Despite her immense talent at writing, Jessica was always deemed to follow in her mother's footsteps as it was Cynthia that was always celebrated. Even Cynthia herself believed that Jessica was relegated to her shadows as it was her and not her daughter's talents that should be celebrated. It is no wonder that Jessica felt she had the inability to foster deep and strong relationships with others with the exception of Penny's given the fact that she grew up essentially without a mother who put Jessica first and was her strongest champion to succeed. Essentially Jessica joined the book tour to see if her and her mother could find a way to forage a strong relationship. Even with Cynthia suffering a stroke that weakened her to the point that even speech rendered her selfless, she still treated Jessica as second best in light of her community of worshippers. Jessica especially when learning about Grace, always knew she would be the consolation prize. I applauded the fact that Jessica moved on, embraced a relationship with Raj and wrote the memorial as a cathartic tribute to her mother.

4.5 stars Thanks to NetGalley and Ten16 Press for the ARC. This book was a pleasant surprise in its complexities with the characters, their relationships and experiences. This would be a good book club choice as there’s lots to unpack and discuss.

Jessica is a would be author with a famous mom who is a renowned poetess. They have a relationship that is strained to say the least.

Her mom, Cynthia, asks that she come with her on a tour after another major literary achievement. Jessica does, but there is no smooth going on this tour. Old hurts, new hurts come to a head, and an old flame happens to be on one of the stops.

Jessica's life is in shambles, her best friend has a life of her own, and she's just ended a major relationship. Could things get worse?

Yes they can. Sometimes things get worse, before they get better.

Thank you Caitlan Hamilton Marketing and Publicity and Ten16 Press as well as NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

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