*I won a copy of this book via Goodreads*

Given that I fell in love with someone after meeting them on the internet (I even married him!) you might think that I would be more understanding of the intensity of Tess's grief over Jonah's death. But, seeing as the flashbacks to her brief meeting and interaction with him are so fleeting and not really built upon I had a hard time feeling for her, or connecting with her. Or Jonah, for that matter. She was so sarcastic. Something I would usually appreciate in a character, but given the heavy subject matter, it came off as too brisk and soured her for me.

I did like her creativity and thoughtfulness at her plan for Mamie's end of life celebration. Although that whole subplot with her dad and his strange funeral business, felt somewhat unnecessary. I feel like the author could have used Grace as the connector, since she was already involved in the alternative funeral arrangements business and left that business idea for Tess's dad out of things.

Daniel is a sweet character, but his and Tess's instalove really irked me. I liked the concept of why there was the connection between them, but even that couldn't save it for me. There's a scene when they are in Italy where I literally threw the book down and went "Really!?!" because it's so cliche.

And there's also the strangeness of Grace and Tess's Dad. Their "relationship" is told in tiny snippets, and then Grace admits to Tess, when she's sent to Italy to collect her that she thinks she may be in love with him.

The plot as a whole is interesting, but for a book about the death of a kid wreaking havoc on the lives of those around him, I felt like there should have been at least a bit more Jonah in the story. Genuine Jonah, too. Not just recountings of him by the other characters.

It felt like some of the heavier subject matter got glossed over by the subplots, which was disappointing. I do have to say that I really enjoyed the author's writing, though. ( )