What would you do if life as you knew it was suddenly ripped away from you?

That’s what Sarah has to deal with. After trying to get pregnant and IVF, she has three children and life seems great.

Then, her husband JP picks Christmas of all times to shatter Sarah’s and her kids’ world.

How will she cope as a single mum?

Then a cancer diagnosis hits and it’s up to Sarah and JP to figure out a way to fight if they are to get through all this…Will they pull through?

I have never reviewed any of Caroline Finnerty’s novels and thoroughly enjoyed this.

It is heart-warming, heartbreaking hard hitting yet tender and realistic.

Best to have the tissues ready

Thanks to Caroline Finnerty, Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for my ARC in exchange for an honest and voluntary review.

5 stars

Sarah McIntyre has it all, two beautiful children, Harry amd Robyn and a loving husband. She s looking forward to a family Christmas. When her world his shattered her husband JP announces he doesn't love her anymore and will be moving out very soon. Swallwed up in pain she feels she can't hurt anymore until she starts to notice four year old Robyn is not herself and takes her to the doctor for a medical exam. Following various checks both JP and Sarah face every parents worst nightmare when they discover Robyn has a terminal brain tumour and won't live much longer. A story that will resonate unfortunately with too many, that cancer has touched. Beautifully and sensitively told by a talented author. I couldn't hold back the tears as this book evoked so many emotions. Told mainly from Sarah's POV it was a fresh approach to also hear the impact this all had on Robyn's older sibling Harry , still only 9 years of age and a vulnerable person in all of this. A hard read at times but I am so glad I did. Brought awareness to this awful disease too.

This was a beautiful story with scenes that left me in tears where a mother had to pull on her strength for her daughter who had a terminal condition and a husband who left her midway.
In dual POV, I got to see life through little Harry's (the other child) eyes.
Overall, read with tissues, but well worth the tears spent.

The Last Days of Us is a heart wrenching book. At the beginning of the book, JP, the father, decides to leave his family for another woman. As Sarah, the mother, tries to recover she notices her daughter, Robyn, is not acting right. When Robyn goes in for tests and receives a horrible diagnosis her family is tested like never before.

What a beautifully written, empathetic story – difficult to read at times, making you aware that this story is a reality for some families. The characters were all beautifully portrayed, but it really was a heartbreaking read. I can only hope that the book raises awareness of the devastation that a diagnosis of DIPG delivers, and that this can lead to greater research.

The family in the book were all a delight and I really felt for them every time they had bad news. A story that makes you think about your family and your priorities in life.

Recently separated parents J.P and Sarah are given the devastating news .
Their 4 year old daughter Robyn has an inoperable brain tumour.
Both parents have a different point of view as what should happen with Robyn’s treatment .
This book will break your heart
So well told is this book
Get the tissues ready
Thanks NetGalley

What can I say about this book? It was powerful, heart wrenching and soul destroying. But wonderfully written and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had me ugly crying, I don’t think I’ll ever understand how a parent would feel when losing their child but this book has certainly put it into perspective for me.

The characters were believable and they were pulled back together when they needed each other the most. I think my favourite character had to be Harry though, he was such a strong little boy and he tried to make everything ok for his mum without even knowing, let alone understanding what was actually going on. JP did kind of get on my nerves a bit as he refused to listen to Sarah and wouldn’t let her explain why she didn’t want her daughter going to the US for experimental treatments. I was definitely on the side of Sarah, she didn’t want her daughter to suffer anymore than she needed to in her final days and weeks.

I would certainly recommend this book to anyone and everyone, but warn them not to read it in public as they would look very strange with tears streaming down their face. This will pull at everyone’s heart strings and it made me take a step back and realise what is important in life.

Oh gosh, where do I even start with this beautiful book? Right from the start I just loved it. It’s set in North County Dublin, where I live, which was a nice bonus, as I could picture all the settings so well. The characters are so real that I felt as if I knew them all, and I really felt so sorry for Sarah as she dealt with first her marriage break-up, and then Robyn’s diagnosis.

The journey that we are taken on is such a familiar one for so many people, myself included, and Sarah’s heartbreak as she watches the person she loves fade away, is just so poignant and so sad. The fact that she and JP have only just separated and are on different pages, makes it even more difficult.

The story is told mainly from Sarah’s perspective, but we also have some chapters from Harry’s point of view, and these are so authentic, and so heart-breaking.

A tragic and heart-wrenching story, but told so sensitively, this one will leave you in tears, but it’s also beautiful and captivating and in spite of not always being an easy read, it really is a must-read.

