Author: Cara Bastone
Year published: 2025
Category: Adult fiction (romance)
Pages: 416 pages
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): USA (NY)
Summary: Lenny’s a bit of a mess at the moment. Ever since cancer stole away her best friend, she has been completely lost. She’s avoiding her concerned parents, the apartment she shared with her best friend, and the ever-laminated “live again” list of things she’s promised to do to survive her grief. But maybe if she acts like she has it all together, no one will notice she’s falling apart.
The only gigs she can handle right now are temporary babysitting jobs, and she just landed a great one, helping overworked, single mom Reese and her precocious daughter, Ainsley. The only catch: Ainsley’s uncle, Miles, always seems to be around, and is kind of. . . a walking version of the grumpy cat meme. Worse – he seems to be able to see right through her.
Surprisingly, Miles knows a lot about grief and he offers Lenny a proposition. He’ll help her complete everything on her “live again” list if she’ll help him connect with Ainsley and overcome his complicated relationship with Reese. Lenny doubts anything can fill the void her best friend has left behind, but between late night ferry rides, midnight ramen, and a well-placed shoulder whenever she needs it, Miles just won’t stop showing up for her. Turns out, sometimes your life has to end to find your new beginning.
Review: Bastone's novel hit the spot and was the perfect book for my current mood.
Yes, this is a contemporary romance, but it is different from most that I've read in that the two main characters are experiencing a similar grief-inducing situation. They end up taking care of one another, looking out for one another, admitting from the start that there is an attraction, but not wanting to act upon it because they are. helping the other work through things.
Grief in a romance? Yes. Lots of it and it is handled so well. Through both Lenny and Miles we read what it is like for them to have lost important people, how it has affected their lives and their relationships with family and friends, what it looks like, and what it takes to pull oneself out of a depression.
What it takes is equal parts patience, distraction, tears, anger, and time, and these characters also have the grace to give each other space when they need it (and to smother the other with love if necessary).
This novel felt real and, of course, happily ever after in various relationships makes me happy.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Cover Love--Favorite color (sunset)
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