Jessica Strawser

What a high emotion read.

I thought learning about an end of life doula was interesting. It's a piece of care that I didn't know a lot about and I found the interesting plot unique. I found the struggles within the story heartbreaking and the drama high. But this was definitely a romantic read, but not the "happily ever after" kind of story. It was a bit distracting, the bouncing back and force timelines and so many POV but I did liked it. I would recommend if you're looking for a high emotion read but definitely double check the trigger warnings!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.… (more)

"Did she seem nervous about anything?"
"Not that I could tell."

This is a good story - one that is well told and pretty accurate. But I was hoping for a mystery, I wanted to doubt and guess and point fingers. Instead, this is definitely a drama and I feel like the mystery of what could have happened is spelled out pretty easily right from the beginning, in other chapters.

But learning about these women and their lives, how good they were at being neighbors and just all around good...women. They were just good to each other - baked cookies and shared drinks, ran over when they could hear a mother distressed in ordered to help. Noticed when one of them looked rough getting the mail, came over to watch the kids so they could shower. They were just amazing humans. So to read about them going through the media circus and Paul moving back in, their wonder at what happened and what they'd missed - that was interesting and well worth the story. The writing was good, the resources at the end were perfect. That last chapter was everything I had hoped it would be.… (more)

Katie is beginning a new job as caretaker at the Grove Farm Nature Reserve after her marriage ended. Her best friend, Bess, also works there, and was influential in Katie landing the job. When Katie arrives, the caretaker's house looks as if the last caretaker abruptly left after years of employment. Then, Katie receives a visitor late one night, and the reason for the caretaker's disappearance starts to make sense. Katie becomes involved in a network to help abused women escape. Grace is the last caretaker, Jude is another employee that Katie doesn't know if she should trust, and Ryan is the attractive, charismatic stranger that interests Katie.
I was very suspicious of one of the characters, which proved to be correct. Good, not great.… (more)