This book is a long journey, but it needs to be, since it's a book about people who are grieving and stuck in place. And there aren't going to be quick remedies for that, but there will be a progression, one which is believably laid out by the author over the course of slightly more than a year.

The book opens with Anna, who lost her husband a couple of years previously and is still sheltering under the numbness. After one particularly low evening, Anna calls her late husband's old phone number. A number she's held on to just so she can call and hear his voice on the message. Except this time there's no reassuring voicemail recording. Someone actually picks up. Thus begins the slow development of a new friendship that offers Anna the listening ear and patient advice that she's been unknowingly yearning for.

Like me, you might not always be able to relate to exactly how these characters are acting. Like me, you might occasionally feel frustrated by the things they do or don't do. In a way, the reader becomes an extra member of the concerned friends brigade. Wanting to see the grieving person move forward a little sooner, but ultimately forced to recognize that grief takes unique pathways, and that the person will probably get to where they need to be in the end.

Although the subject matter was serious, I wouldn't say this was a hard or tragic book to read. It was poignant but not exhausting. The premise strained my credulity ever so slightly, not the strangers becoming friends over the phone idea, but that it would take Anna SO long to realize that she was the one who had been doing all the talking. It seemed like quite a one-sided friendship for a while. But what did sell me on the book was the concluding section. The emotional progress and the ultimate payoff were quite satisfying.

The writing was really good. Although it's a contemporary book, it felt fairly timeless because its focus was rightly on the character's internal worlds.

I’m typically able to tear through a romance novel in a day because I find them to be fast-paced and easy to read. I went into this book expecting the same (but with some grief added in for ✨spice✨) but what I got instead was a story of traumatic grief and the journey of healing after loss alongside a lovely, slow-burn romance. I’ve mentioned before that I’m a sucker for the ‘anonymous penpal’ trope and I loved that trope’s execution here. I think it was fitting how slowly Anna and Brody’s friendship developed and changed into romance, but the combination of the slow-burn romance and the book not having a ton of plot-fodder otherwise did make the book limp along quite slowly in parts.

For two years, nine months, and eight days, Anna has had pressed pause on living her life as she mourns the tragic death of her husband, Spencer. She spends her days trying to avoid her best friend’s efforts to get her to socialize, and spends every other weekend with Spencer’s family, honoring his memory. She is just not ready to move on, and is frustrated nobody in her life seems to understand that… until New Year’s Eve, when she calls her husband’s phone number to hear his voicemail - but is shocked to hear a voice on the other end of the phone. She strikes up a friendship with the owner of the voice, Brody, and together they work through grief and tragedy… and slowly rediscover what life after loss can be.

This book was really lovely - both heartbreaking and hopeful, with realistic characters that you can’t help but feel for. It was such a clear depiction of the stages of grief and the struggle to understand what “moving on” really looks like for a person coping with a tragic loss. I could really relate with Anna’s parents and best friend wanting to help her move on, and could also understand Anna’s perspective of wanting to hold on to the love of her life as long as she could. I thought Brody’s character was so well written - even though he was gruff and somewhat mysterious, he was exactly what Anna needed and I loved seeing their relationship evolve and learning more about Brody’s backstory as the book unfolded.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and it gave me all the feels. ❤️ I definitely recommend adding this to your TBR or pre-ordering it ahead of it’s release date in June! Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review the ARC of The Last Goodbye.

I requested this with a hunch that it was going to make me cry. When I started reading it, it was a bit rocky and couldn't hold my focus. But as I pushed myself to read more and get attached to these characters who are dealing with different kinds of grief, the more it tugged on my heartstrings. Prepare your tissues--and to fall in love.

*I would like to thank the author for the ARC copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Anna is grieving the loss of her husband. On New Years Eve she calls his phone number, only to have someone else answer. On the other end of the line is Brody, a man who is also grieving a loss, as well as struggling with his mental health. Both Anna and Brody are lost. Neither of them feel as though anyone they've talked to before this New Years Eve phone call has been able to truly understand the pain and grief they feel. As their phone calls become more frequent, the pair find themselves helping each other overcome hurdles that they truly felt they would never be able to overcome. Along the way, will they also find love?

I was wonderfully surprised by this book. I went into it expecting a typical fast paced romance between strangers. What I found in this book was SO MUCH more. Fiona Lucas portrays just how important it is to talk about your grief, and how vital it is to have someone who understands what you might be going through. Sometimes this person is your best friend or family, but maybe, just maybe, it could be a stranger on the other end of a phone call. In this novel, grief brings two people together to overcome the biggest challenges they've had to face, and through their relationship, they overcome fear and mental illness as well. This book had me tearing up multiple times, as the characters were just so real and authentic. I cannot wait for other people to have the opportunity to read The Last Goodbye!

The book synopsis does a great job of explaining the premise of this story. So instead, I will focus on a few of things I loved about this book.

By and far, this is the best contemporary novel I have ever read. I couldn’t wait to continue reading it whenever I had a chance. It handles some very heavy topics, such as grief and anxiety, in a thought-provoking and heartfelt way. It does an excellent job conveying what it can be like for both the person experiencing the grief and for their friends and family looking on.

The character development is outstanding. Within the first few chapters you know Anna’s whole backstory and get to join her for the journey forward. With Brody, you know next to nothing about him to start and only gradually piece his story together as the novel progresses. This presents a nice contrast for the reader. All together, it was easy to care about them as individual people.

The writing style is easy to read. The setting of the book is modern, but avoids too many pop culture references that would cause it to age poorly. Content-wise, there is no bedroom content and very little language.

I look forward to checking out more books by this author, and would highly recommend this novel to anyone who finds the premise interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a digital ARC!