I received an arc from NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

This was a gut wrenching read for me. This was a story about friendship, grief, love, unresolved conflicts and betrayal. Sara and Lottie formed an unlikely friendship however Lottie wasn’t always the most honest person through their friendship. Their connection with Jay and Dec may never be the same after certain betrayal occurs. Will their friendship make it through the storm?

This duel timeline story will go back and forth between Sara and Lottie from past to present and back again. Loved the ending and how intricate this storyline was.

Eve Ainsworth’s novel explores grief, friendship, and personal growth through dual timelines. Sara mourns her friend Lottie’s death while reflecting on their decade-long friendship. Initially, Lottie’s actions frustrate Sara, but over time, she recognizes Lottie’s efforts to make amends and bring joy. The story’s well-executed dual perspectives and steady pacing add depth, making it an emotionally resonant read.

It must be so hard to carry hurt around. Especially when that hurt comes from a once all encompassing loving friendship group. Then to have a loss to that pain. It leaves you in both grief,anger and pain of the passed but also remembering the good times? Or the love you all had for eachother. That's a whole lot of mixed up feelings. And makes grieving a whole lot harder.
And this book involved a heap of feelings. And it does it well. It was a big lesson in what not communicating does. Which sadly is all too often at the bottom of aoooo many things that go wrong with friend and lovers alike. We are all quick to silence ourselves and others through fears or love or both. And then things go unsaid. Or other things are said instead. And that is what pur group ha e featured throughout this book. And it's a lesson for us all.

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for this ARC!

Eve Ainsworth has crafted a poignant and emotionally charged story, weaving themes of grief, heartache, friendship, family trauma, and so much more.

Sara, Jay, and Dec had been inseparable friends for what felt like forever until Lottie, a newcomer to their school, joined their circle. The narrative alternates between Sara's present-day mourning after Lottie's death and the past, exploring the origins of their friendship over a decade.

At first, I found myself deeply moved by Sara's grief, as it mirrored my own experience of losing a best friend to cancer. However, as I delved into Lottie's chapters, I felt a growing sense of anger. Her actions and thoughts were hard to understand, and I struggled to find any justification for them. But as the story unfolded, I appreciated watching Lottie's personal growth in the years leading up to her death. She came to realize the harm she had caused and was determined to bring joy to the people she loved. I think a big take away from this story is that time truly does play a large role in life.

The dual perspectives and timelines were well executed, adding depth and complexity to the narrative. While the story unfolded at a slower pace, the pacing was perfect, keeping me engaged as I eagerly awaited the conclusion.

Rating: 3.25

I found this book incredibly frustrating for a few reasons. For one, I don't really like love triangles add in the fact that these are supposed to be the best of friends just made it worse and another thing I hate in romance books is the miscommunication trope. I was a little forgiving at first because they were so young but when you're 28 and dying not telling your best friend the truth is just heartless. Lottie just hoped her jar of joy/tricks works and her two friends would just happen to meet up and find out what really happened all those years ago.

I hated every character in this story they are petty, self-centered and at times downright cruel. Being drunk is not a good reason to fuck your best friend's boyfriend and then lie to him about you. I liked the idea of the book, leaving a jar for a loved one filled with happy memories but you should do it as a kindness not to ease your own guilt over the multitude of times you failed your so-called best friend. I also liked the two points of view and the two timelines. We get Eve in the present and Lottie in the past. I loved knowing what was going on in both their heads at different times.

This book did not leave me feeling sad about a young lady's death, I almost felt like "fuck around and find out" where Lottie was concerned. Unless the author set out to have me hate every character in her book she failed to impress me. I can see why some would like it but for me, it was just infuriating.

You can trust Eve to write a hell of an emotional book. This book hit hard in many ways. Some more personal than others but nonetheless it was amazing! Really enjoyed the plot - the way it was set out and the changing POVs.

I think the topics of heartbreak and grief were captured in a very emotional and moving way. It was also very interesting to see the little plot twists in how the characters ended up in the place they have.

Overall a great and emotional read I would recommend to anyone.

From the moment I started this book I was completely immersed in the characters and story line. Such a cleverly put together plotwith two different points of view and the different time frames, with the gradual unveiling of secrets and lies and an examination of what friendship really looks like.


Really powerful writing about grief, betrayal and true love, I couldn't put this book down. The characters of Sara and Lottie were so well drawn that even with their flaws, you still rooted for them. I was swept along by the story and highly recommend.

