Life and Other Happy Endings had many sweet, touching and heartwrenching moments with warmth and sensitivity and a perfectly fitting ending.

There are many surprises and plenty of laughs to also be enjoyed.

Thanks to Ruth Richardson at Penguin Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for the auto-approval, Melanie and NetGalley.

An interesting and thought proving read. What would you do if you only had three months left to live? Jennifer’s story is not quite what I expected but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

How would you react if you were given just three months to live?

Jennifer deals with this devastating news by reaching out to people who were close to her in the past. and telling them some harsh home truths. The book deals with how these letters affect their recipients and how relationships with Jennifer's sister and exes play out.

This was far warmer and wittier than I expected due to the content matter. It also bought about some thought provoking moments as I followed Jennifers journey. It was emotional but also heart warming, a great debut.

An uplifting story. Such a lovely book to curl up with. I was so lost in the pages and could not put this down. This book is like a long lost friend and helps you put life into perspective. Just what I needed. Fabulous read!

Life and other happy endings by Melanie Cantor

Jennifer Cole has been given the news, we all would dread, you have three months to live.

A book that makes you think about what you would do. An easy read that is not as dreary as you’d expect.

3.5/5

This is such a typical feel good happy ending book and one of my absolute favourites of the year so far!
Literally everything I love in a book, all in one book!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc. I was intrigued by the premise of this read, so excited to delve in. However ultimately I found myself quite disappointed with this, due to my misplaced expectations. As this was about a woman diagnosed with an incurable illness, coming to terms with her short life and preparing for death, I thought this book would be filled with pathos and small beauties of life instead this novel was more of a contemporary romance about a rather self-absorbed middle-class White woman.

Jennifer is 43-years old, single and working in HR. She’s at the doctors when she’s given the bad news: she’s been diagnosed with an incurable blood disease and has three months left to live. With this life-shattering news Jennifer confides in her best friend, Olivia, who tells her to write letters expressing her feelings towards her two ex-husband and her sister, whom she’s never gotten along with. Sending off the letters leads her to revive her relationship with one of her ex, Harry, and she becomes more involved with her sister, Isabelle’s life. Along the line Jennifer also takes a walk in Hampstead Heath and has spontaneous sex with a handsome stranger. Then halfway through the book there’s a midway twist when her doctor calls again: there’s been a mistake; Jennifer doesn’t actually have the incurable disease. There was a mix-up with the test results. The second half follows the repercussions of this.

Without giving any spoilers this was a rather boring read. I wasn’t into the road this book took with Jennifer resuming relationships with her cheating ex-husbands 🤦🏻‍♀️ You have three months left and that’s what you do!!!! FFS 🙄 And then that spontaneous sex scene in Hampstead Heath was a cringe-feast; of course only in white middle-class women’s novels can their privilege protagonists initiate sex with handsome men because “they have three months to live” and not be seen as creepy and perverted. Imagine if a guy did this; better yet if a man of colour kissed a strange woman after disclosing that he’s about to die and expecting to get away with it because of his impending death. But it’s fine here cause the stranger reciprocates. And then that midway predictable twist 😒 What a cop-out!! Also the way her sister, Isabelle, is written is so stereotypical. Growing up Isabelle was the “pretty” one while Jennifer was the “brainy” despite having a comfy upbringing boo-hoo-hoo!!! So hard!!!
Overall this was a rather disappointing read proving that if you’re well connected enough any privileged white person’s book can be published despite its mediocrity. 1/5.

A very thought-provoking book, an easy read, which given the content I actually did enjoy.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

I was expecting so much more from this book. Unfortunately, it’s just a typical story for this genre. Which may not be bad if you are searching for an easy-read to distract yourself from reality. Based on the description I was pretty sure I’m starting a feel-good book and I wasn’t wrong. Yet I was slightly annoyed by the shift of focus somewhere in the first part of the book where the main character seems to do not care about her ending life anymore and everything starts to circle only around her boyfriend. I couldn’t get fond of the main character - Jennifer, she was lacking a personality. On the other hand, I found all the other characters much more exciting and I wish the writer focused more on them. The stories describing the lives of her sister, ex-husband and other friends were one of the most interesting parts in my opinion. Twist was very predictable and I found myself skipping some pages towards the end. The writing was pleasant and very easy to understand.

Thank you, NetGalley

A genuinely emotional novel that will pull on your heart strings. Life and Other Happy Endings is a gorgeous and entrancing read that is thought provoking, heart breaking and glorious, all in one.

Jennifer Cole has been given three months to live, and before she dies she needs to get some things off her chest. So she decides to write three letters, one each to her sister, ex husband and ex lover. She’s dying anyway, so what’s the worst that can happen?

A thought provoking, emotional novel about speaking your truth.

What a gorgeous read this was. I was entranced by the story and must admit to shedding a couple of tears. Sensitively written. I look forward to many more books from Melanie.

A really good story quite different from my usual reads but very interesting. When Jennifer gets a wrong diagnosis about her health life takes her on a journey that she never expects. Its fabulous, funny and warmhearted with plenty of twists along the way and it plays out beautifully if a little bit corny

Jennifer Cole is 43, divorced and is an HR professional. So far, so good. But then she receives news from her doctor that her blood tests show that she has a very rare blood disease - so rare that the book even doesn't tell us its name! Treatment is not even an option. And she has only three months to live. What would you do in those three months? Write a bucket list? Travel the world? Well, Jennifer decides she needs to address some of the problematic relationships in her life, with three important and significant people - her ex - husband, her ex - lover and her sister, to tell them what she really thinks. Well, she's dying, right, so really, what worse can happen?
But as it turns out, a lot can happen in ninety days...

