4.5/5 for me

This was the most…
(you need to read the book to understand!)

The story is crazy, over the top and filled with insane family drama including adult tantrums and seemingly absurd arguments. All of this is exactly why one of the main characters, Heather, is trying to put up boundaries around her family and keep a safe distance away from them.

Instead three generations of women - Bonnie, her daughter Sandra and grand daughter Heather - travel to Peru together to climb Machu Picchu. So much for distance!

This was such an enjoyable read even while tackling so many hard topics and looking back through history as the three women start sharing long held secrets that will either tear them further apart or possibly draw them closer to each other.

With stalkers, dead husbands, affairs and a secret romance there is lots happening and that’s without the details of the climb itself. The actual Peru trip and surrounding area sounds fascinating and i’ve since watched a documentary on this area to gain a bit more insight of what they were climbing!

Really fun and fresh story and I greatly appreciate the author, Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for providing an advanced copy in exchange for a review. Due out in Australia on 5th March 2025.

Heather’s family drama and personal heartbreak get a wild twist when they set off on a hike to Machu Picchu. With a charming guy, life-altering secrets, and a grandmother who’s full of surprises, this journey is about much more than reaching the summit.

This is a book about relationships. Complicated domestic ones. I had such high hopes for this one but unfortunately, it was a bit over the top and dramatic for me.

3.5 ⭐

Best, First and Last is a beautiful and heartwarming novel that tackles intergenerational trauma that our response to love and loss can unintentionally inflict on those we love most.

Matthews is a fantastic storyteller, creating characters that are easy to empathize with, making you feel the highs and lows that they go through alongside them. Matthews writing style is beautifully descriptive and well paced and I thoroughly enjoyed Someone Else's Bucket List also by this author. But in this instance, for me, there was just a little too much family bickering and it started to take away from the overall storyline after awhile. I also felt that the healing journey was a little rushed at the end and could have benefited from reflection after the trip to round out the argumentative family undertone of most of the novel. It would have been nice to see more of the change in dynamic of the group as they made their way home.

Overall though, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a relatable read that will remind you just how very short life can be.

I think this is a major contender for my top read of 2024, surprisingly since it has to compete with every book I've read so far and it's currently the end of November.
Amy T. Matthews does an incredible job of capturing the differing perspectives of our three generations of women and gives them each a complex personality that has it's own strengths and flaws. These women love each other deeply but aren't without their arguments and secrets, which slowly unfold as they tackle a trek up to Macchu Picchu. At the same time as they physically tackle their hike, they are also battling their own inner struggles with grief, and the highs and lows of both familial and romantic relationships.

Through this book we mostly follow the perspective of Heather, the youngest of our three characters. I found her extremely relatable as a current day woman who acknowledges mental health and the impacts our upraising has on our own habits and relationships.
Her mother Sandra is one of our other main characters though tends to take a backseat in terms of perspective shift, we only see things from her POV once (if I recall correctly) and her role tends to be as a bridge between her daughter and mother and as a source of conflict due to the current state of her affairs. We often reference Sandra in relation to how others see her and reflect on her current situation, rather than actually hearing it from her and really getting to know her character. This wasn't a down fall in my opinion though as I was more interested in Heather and Bonnie's story arcs.
Bonnie is the other character we follow in this book and I was absolutely enthralled with her chapters. Matthew's has captured such a range of characters in what feels like such an authentic way, and reading Bon's perspective really felt like chatting to my grandmother and hearing stories of her life.
I don't want to go too far into the plot to avoid spoilers but this book just made me feel so strongly and I really enjoyed every moment reading it.

The characters especially the protagonist is highly relatable through her struggles and dealing with family and death. It's another emotionally charged story that is a timely reminder to enjoy life. While the background of the story is sad the forefront is fun and engaging.