In Someone Else's Bucket List, the author skillfully navigates the delicate balance between grief and humor, love and death, while exploring the themes of stepping out of comfort zones and personal growth amidst grief. Although my personal dislike of the portrayed Instagram influencer culture affected my overall enjoyment of the book, I couldn't help but appreciate the thought-provoking juxtapositions presented throughout the narrative.

One of the book's standout qualities is its ability to seamlessly weave together the complexities of grief and the power of humor. The protagonist's journey through loss is interlaced with moments of levity and wit, allowing for moments of catharsis and emotional release. This delicate balance not only adds depth to the characters but also provides a realistic portrayal of the human experience in times of sorrow.

Furthermore, the exploration of love and death as intertwined forces is thoughtfully executed. The author delves into the profound impact that grief can have on relationships, both platonic and romantic, highlighting the transformative power of loss. Through the characters' journeys, we witness their willingness to step out of their comfort zones, confront their own vulnerabilities, and ultimately find growth amidst the pain.

While the narrative delves into the world of Instagram influencers, a subject matter that personally did not resonate with me, I must commend the author for incorporating this element in a way that serves as a backdrop for the broader themes rather than becoming the sole focus. The book ultimately transcends its initial context, allowing readers to engage with the deeper emotional and existential aspects that lie beneath the surface.

The book offers a compelling thought between the weight of loss and the resilience of the human spirit, making it a worthwhile read for those seeking a thought-provoking and emotionally resonant story.

A great holiday/beach read.

I received an advanced copy of Someone Else's Bucket List by Amy T. Matthew's for an honest review. The main character is Jodie. Her sister, Brie, it's an influencer who was diagnosed with leukemia. She passes away, and leaves her sister with her wish to complete her bucket list. This is Jodie's story. This was a heartwarming read. The characters were written well.

The strength of family, the honoring of those that passed as well as a sister's love to push another sister outside of her comfort zone. Bree Boyd dies of leukemia she leaves a mountain of medical debt to her family. As they struggle through the grief and work towards paying it off they find she's left them one last surprise. She's left her bucket list and asked her sister Jodie to finish the last few things she didn't get to do. Jodie has always felt a little adrift in life, and it doesn't help that her sister Bree is living out her dreams as a highly successful Instagram influencer. When the full of life Bree succumbs to leukemia, she leaves her unfinished bucket list for her sister to finish on her behalf. While it is a big ask, it might just be the push that Jodie needs to learn to live again, while at the same time honoring her beloved sibling. Well written and I believe you can connect with the characters. The story line shows the angst of the characters trying to pay off debt while honoring her sister and helping her sister's memory to be strong. Jodie finds herself as well as her self esteem and I liked how Claudia finally realizes she is part of the family. Family is who one chooses versus blood line. Sometimes a family is lucky and gets both.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity.

This was such a good book! Losing a family member is never easy, but when the family member leaves you her bucket list to complete, it adds an element of toughness. This book captures the fragility of life experiences and shows how the loss of one life can lead to the start of another. You only live once - take risks, and be thankful for every single day.

I was on a business trip to Wilmington, DE when I started listening to this audiobook, which is the town the protagonist calls home. When I was at the rental car counter at the Philadelphia airport, I felt what a dismal existence Jodie had working long hours at her job, but I definitely got the sense of the pride the people there have for their baseball team, the Phillies.

Bree had a bucket list of 100 items, and she fiercely went after ticking them off. She had accomplished many of them as she lived her life to the fullest. Her sister Jodie, on the other hand, hadn’t yet discovered her purpose and was stuck in a self-deprecating, depressing rut.

The story contains heart-wrenching loss and grief, but there is also the anticipation of the resolution to the love-triangle (or more accurately the love-hexagon) that keeps the plot hopeful and interesting. The character arc Jodi goes through is transformative, and it inspires readers to be courageous.

I enjoyed the modern, unique concept of this novel that focused on a social media influencer whose life is captured and hash-tagged on Instagram. And I always love a clever pet name, so the dog they call “Russell Sprout” clinched it for me.

