Member Review

Lenny lost her best friend to cancer and is now lost herself. Unable to return to the home they shared but in denial of needing help, she takes on temporary babysitting jobs to keep herself busy and uncommitted. But her latest job with Reese and her precocious daughter Ainsley comes with an unexpected bonus: grumpy Uncle Miles. He's the one who sees through all of Lenny's masks and offers her a chance to try to learn to live with her grief in exchange for lessons on how to be an uncle and have a place in Reese and Ainsley's lives.

This is a book about grief more than anything. The romance is there and sweet as can be, but be prepared to have a few good cries as Lenny starts in a dark place and goes back to it several times. Bastone understands grief and how it can hit you like a freight train out of nowhere, with all that pain sometimes bleeding off the page, even as you're seeing Miles put Lenny back together. I had to put it down a couple of times when the words on the page hit too close to home. But I was always happy to come back to see Lenny slowly come alive with every action that Miles helped her take, and it was even better when she was the one who began to take the initiative. It's a little bit of hope that there can indeed be fun and light after a terrible loss.

Delighted thanks to NetGalley and Dial Press Trade Paperback for the moving read!