The New Year welcomes this blockbuster women’s fiction story that is “un-put-downable”! Multi-award-winning author, Sheryl Lister gets us started with an engrossing story that chronicles true friendship between three women and one beautiful spirit who learn to live life with “no reservations”. The prologue ushers us into the story with a very emotional and poignant scene that is set in a hospital room. The four devoted friends, Yvette, Joy, Diane, and Rochelle are together. However, only three of the friends will walk out that room, leaving one to rest in eternal life.
The story is brilliantly told from the point of view of each of the remaining friends with the chapters named after them. Ms. Lister masterfully exposes, unravels, and resolves all of the issues, stumbling blocks, dreams, and plans of these three amazing women who are left to navigate the world without the 4th member of their group. In spite of not physically being with them, Yvette’s spirit is guiding them and inspiring them to “go for it”. Her last gift to them is an all-expenses paid trip to Jamaica. I love those chapters that highlight that trip.
NO RESERVATIONS is a masterpiece of women’s fiction that will surely start your 2024 reading journey off to a fantastic start. I highly recommend it for your reading pleasure.

This book was mainly focused on the dynamic of the friend group. I really enjoyed each friend & her story. I did expect something slightly different but nonetheless I had a good reading experience.

I did receive an uncorrected E-ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley for an honest review (:

Their were several times I thought the book was a little wordy and and whiney. I felt like deja vu while reading, as if I had already read this book or a book like. Overall, it was a great story about friendship, sisterhood and taking risk. It makes me want to get my good friends together and enjoy each other. Just because your "relationship" appears to be great from the outside, you never know what is happening behind close doors. Don't be afraid to admit to having issues and leaning on your friends and family for help.

No Reservations by Sheryl Lister was an amazing and heartfelt read. The strong bond of sisterhood was felt throughout the book. The fourth sister friend, Yvette’s presence was felt and was still very much a part of this story. I loved getting the different perspectives of each female lead character. There was an engrossing story with each character that kept me engaged and turning the page.

Thank you to the publisher Harper Muse and NetGalley!

A story of sisterhood. A story of friendship. A story of family. A story of community. A story of women.
A group of sister-friends and how the are navigating life in their late 30s. Their bond is solid and is what helps them through every single curve ball life is throwing at 90mph,some they catch, some,they dodge, and some hits the hard as hell. And that’s ok because no matter what they are there for each other. I recommend this book if you like a story that’s full,,characters that are full, and story that is built around sisterhood. This was a good story. Read it.

CW- death- cancer- off page

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for this read. This was very well done. This was so good I was emotionally drawn to this book. I don’t cry when I read but this book had me crying . I enjoyed this one and I recommend it to others

Love, Friendship, and Grief

Joy, Rochelle, Yvette, and Diane have been best friends since childhood. The have been there for each other through thick and thin, good and bad. When their circle is broken, the three remaining friends recieve a special gift. They must learn to depend on each other as life is changing for each one.

An emotional and touching story, with a prologue that had me in tears.

Thank you NetGalley and Sheryl Lister for the ARC of No Reservations.

I have had to sit on this review for a while because I could not figure out exactly how I felt about it. I first would say everyone needs to check trigger warnings before going into this book. I did enjoy this book which is why it will get a 3.5 from me. I feel like my main issue was that I wanted a story of grief as it seemed to be advertised. But instead I felt like it focused mainly on each woman and what they had going on in their lives which was more drama centered than anything. But what I did enjoy the most was the women's friendship and just how much that shined through.

This is a wonderful book about female friendships who each struggle with their own problems and issues. I loved seeing their friendship and how they were always there for one another, supporting one another no matter what. However, I found this incredibly slow paced. A lot of the time it felt like I was reading from their daily journal or something. Because it was often, first I did this and then I did that and then I called this person to tell them I did this and that. Which towards the end got a bit tiresome. We very often got to see a situation happening and then we were told it(right after it happened) because the character would then first message or call her friends and then she would call either her husband/father/other family members. Because of that I felt like it could have been edited down quite a bit.

I did enjoy reading about how they were all different shapes and sizes though, and that one shouldn’t change for anyone other than for yourself.

The Jamaica trip was also very “hyped” up. And I thought that that’s were the setting was gonna take place. Which it didn’t until the last 10% of the book. That might’ve been my own fault for going into the book thinking that, but I couldn’t help feeling a bit dissatisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me this arc.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is a book on the premise of friendship and grief. It follows best friends Joy, Diane, Rochelle and Yvette who have always been together. Their bond is unbreakable even after death. We follow them as they navigate life without their friend while pursuing their dreams and aspirations. The book started strong and along the way became a little slow. It's perfect for fans of women's fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this advanced reader’s copy.

The strongest part of this book was the female friendships between the three main characters. I enjoyed the way they all supportexeach other through grief, infertility
, and romantic problems. However I would have enjoyed a bigger focus on their actual trip to Jamaica.