The Last Days Of Us by Caroline Finnerty is a fiction story that will tear your heart apart while reading it. This is my first book by Caroline Finnerty and one thing I do know is- she can create a novel that you can't stop reading.
Sarah McIntyre has everything she has ever wanted and needed, two children and an adoring husband. That is until Christmas Day when all the family have left to return home and JP tells her he is moving out and he doesn't love her anymore. Sarah feels life can't get any worse until the day Robyn their four year old daughter becomes ill and the diagnosis is a very aggressive and untreatable form of brain cancer. She is given up to 9-12 months left to live. Sarah does her best to keep everything as close to normal as possible but struggles, especially when she is at odds with what JP wants for Robyn. Will they be able to work together as a family to get through this or will it be arguments all the way?
As you can imagine this is an emotional and heartbreaking story of every parents nightmare. The decisions that need to be made are ones which could cause more suffering. We even have chapters written by Harrt Robyn's elder brother and these are very moving. As a child himself he has no grey areas in life, all he knows is his litle sister looks different now. My heart went out to this boy.
A subject that you immediately connect with due to the raw emotion and everyone's fear of the illness. I was invested straight away and had to choke back my tears most of the way through (didn't always succeed). I literally wanted to scoop up the full family and hold them close. The range of enotions that I felt throughout this book made me feel drained by the time I was done.
Caroline Finnerty has skillfully woven a tale that touches your very core and makes you think even after you have finished it. A really well written and immersive story that will have me checking out her work in the future.
Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources, Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the copy of the book.

This is a Women's Fiction book that covers a lot of hard hitting topics. Sarah and JP spend years going through IVF taking to get pregnant before getting pregnant with their son, Harry who is 9 years old in this book. After having Harry they got bless with Robyn without trying, and Robyn is 4 years old in this book. JP comes home late on Christmas to tell Sarah he is done being a family, and he moves out. Right after that they right out Robyn is diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor, and they are told she will die within a year. This is a book of Sarah pulling aside JP messing up their family to put her daughter first, and the last a little bit of time they have with Robyn. This is a book that will touch your heart and make you feel so much. This is a well written book with great characters. It is everything I look for in a Hard Hitting Women's Fiction book. Sarah is a strong woman that does not let anything take her down, and her character shows how much women carry on a daily bases. I loved it so much. I also love that we get a little for Harry's point of view because it is always great to think things through a kids eye. Most of the book comes for Sarah's point of view. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher or author (Caroline Finnerty) via NetGalley, so I can give honest review about how I feel about this book. I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

What a heartbreaking read. Any mother reading this would be struck by how horrible it would be to be in Sarah and JPs situation. It was very well written and you could really feel for poor Harry who has to watch his baby sister die. It makes us realise we should thank our blessings.

Oh my goodness, what a wonderful book this is. It is such an emotional heartbreaking story but written so sensitively. Highly recommended as long as you have a supply of tissues nearby
Thank you for the opportunity to read such brilliant writing

Sarah’s perfect world is shattered, first when her husband walks out on them and again, a few months later, when their 4 year old daughter is diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. She would do anything to save her daughter’s life and keep her family together.

A lovely story dealing with a mother’s love. I felt this had touches of Jodi Picoult, just not executed quite as well. Although the story dealt with the ups and downs of the family’s journey, it didn’t reduce me to tears.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This book has broken my heart into a million little pieces, slowly tearing me down and then rebuilding my faith in humanity bit by bit. It is certainly a very powerful and emotional book. I do enjoy a tear-jerker and this has definitely been that!

The family in this book is wonderful. In many ways it is your average family. On the surface, they are a loving happy family, but there are cracks in the façade and this quickly becomes apparent. This book is steeped in realism, so much so that you come to realise that these sad and painful events could happen in anyone’s family, including yours.

I have definitely found this an unputdownable, as it draws you in and you become emotionally attached to the characters. I found the sections written from Harry’s perspectives particularly compelling and heart-breaking. It is an incredible showcase of the author’s talent that she is able to take on the voice of a young boy.

This book has had a huge emotional impact on me and this family’s story will stay with me for a long time. I will definitely be looking into the author’s back catalogue as I highly recommend their easy and emotional style.

When I learned about this book I knew it was going to be an emotional read. I knew it would have a lot of topics that hit triggers for some people. Yet, I wanted to read it.

I’m still coming to terms with the book and my thoughts. I’m still dealing with how the book touched my heart and what it made me think and feel. It was a thought provoking book, as well as a story that reminded me of certain family members and their own journeys.

In this book we follow a family and the journey of a cancer patient. We follow a mother doing everything for her daughter, and focusing on enjoying the last moments they have together. And we also follow the family dynamics, how a couple deals with this situation.

Grief, anger, acceptation, sadness, resilience, love. Those are some of the key words for me. Of course, family, cancer, death, moving forward, and SAUDADE (that’s a Portuguese word) came to play as well. But the truth is, I like to think that it was about family and love.

Many may not know, but I have had a lot of family members dealing with cancer, various types of tumors, and one of them was of a little cousin. So, I have seen the worry in my cousin about her daughter’s tumor. I have seen them deal with it, having faith, trusting the doctor, being scared and still having the courage to keep going and doing everything for their loved ones. And Sarah was like that, such a powerful character, trying to focus on her kids and being the best mom possible despite the circumstances.

