This book was so different from what I thought it would be. The main character Sienna tends to be pretty selfish and self-centered. Even with her cancer diagnosis, I thought it would humble her a little but it didn't. This novel can be pretty depressing at times because of the subject material. It took a long time for the mystery about her mom finally to be resolved. For me, that was actually the best part of the book. I think you need to be in the right state of mind to read this novel because I've really loved almost everything else this author has written. (this is her pen name.)

#2 on my best-reads for 2019.
Whatever It Takes is such a compelling story. Masterfully written, it deals with hard topics and difficult relationships. If you want a story that makes you really think, with characters of depth, and a slow unveiling of the facts then this is a book for you. It will stay with me for a long time.

This book really touched me. I loved the way it made me think. There was so many great things about it. I do want to make sure you know that this one is not squeaky clean. It’d probably be rated PG-13 pretty much for thematic elements. There are a few words, but nothing terrible.

I loved Sienna. For me, she was a character who I was able to relate to. She seems to be down to earth. But she keeps too much to herself. She’s home in Wyoming staying with her dad on the ranch she grew up on. And she’s found a lump. Sienna doesn’t want to tell her family about it because her mom died from breast cancer when Sienna was small. So she keeps it from everyone around her, until she could no longer keep it.

Most of the story is from Sienna’s point of view. There are a few chapters with her dad’s point of view and one or two from her grandma’s. I loved the way the author did that. It let the reader know just enough to be able to understand what went out in the past. But not too much to reveal anything too early.

The plot of this one is great. I loved the way the reader learns things as Sienna does and kind of moves with her through the plot. I’m still thinking of the ending. And I’m wondering what happens with Sienna and her family after the story. I’d really like to know. Maybe Jessica Pack can help me with this!

Although the plotline was interesting, I just failed to connect with any of the characters on an emotional level, especially the main character Sienna. I mean for a person who has breast cancer that can be potentially fatal if not treated in time, she seems to ignore it like it's nothing more than a common flu! The writing was alright as well but the characters just did not work for me.

My thanks to NetGalley, the publisher Kensington and author for providing me with an e-Arc of the book.

This book had potential but just fell flat. Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

I wish that I could have enjoyed this book more, but cancer and loss are difficult topics to read. I was more interested in the present story, but the back and forth made it hard to engage. Maybe another book by this author would be more my speed.

Whatever It Takes
by Jessica Pack
Published: May 28, 2019 by Kensington Books
Genre/Category: Women’s Fiction
Read For: NetGalley Review

⭐️⭐️💫

2 1/2 stars
Book synopsis from Amazon: Sienna has no memory of her late mother, yet every significant day of her life—birthdays, the first day of high school, graduation—has been marked by a letter written during her last weeks of life. Sienna knows her father feels grateful to be able to offer up these connections to the loving, talented woman his daughter never got a chance to know. Yet for Sienna herself, the letters have become a dreaded burden, a reminder that every milestone is less than it would be if both parents were still living.

A month before her twenty-fifth birthday, Sienna finds a lump. Facing a cancer diagnosis, Sienna begins to ask questions about her mother’s terminal illness—questions that reveal unsettling inconsistencies and voids in the stories she’s been told. The deeper she digs, the more the image of her mother as a contented homemaker warps into something much darker and far more troubling. If Sienna’s dad lied about this, what else did he lie about?

What does it mean to be a good parent? What role does the past play in who we are? And to what lengths should one go to protect a child? Like the best of Jodi Picoult, Whatever It Takes delves into these fascinating questions of family and identity with power, insight, and love.
Review: If a book has any type of medical premise, I am usually drawn to it, so I was glad to have gotten a copy of Whatever It Takes from NetGally for review.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I was really upset with the main character Sienna and how she handled her diagnosis and treatment, as a medical professional this was just frustrating beyond belief. That is just my personal opinion. I also didn’t feel any type of emotional connection to any of the characters and struggled to read at times because of this. So much of the novel seemed so unnecessarily drawn out, yet the premise had such promise. This book just is not what I was expecting when I read the synopsis, I was hoping for so much more.
Eventually you finally get to the mystery of Sienna’s mother, but by the time you get there you may have already given up reading. The ending does actually have a bit of a twist to it, but even then, you don’t feel completely fulfilled when finished. I understand this author has other books published, and this is a title written under a pen name. From what I gather her other books have a decent following, so I would be willing to give one a try. This one just didn’t do it for me, but there were other reviewers that seemed to disagree.
Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for the copy of this book and the opportunity to review this book for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Whatever It Takes by Jessica Pack is a recommended story about relationships, a health crisis, lies, and seeking answers.

Sienna Chadwick, 25, is estranged from her husband, Tyson, and living on the family ranch with her father, Mark, when she finds a lump in her breast and is facing a cancer diagnosis. She refuses to tell anyone about it. She does question her father about her mother's cancer. Sienna has always been told that her mother died from breast cancer when she was a toddler. Her father, Mark, however, is evasive about the details of her mother's death and Sienna is wondering why there are all these gaps in her knowledge of her mom. She doesn't want to push her father, who is recovering from his prostate cancer, but clearly there should be more information about her. All she has is the stories her dad tells and the letters that were supposedly written by her mother for Mark to give to their daughter on certain big moments and times of Sienna's life. Tyson, who is living in London, learns about her cancer and returns to Wyoming to help.

