This book… it’s got me feeling conflicted. And, honestly, a little heartbroken.

I hated the cheating trope. Hated it. And yet, I loved Mallory and Jake so much that I spent the entire book completely invested in their relationship, their choices, and this complicated life they created together.

I finished the final page feeling deeply sad. And if a book makes me cry, I know the author did her job — she made me so emotionally attached to these characters that I genuinely cared about what happened to them.

It also reminded me of one of the things I love most about Elin Hilderbrand’s books: they feel like real life. They’re messy. People make complicated choices. Timing doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. And love doesn’t always fit neatly into the version of life we think we’re supposed to have.

I’m still not sure how I feel about every choice these characters made, but I know I’ll be thinking about this one for a while. More than anything, it left me thinking about how important it is to spend the time we have with the people we love most.