[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary
When Eve’s sister Faye died, Eve was at the start of her dream life. She had archaeology and her geeky passion for history. And she had Paddy and their plans for a life together.
After Faye died, Eve took in her orphaned niece, Caitlyn, only a toddler at the time, to raise. She put aside her professional dreams, willingly. And Paddy was on board – initially. But when he left, Eve and Caitlyn were both devastated. Eve decided then and there that she would never let a man into their lives again who could break their hearts.
Caitlyn’s grown now and ready to spend a year in Paris as an au pair. She makes Eve promise she’ll do things to pamper herself as she moves into this empty nest stage of life. She even gives Eve 12 decorated certificates to fill out and mail her, saying what Eve is doing to treat herself.
In the quiet of Eve’s life after Caitlyn leaves, she is forced to take a close look at her life. She’s almost 40 and in a job she chose so she could be close to Caitlyn as she was in school. Without her niece, and with a new, awful boss, is this job really where she wants to stay? Eve’s been dating a guy for a couple years. But he’s never introduced her to his kids, and she realizes he is more around as a distraction than someone she really cares for.
Before she can even think about making any changes, though, Paddy shows up in her life again, reminding her of the dreams she once had. Is it possible to start over, here and now, and reclaim some of those dreams?
Summary
From the first page, I clicked with the empty nest/where-does-my-life-go-now aspect of Eve’s story. I was sad over all the ways she seemed to settle for whatever was readily available rather than pursuing what she wanted. So I loved that Caitlyn’s gift gave Eve permission – and a push – to re-examine her life and her choices.
I read a lot of books for kids and teens, so I’m familiar with the coming-of-age novel, the stories of identity formation, and the books that look at the transitions common to young people. I’ve not read as many “middle age”/empty nest novels with those same themes, but after this I am here for as many of them as I can find. Thankfully this mid-life crisis book doesn’t involve an affair or demolishing a quarter-century marriage or any of those common pieces, because I would not have liked that sort of tale nearly as much. This is more introspective and identity focused. It’s more about Eve’s feelings and about pursuing the dreams she set aside for Caitlyn. And it was great.
There are some nice plot twists in this to ramp up the tension and keep the characters interesting. And it all wraps up in a satisfying way in the end. Be sure to check this one out. (Some language, off-page sex)