This was a fantastic debut! An absolute delight, it was so lovely, hilarious and strangely endearing. For all the optimists and all the pessimists out there. No way am I giving this less than 5 stars when I laughed and cried and was so invested in all of the characters, I wanted to fly to Florida myself and find out how it ends. I have to say I had no idea this is straight up romance (maybe because of the title?). I mean I read the blurb and the tags saying what genre this is, are right there but when I requested it on Netgalley (hi thank you for this ARC) I honestly thought it was regular old fiction so to find out while reading that it is a lovely, heartwarming romance - I was overjoyed! I need to note how the love interest was a pessimistic grump but had such a sweet tooth and I guess since a lot of romance writers will not let their grumpy male characters taste a single sweet thing because they must be on brand, I enjoyed Hollis and his love for gooey cinnamon rolls and his hidden internal gooeyness!
I also think it is one of those books where the humor has to be right up your alley so it may not be for everyone but for me it was so we clicked perfectly. I felt it was a mix of Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh and The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston and if you read these two books, well that is all you need to know. If you didn't, do it! And then read this one. It also had that really good rom-com vibe where you just KNOW it would be a perfect movie. A lot of the references went right over my head but I did love the music in it and will be retreating to my 80s playlist right about now.

Love love love this!
Our beautiful heroine Millie is a little bit weird but also smart and funny and kooky and optimistic and absolutely gorgeous - and totally believable. Our hero Hollis is spiky and a pessimist, a bit withdrawn and a bit slower to like but absolutely scrummy when it comes down to it. I love how he showed his growing interest in Millie. The love story within a story for Mrs Nash works beautifully, and the whole conceit of Mrs Nash brings it all together. So very funny (paint by numbers, anyone?), and steamy, and poignant - this gave me all the feels.

I don’t remember enjoying a novel as much as this one and I can’t wait to see what author Sarah Adler does next. Five stars, and a must read!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Quercus for the ARC.

This is such a fun book! I loved the characters and the concept. I also really enjoyed the absurd situations Hollis and Millicent are put into. I am thoroughly convinced that a book like this comes once in a lifetime!
It’s incredibly unique and isn’t afraid to laugh at itself. It brought all the feels- volcanic laughter to teary snot bubbles. You will be rooting for Hollis and Millie until the last sentence.

Thank you to netgalley who provided a digital arc for an honest review.

This book was so freaking cute!! Firstly, congratulations to Sarah Adler on her debut funny, sweet, delicious novel! The plot is so good, and the writing is amazing, and I'm so happy I got the opportunity to read this wonderful book ❤️

Mrs. Nash's Ashes is a fun, entertaining, emotional, sweet, adorable story following Millicent Watts-Cohen - a hopeless romantic who believes in forevers, happily-ever-afters and endless love. And she engaged herself in a very important mission: reunite her best friend, Mrs. Nash, with her long-lost lover, Elsie. Well, more like Mrs. Nash's ashes safely kept and guarded in a wooden box.

Milli had a plan. She had a strict timeline to follow. She had a very clear goal: reunite Mrs. Nash and Elsie and prove to herself that true love exists and can be eternal.
What Milli did not anticipate, however, is that her flight from D.C to Florida would be cancelled. In desperate attempt to find a solution, Milli actually gets herself a ride partner - Hollis Hollenbeck, who is an acquaitance to Milli's ex-boyfriend, who doesn't remember Milli at all, and as if this weren't enough, he's a total grump. Boy, this roadtrip just screams FUN all over!

Milli is amazing. She's 100% optimistic, she's soooo funny (I love her!), she's a dreamer and absolutely lovable. She has an amazing energy, a quirky yet totally adorable personality, she's definitely someone you just want to have in your life and hold onto them forever. I love her, love her, love her!

Hollis, on the other hand, is nothing like Milli. He doesn't believe in love - I'll go as far as tell you he doesn't need nor want anything to do with the "L" word, - he's grumpy (so, so grumpy) and so handsome, and despite all that deep down you just know he has a great heart. Hollis is also on a mission of his own - he's on his way to Florida to see if a small meet-up with a friend (wink, wink) gets him out of his writing block and brings some inspiration.

As their roadtrip begins - and many funny and adventuruous circumstances happen, - Hollis starts writing again. And Milli and Hollis get to know each other. And oh my oh my they are amazing!

The dynamic between the two of them, their banter, the story, everything about Milli and Hollis is amazing, beautiful, literally everything you need!

I didn't expect I would enjoy this book so very much, but this is honestly one of the most delicious stories I read. I'm honoured to have had this opportunity and I cannot wait to see what else Sarah brings to this world - because from this novel onwards all Sarah's books will be automatically on my TBR.

Thank you very much NetGalley, Quercus Books and Sarah Adler for providing me the early copy of this digital book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Overall opinion of the book:

This is a grumpy sunshine book but instead of the female protagonist being completely unrealistic in how preppy and hyperactive she was constantly, this protagonist is actually really realistic and I loved her.

This was just a genuinely lovely heartfelt romance that will give you all the feelings. We’re reading about a past romance and a present romance between two different couples which are both great romances, but the past romance between Mrs Nash and Elsie honestly melted my heart it was so lovely.

There were parts of this book that genuinely made me laugh which doesn’t happen often. A lot of humour in romances I often just find quite cringy.

I liked that the third act conflict in this story felt realistic instead of just annoying - which is a problem I often have with romances.


Final thoughts:

This was such a fun and charming read and I would definitely pick up another book by this author!

I do wish there was a bit more build up for our present main character romance, but the characters themselves were well built and you do route for them to be together.

The past relationship between Mrs Nash and Elsie was my favourite and honestly I could’ve read a whole book on just them alone. You don’t get exactly the outcome you want for them at the end but honestly it’s so beautiful.

This book made me both laugh and cry. I absolutely loved it!

Mrs. Nash’s Ashes is a fun, romantic road trip *romp* with lovable characters and excellent dialogue. The story follows Millie, a former child star and whimsical romantic, as she goes on a trip to reunite the ashes of her best friend (Mrs. Nash) with her long-lost love. Hijinks ensue and she is forced on a road trip adventure with cynical writer, Hollis who also happens to be her ex's frenemy. The two could not be more different, but they also could not be more perfect for each other.

I truly loved the grumpy/sunshine dynamic between Hollis and Millie and their banter was *chef’s kiss*. I also appreciated how well-rounded the characters were and how the story split between the now and the love story between Rosie and Elsie.