It took about five seconds for the bright cover and unique premise of this book to pique my curiosity. The story is based on the question "if you could invite any five people to dinner, alive or dead, who would they be?"
Sabrina and her best friend Jessica make their own dinner lists when they're in college together. Fast forward to Sabrina's thirtieth birthday and she's surprised to see all the guests from her list gathered for dinner. The dinner guests include Sabrina's ex/greatest love Tobais, her estranged father, her best friend Jessica, her college philosophy professor, and Aubrey Hepburn. How this dinner is possible is never explained by the author, and the reader as well as Sabrina are constantly wondering if this is really happening or if it's just a dream.
So far it sounds like it has all the makings of a fun, lighthearted read, right? Wrong. This book was much heavier and more emotionally wrenching than I expected and the majority of the story is focused on Sabrina finally getting closure with people from her past.
Each of the guests have either had a complicated relationship with Sabrina in the past or act as facilitators, helping everyone unload their emotional baggage. The book alternates each chapter between the dinner conversation and Sabrina and Tobias' love story. The chapters are relatively short, and I wished they were maybe double in length, so the transition between each wouldn't have been so jarring.
While the book was well written, it did tend to drag on in certain parts - there are only so many ways you can try and explain a complicated relationship before you start talking in circles. If you love books about messy, realistic relationships then this is for you. If you are looking for something light, I would not suggest this book.
Sabrina and her best friend Jessica make their own dinner lists when they're in college together. Fast forward to Sabrina's thirtieth birthday and she's surprised to see all the guests from her list gathered for dinner. The dinner guests include Sabrina's ex/greatest love Tobais, her estranged father, her best friend Jessica, her college philosophy professor, and Aubrey Hepburn. How this dinner is possible is never explained by the author, and the reader as well as Sabrina are constantly wondering if this is really happening or if it's just a dream.
So far it sounds like it has all the makings of a fun, lighthearted read, right? Wrong. This book was much heavier and more emotionally wrenching than I expected and the majority of the story is focused on Sabrina finally getting closure with people from her past.
Each of the guests have either had a complicated relationship with Sabrina in the past or act as facilitators, helping everyone unload their emotional baggage. The book alternates each chapter between the dinner conversation and Sabrina and Tobias' love story. The chapters are relatively short, and I wished they were maybe double in length, so the transition between each wouldn't have been so jarring.
While the book was well written, it did tend to drag on in certain parts - there are only so many ways you can try and explain a complicated relationship before you start talking in circles. If you love books about messy, realistic relationships then this is for you. If you are looking for something light, I would not suggest this book.