A review by chloe_liese
Meet Me in Paradise by Libby Hubscher

5.0

Thank you to Berkley & NetGalley for this complimentary copy! All opinions are my own.

Marin's been living a safe & small life. After losing her mother at a young age and growing up overnight to be her wild-child younger sister's stand-in parental figure, Marin's all but forgotten how to take risks, live for her happiness, and pursue her dreams.

The subplot of this story is honestly heartbreaking. As Marin realizes who she's about to lose in her life, this story's pace accelerates brilliantly, a reflection of the desperation anyone who's lost a loved one to terminal illness will recognize: as if time is sand slipping through your fingers, as if there will never be enough hours to share and say and feel everything you need to.

The romantic element of this story is gentle and reflective. There's an old flame who shows up and a new man who could be Marin's future. By the end of this story, Marin—true to this genre which is (women's) fiction first and foremost—beautifully chooses herself. And in her choice to live bravely, boldly, authentically, she finds her heart's choice revealed.

Content Warnings: grief, loss of a parent (off-page), loss of immediate family to terminal illness (cancer, end of life days on-page and in detail).