens, she still has to field fan attention 15 years later, and it isn't always pleasant. But her boyfriend dumped her in the most humiliating way, and her only friend, the older adult she cares for – has passed away. To say she is grieving is understating the turmoils she is in from all the changes she's gone through in a short time. Reuniting Mrs. Nash to her lost love gives Millie purpose, which she needs most right now.

I loved Millie's genuine spirit and her determination. She is so well developed that she felt genuine and realistic, like she could walk right off the page and tell me the story in her own words. She is an easy character to stand behind and a fun character to follow, as she has a way about her that leads her on a most complex journey full of highs and lows.
Narration & Pacing:
Millie tells her story in first-person narration, giving the story the perfect personal feel while aiding the pace by keeping it fast. The past storyline read marginally slower, but then it is in third-person narration and has more exposition than the current timeline told by Millie.
Setting:
The story begins in Washington, DC, and the journey takes Millie to Key West in the Florida Keys. The past storyline is mainly in Key West too. I love the Florida Keys and enjoyed experiencing the area in a story that showed its history and its present. If only Rose (Mrs. Nash) had run into Hemingway in Key West, I would have been completely in awe. Like the rest of the story, the settings are used in fun and relevant ways that take unexpected twists and turns.


Read if you like:
Heartwarming journey stories
Open door romances
Witty and smart dialogue

This is a heartwarming story perfect for those that enjoy the grump and sunshine trope.

Millie just wants to reunite the ashes of Mrs. Nash with her true love in Key West and Hollis, a cynical writer, is headed to Miami. Plans change when their flights are delayed. They decide to go on a road trip together to Florida.

It’s a poignant read about grief and love. Millie is a ball of sunshine with her quirky behaviors, and Hollis is a grump but he’s also dealing with his past. Their relationship is sweet. You also get a glimpse of Mrs. Nash’s life, falling in love in the past with a woman during the war. The stories of Mrs. Nash’s past and present with Millie and Hollis blended effortlessly. It was such a delightful read!

I don’t really know what I expected going into this one, but it definitely wasn’t a woman (Millie) who made a promise to deliver the ashes of a dead woman (Mrs. Nash) to her long lost love (a woman she met nearly 80 years prior), but getting stranded and needed the assistance of an acquaintance (Hollis) of her former douche canoe of a boyfriend.

This book was an absolute riot. Millie and Hollis are absolute disasters when it comes to their own lives, but together, they are incredible. I loved their chemistry…and the steamy scenes (just sayin).

I also loved the flashbacks through the story where we see Mrs. Nash falling in love and having a relationship with Rose.

Overall, this is as a hilarious yet relatable romance that I can’t recommend enough!

Oh my this one took me by surprise. It was delightful in so many ways.

Millie is a former child star just trying to live her life. After breaking up with her jackhole boyfriend, she moved in with her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Nash and they become besties. When Mrs. Nash passes, Millie heads off to Florida Mrs. Nash's ashes (quite literally) to reunite her with Eloise.
I loved the dual storyline including Rose and Eloise and their long standing love.

I loved Mille's quirky self, her funny sayings, her Pee Wee Herman references. I adored her musical choices and her seat dancing. She looked on the bright side of everything, looked for the good in people, and just made me smile! And Hollis, he was so grumpy to her sunshine, but you couldn't help but love his grumpy self - "a cinnamon roll hiding under a thick layer of burnt toast". Their banter was stellar and I was cheering so hard for cupid to strike them.

This one had it's romcom moments where you laughed out loud, and it's moments that made you tear up. LOVED!

Many thanks to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing and Let's Talk Books Promo for my gifted ARC and allowing me to be a part of this Berkley Buddy Read!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

Opposites attract road trip romance = love for me & Sarah Adler’s Mrs. Nash’s Ashes did not disappoint.

This author is so funny, you all. I was cracking up reading some of the heroine’s lines & the banter is a grumpy & the sunshine delight.

