Lots of overlapping lives in this one, with a focus on the
friends-to-lovers narrative.
Carly Foster and Samantha Phillips have been
best friends for twelve years. When Carly came out to her parents, she was
summarily thrown out by them and Samantha and the Philips family nurtured Carly
as their own. Now in their late twenties, Carly and Sam remain best friends and
Sam holds Carly through one relationship disaster after another. Soon after yet
another relationship mistake, Carly literally bumps into Diana Cox, a
nurse in a hospital close by. Carly and Diana get involved, only for Carly to
find out that Diana is married with a daughter. Sam, who has nursed a flame for
Carly since the time she first saw her, meets a therapist, Caroline, and they
hang out together. Diana’s wife, Hailey Smith, is Caroline’s patient and there
seem to be sparks building there.
For a fairly short book, there is quite a lot packed into
the pages without any of it seeming hurried. All characters are well etched. The
author manages to get us invested into each of the many characters, their
stories and trajectories of their relationships. (So much so, that we know
there is a Caroline-Hailey book that has
to follow this one – and we can’t wait for it). Which means, this is quite a
win for the author and a quick interesting story for the reader.
⭐⭐⭐★
