Bookworm Binches discussion

1. Everything hurts and I am a puddle of messy emotions

SPOILERS ahead, so only read if you have finished the book.

I'll be honest, I did not really like this book until about halfway through. While I was relieved to see that in this version of Earth, we're all still alive in the year 2025, I thought the characters were annoying or boring (except for Bella. I immediately singled her out as my favorite character, which hurts a lot later on) and I thought all of the food descriptions were unnecessary. I also did not like where the story was headed. It seemed like it was going to do a Something Borrowed plot, with the girl BFF's eventually breaking up over a boy. Basically I thought this was going to be a fluffy romance with some girlfriend hate, instead it was a tear-jerker about best friends.

Lauren, I'm so mad at you. I don't read cancer books, or really any type of sickness books. The Fault in Our Stars was one of the last ones I read. I don't know why, I've never been a fan. Look how I felt about Opposite of Always (Lauren, now that I'm thinking about it, you'd probably like this book). Also I'm jk, I really did enjoy the book. You picked a good one.

I really liked the end. I liked that it was different than what was expected and that it didn't end with Dannie and Aaron getting together. If they had, and all of this was just plot build up for them to end up together, I would have really hated this book. Dannie's vision of the future turned out to be true, but not in the way she thought. I really liked how the author meshed the two together, how Dannie's reactions after Bella's funeral were the same as they were when she was from the past and confused.

Random, but did David have a personality??? He really just let Dannie take over everything. Was he happy?
Anyway, Bella deserved better.

What did y'all think? Who was your favorite character? Did it make you ugly cry and think about past friendships? Did you like the ending? Were you rooting for Dannie and Aaron to get together? Or thoughts about the possibility of Dannie with the Doctor?

Yay Book Club!

To sum it all up, “This book had no right to make me feel the feelings I felt reading this book. Highly recommend!”

WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD- also sorry this is going to be a long one.

I started this book thinking I had it all figured out. A protagonist with a work first attitude had some sort of jump into the future with new life. In this new life our protagonist has a great awakening of an existence where life is put first, not work. Seen it before: Nick Cage’s “City of Angels” and literally a dozen Hallmark movies. Now don’t get me wrong I really like this trope so thought this would just be an easy throw away read. Then, when Aaron is introduced as the best friend’s new beau, I was like no… not a fan of this element. Literally put the book down there and started looking at goodreads reviews because this was starting to put me off. The writing and characters weren’t that great to me and this plot turn wasn’t something I was really wanting to put time into. I felt this would start being a cringy read and I really don’t like a cringy feel to any story I consume.

I saw all these people say they cried, 5 stars all around, this isn’t a romance rather a story about friendship. Without reading too much into reviews, one after talked about how touched they were and how they couldn’t put it down and oh the tears this story brought. I didn’t know anything new about the story, no spoilers, but this gave me the push to see what everyone was talking about. So, I continued on.

When the friend has the positive test, I was like NOOO… Then came in the halfway mark…

This was the point where I knew this is not the story I thought I was going to read. I was so curious prior how this book could be so popular if you had a protagonist cheat with the pregnant best friend’s boyfriend. Especially during the scene at the vacation house when you saw the traditions and friends both Dannie and Bella share. How can someone lose all that for a guy… So maybe in the end they don’t end up together and she leaves the perfect but plain Daniel? Maybe the friend cheated and is actually not that great? I didn’t know. Then the cancer and I knew for sure this book wasn’t what I thought it was. At least for those first few chapters I no longer thought this was a romance but a love story of friends. The pain and the denial, the searching Dannie does was all so real despite the unrealness I got from the character’s writing before.

Okay also in the second half of this book there were a few quotes that really stood out to me. That quote about love from Aaron in chapter 28. “You mistake love. You think it has to have a future in order to matter, but it doesn't. It's the only thing that does not need to become at all. ... Love doesn't require a future.” Soo touching, especially in that moment. Also, Bella when talking to Dannie about not actually being in love with Daniel and how she should want more from life. “If there is a clock ticking toward anything it should be your happiness.” I let that line sit cause even if it is cheesy, was something I will admit I needed to hear. As someone who doesn’t really pull lines from books it definitely struck me that there was multiple moments that made me want to stop and write these words down and savor them for a minute.

Okay, so for the tears. I will admit I teared up when I realized the renovation was a gift from Bella. When it is shared from Bella that she was always being told she did not finish anything but at least she finished this for her... that got a tear or two to roll. Also, that scene when Dannie’s mom calls after Dannie brought Bella her mother, man. The whole “do you need help” section started to break me… despite it being 10:30 pm I texted my parents “I love you”. It really touched me that whole idea of that love and support from loved ones being so consistent you take it for granted. To be honest I almost texted my best friends to say, “thank you for being you”. I am now completely with all the other reviewers about full crying when it is embraces that this story was about her true love being her best friend and that love they had as well as the pain of that loss.