Sur le chemin de la guérison.

La narration à plusieurs voix est toujours efficace et ici, le changement de temporalité ajoute encore plus de rythme à la lecture. Un véritable page turner. Les personnages sont bien construits, ce qui les rend attachants. On suit leur évolution au fil des pages et à travers des sujets forts tels que la gestion du deuil, la recherche et l'acceptation de soi, la complexité des relations amicales et amoureuses et la valeur des souvenirs. Ce qui m'a dérangée, c'est le trop grand nombre d'incompréhensions entre les personnages et l'excuse de l'alcool qui, à mon avis, est utilisée de façon abusive et avec trop de légèreté.

Malgré ces quelques reproches, je ne pouvais pas mettre une note en dessous de 4, car j'ai été profondément touchée par la justesse de certains passages. Je ne connaissais pas cette autrice et c'est une belle découverte.

Rating is a 3 because at times it felt higher or lower. For whatever reason, cover and description lead me to believe that it would be more romance than it actually was. The cover seems so bright, but a lot of it was deep and some of it dark.

The main characters are group of “friends” Lottie, Sara, Jay, and Dec. Dec seems to play a minor role in the group, and unfortunately he has very little depth other than being a plot device at times. The other three are definitely all youth that experienced trauma with parents who have some serious issues.

I can relate to this personally because I experienced neglect and abuse for much of my life under 18, and as such Lottie’s need to be loved and her neediness resonates with me. I can remember being clingy in relationships and even at the beginning of my marriage. However, I don’t love the fact that she did such heinous things to Sara and Jay (and even poor Dec) because of it. And I really don’t love that this is turned into some positive at the end. That if she hadn’t done these things Jay and Sara wouldn’t have grown and “healed” before finally getting together.

This brings me to Jay and Sara. I do agree that they caused enough damage on their own. But I think Sara knew from the very beginning that Lottie was trouble. I think she knew this because of the trauma she faced. Hyper-vigilance being common in those who face trauma, I think she noticed the small things but Lottie gaslit her so well because in essence as it goes with trauma survivors she found someone like her Mom. That part is at least well written.

I know this is mainly Sara and Lottie’s story, but I so wish there had been more development of Jay’s character because what I saw makes me still feel he is problematic even if he felt like the hurt one, especially when he had a “relationship” with Lottie. Hurt people hurt people. But there isn’t really evidence he’s actually done the work to become better.

And that leads to maybe the biggest problem of them all and this is big spoilers here. Sara and Jay learn the truth of all, talk a bit, and the go on a share the relationship tour around town. Then Sara is moving to New Castle, everyone is fine and happy, and all is right with the world. But none of the trauma is actually healed! It’s all still there, everyone is just choosing to ignore it. All of the parents have just decided they’ve made mistakes but life is too short and are at peace now for the most part.

Overall the book wasn’t what I expected and while some things were done well (the trauma bonding and personality disorders), the happily ever after just didn’t feel true. It had a lot of potential, but missed the mark at the end.

I enjoyed this book. It did have a romantic twist, even though the main story line was loss. I loved the suspense of what the next note said.

I struggled with this book, I had really enjoyed the authors previous book but something was off with this one

I felt it was a lot longer than it needed to be. Lots of the issues happened due to miscommunication which is a huge bug bear of mine. If the characters had just spoken to each other this book would have been a lot shorter.

Not for me unfortunately

I absolutely loved this book! I read it within a couple of hours and couldn’t put it down. The relationship between Lottie and Sara was so interesting and I loved the way everything came together at the end. I love how this wasn’t your typical romance book, there was always something to get you thinking. I would definitely recommend this book.

Sara is grieving the loss of her childhood best friend, Lottie, while struggling with a life that hasn’t gone as planned. In her will, Lottie leaves behind a "jar of joy" filled with instructions to revisit places tied to their happiest memories. However, these trips also bring back painful reminders of their shared past—especially the secrets Lottie kept and their complicated history with Jay, the man they both loved. As she embarks on this emotional journey, she begins to heal, but some wounds may be too deep.

I went into this book expecting an emotional read, but I found it difficult to connect with the characters. While I sympathised with Sara as she navigated the loss of her friend, there was something about their relationship that didn’t sit right with me. Their friendship felt odd—at times even unkind—which made it hard to fully invest in their story.

