This book just wasn’t my cup of tea. It wasn’t terrible - just a bit too fluffy for my taste. I know there are readers who enjoy what I’d call a “box standard HEA,” but I tend to look for something a bit darker and more complex.

The friendship between Sadie, Reid, Audrey, and Emma-growing up together, going to school, making future plans, creating memories and bucket lists, experiencing heartbreak and fallouts, felt predictable and average. I expected more depth or unexpected turns, which is probably why it took me so long to finish. Nothing about the storyline truly grabbed me.

That said, I did appreciate the dynamic between the characters. Watching them grow from teens to adults and navigate life both with and without Sadie added a layer of emotional vulnerability that was relatable and at times, moving. While the plot didn’t wow me, it had those moments of emotional realism that were worth highlighting.

I really enjoyed this book.
Four friends have a bucket list. They start when they graduated high school and want to complete. Life and circumstances start to happen and the bucket list remains untouched for many years. It is only after something they all experience that is life changing, that the bucket list is revisited. When this happens, they all change in ways that no one would imagine.
I would highly recommend!
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed reading this. I hadn't read any of this author's books before - although I kept meaning to.
This book was, in my opinion, more than I had been expecting. I knew it centred on friendship, loss and the bucket list. But I wasn't expecting to the expression of the portrayal of grief to be so real. Having read the acknowledgements I saw the author had bereavements while writing it, and she certainly was able to channel those feelings. Hopefully it was cathartic.
There were many nice touches, the many letters that are read while completing the bucket list and the redoing of the tattoos - who would want to be the last woman standing with 3 coloured in triangles?!?
There's a lot of knowledge in the book too - not just about bereavement and grief - but about wildlife and travel.
Given that this book was about loss and there are emotions on display throughout it, it is quite an uplifting story. But the story is not only about grief and loss, there is much about friendship and acceptance and love too.
There is of course an epilogue which takes them into 2026.

Oh boy, that was such an emotional and beautiful read. I had tears in my eyes at many points and it really touched me. A story about grieving, healing, friendship and that there is light somewhere, no matter how dark it is around you.

Sadie is dead. She was the best friend of Emma, Audrey and Reid. They had written a bucket list together 13 years ago, but unfortunately, due to a big fight between Audrey and Reid, they never got to finish the list. But now everything is different. Sadie leaves a wish: the three of them should do the remaining items on the bucket list without her. Reid and Audrey have to face each other and who knows, maybe they can find each other again after all these years?

The story had really great vibes. Following the three of them on their road trip along the famous Route 66 was really fun. I was initially apprehensive about the romance between Reid and Audrey because they didn't really have any chemistry at first and Audrey was also in the middle of a bad break-up, but I was proved wrong. It was very sudden, but it worked very well for me and I liked the way the relationship developed. I was also very touched by all the angst mixed with the grief for Sadie. I also liked the combination of friends-to-lovers and this intimate friendship that connected these three women. Being there for each other, even in such difficult times, and finding a tradition of not forgetting their mutual best friend... that was just beautifully portrayed. And the story about the fireflies was so touching. Just thinking about it warms my heart.

A book I absolutely recommend! Lots of big and strong emotions, a funny road trip and a journey about healing and finding yourself.

Wow, if you need some perspective on the value of friendship this book will do it for you. This story will definitely have you in tears, but it will also warm your heart. Three long-time friends come together to find a way to grieve the loss of their best friend. A sweet story filled with lots of loving memories shared between friends. What a wonderful thing life would be if everyone had a friend group like these women. Emma, Audrey, and Reid are each dealing with the loss in their own way, but they have each other to be vulnerable with provide comfort, be sad and cry, and also be happy while remembering all the amazing times they had together. This is a truly wonderful story.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley and this is my voluntary, honest review.

I wasn't sure what to expect from my first Morgan Lee Miller read. I loved the premise, figuring there would be lots of delicious angst. And I wasn't disappointed. Between the aftermath of Sadie's death and the various heartbreaks Reid and Audrey were dealing with, the feels were all over the pages.

I finished the book yesterday and woke up thinking about Reid and Audrey. And
Sadie, too. Even though we only met her in the very beginning of the book, her personality and love for ERAS shines through her letters. No spoilers, but it's an incredibly touching story.

It wasn't perfect but got pretty close. There were a few things that hopefully were caught in another round of proofreading. All in all, a delightfully moving book with some good spice. I will be catching up on the author's back catalogue until the next new release.

Thanks to Bold Strokes and NetGalley for the ARC! And an extra thanks to NetGalley for adding the "send to Kobo" option!

This is a story about 3 women who are mourning their childhood friend Sadie who passed away from cancer. Sadie writes a series of letters for her friends to open on a road trip from San Diego to Gatlinburg. Along the way they make multiple stops to fulfill their old bucket list that they made when they were 18.

I Enjoyed the road trip and the places they saw. Growing up in Ohio we had lots of lightening bugs to chase and catch. The last stop on their trip is in Gatlinburg to watch a Firefly event where they all light up simultaneously. I’ve read on line that firefly’s are headed to extinction. So sad if true.

There is an enemies to friends romance story that was believable and fun to read.

Thanks to BSB and Net Galley for the opportunity to read and review this. ARC.