The story is mostly through Sienna's voice, with a few chapters from Mark, her father, and her grandmother's point-of-view. Some of the letters that are supposed to be from Sienna's mother are interspersed between chapters. Whatever It Takes is an okay way to pass some time but is nothing special. The problem is it is poorly plotted/imagined. The narrative starts out with an immature young woman facing a health crisis via denial until she is forced to deal with it. She refuses to do the mature thing and tell people about it. Hiding it seems nonsensical and, quite frankly, a bit ridiculous. Sienna is not a very appealing young woman and the constant introspection included after or before all the dialogue, does not make her any more appealing. Then the whole story morphs into a mystery about who was Sienna's mother. I'm sure the breast cancer was a way to have Sienna ask about her mother's cancer in the plot, but to be realistic, she could/should have asked about it anyway for a family medical history.

I'm recommending the novel because once it commits to being a mystery, it is more interesting. The twisty ending helped.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Kensington.

http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2019/06/whatever-it-takes.html
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2846478186
https://www.librarything.com/work/23056740/book/169484687
https://twitter.com/SheTreadsSoftly/status/1136035918710751232

Facing a crisis is tough, but facing one when you have questions about who you are, about your marriage, and about your future is just about the end all for Sienna. She has already lost her mother at an early age, been through IVF, separated from her husband for business, taking care of her father after his illness, now she has to face a medical crisis and doesn't want to tell anyone. She must look to her past for answers and finds out some things people never wanted her to know.
Great characters, interesting story and beautiful setting. Definitely recommend!

Sienna has been receiving letters on special birthdays and events since her mother died . But she didn’t receive one on her 25th. Where the letters written by her mother or someone else.
Sienna is going through a hard time having spent a lot of money on trying to conceive and her marriage being fragile . Her dad is diagnosed with prostate cancer and moved to Wyoming and then she finds a lump in her breast. She asks her dad about losing her mum to cancer when she was 2 . But he doesn’t seem to want to talk about it .So sienna takes it on herself to find out the truth.

This book wasn't what I'd expected it to be and I freely admit I didn't read the blurb because this author (also known as Josi Kilpack) is an auto yes for me. That's why this whole book came as a surprise. But honestly, I like it that way with the books from authors I have read for so long and know I enjoy.

This story was full of trouble and difficult things. It was hard to find the light, the positive, and the hope to hold on to. As a reader, I don't mind hard things but I am always looking for the hopeful thread that will carry me through. It was hard to find that in this book. The other thing I am always looking for is the emotional connections to the characters. I really didn't get that in this book. Sienna is an expert at blocking people out and I felt that strongly. It felt as though I was blocked out as well. I definitely had compassion for the many, many hard things Sienna was facing but found myself constantly frustrated by her too. I had a harder time with this book.

It is so interesting to me how we, as people, so inherently want to know who we are and where we come from. There is an instinct deep within us that craves that foundation of knowing who our people are. I think this book really brings those achings to life. I liked the constant surprises in the plot in this book. I was guessing all along at what I thought was happening or where things were going and I wasn't always right. I like plot surprises. Even though I didn't love this book as much as others by this author, I'll still be coming back for more.

Content: swearing, drug use, death, infertility, cancer, intimate relations outside of marriage with no details.

Jessica Pack (aka Josi Kilpack) delivers another amazing novel! Sienna's story kept me guessing and guessing up until the very end. Not knowing what happened with her life was driving me crazy, let alone how it would make a character like Sienna feel. Pack delivers a poignant message about the love a parent has for a child and what a parent will do for their child. She also highlights on the mistakes that love sometimes causes us to make. Overall, this was another brilliant novel by Jessica Pack and one I will be thinking for some time.

Thank you Kensington Books and NetGalley for the eARC!

Facing a serious health crisis, Sienna decides to ask questions about her mother, who died when she was only two years old, but discovers startling inconsistencies that lead her to dig deeper, finding a complex web of lies.

Marriage is challenging, but when combined with infertility, an overseas job, possible cancer, and other stresses, the breaking point for all of it can be achieved without much effort. My heart went out to Sienna, who tries to be strong and face everything pressing in on her alone. I could feel her desperate need for answers and thought the way the chapters went back and forth between past and present was a clever way to divulge the truth.

This tangled web of deception was interesting to watch unfold and really made me think about the impacts of family relationship and identity. Sienna's relationships are all complicated in one way or another and watching her sort out her connections with others, as well as the mystery surrounding her mother was satisfying. I enjoyed this one and thought it was well done, but wanted the vague threads of the story to have more resolution.

Content: moderate romance (affairs, innuendo, implied intimate relations); mild+ descriptions of drug use; moderate language

It wouldn't be as bad as it was if every character hadn't been as stupid as they were.