Overall, it was an okay read, but it didn’t quite resonate with me as much as I had hoped.

Thank you to NetGalley for the download.

First of all, this book was ok. I had a hard time connecting to the characters to be honest.

Sara is grieving the loss of her best friend Lottie. The book goes back in time to give you a backstory of how their friendship started, then comes back to the present time with how she’s dealing with the loss.

I’ve read another ARC by this author that i really enjoyed but, i had a hard time finishing this one. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book before it’s published.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Sara is grieving the death of her best friend, Lottie. In the past timeline, we get the back story of when the friends met and the drama that occurred with the friend group up until Lottie’s death. In the present timeline, we see Sara grieving and following Lottie’s last wishes.

I found it hard to connect to any of the characters. There was a lot of telling but not showing, especially in the past timeline. I couldn’t get past the awful and selfish things some of the characters did and how easily they were forgiven. Some of the relationships were toxic. The present timeline/resolutions didn’t feel like a realistic portrayal of grief nor how people would feel in the circumstances. The ending felt rushed. It’s an okay read but not one that will be memorable for me.

Thanks to the publisher (Canelo) & NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Pub date: 2/27/25

5–Thank you to Canelo Romance and NetGalley for providing an early read of "Pieces of Us."

In Ainsworth’s latest book, the protagonist, Sara, struggles with the death of her childhood best friend Lottie. Feeling lost and trying to seek a sense of normalcy, she is given a "jar of joy" from Lottie’s mom filled with instructions to revisit their happiest memories. Each memory brings back painful secrets that tore them apart, especially with Jay—the man they both loved—reappearing in her life. As she embarks on this journey, she wonders if Lottie’s jar can give her the strength to change her life.

This book brought out so many emotions!!! Despite being a bit drawn out and featuring a somewhat toxic friendship, I loved it.

And here are some quotes I loved:

‘Sometimes it’s better to forgive than to spend years holding onto bitterness.“

“Life is full of “what-ifs” - the secret is to embrace them, don’t run away from them.”

“But that’s life, isn’t it. We are all dealt a hand. We never quite know how the game will play out.”

“I wish I’d spent more time being grateful for the small things I had rather than wishing that everything was different.”

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

If you are looking for a story of friendship, this is a good read for you. I found some bits slow and predictable but overall thought it was a cute read.

3.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for this ARC.

Sara has a cat called Goose, works in a care home and misses her best friend Lottie who has recently died from cancer. Lottie's Mum Erica, bitter after her divorce and not very friendly towards Sara, gives her a present from Lottie - a Jar of Joy that she made for her designed to remember all the nice times they had together.

In highschool, Lottie, Sara, Jay and Dec all used to hang out together. The relationship between Sara and Jay was complicated - they seemed destined to end up together but their parents hated each other. The true toxicity however in this Romeo and Juliet scenario came from none other than Lottie who did everything to keep those two apart, even forging a letter.

Can you be violently angry towards a tragic young woman who died from cancer when all she wanted was to be loved by people? Yes, when she is selfish and jealous, directly conspiring against the happiness of her apparent best friend. So she had a father who neglected her and a bitter mother, and all her privilege didn't mean anything to her - you know what, I don't care. She did a horrible thing and she didn't make it right before she died.

Ok, some of that can be attributed to Sara's utter inability to communicate with those around her but especially Lottie and Jay. But she is a kind person with a complicated family life and I liked her relationship with old Derek who lives at the care home, and her colleague Jess. She was always a good friend to Lottie and forgave her anything, while the other way round this can't be said. I was so sad for her, thinking bad things about Jay for so long.

This is an emotional story about childhood traumas, toxic friendship, romance, secrets, grief, forgiveness and second chances which I really tried to like, but I got very impatient at the end. It just drags on and on while the reader knows the issue but it takes Sara ages to catch up, do the things from the Joy Jar and read Lottie's diary. There are two POVs, two timelines and a lot of repetition. This book could have been at least 50 pages shorter and half as infuriating. As it stands, this wasn't for me.

What was the point of that book? It mostly made me angry. Lottie was an awful friend but I was supposed to feel bad for her because she died? Her actions were not okay throughout her whole friendship and sara and jay suffered because of it. Ya sara and jay were bad communicators but they would have ended up together so much sooner if Lottie hadn’t done all those things.