Author: Joanie ElliottSummary: What happens when your mother’s dying wish becomes your worst nightmare?
Series: None
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Pages: 331
Obtained: Meryl Moss Media Group
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5/5
Bottom Line: Sometimes something drastic has to happen to get yourself on the right path
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What happens when the world’s greatest literary icon dies before she finishes the final book in her best-selling series? And what happens when she leaves that book in the hands of her unstable, neurotic daughter, who swears she’s not a real writer? Sara Grayson is a thirty-two-year-old greeting card writer about to land the toughest assignment of her life. Three weeks after the death of her mother—a world-famous suspense novelist—Sara learns that her mother’s dying wish is for her to write the final book in her bestselling series. Sara has lived alone with her dog, Gatsby, ever since her husband walked out with their Pro Double Waffle Maker and her last shred of confidence. She can’t fathom writing a book for thirty million fans—not when last week’s big win was resetting the microwave clock. But in a bold move that surprises even herself, Sara takes it on. Against an impossible deadline and a publisher intent on sabotaging her every move, Sara discovers that stepping into her mother’s shoes means stumbling on family secrets she was never meant to find—secrets that threaten her mother’s legacy and the very book she’s trying to create. ~amazon.com
Review: I think this cover deftly captures Sara Grayson and how she feels throughout most of the novel about being thrown into a situation where she feels that she has no control over. It's kind of the theme of her life over the last couple years. She's teaching at a college but she's not passionate about it. In fact, she's not passionate about much these days. So when her famous novelist mother dies and her will states that Sara must write the final novel of her extremely popular series, Sara freaks out. She doesn't want to work with her mom's old editor because there are some hurt feelings from previous interactions.
Yet when no one thinks she can do it, she buckles down and starts to pound out the words. What Sara lacks is confidence but her mom believed in her, so she tries to pull from that in her journey. She writes in different locations to try to emulate her mom's structure. It doesn't help that there is a family mystery that also occupies Sara's thoughts and actions when she should be writing.
Sara is a great character and so very relatable. She's lacking in self-confidence, unsure of her path in life and then dealing with 2 loses within a year or so of each other. I loved how the people around her both new and old, encouraged her and believed in her. We all need our village to support us especially in times of self-doubt.
I flew through this book and throughly enjoyed it. I'm hoping there's a sequel because I'd very much like to visit them again.
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