Let me get the hard part out of the way first. This book needed better editing. The writing in the beginning feels clunky and for some reason the author is really averse to using contractions in the character dialogue which made it feel stilted in a weird way and not believable to how anyone from Southern California actually talks.

Now that that's out of the way, these are minor flaws that could have easily been fixed and if you can get past them you will go on one of the most human, beautiful, heartbreaking, and growth-filled journeys through the pages of this book. The emotions are gritty, the characters are real (minus the stilted dialogue), and the layout and execution of the actual story had me unable to put this book down. This book genuinely broke me but in a really beautiful and real way. The way the actual story is crafted and laid out is really well done and I genuinely could not put it down.

So, if you can get past an awkward beginning and really weird dialogue that’s not how anyone in LA speaks, I really recommend this book. This is a book that will live in my heart for a long time to come.

#WildestDreams #NetGalley

It's a melding of the bittersweet movie, "The Bucket List" with the heartfelt, emotional book, "Me Before You" that didn't work.

The happenstance meeting between Hunter & Mac was a bit creepy in this day and age. Even with the precautions that he encouraged to take it was unsettling. Would've been better if there was a more buildup from their initial encounter to their whirlwind global adventures. Then there's Samson. The reader needs to understand how he transformed from the constant in Mac's childhood life to the hyper-focused career driven man he later became. As for Hunter, perhaps flashbacks rather than narratives would help shape his trajectory.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Meridith Claire | Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles, via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

NetGalley provided this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

American-born Filipina Mackenzie Almazan and golden Jewish boy Samson Madden have been joined at the hip since she was eight and he ten. Even after the devastating death of her uncle Deano, the man who raised her, it should be the happiest time in Mac’s life as she is planning her wedding to Sam, the center of her heart. Sam’s trajectory in the corporate world moves fast; he doesn’t realize he’s fallen into the “White Man Privilege” rabbit hole until one look exchanged between him and Mac shatters the oneness they once shared. Admittedly, the emotions felt stiff in this situation, being the catalyst that propelled each character on the path of self-discovery, it sorely lacked the gut-punch factor.

Chaoxiang Zhou, or Hunter, is a guy who seems to come out of nowhere, yet he is precisely what Mac needs. Hunter is terminally ill, and with the last few weeks of his life, he wants to help someone create their wildest dreams list and see if he can make them come true. The two of them and his assistant, Ollie, embark on a whirlwind journey where Mac learns about herself, crosses items off her dream list, and helps Hunter complete his. The friendships Mac knits with Hunter, Ollie, and Parker are steadfast, and the hardships of being with a loved one in their final days, those emotions rang true and hit the emotional chords.

Sam’s journey is a bit disjointed. Claire wrote the book in a dual POV; however, Mackenzie is the prominent voice. Still, readers get to know Sam, understand him, and see all the wrong turns he took while climbing that corporate ladder, and the idiom hard pill to swallow comes to mind. Still good on him for taking the time, with his mother’s and best friend’s help, to evaluate his changes and realize they weren’t necessarily for the better and what truly matters going forward.

Claire’s writing can go from active to passive, bordering on info dumps. It’s the show vs. tell conundrum. Maybe showing readers all the beautiful things Claire wanted would have turned this book into an eight-hundred-page monster. Who knows? However, the tight-knit friendships, the sense of community, and the values and honoring of loved ones passed through music, art, jewelry, and other little things are what mattered and what readers retained the most. The ending is original, gut-wrenching, and hopeful, all rolled into one. This book is a definite 3-star read.

This book was super difficult to get into - it was a struggle to find enough to care about the relationship, there was so much time listing off reasons why they all knew and cared about each other rather than showing. I feel like there was a lot of missed opportunity with this plot line as well, the sad points didn’t exactly hit the way that they should have. This seems like a good first draft that has potential, Mac should have been a character I cared more for but it felt more like a pity party and Sam wasn’t likeable in the slightest I didn’t feel that there were many redeeming factors.

🗣🙀🙈?:
I actually would recommend this book, because, despite my upcoming opinions, they are just my opinions. And the book is Interesting. The ending is very interesting and different.

👌🏽😲🌃 Flow:
The pacing of this book feels uneven, particularly at the beginning. The drama at the start early on feels forced.

💫👥🙈 Characters :
Her decision to break up with Sam over a single look and because he didn’t introduce her as his fiancée feels overly dramatic. Given their long relationship a break up without any communication seems so out of character and unreasonable.

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC😲🌃