Interesting and clever retelling of the combined Jane Austen novels. I’ve never actually read Emma, just the summary. But it was a fun rendition and well written. It held its own really well.

“Survival is miraculous. It’s also torturous.” This was so relatable with my own battles with cancer twice and kept feeling like someone “got me” so often. It was also such a beautiful comparison of choosing courage over bitterness, and covering shame with forgiveness.

Excellent book. I’d venture to say the best book yet that Lysa has written. She talks in a very real and practical way about forgiveness and how it (or the lack thereof) affects our lives, as well as how it relates to anxiety, trauma, grief, perspective, etc, and how we relate to other people, ourselves and God as a result. Really appreciated this and was super applicable and spoke to me.

Light and an easy read, I liked that it wasn’t super predictable and had you wondering what would happen next. It definitely kept my attention and had some fun complications and ironies it worked thru. Also enjoyed the friendship and solidarity of Finley and Vero. Although I can’t say I’d have the grace she had for Steven and Theresa lol.

It was interesting hearing a fictionalized version of Estée Lauder’s journey as well as what the cosmetic/Saks 5th Avenue moguls and process was like back then. Also liked the friendship between Gloria and Estee, as flawed as it was.

The story itself was just kind of ok, I can’t say I felt overly involved in Gloria’s story because it was frustrating how self-sabotaging she was, and Estee’s constant need for fame and notoriety, even while it was inspiring what her drive was like. It just all felt superficial which kind of limited my interest. It also seemed like it was a bit repetitive