Overall it was a pleasant read and I would recommend it!

I read this book in one day, so I appreciated the engaging and quick read. The cover of the book intrigued me, and the description drew me in.

I fully expected the actual trip to be a large portion of the book, but that was not the case. The death of one member of this tight group of friends sets the book up, and the reader is able to see the impact of the loss and how each remaining friend moves forward.

Although they're were tribulations, there were triumphs as well, resulting in each friend having their happily ever after.

Although this book did not result in the beach vacation I thought it would, it definity can be a beach read.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review!

The themes discussed are very poignant in any woman's life. I think this book is written with older women in mind simply based on the tone and topics. Although the women lose their best friend they all have a "happy ending". The story does drag a bit In some parts, but also moves quickly in others. As someone with no siblings, I connect with the aspect of friendship a lot. I might need to write my friends a letter before passing and book them a trip too!.

"Turn it up, sis."
3.75💫
A novel of friendship, rebuilding and life after loss, No Reservations succeeds in its attempts to characterize grief, with some flaws that didn't interfere too much with the readability of the book. Be sure to check trigger warnings before you read!
The Pros:
- I liked how the characters individually were written. They all felt like real women.
- The way all of the different relationships had different endings and each character's happy ending was different yet they all loved and respected that about each other was beautiful.
- Their friendship and love felt real.
The Cons:
- My biggest gripe with this book is that, while advertised as a novel about grief, No Reservations tends to focus less on the grief and more on the current dramas of the women. This isn't a bad thing, but it is something that bothered me, since I felt it was advertised differently. Grief is still involved heavily in the plot, but it feels as though it's more of a B/C plot.
**Special thanks to NetGalley and publishers for sending me a digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review!**

A beautiful tale of sisterhood making one’s dreams come true and the belief that life is meant to be lived. This made me yearn for a friendship that spans decades and death. A must read.

4 Stars

Friends you can depend on

Four best friends experience life together. Marriages, babies, businesses, divorces.
With the death of their friend/sister, Diane, Joy and Rochelle must learn how to navigate life without Yvette.

This was a decent read. I enjoyed the relationships between the friends. They gave each other love and a space to be themselves.

This story is really about Diane, Joy and Rochelle living out their dreams and inspirations guided by the spirit of Yvette.

This is a very feel good type of story.

It was a slow read but enjoyable. I would recommend to others.

I liked the premise of this book. Four friends from the time they were kids who always looked out for one another. One of the friends dies of cancer but she has plans that she has already made for her 3 besties. The girls would always hear their dead friends voice in all the decisions they were making. This book was a great book about the women and their struggles with life. You get involved with the characters and root for them to make the right decisions. Joy had wanted to open a spa and retreat since forever but she followed her husband's dream until it didn't sit right with her. Rochelle, was in an abusive relationship and did not ever want to let another man in her life and Diane wanted to start a family but her and her husband could not have biological children of their own. Like I said the stories were great it was the story telling that was not great. It was slow and boring. I kept waiting for it to become better but it never did. If you like stories about women you may like this book but read it with a grain of salt!

I read this all on one sitting. I loved the portrayal of friendship. This books is just great. Realistic, fun, touching.

I finished this book a few weeks ago and sat with my thoughts on this review, because I really wanted to love it but I didn't and that that was really disappointing. I was drawn to the cover of this novel and the premise of 4 life long friends and how they navigate their paths forward after one passes away. My issue was the story telling was so disjointed and just wasn't a cohesive experience as a reader. Some of the stories felt as if the author invested more in than others like Joy - I loved her character and it felt full and fleshed out vs. Rochelle whose story didn't connect with me and I really sped through to get to Diane or Joy's stories which just felt more full and interesting.

The overall novel also didn't go in the direction I expected. The trip to Jamaica was such a small part of the novel literally at the end, so if you blink, you'll miss it! Going into this book, I thought the trip to Jamaica would be the main story line and that the trip would be transformative for the characters with action, dialogue, etc. The trip portion of the book read like a normal trip anyone would take: massages, dinners, etc. I think this was a missed opportunity because it took forever to get to the Jamaica trip. At one point one of the characters mentions that the trip is like 8 weeks away and I literally said oh my God out loud lol.

Overall this book is ok. I got invested in Joy and loved her character - especially when she punched her husband in the face. That was some good writing. I also felt for Diane and her struggles as well. So Yes I would recommend, but don't go into this novel expecting the trip to be the focal point. Surprise: it's not.

Yvette wanted her friends Joy, Diane, and Rochelle to take a trip together and celebrate life- she set it up and paid for it. This moves from the months leading up to the trip, when, unfortunately, Yvette dies, and then to the trip itself. Each of the women has an issue she's been struggling with; each issue somehow involves a male partner. Joy wants to open a spa, Diane wants to be a mom, and Rochelle just wants happiness but for each, there's a roadblock or a question. Lister does a good job of putting you in their heads and of creating their voices. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It's a good read.