The book opens with Millie beginning a trip to Florida to bury part of her elderly best friend’s remains. Her flight plans fall through but luckily for her, Hollis Hollenbeck, who she vaguely knows through her ex, allows her to ride with him.

Hollis is by turns exasperated, bewildered, & turned on by Millie or Millicent, as he calls her. That is my favorite combo 😆.

I adore Millie, whose heart is wide open. & then I adored Hollis for adoring this about her in a confused, curmudgeonly, & fiercely protective way.

This book will grab hold of your heart & the dual storylines, telling Millie & Hollis’s story & Mrs. Nash & her lover’s, are done so well, pacing-wise.

The only thing that bothered me a bit about the book is the conflict, which really does go for the jugular, as Millie describes that type of fight. But I love how it wraps up & how they got there, & this is one of those books that gives all the feelings a la The Dead Romantics.

A lovely & celebratory portrayal of weirdness & love.

5 ⭐️. Out tomorrow!

Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.

[ID: Jess, a white woman wearing a multicolored striped skirt & a raspberry colored shirt that says “My weekend is all booked,” holds the ebook in front of a green tree.]

Mrs. Nash's Ashes was such an enjoyable book! I absolutely loved this road trip full of misadventures and Millie & Hollis.

This is pure grump/sunshine with forced proximity and such fun witty banter in a wonderful story. When a starry-eyed romantic/former child star wants to bring the ashes of her elderly former friend to her one true love to reunite them after almost 80 years she finds herself on a road trip with a cynical writer on a trip from Washington DC to Key West after travel plans got messed up.

I loved the hijinks these two got into from the Italian-Mexican fusion restaurant to the small town festival and more. The only thing I had to laugh at was they made it seem like driving through Virginia took forever, it's really only 3 hours on 95, but I know Memorial Day traffic can be a bear. I avoid 95 at all costs 🤣

Definitely check out this cute rom-com. That delves a little deeper with grief, found family and regrets. Thanks to @berkleyromance got my copy on @netgalley. Mrs. Nash's Ashes comes out Tuesday - May 23rd.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one!

Millicent is a romantic, an optimist and a former child star who doesn't mind interacting with fans as long as she doesn't have to read the comments. Mrs. Nash, her elderly friend and roommate, has passed away, and Millie is taking three tablespoons of her ashes to Key West in the hope of reuniting her with the woman she fell in love with eighty years ago during WWII. Even though Millie's been burned in relationships she still believes in a love that lasts forever.

When all flights to Florida get cancelled Millie teams up with Hollis Hollenbeck, a guy she's met a couple of times who's also stuck at the airport. Hollis is the pessimist to Millie's optimist. He's the grump to Millie's sunshine. As they embark on a D.C. to Key West road trip they both learn more about each other, but along the way learn more about themselves.

Hollis and Millie's chemistry is undeniable, with some great banter and laugh out loud moments. I really loved the glimpses of Mrs. Nash's past with Elsie, her friend and eventual love. Those snippets really helped underscore Millie's friendship with Mrs. Nash and gave credence to her cross-country journey.

Thank you Netgalley and Berkley Publishing Group for access to this arc.


Grumpy/sunshine romances aren’t usually my thing but something about the mission that sunshine Millicent is on to try and “reunite” her best friend with that friend’s lost WWII love to give them their “HEA” struck a chord, and I happily took the chance to read it. It’s got a strong start with acerbic banter between Millie and Hollis, some amusing road incidents, and delves into character growth, then hit me with an ending I wasn’t quite expecting but which worked anyway. I do have a few reservations about Millie and Hollis’s various “making ups” though.

There are some lovely moments of Millie “seat dancing” to her playlist, a wonderful dinner at a Mexican/Italian fusion restaurant, some kind B&B owners who aren’t mocked (much but then that many Jesus paintings staring at you will you’re making hot love would be a bit much) for their religion, a conscientious highway patrolman, a wonderful husband for Rose who Understood, and an ending to the 40s love story I wasn’t expecting and to be honest initially had me saying “No!” as Millie did but when I think about it, I can live with it.

