“One Day Syndrome. You live your life like there’ll always be one day to do all the things you put off. One day you’ll take the trip. One day you’ll have the family. One day you’ll try the thing. You’re all work and not enough play. Money can’t make you happy unless you know what you want, Adrian. So what do you want?”
Life’s Too Short follows Vanessa, a famous traveling YouTuber who doesn’t know whether she shares the same genetic disease ALS as her late mother and sister. Living each day to its fullest, Vanessa suddenly finds herself facing a new challenge: motherhood. When her addicted half sister abandons her child and Vanessa is appointed her legal guardian, it throws her life plans of seeing everything there is to see in the world for a loop. Overwhelmed with a baby that won’t stop crying, Vanessa is at her wit’s end.
Enter Adrian Copeland, the unbelievably hot lawyer next door, who immediately burrows into Vanessa’s heart when he soothes the baby within seconds. As they grow closer, Vanessa realises that Adrian’s need for structure is the exact opposite of her carefree lifestyle. And yet, the two of them keep finding their way into each other’s lives until one tragedy is followed by another and it’s anyone’s guess what the future holds…
First things first, this story was nearly flawless. I loved how this book both had me laughing at some of the playful banter between Vanessa and Adrian yet also had the ability to make me tear up when things weren’t going the way I envisioned. And that mostly comes down to the lifelike and painfully relatable main characters, Vanessa and Adrian. From their incredible meet-cute to the very end, these two held my attention like I was a watching a tennis match go down right in front of me.
Vanessa has been dealt some shitty cards in life – she’s inherited health conditions that almost certainly determine that she will have ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) and most likely not live past the age of thirty. ALS may sound familiar to those who remember the ice bucket challenge that was going around a few years ago, but it was harrowing to watch Vanessa spend her present with the knowledge that she probably won’t get a future. Already having seen her sister be consumed by the illness, her other sister falling into drug addiction and her father becoming a hoarder, you’d think Vanessa would just tuck in her tail and give up. Nuh-uh. Vanessa is a fighter. She dedicated her life to living every moment as if it was her last—which it very well might be—traveling the world, experiencing everything and not shying away from challenges. Even when she’s faced with sudden motherhood after being appointed the guardian of her sister’s baby, she takes it in stride and does what she can to make it all work out.
Adrian, meanwhile has always been a workaholic who rarely relaxes or takes time off for himself. After a brutal end to a long-distance relationship, he finds comfort in Vanessa’s friendship and the easy familiarity they quickly become accustomed to. Watching Adrian realise that there’s another way of living and that there’s more to life than work (without ever giving up on being a passionate lawyer) really made this a beautiful romance to witness. The two of them definitely had chemistry and their interactions always left me either laughing or awing.
There were so many topics discussed in this book—from expectations in a relationship to found family and repairing broken bonds to addiction, mental illness and physical illness—and yet it never seemed like it was too much. Everything tied in together quite well and made for a harmonious, fast-paced and unputdownable romance.
Life-affirming and generously upbeat despite the daunting theme, Life’s Too Short is a swoonworthy romance with dashing characters and a reminder to live each day to its fullest!
Life’s Too Short is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of April 6th 2021.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A brilliant and touching romantic comedy from the USA Today bestselling author of The Friend Zone and The Happy Ever After Playlist.
Vanessa lives life on her own terms — one day at a time, every day to its fullest. She isn’t willing to waste a moment or miss out on an experience when she has no idea whether she shares the same fatal genetic condition as her mother. Besides, she has way too much to do, traveling the globe and showing her millions of YouTube followers the joy in seizing every moment.
But after her half-sister suddenly leaves Vanessa in custody of her infant daughter, she is housebound, on mommy duty for the foreseeable future, and feeling totally out of her element.
The last person she expects to show up offering help is the unbelievably hot lawyer who lives next door, Adrian Copeland. After all, she barely knows him. But as they get closer, Vanessa realizes that her carefree ways and his need for a structured plan could never be compatible for the long term. Then again, she should know better than anyone that life’s too short to fear taking the biggest risk of all. . .