The letters that Jennifer writes are addressed to her sister, the beautiful and always knowing better Isabelle, the sister who patronized her and hurt her, the sister who's now leading a - really? - perfect and happy life with a wealthy husband and two daughters. Then she writes to her ex - husband who not only ignored her feelings after the third miscarriage, but also cheated on her and then left her. And one of the letters goes to Jennifer's ex - lover that she loved almost unconditionally but who has also left her for another woman. Even though her friends hated Harry, viewing him manipulative and toxic, she simply can't let him go. Jennifer probably would never write those letter, if it wasn't for her being ill, and it's not a wonder because it's so difficult to open yourself and speak openly about your true feelings and emotions - writing them really required courage form her, but well, she also knew that she has nothing to lose now, right?

Jennifer was an interesting character. While more than once I wanted to shake her and tell her off for being such a doormat, and it started already in the first chapter when she allowed the doctor to belittle her (I know, I know, she got a shock of her life, but still...), and it was really difficult to see her like this, and also, I don't think I would care about any of my exes if I had ninety days to live left, but altogether she was entertaining and felt really human and authentic. It was - despite the circumstances - great to see her going on this thrilling, interesting and breath - catching journey of personal growth. Seeing her becoming strong and self - confident, realising what's important was enjoyable and there were moments that I wanted to give her a standing ovation. And one of the strongest points of this book must have been the dynamics between her and Isabelle - at the beginning I truly believed that Isabelle's intentions are faux, my bad, and then I was really invested in this part of the plot.

I was totally intrigued by this book, because death, okay, but what about happy endings when there is death, right? Yes, I must admit that there were things that you've seen coming from a miles away, and there were some quirks in the main character that were sometimes very annoying, but those were not things that have spoilt my reading. There are some revelations and surprises along the way but, to be absolutely honest, I wasn't surprised with the plot taking a turn - I probably knew it's going to change things up even before Jennifer knew it.

It is a book about letting go, about second chances, celebrating life, sisterhood and friendship between women. I loved how it showed that no matter what, that when life gives you lemons and provides you with heart - breaking situations, it is another woman who can support you so unconditionally (almost always. Yes, Isabelle, I'm looking at you). It is full of warmth, surprises and humour. The writing is flying, taking us on a journey together with the characters and their ups and downs, and before I knew it, I've finished this clever and refreshing read. Go into this with open mind and not over - thinking things and you're going to enjoy and appreciate this read so much.

Jennifer lived a pretty ordinary life. Until the day she goes to her doctor to get the results of her blood tests, and she is told that she has a rare blood disorder that is advanced, untreatable and that she has only three months to live, at best.

What would you do if you received that kind of news? Have completely random sex with a stranger on Hampstead Heath? Write letters to the people who have hurt you to let them know how you feel? Reunite with a lost love? Jennifer does all of these things, and feels, for the first time in her life that she is bold and brave.

She becomes closer to the older sister who stole her first love and took her love for granted. She thinks she is going to spend what is left of her life with Harry, the one who got away.

But a phone call from her surgery is about to change everything for Jennifer and turn her world all the way round again.

A sweet story about making the most of every day, living without regret and the redemptive power of throwing mini sausages and tomato sauce at an idiot ex who has ripped your heart apart for the last time!

Thanks to Netgalley for a preview of this wonderful book. I loved Jennifer and her positive attitude. It was a book that gripped me from the first page and made me fall in love what the great character she is. The book is so well written and I was so surprised that this was a debut novel for Melanie. She definitely has a great career ahead of her

Oh this book grabbed me by the bojangles, played with my heart strings then spun me 360 degrees but my goodness I loved it. I was a huge fan of Jennifer despite her questionable choices and rooted for her from start to end. A fabulous read, thank you netgalley!

Jennifer is plodding through life. She is single, she has no children, her ex husband left her, her last boyfriend cheated on her & her sister is too self obsessed to care much at all. She is one of life’s pushovers. Then the doctor tells her she has 3 months to live. This isn’t a story about a middle aged woman trying to work through her bucket list - it’s the story of a woman who’s life was taking a little while to get started & suddenly has to face the fact that it’s all a bit too late. A real & honest look at how someone might act when they’re told they’re dying. I loved this book. So much. It’s funny, thought provoking and so well written.

I struggled to imagine how there could be a happy ending to such a sad tale but, trust in the author and all will be revealed!
Feeling that she cannot die without making peace with her past, Jennifer writes letters to her ex-husband, her ex-boyfriend and her sister. In the letters, she explains how their actions made her feel and how she wishes that she’d been brave enough to speak freely at the time.
The string of events that those letters bring about are bittersweet but, it’s an enjoyable journey.
I really don’t want to offer any spoilers but, I do want to say that I loved Jennifer’s character. It’s fun to see what happens next and how each letter and action have an impact on the rest of her days.
This is Melanie Cantor’s debut novel after having worked for the publisher, Random House. If this is her standard then I can’t wait to read more.

Jennifer has been given three months to live so decides to write a letter to her sister, her ex-husband and her ex-boyfriend to air her grievances with them. All three come back into her life but are they remorseful.

The characters are well written and the story provokes thoughts of how you would deal with the news that you had a terminal illness and very little time left.

So from that you would think it is a depressing sad story but no it’s upbeat and funny and of course there is a twist to the tale. The story flows making it an enjoyable and quick read.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.