But then the Last Conflict arrives and it’s one I guessed was coming but hoped I’d be proved wrong. Nope – I called it. It’s intense and as bad for Millie as the Reason Hollis resisted love. And it’s something that I have doubts can be dealt with quite as easily as the scene on Boca Chica Beach seems to make it appear that it can. I do end up believing in these two but for that resolution … I just needed more and definitely more time. This is an insta-love romance and there’s a weird subplot about why Hollis is heading to Miami. Millie is made to have a rather porous verbal filter at times that can cause embarrassing scenes for her.

As for character growth – we have it, lots of it. Millie feels she needs to discover that long lasting, true love exists so that she can believe that she might one day find it. She also needs to figure out and act on another reason that is propelling her to make this journey. Hollis is initially not just the “cinnamon roll with a burnt toast coating” that Millie keeps trying to prove he is. There’s a Reason (and it’s actually a good one) for his disdain for twue wuv. We see their slow progress through actions rather than just being told. Hollis’s way of helping Millie with her restaurant ordering issue, the way they work out The Rules about sex (consent, safety, and communication), the way Hollis de-escalates an argument and keeps it from becoming a simmering Big Mis, Hollis revealing that he really doesn’t hate Millie’s music as much as he claims, and how Hollis affirms Millie.

But for all the issues I have with it, “Mrs. Nash’s Ashe’s” made me smile a lot. There’s enough funny, raunchy, and bittersweet to make it a very nice debut book. B

4.5. I loved Mrs. Nash's Ashes, a deeply charming road trip romance following Millie, her quest to meet Mrs. Nash's lifelong love, and Hollis, her very reluctant partner in this chaotic journey. Millie was a very funny and likable lead, unapologetically quirky without the author overdoing it, and with an emotional depth and grief that gives the book its teary moments near the end. I'm not a crier, but Adler made me tear up at multiple moments on both Mrs. Nash and Millie's side. She and Hollis have a great grumpy/sunshine dynamic with banter and one-liners that made me laugh out loud throughout the book, but I also loved the growth and discovery of their relationship over the course of the story. I'd really love a peek at their lives when they return from this trip.

Instalove is not my favorite, but it bothered me less here than it often does, even if the book only took place over four days. I would have loved to see more of Mrs. Nash and her friendship with Millie, but I did enjoy the flashbacks to get to see a bit more of her life and love story. Otherwise, I really loved this debut from Sarah Adler.

Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah Adler

Former child actress, remembered fondly by many a boy for her TV appearance in a yellow bikini when she was fourteen, almost 30 year old Millicent Watts-Cohen would rather NOT be remembered for the show she starred in long ago. She wants to be liked for who she is now, not for her fourteen year old bathing suit clad body. She's a romantic at heart but she would rather have no romance than to be used for what she used to be.

Millie has some ashes to deliver but the trip gets to a rocky start as flights are cancelled just as she is about to board her flight. Scrambling to find a way to Key West from D.C, Millie is able to get a ride with extremely handsome and super curmudgeon-y Hollis Hollenbeck, a teacher and writer, who promises to be the grumpiest of travel partners. In reality, inner sparks are flying for both Millie and Hollis. Millie may be ready for her first casual hookup while it seems that is the only kind of romantic encounter Hollis has nowadays. Can these two opposites attract and then move on with their lives like nothing happened? Millie is sure Hollis can since that seems all he ever does, maybe on a very frequent basis, but she's not sure she's up to loving and moving on in such a way.

The attraction is instant, both Millie and Hollis are funny although Hollis can turn grumpy on a dime. What is with this guy!?! Interspersed with this story is that of Rosie and Elsie, Rosie being the the three tablespoons of ashes that Millie is carrying to their final resting spot in Key West. The romance is open door, the dialogue can be crude and vulgar but both Millie and Hollis seem to be enjoying themselves equally so what's the harm. Personally I like closed door much more than open door romance so this story leaned towards way too much information for me but I did enjoy the humor and the sweetness of the story.

Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for this ARC.