Review: Just in Time by Marie Bostwick

Title: Just in Time by Marie Bostwick
Publisher: Kensington
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 336 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

In her most powerful novel yet, New York Times bestselling author Marie Bostwick weaves the uplifting story of three grief support group dropouts—women united in loss and rescued through friendship.

Fifteen years ago, Grace Saunders vowed to take her beloved husband for better or worse. Now she’s coming to terms with difficult choices as she crafts a memory quilt from scraps of their life together—a life torn to shreds by an accident that has left him in a coma. Enduring months of limbo, Grace is at least not alone.

Nan has been widowed for twenty years, but now, with her children grown, her home feels painfully empty. Even the company of her golden retriever, Blixen, and a series of other rescue dogs, can’t fill the void. Then there’s Monica, a feisty woman with a biting wit who’s reeling following her husband’s death—and the revelation of his infidelity.

As for Grace, a chance evening with a man she barely knows brings a glimmer of joy she hasn’t felt since the tragedy—along with feelings of turmoil and guilt. But her struggle to cope will force all three women to face their fears, share their deepest secrets—and lean on one another as they move from grief and isolation to hope, and a second chance at happiness .

Review:

Just in Time by Marie Bostwick is a heartfelt novel of healing, friendship and ultimately, love.

Grace Saunders never imagined she would meet her best friends through their failed attempt to find solace in a grief support group. Nan Wilja has been widowed for twenty years and she fosters dogs while also helping others try to deal with their grief. Monica Romano is a recent widow whose grief is tempered by anger at the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death. She is also raising her teenage stepchildren while working long hours at the restaurant she owns. Grace’s grief is compounded by the fact that her beloved husband is still alive but in a permanent vegetative state following a hiking accident. Although the three women could not be more different, their close-knit friendship sustains and nurtures them as they navigate through their lives.

Grace and her husband Jamie met in high school and although his accident was two years earlier, she is still deeply in love with him. They had not really settled into their life in Portland before her life fell apart and outside of her friendship with Nan and Monica, she does little except work and visit Jamie at the long care health facility. Grace is not crazy about her job, but she desperately needs to hold on to it because of her fantastic health benefits. Although she logically knows that Jamie will not get any better, her love for him never wavers. Which is why Grace is not exactly receptive to Monica’s matchmaking attempts between her and furniture maker Luke Pascal.

Monica is a little brash, loud and sometimes a tiny bit overbearing, but she has a huge heart. She absolutely loves her restaurant but she is extremely stressed due to her rather difficult relationship with her stepchildren. With her stepson Alex getting into trouble at school and her stepdaughter Zoe trying to grow up way too fast, Monica has her hands full, but she always makes time for Grace and Nan. Despite her overly busy life, she is also ready to fall in love again, but will Monica open her heart to a man who does not exactly fit her criteria?

Nan is such a warm and giving person that she is impossible not to love. After her beloved husband’s death, she not only finished raising their children but she also added to her brood through adoption. She volunteers with a local pet rescue and she fosters dogs whose owners have recently passed away. With a full life she loves, Nan has never looked for love, but will love find her when she least expects it?

Just in Time is an absolutely endearing novel that is deeply affecting. All of the characters are beautifully developed with relatable issues to overcome and true to life weaknesses and strengths. Grace, Nan and Monica are realistically depicted and wonderfully imperfect characters. The various story arcs are engaging and it is such a joy to watch each of the women unexpectedly find happiness. Marie Bostwick’s newest release will tug on readers’ heartstrings as Grace, Nan and Monica undergo their respective journeys of healing which will lead each of them to open their hearts and minds to the possibility of falling in love again.