Marshmallow

3.75 stars

Came for the cover, stayed for the writing.

A beautiful portrait of grief, centring around 5 friends over the weekend anniversary of the loss of a child. Multiple POVs are hard to do, and Hannan did it really well here. The characters were all cleverly constructed and all shone relatively equally. I especially loved Annie, Ev, and Tess, Fran, and Ruby.

Maybe I missed something, but I kept feeling as though I was waiting for something to happen that was never quite reached. While stylistically the writing was clear, emotional, and intimate, it did feel simplistic at times and I did not find myself feeling overly moved. I don't know if this is just because I didn't particularly relate or because of the writing, but I just struggled to connect.

Despite my nitpicking, Hannan delivers an engaging, honest, and raw exploration of grief, loss, love, and friendship. Ev's character in particular was both touching and inspiring. Normally reading books set in my hometown makes me feed odd, but for some reason this one felt comforting.