Someone Else's Bucket List by Amy T. Matthews is the story of Jodie, Bree's little sister. Bree is an Instagram influencer with a million followers. Jodie is a loner who just wants to do her own thing. When Bree gets cancer and dies, she leaves behind a legacy that Jodie will have to step into. What she finds, though, is that her own legacy may be just as important as Bree's, even without a million followers. A very sweet story that touches on the rawness of grief and how it can flare up at any moment and take your breath away. In the next breath, though, the story will remind you about the good in life that is still sitting there when the flare up passes. Beautifully written and narrated, I highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for this ARC of Someone Else’s Bucket List in exchange for my honest review.

Jodie’s older sister Bree, a very successful social media influencer, sadly loses her battle with leukemia at the age of 26 leaving her family with broken hearts and mounds of medical bills. On Thanksgiving, Bree sends an Instagram post from beyond the grave. In the post, Bree shares the remaining items left on her bucket list. Since her time was cut short and she wasn’t able to finish her bucket list, she enlists Jodie to finish it for her. In exchange for completing the list, all the medical debt will be paid off. This story follows Jodie through high highs and low lows as she connects with her sister and finds herself.

While I struggled with the morality of the storyline, I did find the plot to be super interesting and I was roped in right away. After the first few chapters, I felt that the book lagged a bit. The writing style was not my favorite. I would have liked to see less of a love storyline between Jodie and Kelly and more of a storyline between Jodie and Bree…even more with Claudia! Maybe some added childhood flashbacks or something? This book had a lot of potential, but sadly it was a bit of a miss for me

I actually enjoyed listening to this book however it had some major plot holes. Why didn't this girl have health insurance, or why was her lack of health insurance not addressed? Secondly, the book description sounded so much more whimsical than the reality. Oh and the entire concept of splashing around your dead sisters Instagram to complete a bucket list very publicly under corporate sponsorship and no one thinks that's tacky AF? At least, no one besides the main character. If i had been reading this, I probably wouldn't have made it much past the first 25%, because it was a very drawn out before we got to the actual bucket list. Luckily I was able to speed up the narration and get to it. I was really confused with how quickly they wrapped up the bucket list and maybe I missed it but it seemed like she had to do 100 things but it was really only six. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

CONTENT WARNING: cancer, emesis, grief

This came up on my radar, and sounded so interesting. This is the kind of book that has the potential to be so good if it’s done well, and let me tell you, despite the number of baseball references that made no sense to me, this book knocked it out of the park!

I liked that the story started with Bree, healthy. We get to know her as a person, rather than a dying person, or someone who has already passed. We get to see that spark in her personality that just draws people in and makes them love her instantly. And just as I started to get attached, she gets sick, and the whole downward spiral is shown. As someone who has watched a love one die of cancer, I can say that everything felt so accurate.

It’s always hard to lose someone, but it’s especially hard losing someone young and full of life. Bree was one of those people who grabbed onto life with both hands and lived as fully as she could in the time she had allowed. And while she’s gotten a lot of her bucket list accomplished, there’s still a few she hasn’t checked off, and she bequeaths them to her younger sister. Even better, if she completes them all and documents it on her sister’s social media account, all of her sister’s staggering medical bills will be paid off.

It says a lot about the country we live in where simply trying to beat a deadly illness can bankrupt an entire family, even after the person dies. It felt like it added an extra layer to the grief that the family was feeling, and I know from experience that seeing a bill arrive in the mail can feel like a punch in the gut.

Jodie is as different from Bree as two sisters can be—while Bree is extroverted and gregarious, Jodie is anxious and introverted. So when Jodie sees the bucket list and the ways in which she’s going to have her life broadcast on social media, she’s not looking forward to this at all. But the need to escape out from under the crushing medical debt is motivating her. And the fact that if she can increase the followers on her sister’s account, that generosity will be spread to others. So she’s really motivated.

I loved watching Jodie come out of her shell, even as she’s dealing with her complex grief. The further into the story we get, the more she starts to challenge herself, both in the list items and in life, overall. My favorite thing about this book was the way relationships were so central to Jodie’s wellbeing. She needs the support, and a long-term friend of both sisters is by her side for every step of this journey, both giving and receiving support. I loved seeing Claudia be viewed as family rather than simply a friend. And part of the crew involved in handling this mission also becomes more than just assistants, but turns into genuine friends, helping Jodie through some of her most difficult times.

