Goodreads

Release date: March 23, 2021

Publisher: Berkley

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Synopsis:

Marin Cole has never:
Seen the ocean
Climbed a mountain
Taken a risk on love
….But if her sister’s plan works, she just might do all three.

Ever since her journalist mother died on assignment, Marin has played it safe, refusing to set foot outside the state of Tennessee. Her wild-child younger sister, Sadie, has trotted the globe as a photographer, living off of art and adrenaline.

When Sadie returns from a tough assignment abroad and looks a little worse for wear, Marin reluctantly agrees to a sisters’ spa weekend on the tropical island of Saba. But her lifelong fear of travel is affirmed when Sadie misses the flight, Marin’s luggage gets mixed up with another passenger’s, and an episode of turbulence sends her hurtling into the lap of Lucas Tsai, the handsome stranger who stole her sister’s seat.

For the first time in a long time, Marin has to step outside of her comfort zone as she explores the island with Lucas and learns what she’s been missing out on. With each breathtaking new experience, Marin gets closer to her real self, the man she’s falling for, and the heart-wrenching truth about why she’s there in the first place.

Review:

Before I get into my thoughts on this one I feel the need to talk about some triggers. If you don’t want anything to be spoiled skip this review. I always try and keep my reviews completely spoiler free but in this case, the content is so heartbreaking I feel like it needs a big warning, especially since the cover and synopsis combination makes it seem like a light hearted rom com and it’s really not. Last warning…………..Sadie has cancer and her death plays out on page. It was brutal and I cried, I’m not a crier but this was absolutely tragic y’all. If cancer is at all a trigger for you please know that this one is heavy.

This starts off lighthearted and fun, exactly what I expected to begin with based on that adorably cheerful cover and description. I loved Marin and was excited to see how her island adventure, I agreed with Sadie that she needed to step outside her comfort zone and let loose. But then things turned dark and instead of a spicy rom com it read like women’s fiction with a secondary romantic plot line. This was fine by me, I had some friends that gave me a heads up, but I just don’t want anyone to go into this one with the wrong expectations. If you go in knowing like I did that this is more of a story about sisters and one’s journey to self discovery. It was heart wrenching, beautiful and memorable though. This review may lead you to believe that I didn’t enjoy it, but I actually liked it a lot. Between the gorgeous setting, vibrant secondary characters and a bittersweet story about Marin and Sadie, I was super invested. It’s just not necessarily the book you would think it’s being marketed as and I wanted to make that very clear. But if you don’t mind crying your eyes out for a good chunk of the book, this was such a heartfelt read! Just proceed with caution and have those tissues ready.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.