The main character, Sienna, has breast cancer. She doesn't tell her family or loved ones for a long time, then proceeds to skip treatment for weeks and every time someone calls her out on it she gets really defensive and starts pulling weak excuses out of her ass. Sweetie I'm so sorry you aren't ready to tell your family and friends you have cancer but are you more ready to fucking die???????

I had A LOT of issues with this, but the "doing anything for your family" rethoric leads to murdering a family member struggling with addiction (who had been clean for two weeks for the first time in their life). AND IT'S NOT EVEN CHALLENGED!!! What. The fuck.

The rest of the book (character development, plot, writing style) was average at best. Although the plot twists were good, the rest of the book doesn't hold up on its own.

When twenty five year old Sienna finds herself facing a cancer diagnosis , it immediately makes her begin to question many things in her life. The first and biggest question in her mind is to find out more about the mother who died when she was just a toddler, and who has loomed over Sienna's life by means of posthumous letters, ever since. All her father has told her is that he met her mother while he was studying in Canada, they fell in love and got married when she became pregnant, but she died from breast cancer. Obviously this makes Sienna worry,but she hesitates to ask her father for more information since the topic only seems to upset him and make him clam up. Determined to find out more by herself, she uncovers some very surprising information that casts a shadow on everything she thought she knew about herself and her family, and if her father could lie to her about this, what else could he be hiding from her?
While I enjoyed this book, and found the story to be interesting and well crafted, I wish that the author had spent a little more time allowing us to get to know Sienna better, the whole heart of the story hinges on the reader caring about her, and sadly I just didn't care enough to feel really invested in her story or her future. I did like the glimpses of other perspectives given by chapters written from her father's and even her grandmother's perspective , that was a good idea and they were nicely distributed throughout the book , but I really wish that some more of her father's chapters were included , especially some dealing with the aftermath and fallout when all his secrets are revealed.
Overall I liked this book but did not love it.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Sienna is going through a tough period of her life--she and her husband Tyson are separated by a continent and an ocean. She's in Wyoming and Tyson's working in London. Their marriage hit a rocky patch after they'd spent 3 years and $30,000 trying to conceive. Right about the time they decided to take a break from the fertility treatments her dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer which is how Sienna ended up in Wyoming. Now on top of all that Sienna has discovered a lump in her right breast. She grew up being told that her mother died from breast cancer when Sienna was only 2 years old. Sienna chooses to keep her diagnosis to herself but wants to find out more about her mother's cancer, however her dad doesn't want to talk about it.

Growing up Sienna received letters from her mom on significant birthdays and events, but didn't receive one on this birthday--her 25th. Her estranged husband seems to think the letters aren't from her mother and she starts to wonder about it when she can't find anything about her mother in her dad's papers. After undergoing a lumpectomy she follows some leads which takes her to Canada, trying to find the truth about her mother.

I've read almost everything by Josi Kilpack and decided to read these new ones released under her pen name, Jessica Pack, but I have mixed feelings about this particular one. I found the story really interesting but found myself not really liking the character of Sienna most of the time. She doesn't let anyone help her with anything which is how she ends up in a hospital in Canada with a massive infection from her lumpectomy.

I'm not sure how I feel about her dad, Mark or his mom Diane (Dee). I know they thought they were doing what was best for Sienna when everything happened, but feel she should have been told the truth when she was older--maybe a little at a time as she grew up. Not everything at once which is how she finally found out the truth.

I liked that the chapters switch between Sienna and Mark's (her dad) point of view. Sienna's are in the present and Mark's are from the past so the reader gets the backstory that Sienna doesn't know yet. I would like to have had chapter from Mark that takes place in the present after Sienna discovered the truth about her mother. This is an interesting family mystery which turned out very different than how I imagined it would end. A couple of twists I didn't think of and a major one at the end.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. All thoughts expressed in this review are my own.

Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of Whatever it Takes in exchange for an honest review.
At the age of 25, Sienna finds a lump which leads to the diagnosis she dreaded. Her mom passed away from the same diagnosis she now carries. I struggled to connect with the characters. I chose not to finish this book because I began skipping around to try to find the plot and the main theme but was unable to find something worth the investment.

Sienna's health crisis- breast cancer at age 25- propels her to look further into her mother, who she has always believed died of the same disease at a similarly young age. Her husband, Tyson, from whom she is geographically estranged (he's in London and she's helping her father with his ranch), thinks there's more to the story of her mother. Her quest for the truth tears at her assumptions. This is well written but it's got a mix of themes going. Thanks to net galley for the ARC.

The premise of this book piqued my interest but unfortunately, I found the writing style too simplistic, I wasn’t invested in the main characters at all, Sienna came across to me as far too naive and unrealistic. I was beginning to skim pages waiting for the plot to move along, I decided to quit at 35%.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC of this novel. I loved the cover and loved the book. I felt the fear we all might when we have a health scare, think we know our history and find out that might not be the case. Girls have complicated relationships with their moms, but when you lose them young, you have to rely on what they might have left behind, and what others tell you. This story has well developed characters and the plot was intriguing.