Member Review

Alison Mullally is a homebody, post-double-mastectomy BRCA1 carrier, whose people-pleasing sense of friendship thought it would be a kind gesture to attend her ex-boyfriend Sam's funeral. Except everyone still thinks they're together, and Sam's sister begs her to play along so that her mom can think Sam passed away with a steady, reliable girlfriend like her. It comes back to bite her when she's later asked to pack and clean up Sam's apartment with his prickly best friend, Adam Berg. It seems at first that Adam doesn't want anything to do with her, but the more time they spend together, the more they both realize they could be so much more if they're only brave enough to reach for it.

It's a sweet romance with a twist on survivor's guilt that I appreciated. BRACA1 is a tough diagnosis to receive, and it is not easy to take the steps necessary to stay healthy. Seeing Alison deal with that even as she's trying to please everyone around her is a good way to ground the sweetness of her relationship with Adam. The fact that the romance is there but the focus is more on her learning to love and accept herself as she is, not as she thinks others will like her, is a great choice on Palmer's part.

I liked that even though the story deals with Alison's issues and other characters' grief, it's a very positive and loving book. Reading it was a pleasure, which is why it was a little saddening to leave the characters.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Son for the sweetly romantic read!