Thank you so much to Gallery Books for the complimentary copy of the book!
Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster Audio & Libro.FM for the complimentary ALC!

This book is out now!

This book is the second book from Allison Larkin following up to the sensational The People We Keep. Once again Larkin knocks it out of the park! This book had so much heart, some humor and just a feeling of hope throughout the book.

Freya is pulled back into her hometown after having emergency surgery and really no where else to go. She knew she inherited her parents home and went back there where she found her teenage niece camping out. I absolutely loved Freya's relationship with Aubrey. Aubrey needed a parental figure in her life and she really trusted Freya. The story does have moments of flashbacks where we see them younger and how they bonded and how it was so difficult for Freya to leave Aubrey. Aubrey herself does not have a good relationship with her parents. She is more of a black sheep and doesn't want to conform to what her parents think is how you should be in society. She truly just wants to be herself but under their watch, has no way of making herself grow. They had a bit of a rocky start when Freya came back to town but she immediately went into rescue mode and took care of Aubrey. I was very happy for them by the end of the book.

The book itself is seeing how Freya reconnects with her former life and attempts to rebuild her life after leaving everything behind in Maine. We learn the frustrating reason why she left and how that shadow still haunts at her. I loved her friendship with Jam and was so glad that he had her in his life and vice versa. I had been rooting for them as a couple but when Freya started flirting with Eddie, I thought okay her and Jam have a platonic relationship but then series of events happen and I thought OKAY JAM!

There were brief vignettes about the circus in between chapters which I thought were fine to throw in but I was okay without them. I guess it had been necessary to tie in with the title of the book as well as some circus references that are mentioned throughout the book especially in a scene towards the end.

I had all intentions of reading in tandem with the audio but I just couldn't resist being fully immersed into the narration done by Queen Julie Whelan. Julie as always was fantastic and really brought the vulnerability needed for all the characters in the book. And for Freya with the combination of Larkin's writing, Julie made Freya sound confident and strong and that she could make it through any sort of adversity she may face.

Larkin has this way of making you root for all the characters in the book and there was one character in particular that I was holding my breath to see if they made it to the end. Her words pull you into the worlds of these fictional characters but in a way that makes them feel real off page. Like they could be someone you might have known. Larkin is able to write about the complexities of the relationships we have with family and that sometimes you just have to walk away.