First published 2020
Everly Lancaster has built exactly the life she wanted in Chicago, far from her small Illinois hometown. She throws herself into her startup work, leaving no time for friends or holidays. When a blizzard blankets the city and her mother begs her to come home for Christmas, Everly panics. She cannot face returning to the world she fought so hard to leave behind. Instead, she books an Amazon river cruise, determined to spend the holidays anywhere but home. Her guide, naturalist Asher Adams, leads her through seven days of jungle exploration that gradually shifts her perspective. As Everly navigates the winding river, she begins questioning whether her relentless focus on career success has cost her something vital. The cruise forces her to confront what she has been running from and what she might be missing. By the final day, she must choose between the isolation she has carefully constructed and the messy, complicated pull of family and connection waiting back in Illinois.
Genres: romance, family-life, travel, contemporary
Vibes: emotional-atmospheric, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, second-chance
Setting: Chicago, Illinois
Period: Christmas
272 pages · Hardcover · Ballantine Books