No Reservations

I want to thank Netgalley and Harper Muse for an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for a review.

Summary: When a member of your found family dies, how do you honour their dying wish so that you find your happiness? Joy, Diane, and Rochelle are forced to do this when their friend and sister Yvette passes away and asks them to restart their group trips to Jamacia. The four women regularly made the trip to Jamacia for years before life got in the way and now as they plan to honour Yvette's request it seems their lives have become more chaotic than ever.

Joy wants to finally open the spa she has dreamed about since business school. Having put her dream on the backburner to get her husband's construction business off the ground she feels that they are more than able to take the risk of expanding their empire. However, her husband keeps pushing her off. As she struggles to unravel why he is downplaying her dreams she might just end up unraveling her marriage.

Diane wants to be a mother, more than anything. However, the path to motherhood has not been as easy as she thought it would be. As she and her husband explore their options and discuss their feelings surrounding their fertility struggles things come to a head.

Rochelle has put herself last for far too long. As a single mother, understandably, she is putting the needs of her daughter first, but with Yvette's passing Rochelle is beginning to see how she needs to meet her desires too. And as she begins to expand her wardrobe and social activities she wonders if it might be time to also branch out and start dating again. Luckily there is a man who has had his eye on her for a while.

Thoughts: I absolutely loved this book. I laughed. I cried. My jaw went straight to the floor. Lister did an incredible job of creating four distinct women while weaving their stories together. This book was the perfect combination of Stella Gets Her Groove Back, The Women, and Girls Trip.

All of the women felt so real and vulnerable on the page and I wanted to be friends with each of them. Lister's writing is so good that there were a few instances when I had to put the book down because I was so overcome with emotion for what one of the characters was going through. Especially throughout Joy's story. That scene with her mother truly made me have to take a lap because it was equal parts sad and maddening. Also, the way Diane has to handle the situation with one of her students. Gut-wrenching.

I also really appreciated how Lister made each of the women experience motherhood differently. Yvette is a married woman with two children and a loving husband (who is the unsung hero of the book in some ways). Rochelle is a single mother with a preteen daughter at home. Diane is a woman exploring motherhood through adoption and Joy is the aunty that all the kids love and turn to when they need help. The diversity in the experience of deciding to have children or not was refreshing as in a lot of works it's either a group of women with only children or no children. But seeing the joy and peace from any choice, in addition to the layered complexities of fertility issues was a beautiful exploration throughout the book. Additionally, the vulnerability of Diane's husband on the subject was not only beautifully written but also so refreshing to see a male perspective on.

Although they were not the central focus of the book I did love the vulnerability and joy expressed by the men throughout the book. Often the male side characters are not given enough time on the page to explore their thoughts and feelings. Yet Lister integrates the male counterparts of the women into the story flawlessly and 3 out of the 4 men are so open and honest it is swoon-worthy. A man who will admit he handled something emotionally badly. Yes, please! A man willing to cry. Sign me up!

I only had two complaints about this book, which really could be lumped into one. I wish that the ending chapters were a bit longer. The trip to Jamaica was a huge topic of the book and I just felt that there wasn't a great deal of detail regarding the trip. We do get some nice snippets of the trip, but for how frequently it was mentioned throughout the book and how excited they all were to go on the trip I felt a little short-changed not reading more about it. Also, I would have loved a longer epilogue particularly around the event for Rochelle that they all attend. It was beautiful, but too short!

Highly recommend this book!

Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of a parent, Toxic relationship, Infertility, Infidelity, Grief, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Miscarriage and Domestic abuse

Minor: Sexual content

Thanks for the Advanced Copy. I really enjoyed the novel. The premise of the story was about a lovely sisterhood friendship among 4 friends. I was so excited to witness a true friendship based on love, a solid bond and the ability to be there for each other. Although a tragedy occurred in the book, it was still a positive spin surrounding that tragedy. These women were there for each other through death, spouses, work and everyday issues, It was a delight to read something that was so positive and didn’t show any drugs, violence, fights etc that is in so many books. This was definitely a great novel and I look forward to reading more from this author.

It's safe to say I'm a new fan of Sheryl Lister. This story touched every emotion possible. Often I found myself commenting like the characters could really hear me. It was interesting to see how these women traverse the trials of their relationships and self discovery. As always, Adenrele Ojo gave an awesome narration. She delivered each characters story with such ease that I was fully invested. This is one of those rare novels where I wouldn't change a thing. Excellent writing. Engaging story. Stellar narration. What more could we ask for? Nothing, it's perfect just as it is.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for allowing me to listen and review this work of art. The opinions expressed are completely my own.

Well narrated audiobook that provides an immersive experience which brings the characters to life. I enjoyed the storyline, quality of the writing, and character development. The story was very well written, emotional, and compelling. This was a great relatable story of strong friendships and I enjoyed reading about Yvette, Joy, Diane, and Rochelle. This story took me through an array of emotions and I enjoyed the journey.