This story was not what I thought it was going to be. Even at the halfway mark I thought okay Bella dies so Aaron and Dannie can get close with that. Then this switched from being a Romance to a love letter to friendship. Did I think this was the best book in the word? No, that first half wasn’t that great to me but still an easy 4 stars. Did it subvert my expectations and make me feel all the feels? YES, and oh that ending how she layered it on the flash-forward, so perfect. Lauren thank you! I wouldn’t have read this if it wasn’t for this book group, was not anywhere on my radar. So glad I got to read this.

Okay as for your questions Hailey Jo. I loved the idea of the possibility of Dannie with the Doctor, but I am also a hopeless romantic who loves love. I also liked that Dannie was saying that this is all for the future, ending the story with a promise that life will go on for Dannie. That she can still find that love Bella wanted for her, but not making that a point in the story because ultimately that wasn't this story's point. At least that is what I thought.

Ultimately Aaron was my fav character. And I never wanted Aaron and Dannie together once he got introduced outside of the flashforward.

BOY HOWDY!!!!!!!

I’m gonna be real with you ladies, I didn’t like Dannie at ALL. While I was reading this book I thought to myself “just because you can’t see yourself in this character doesn’t mean she’s bad” but after the premonition I just didn’t know what to think because clearly she cheated and how do you root for a cheater? I couldn’t put the book down because I love drama and was just waiting for all hell to break loose.

Things started to change when Bella was “pregnant” at that cabin. I saw Dannie and Bella’s love for each other and how she was so excited for Bella. Of course, my heart broke when at first I thought she lost the baby and then more so when she found out she actually had cancer.

Even though I loved the love between Dannie and Bella, I still couldn’t like her at all. I thought she thought so little of Bella. Saying how she never finishes anything but then with the apartment and noticing all the work she did at the gallery Dannie realized she was wrong. I feel like it was too little too late. I think Dannie liked having Bella around to make herself feel self righteous.

I did think that the writing was very smart and I love how as the reader we thought we knew exactly how this was going to go and in the end it was the exact same people, sex, and conversation but in a different and darker light. Dannie and Aaron loved Bella in a profound way but I think in that moment they needs to feel something or anything rather than more grie

ok sorry my post cut off but anyway, although I was hard on Dannie I still enjoyed the book and I still enjoyed experiencing her and Bella’s friendship. But Haliey Jo is right Bella deserved better. In the end it was such a sad way to leave the world and I wish her and Aaron had a real chance to spend their lives together.

Finally: David should have dropped Dannie I think he deserved better than her. Also as someone who does corporate law work I can promise you that shit is not as exciting as she thought it was. And I hope Dannie learns to love and live a little more like Bella because in the end, she deserves fierce love too.

HI FRIENDS!!

I finally had a chance to sit down and read the book (busy schoolwork week for me) and .... my god... I am so sorry haha. I totally did not think this book was going to go this way; I thought it was just a love story, not a story about friendship love. But I think I almost love it even more for that.

I actually really liked Dannie. I liked her because she was so flawed, and to be honest, I found a lot of myself in her: overachiever who tried to follow a plan for her life.

I thought her and David's relationship was so sad. They seemed so perfect for each other on paper and obviously genuinely cared about one another, but there was just something there that stopped Dannie from really giving all of herself to him.

Bella. Bella Bella Bella. I genuinely loved her. I thought her character took the manic pixie dream girl trope and really actually gave her some personality. I felt so sad that she finally had found some stability and normalcy and then got sick (I DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS A CANCER BOOK IM SO SORRY AGAIN I LOVE YOU HAILEY). I cried a lot. It reminded me of my best friends from childhood, and how I would feel if they got sick.

But to agree with you all, I am so happy Dannie and Aaron didn't get together (even though I kind of secretly wanted them to but knew it wasn't a good idea. I think also it wouldn't have been so bad if Bella hadn't fucking DIED and if Aaron didn't clearly love her). BUT I love love loved the scene when the author brought back the original premonition and played it out in real time, and how Dannie notes that the pull and the bond and the feeling she felt towards Aaron wasn't necessarily love, but the profound feeling of grief and loss that they both shared, because they were the people that loved Bella most in this world. I really hoped they stayed friends, and stayed in touch.

I also loved the detail of Dannie meeting with the Doctor at the end. I loved his character a lot and kind of almost maybe suspected that was gonna happen, and I liked it a lot. I loved how much Bella cared about Dannie having a big love and a big life, and that she didn't want her to waste her life away on some plan.

Anywho. Wow. What a book. Very heavy. Cried a lot. So sorry again because I had no idea it was gonna go this way! But I'm really glad I did read it, it definitely had an impact on me.