**One Last Time was sent to me for free in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Random Things Tours for having me on this tour.**

Summary

Anne’s life is rushing to an unexpected and untimely end. But her diagnosis of terminal cancer isn’t just a shock for her – and for her daughter Sigrid and granddaughter Mia – it shines a spotlight onto their fractured and uncomfortable relationships.

On a spur-of-the moment trip to France the three generations of women reveal harboured secrets, long-held frustrations, and suppressed desires, and learn humbling and heartwarming lessons about how life should be lived when death is so close.

Review

One Last Time highlights how even the most fractured family relationships can be mended during times of tragedy and loss.

Anne, I really felt heartily sorry for – I imagine she’d hate the sympathy! She’d done everything in her power to look after her husband, Gustav, during his Parkinson’s diagnosis. I feel her intentions were completely misunderstood by Sigrid at times. It felt to me that Sigrid felt almost neglected by Anne in her youth, but the truth was that Anne was exhausted from trying to look after her ill husband and two young children. I like the focus that was put on the different ways people grieve because it proved that everyone does grieve differently. Sigrid was cold and detached most of the time, clinical in her approach being a doctor herself. Magnus, her brother, was the idealist, always looking for treatments and other options to save their mum even though her diagnosis was terminal. Then there was Mia, who had nothing but the purest love for her grandmother and was distraught by the knowledge she’d lose her.

Whilst the story was moving, and definitely shone a light on how difficult it is to watch a loved one deteriorate due to illness, I felt a lack of connection to it. I can relate to dealing with a family member having cancer and can understand how the characters were feeling. Truthfully, I do find it difficult to know how I feel about this book. I finished it reasonably quickly, so I did enjoy it to some extent, but I found Sigrid to be insufferable for quite a long time, which stunted my enjoyment of it. Her obsession with her ex-husband, Jens, was borderline unbearable after so long.

However, I must say I felt the book was written realistically but with sensitivity to the topic. It explored all stages of the journey with a terminal illness from a few perspectives which I enjoyed. I have to give One Last Time 3.5/5 stars due to my lack of connection to it. I would still recommend it to anyone who’s interested in family drama novels.