Ali Novak always delivers the most heartfelt romance. A childhood cancer survivor terrified of living because she could lose everything in a heartbeat is a sad foundation to build such a happy romance, but Novak somehow manages it.
Cara Samuel spent years preparing for the worst, and changing that mindset is harder than she's willing to admit. So when she gets a push to follow through on her bucket list from one of the members of her all-time-favorite band, the Heartbreakers, it feels like a chance to find herself again. Meeting the band was on her list, but her sister dating the lead singer took care of that. What Cara wasn't expecting was to find out that the brash drummer, JJ, would also turn out to be a kind, sweet friend.
I loved the way that the bucket list is what's getting Cara to do things, yet the focus isn't on the doing, it's on the people and interactions that result from them. Yes, Cara is going way out of her comfort zone for some of them, but it pays off in getting closer to her friends and family and creating wonderful memories. It's also forcing her to look at things from a different perspective, and that opens her up to the possibilities and to believing that there is life after surviving cancer.
And don't even get me started on JJ because he is perfect in his sweetness and understanding. Novak is great at writing male leads who are just flawed enough to be believable so that you can't help but fall in love with them.

I enjoyed the narration by Shannon McManus, although there were moments when it wasn't entirely clear who was speaking. It's a minor detail that doesn't take away from the story itself, but it's my preference to have very strong distinctions between characters in audiobooks.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Tantor Media for the wonderful romance listen!