This is a fantastic story about grief and loss, and the different ways that people get through the loss of a loved one. It’s probably one of the most heartwarming and bittersweet stories I’ve read in a long time, and this one is definitely going to stay with me.

Thank you NetGalley and HighBridge Audio for the ALC, all opinions are my own.

I didn’t love the whiney narrator but I did really love the content and story.

I think this is such a brilliant women fiction crossover romance set in an age where influencers reign supreme.

Instagram famous Bree has passed away from leukaemia and in the wake of her death she asks her sister Jody to complete her bucket list, and just to curb any reluctancy from Jody a sponsor will cover all of Brees medical debt. To save her parents the stress of paying Jody embarks on adventures of discomfort, humility and possibly even fun!?

This was emotional but also joyful and I loved how Jody embraced Bree’s dying wishes, maybe not with enthusiasm but with courage, I loved watching her blossom and grow.

The love interest(s) we’re also fun and added that bit of humour to balance the heartache.

A great contemporary on grief and sisterhood.

First, let me clarify - this isn't a 3 star. It's not quite a 4 either, so in a perfect world - you'd see a 3.5 star visual.

This audio arc from Netgalley was good - the premise felt Jodi Picoult Light, and, to be honest, Picoult hurts my heart so much, I tend to avoid her. The premise behind this book is a very popular "influencer" (do not get me started on our culture and the idea this is a goal)....anyway....the influencer Bree is ill and quickly diagnosed with leukemia. No surprise she dies but leaves to her shy, reserved, anxious sister Jodie a chance to wipe out the massive, overwhelming medical debt left to her family by performing, and sharing with the world, Bree's bucket list. If Jodie manages to complete these, a sponsor pays the debt.

Ah, America.

As a nearing 60 year old woman, I may not have been the target audience for this one. I appreciate the sadness of the sister death. I appreciate the idea the older sister, although gone, has a plan to help her younger sister and her family.....but..... I just couldn't get into this one as deeply as author Amy T. Matthews would like her readers to get caught up into the premise.

I am unsure the premise is believable. We know our healthcare system is ripe with fraud and excessively exhausting prices, but I am old enough to have lived this issue. I have buried two divorced parents and a 37 year old brother - all of whom were heavily in medical debt and these are paid by the estate. If the estate doesn't have the money, the debt is considered insolvent and isn't paid. Of course, I then had to go do a web search and learned - should a parent co-sign on loans for medical care, or sign to pay for the bills.....then they are stuck with them. I just don't want the world to believe paying the debt of an unmarried relative becomes an automatic family burden.

I think the target audience of this book is younger, ya and people not so close to death themselves.

Oh man, where to begin?

The first handful of chapters are incredibly hard to get through as we are reading Bree's perspective while she is in the hospital dying from leukemia. I found that I struggled to really get into the story because of how emotionally heavy this was, and I was really relieved when Jodie's perspective started. However, it gave a really important view into Bree's life, and prevents Bree from just being "Jodie's sister". I found I was much more attached to the story and Bree's character after getting that look into her final moments.

The concept of the book is where everything went wrong for me. Something about the way that Jodie has to do these things she wouldn't otherwise do, all while doing it with a giant public audience, in order to pay off her sister's medical debt -- while grieving -- just doesn't sit right with me. I knew the premise of the book going into it, but I didn't think it would feel this... Icky.

Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read this book, but I found it hard to get through it. It never really hooked me, and I'm not sure I would have finished it had I not been listening to a review copy.

I will say that the narrator for the audiobook does an incredible job, and I really found myself immersed in the story when I may not have otherwise been had I read the physical book.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced review copy of this audiobook.

this was an incredibly sweet take on grief, sadness and growth post loss.

I loved the family element, the growth that came as a result of the PS I love you journey and overall the sweet story line.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for this audio ARC of this book. I absolutely LOVED this book. It explores the difficulties of complex grief and what it is like to lose someone way too young. A great read but bring the tissues!