This story was pretty predictable, and honestly, I was expecting more. The premise sounded great, and I've really enjoyed other books by this author. But it just didn't live up to my expectations. I found it repetitive, especially since the whole love-hate thing between two of the friends, Reid and Audrey, was so obvious from the start. Emma, the third friend, felt like a minor character, even unnecessary at times Even the road trip and them checking off that bucket list they made in high school before college didn't really grab my attention. Honestly, the story was a bit bland for my taste It might've been because I just didn't care much for any of the main characters, especially Audrey. Not sure, maybe a little bit of everything

Wow, just wow. This was one hell of an emotional read. I should have suspected it considering the blurb, but it's not always done well. This one exceeded my expectations. From chapter 1, this book pulled me in and didn't let go until the end.

This follows a friend group wanting to finish a bucket list they made when they were teenagers after the death of their friend Sadie. They had a fallout years prior between Reid and Audrey. This was still a book mending past relationships and a hope for the future. The only romantic relationship in the book was between Reid and Audrey and them mending fences before becoming more. Emma and Sadie both help and its interesting to watch the dynamic unfold.

I recommend this book, but before you do, be prepared. You will have all the emotions.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3,75⭐️

In this book we follow Reid, Audrey and Emma after their best friend Sadie tragically passes away and leaves them a note with her last wish that is to complete the bucket list they made together on high school but Audrey and Reid haven’t spoken in six years and so they are forced to confront their unresolved emotions to fulfill Sadie’s wish.

The thing i enjoyed the most about this book was how grief was portrayed since we got to see how it affected each one of them in different forms and also how Sadie was always present even if not physically.
I have to say that it took me a while to warm up to Reid and Audrey’s relationship, I wasn’t particularly invested in their relationship because I didn’t see the development of romantic feelings until halfway through which I understand knowing that Audrey had just gone through a break up but I expected something different I guess.

Although in the second part of the story they ended up winning me over.
Definitely a good story about friendship and how grief affect us all differently.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC!

I promised myself I wouldn’t read this in one sitting and truly failed. This was such a heartwarming read. The book explored grief in a raw, emotional way, showing how it impacted both relationships and friendships.
I loved the special bond between Reid, Audrey, Emma and Sadie, even in death, as they completed the bucket list from their teenage years. It was heartwarming to read, whilst still being fun and full of banter.
Both Audrey and Reid had emotional damage that we got to explore both through their reconciled friendship and beginning of their relationship. I loved both characters and reading their development as they confronted their pasts and supported each other was beautiful.
My only critique would be that I don’t feel the cover did this book justice. I found it gives a fantasy vibe and doesn’t communicate the heart warming nature of the book.

My goodness, that was such a good read! I loved it! I was all in the feels because this book had a bit of everything I love. Audrey, Reid, Emma, and Sadie were so special, and I fell in love with all of them. Whenever Sadie was mentioned, I got big feelings and lots of waterworks. 

I’ll admit that I wasn’t a fan of Reid in the beginning, but with just the right amount of character development she grew on me. The pacing was realistic and believable when it came to how things progressed with Audrey and Reid. Did things get spicy? You betcha. It was so passionate and damn well-written that I was embarrassingly left hot and bothered. They were sweet too though, and I just couldn’t get enough of them. 

A new favorite of mine that I will definitely reread. Overall, it was a bittersweet and heartwarming read that I highly recommend! 


I’d like to thank NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the arc, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is a sweet YA book. The writing was a little too pedestrian for me but it will be a great read for readers who want a tearjerker friendship story.

This was an emotional read but also so endearing. To have such an amazing friend group that when one of them is dying, all she thinks about is how to get her old friends to reconnect after a falling out 6 years prior between Audrey and Reid. Despite that the book starts off on a very sad note, Sadie’s funeral just 11 years after graduation when they are just 29 years old, it is also a book about hope and how to mend old hurts and find happiness.

I loved to read about how Reid and Audrey slowly reconnected and started to see each other in a new way after both having horrible break-ups and thus have a lot of hang-ups. Sadie from the grave and Emma both have such a good influence on them, and you really see them grow during the trip and start to hope there may be happiness out there also for them.

This is a book I really recommend if you want an emotional read.

This was perfect.

I mean nothing is really perfect but this is close. It had me tearing up from chapter 1 and it never let me go. It was a great journey to take with these characters and it’s a journey I will reread multiple times.

The writing felt real and the way the characters interacted felt natural to who each of them was. They had moments I laughed with them, moments I cried, times I was annoyed, and times I just wanted to hug them and tell them it would all be ok.

I couldn’t stop reading. It’s a book that will stay with me. One of the best books I’ve read this year.

Thanks to NetGallery and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

no your crying. no your smiling like a giddy reader. no your feeling all the emotions under the sun! okay okay i am. and dam you Morgan for doing this to me! but no actually thank you. when a book makes you feel these things then i cast myself lucky.
these characters had me wanting to be by the side, shake them, hug them and then laugh with them.
their stories all so bold and uniquely their own but oh so real. these girls and then woman jumped off the page to me. for me. they swirled around my head and mind and didn't leave even when id finished the book. i felt so lucky to feel part of their story even if it simply meant i was the one reading it. Morgan knows how to write heart. she knows how to hold hearts. she knows how to write stunning stories. and this one hit every single mark and more. mmmmmm just could sit here and and ruminate over the book for a while longer....