Wow! Where to start with this book? I think I have felt every emotion throughout reading this book. As someone who has been directly affected by cancer I think Tammy Robinson has portrayed it perfectly. In fact, I don’t think she could have done it any better. All the emotions Ava felt are true to life and you feel yourself feeling them alongside her. I don’t have enough positive adjectives to deserve this book or Tammy’s level of genius. It’s just bloody brilliant!

Absolutely wonderful but heartbreaking read. Bring tissues you are going to need them, but do read this you won’t regret it. Beautiful story, so well told and a heartwarming tale despite the tears along the way.


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book is a beautiful read if not heartbreaking and painful to read in parts. I was in tears and had to take a lot of breaks from this book as at times it felt so real to life it hurt but it is also full of love and hope and positivity. Beautiful.

Truly beautiful and absolutely heartbreaking. This book is wonderfully written and even the hardest heart would break a little reading it.

Insightful and thought provoking.

Tammy Robinson always writes such believable characters and this book is no exception. Read it in one sitting and sobbed at the ending. Loved it.

I loved this book - it was a heart warming poignant book which left me feeling very emotional.

Thank you.

I absolutely love Tammy Robinson’s books, and this was no exception. In fact, I read it in 3 days.

This is the story of Ava, who has successfully battled breast cancer, and at the age of 28 finds the cancer has returned and it’s terminal. (Not a spoiler, it’s in the blurb and happens at the very beginning of the book).

Ava and her 2 best friends have been planning their wedding day since they were little, and realising this wasn’t to be, Ava decides to have a special ‘wedding‘ without the groom, but with all the rest - dress, shoes, party with friends and family, as a celebration of her life.

When her friends publicise the event to try and get some help with the event and costs, it goes viral as the public’s imagination is captured by the tragic story. A local magazine also picks up the story and wants to cover it for their magazine.

This leads to consequences none of them foresaw.

A beautiful, poignant story, beautifully told, well researched and which should be on everyone’s TBR list.

This is a real tear-jerker, but also one of those books that makes you step back a bit and appreciate life more.

It is about Ava, who has just been diagnosed with cancer for a second time, this time terminal. It is set in New Zealand and centres around how Ava deals with her final time on this earth with her friends and family. She decides the one thing she really wants to do before she dies is have a wedding. She hasn't got anyone to marry but just wants the whole experience. Her family and friends think she's mad initially, but come to realise that it's actually a great way for Ava to have a happy final gathering with her closest family and friends around before the inevitable happens.

So everyone throws themselves into the planning and once it hits social media everything starts to go viral, with people around the country getting on board and offering everything needed, from small items to venues for the wedding. A magazine also gets getting involved with Ava's journey, with Ava herself starts writing a column for the magazine.

During this time there are lots of highs but also a lot of lows as Ava gets progressively weaker and her body is less able to cope with just about everything. But also during this time she meets James, the stand-in photographer for the magazine, and he is a shining light in her last days, bringing unexpected love into her life.

This is definitely a real tear-jerker but the characters are very relatable and so you don't spend the whole book sad, just appreciative of all the little things that Ava is also making the most of; walking on a beach, sunrises & sunsets, just spending time with family and friends, time and memories being much more important than material things.

A really lovely book even though it is about a sad subject. Definitely have a large box of tissues at the ready, especially towards the end.

Beautifully written and full of the very raw emotion that the situation Ava finds herself in creates both for her and for her family. Entwined into the reality of Ava facing a terminal diagnosis she decides to hold her own wedding- groom optional- as her big farewell.
Ava's friends leap in to help and by the power of social media offers of help, of dresses, venues and cakes come flooding in along with some initially unwanted attention from a magazine editor. When Ava agrees to tell her story, in the hope of saving other young women from the same fate, everything takes off and she finds herself in wedding dresses at venues being photographed for articles for the magazine. She also writes a very honest column for them about the things she has learned since her diagnosis- the main message being seize the day.
there are moments in the book where you can smile and laugh along with the craziness the wedding is creating and at the bravery Ava manages to show throughout and equally moments that make you pause for thought, think about your own mortality and gather your loved ones a little closer.

This is a beautiful book. You know before you open it that Ava Green is dying from terminal cancer. The story could have been mawkish and miserable but instead it takes a difficult subject and manages to make it uplifting and positive.

Ava’s battle with her illness is real and the reader sympathises with her as she tries to make sense of her life, and death. She has loving and supportive parents and two best friends, all of whom care deeply and are there for her at every turn.

Sadly, many people have experience of losing someone to cancer and this story accurately depicts the emotion and heartbreak of loss. It is a well written and though provoking read, that will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

Well Tammy Robinson has done it again. Another beautifully written book that had me absorbed from page 1. Such a tough subject to write about but she has managed to do it in a way that wasn't morbid yet still managed to have me crying into my pillow. The last 20% I had to read in short shifts just because my heart ached for the characters. Will be reccomending this to all my family and friends

I cried tons reading this because I lost my mum to that cruel disease and honestly I loved how the author gave an insight as to how it affects the person and her inner circle. It helped me to understand how my mum felt as we tried to make her last few weeks as comfortable as possible and spending as much time that we could with her just like Ava's family and friends did. This book will stay with me forever and I plan to buy in too on publication. I was given this to read in exchange for my honest opinion and I would like to thank the publishers and netgalley for letting me have the book to review and the opinions expressed are entirely my own views and are completely unbiased.

I was totally absorbed by this beautifully envisaged, poignant story about Ava Green who has already battled through breast cancer three years ago, only to discover the odious disease has returned with a vengeance. Still only twenty-eight years of age and with everything to live for, Ava’s cancer is diagnosed as a grade four; terminal and the only treatment is yet more exhausting chemotherapy and that will only prolong her life for a very short amount of time. Her world is rocked to the very core and she knows that she cannot go through the extreme trauma and after-affects of invasive chemo. She may only extend her life if she was prepared to feel so ill and worn out by the treatment. She decides that she would rather opt for palliative care and make the most of the time she has left.
Ava has always dreamed of finding her one true love, of having a wonderful wedding day and later on of having a family. Supported by her two best friends and her ever-loving mother and father, and despite not having even a casual boyfriend, Ava decides that she wants to celebrate her life and live her most cherished dream. Together they organise the wedding of Ava’s dreams. Nothing is too good for Ava. She will live the loveliest day of her life with a ‘dream come true’ wedding party, but with no groom. No expense is spared and her friends have a brilliant idea: make use of social media! The story goes viral with offers of help coming from far and wide. A popular magazine reports what is happening in a massive feature story and follows up with in depth details of the developing plans. Ava is overwhelmed and touched by the support of hundreds of previously unknown strangers that are inspired by her story. Her mail bags bulge with gifts and heart-warning letters.
I loved each and every character, but none more than Ava. She goes through every emotion imaginable as her story gathers momentum. A phenomenal, beautiful and emotional story unfolds. The disease has her firmly in its evil grip as she nurtures her ultimate dream. Her condition worsens but still Ava summonses the strength to grasp for and enjoy every intricate and wonderful stage of the plans. Nobody could ignore the inspirational love that envelopes her: the kindness of strangers. She packs her life with opportunities taken and enfolded in the arms of love. She despairs, it’s true, but again and again she had the courage to pick herself up and battle through the pain. She so richly deserves success. Game on.
I received this novel through my membership of NetGalley and from publisher Piatkus in return for an honest review. Thank you most sincerely for my copy. I recommend it as an enriching and rewarding read for all lovers of Women’s Fiction. Once again Tammy Robinson has filled my heart with a wonderful, relatable, gorgeous and memorable story full of love and friendship.