Meet Me In Paradise

I picked up this book for three reasons: its cute cover, a brief look at its blurb and the strong support it's received from my fellow Bookstagrammers. I expected a RomCom - some romance, humour and tropical locale, but this is not the fluffy read I was expecting. 

And I looooved it.

Instead of a light, tropical romance, I got a book with a surprising amount of depth, awesome humour, characters I connected with and a story that made me shed more than a tear or two. Yes, this book made Laurie cry (a massive lump in my throat, good 'ol cathartic ugly cry). But it's not all romance and tears - there's also fantastic, dry humour from Sadie which lightens things up.

I'll admit that the book took me a bit to get into and in its early chapters it had a very traditional romance feel to it. But as the story progressed, I was pulled further into the lives of Marin and Sadie - two sisters whose personalities are extreme opposites. Marin is uptight, doesn't love to take risks and needs to be in control.  Sadie is the carefree, sometimes dangerously spontaneous younger sister. Despite their differences, these two sisters are extremely close, particularly after the loss of their mother many years prior whose death set the sisters on different paths as they coped with the devastating loss.

For me, this book was less about the romance and more about the emotional bond between the sisters - and all the bliss and challenges that relationship entails. As the oldest of three sisters, I give the highest of fives to the author for getting those intricacies right. The story also addresses other relationships - romantic, friends and past loves and I liked how Hubscher didn't vilify one character in particular.

I can't go into details for fear of giving too much away, but I will say that this is a must-read book. Heartfelt, charming and authentically poignant, this is a look at sisterhood, family, love. I love its focus on the different ways people handle and change after experiencing profound grief and the importance of pushing yourself outside your comfort zone to truly experience all that life has to offer. Get your hands on this book asap.

My Rating: 5 stars

Author: Libby Hubscher

Genre: Romance, Tear Jerker

Type and Source: Trade Paperback from public library

Publisher: Berkley

First Published: March 23, 2021

Opening Line: At our mother's funeral, I lost Sadie.

Book Description from GoodReads: 

Marin Cole has never:

Seen the ocean
Climbed a mountain
Taken a risk on love
....But if her sister's plan works, she just might do all three.

Ever since her journalist mother died on assignment, Marin has played it safe, refusing to set foot outside the state of Tennessee. Her wild-child younger sister, Sadie, has trotted the globe as a photographer, living off of art and adrenaline.

When Sadie returns from a tough assignment abroad and looks a little worse for wear, Marin reluctantly agrees to a sisters' spa weekend on the tropical island of Saba. But her lifelong fear of travel is affirmed when Sadie misses the flight, Marin's luggage gets mixed up with another passenger's, and an episode of turbulence sends her hurtling into the lap of Lucas Tsai, the handsome stranger who stole her sister's seat.

For the first time in a long time, Marin has to step outside of her comfort zone as she explores the island with Lucas and learns what she's been missing out on. With each breathtaking new experience, Marin gets closer to her real self, the man she's falling for, and the heart-wrenching truth about why she's there in the first place.