ARC Review: Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah Adler

Mrs. Nash's Ashes
Author: Sarah Adler
Publication: Berkley (May 23, 2023)

Description A starry-eyed romantic, a cynical writer, and (the ashes of) an elderly woman take the road trip of a lifetime that just might upend everything they believe about true love.

Millicent Watts-Cohen is on a mission. When she promised her elderly best friend that she’d reunite her with the woman she fell in love with nearly eighty years ago, she never imagined that would mean traveling from D.C. to Key West with three tablespoons of Mrs. Nash’s remains in her backpack. But Millie’s determined to give her friend a symbolic happily-ever-after, before it’s (really) too late—and hopefully reassure herself of love’s lasting power in the process.

She just didn’t expect to have a living travel companion.

After a computer glitch grounds flights, Millie is forced to catch a ride with Hollis Hollenbeck, an also-stranded acquaintance from her ex’s MFA program. Hollis certainly does not believe in happily-ever-afters—symbolic or otherwise—and makes it quite clear that he can’t fathom Millie’s plan ending well for anyone.

But as they contend with peculiar bed-and-breakfasts, unusual small-town festivals, and deer with a death wish, Millie begins to suspect that her reluctant travel partner might enjoy her company more than he lets on. Because for someone who supposedly doesn’t share her views on romance, Hollis sure is becoming invested in the success of their journey. And the closer they get to their destination, the more Millie has to admit that maybe this trip isn’t just about Mrs. Nash’s love story after all—maybe it’s also about her own.

My Thoughts: Millicent Watts-Cohen is on a mission. She is determined to reunite her nonagenarian best friend Mrs, Nash with the woman she fell in love with during the waning days of World War II. So, she's carrying three tablespoons of Mrs. Nash's ashes to Key West where she hopes to meet Elsie Brown who is in hospice care.

Millie is an optimist despite the blows that have hit her lately. Her best friend's death and the implosion of her relationship with the man she thought she was going to spend her life with have left Millie battered. When all flights are cancelled due to a computer glitch, she finds herself on a road trip from Washington, DC, to Key West with a man who was a part of her ex's cohort in graduate school. Hollis Hollenbeck is Millie's opposite. He doesn't believe in true love or any other kind of love. 

This story tells about their adventures as they travel together including a car accident when a deer decides to run into Hollis's beloved car, time spent in a small B&B in a room with 25 paint-by-number pictures of Jesus, and a gig as the Grand Marshall of the local broccoli festival since Millie was once the star of a children's television series. 

I love getting to know Millie who is an extrovert without a filter and Hollis who has almost perfected his persona as a grumpy man. I laughed and I cried and was totally emotionally involved in Millie's quest. 

Favorite Quote:

What if I've been a naive fool my whole life, putting my faith in things like happily ever afters and humanity's overall inherent goodness? I need reassurance that it isn't stupid to believe that two people can love each other and keep on loving each other as long as they live, no matter what obstacles get thrown into their path. That hoping I might find someone who will never give up on me isn't as pointless as it's sometimes felt lately. As pointless as Hollis seems to think it is.

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.