There are other aspects of the book that were interesting, the legal and medical elements, but for me what got me going was the emotional element. It was the family and how they all had their own thoughts and had their own problems as well as the common one.

Overall, I enjoyed the book a lot. I know I would get emotional, that was a possibility, but I didn’t know what to really expect and I’m so happy that I gave the book a shot and that I went through this journey.

[I want to thank Rachel, at Rachel’s Random Resources, Caroline Finnerty and Boldwood Books for the eCopy of this book, via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.]

Honestly I can't even begin to process how this book has made me feel. I'm struggling with this a little due to the nature of the book.

The book deals with the 4 year old daughter being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour and follows the family through their journey.

This is an immensely upsetting book and it brings all the feels. As someone who has dealt with a child having cancer at a very young age, this just shows you how utterly lucky we were as a family that they came out of it fit and healthy.

Hug your loved ones a little harder when you go to bed at night and make sure you tell them you love them always.

I can't say I enjoyed the book because that just sounds wrong! Once it got into it I struggled to put it down and have some tissues at the ready. Some parts of the writing did feel a little repeated so I skimmed over that but it didn't ruin anything for me.

The Last Days of Us is a detailed well written story that captures the heart of the reader and pulls you in from the first page...
I like how Finnerty has dealt with the emotional sensitive issues of palliative care and how it affects people in the cases of terminal cancer...
The character development of The Last Days of Us is good. I felt a really deep connection with Sarah and her family as they experience a mother's worst nightmare...
I would recommend reading The Last Days of Us to lovers of Women's Fiction, as it is a heartbreaking story of the McIntyre family as they share their tear jerking journey of saying goodbye....

Get ready with a box of tissues! If you are anything like me, you might even need to read this when you’re all alone and no one will bother you. At first I didn’t want to read this book because I knew it would tear my heart into itty bitty pieces. But I chose to read it anyway and I am forever thankful for it!

The story begins with JP leaving his wife, Sarah, and children the day after Christmas. He no longer wants to be part of this beautiful family and says he fell out of love with Sarah. Everything seems strained and it leaves Sarah explaining the best she can to the children that their father moved out.

Not long after, Sarah notices some odd tendencies of their youngest, Robyn. She’s an adorable little 4 year old, who’s usually active and seems to take on the world. Until her face droops a bit on one side, then she loses her balance a bit, and she begins limping. Sarah takes little Robyn to see a doctor, who tells her and JP that their little girl has an inoperable cancer and it’s fatal.

Any time a child must go through such a rare disease like Robyn’s diagnosis of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG), it’s heart-breaking! Oh, the thoughts and emotions that must go through the heads of the parents! I know it’s hard for family and friends as well, but that’s nothing compared to your own child going through it! This book does well in sharing the heart of Sarah and JP and how they fight for what they each believed to be the best for their child. Even as parents, they disagreed on what they think is best! How do you really decide on what’s best for your child when you really don’t know if it’ll work or not?

I have a good friend who’s child was diagnosed with a rare disease and he’s slowly lost his motor skills like speaking and walking. He’s even lost his ability to chew and swallow. As a friend, I try to give my strength, but that’s hardly much help for the actual parents! Children with rare diseases are more and more common, or maybe we’re just more aware of them, as technology progresses. We’re extremely saddened that there isn’t a cure for everything by now, but unfortunately the best we can sometimes do is make sure these children are simply comfortable and not in pain.

Special thanks to Boldwood Books and Rachel’s Random Resources for access to The Last Days of Us by Caroline Finnerty. I give this book 5 out of 5 tiaras because of how my emotions were torn into a million pieces. Oh my heart! No one ever thinks something like a rare disease would ever take away their precious child that they love and adore, but sometimes it happens and I grieve with you.

Wow, where to start? This book has everything, an unexpected breakup, emotional turmoil and a devastating illness that will change family life forever.

In ‘The Last Days of Us’, author Caroline Finnerty has created a story that tugs at every conceivable emotion and leaves the reader thinking about the characters long after the final page has been turned.

Mainly told through mum Sarah’s eyes, the story takes you on a journey as she tries to hold things together after being dealt the most unimaginable news about four year old daughter Robyn, who is diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour.

Alongside this, the individual short chapters told from elder sibling Harry’s perspective are touching and heartbreaking in equal measure.

The novel also successfully raises awareness of DIPG; I’m sure I’m not the only reader to research more about it both during and after reading.

Also fascinating was the struggle Robyn’s father had coming to terms with his daughter’s diagnosis and certainly makes you pause to reflect what you would do in a similar situation.

This is by no means an easy read, but it is brilliantly written and heartfelt. Highly recommended.

WARNING!!!! Tissues will be needed! Oh my goodness, what a heartbreaking story The Last Days of Us is. The strapline "how many times can one heart shatter " has never been truer. It took me longer than usual to read this because of the tears. The book is really well written and the characters are so true to life. I was drawn in from the start to the very end.