I was really excited for this one, but I didn’t end up absolutely loving it. For context, this book deals with issues very close to me. In my life, my family has dealt with 6 cancer diagnoses, 4 in a row in the last 5 years (this is the first year without a diagnosis!…. Knock on wood). My little cousin has a severe disability, my best friend’s (who is like a sister to me) brother also has an extremely severe disability. I also took care of my grandpa a lot when he was dealing with dementia, and there are some genetic (not as serious) chronic illnesses that run in my family. In conclusion… I am something of an expert on illnesses myself (is that reference totally outdated? lol). So these are topics that deeply interest me and when I got recommended this book by someone who really loved it I was super excited, which may have been the problem.

I loooooove the premise, I see some of the lower ratings saying they thought it was weird but that was not my case at all. I mean it was weird but in the best way possible. This is such a cool and creative way to talk about a very serious topic, a way which also gives it a bit of a lightness with the ridiculousness of the topic. The truth is I just didn’t connect as much as I hoped with the book. Which sucks and it is the worst criticism ever beacuse it’s not something tangible and it’s not even a real criticism at all. I don’t really know why, I don’t know if my expectations were too high or if, with the amount of these situations I’ve dealt with, I’ve kind of reached a cap with them and I need a very extraordinary story to change that? Maybe I’ve just reflected on these situations too much and therefore for a story to hit me the way it should it needs to present me something new, which I don’t think this did really. It just fell a bit flat for me.

I did enjoy the book, though. Again I genuinely think the premise was genius and I really liked our characters, especially Wren who I found interesting and complex, and Margaret, who was so cute but also incredibly resilient. The writing style was very beautiful too. And there were definitely some moments that did get me. Like Lewis and Wren’s last scene, changing their roles of dreamer and realist, that destroyed my heart. Also when Wren was hiding from Lewis during his attacks, the last part of Angela’s diagnosis and how that affected Wren and hers relationship, and even Wren’s last moments with Joy (which I think was a beautiful ending), those moments really hit home.

I do think the pacing/structure was a bit odd but I don’t think it was that big of deal. Like the first part of the Angela section felt like reading another book and I didn’t enjoy it as much, but I do think it was worth it in the end. I will say though, Lewis’ section, specifically the start, was super sad lol like it kind of made me feel really depressed, though it was made up by the hopefulness Joy made me feel.

Anyway, a 3.5 to me is not an awful rating by any means. A 3.5 means I liked this! Not my favourite book ever, not my least liked book ever by any means either, I enjoyed it. But with these type of sentimental, reflective, emotional stories, it has to really hit you, and it just kind of missed the mark a bit for me. Either way I can definitely understand why so many people love it and hold it in their hearts, and I definitely hope it’s helped others deal with their issues regarding illnesses and caregiving, and I hope it’s given others a sense of being understood. That, I think, is the most important part of a book like this, knowing that you’re not alone.

So this was a cute book. Not my favourite but great to end the year in a bit of a festive note.

It was a really nice, fast read, I read it in like two seatings I’m pretty sure. The writing was really fun, fast paced and entertaining.

The characters were nice and well written, Eve was a fun main character and I really felt for her and everything she went through. I loved Greg as a love interest and I was really interested in him and his family. The side characters were great. I liked both of their families, Eve’s parents were thee cutest, I enjoyed their scenes together and their quirks so much and they felt very real. And I loved the whole cast in the ceramics class, Mimi and Raj and Danny... And of course Marmite!! I mean how could you not adore him?

And I really enjoyed the setting. The small town and the boat and the ceramics house… the whole thing felt really cozy and like the perfect getaway.

I would say I just wanted more from the story? Like I wanted more from the love story, from the secret with Greg, from the fallout with Liam…

I thought Eve and Greg were cute but I just wanted more scenes with them together. I felt like they barely knew each other when they kissed and I honestly don’t think they even knew each other that well in the end? Maybe I’m crazy but I don’t think they interacted with each other that much, so I wasn’t that invested in the romance. Same thing with Greg’s secret, I was really interested in him and his family, and I wanted to see more, I wanted to feel more emotion and see more of what they were going through.

And when Eve finds out who the mystery “vagina” is I thought she was soo calm, especially after the secret was kept the entire time, I wanted more of a reaction, it felt like there was barely any fallout or consequences.

And I liked the writing but there were some choices I didn’t love, like the chapters where we see the same scene from both of their perspectives. I wish we had spent that time expanding on their relationship instead of repeating the same thing, you know?

Also I was a bit put off by the way the author talked about women at times. Especially as someone that studies and works in fashion, most women I know are very nice and I always have a hard time and raise my brow when media portrays all women in fashion as the stereotypical mean, superficial girls.

Anyway, it was a nice, cute book. Not my favourite but not my least favourite either. It was a fast paced light read, good palette cleanser and nice to read during Christmas.