Disclaimer: I received a copy free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

After her parents’ bitter divorce, family vacations to the Big Island in Hawaii ceased. But across the miles, eighteen-year-old Tegan Rossi remains connected to local Kai Kapule, her best friend from childhood. Now, Tegan finds herself alone and confused about how she got to the Big Island. With no wallet, no cell phone, purse, or plane ticket, Tegan struggles to piece together what happened. She must have come to surprise-visit Kai. Right?

‘It seems like nothing bad can happen, as long as he is holding my hand.’

The Best Week That Never Happened was a heartwarming, poignant and bittersweet read about love, hope, and discovering yourself. It is a coming-of-age story that has a subtle blend of fantasy. Dallas Woodburn managed to balance the light and fluffy romance with the darker tones of death and grief really well. The Best Week That Never Happened is a book about second chances – in both life and love. The reason this one is getting a slightly lower rating is because the beginning had a little bit of a rocky start – it was slightly less engaging, and the fantasy/paranormal element could have been improved.

Firstly, I’d like to talk about the romance. It was a best friends to lovers romance with a little bit of star-crossed lovers mixed in – a romance that was impeded, but also aided, by tragedy. I liked it, and while it was slightly cliché, it was a lovely and sweet romance. Tegan was a good protagonist – kind, ambitious, but also selfish at times which I appreciated.

“Tegan Rossi, you surprise me. I thought you weren’t afraid of anything And suddenly, you’re letting fear rule your life.”

The Best Week That Never Happened has a heavy focus on romance but it does feature a paranormal aspect too – namely what happens when you die. It was an interesting premise that at times was executed extremely well and I especially enjoyed the ‘life is a cycle‘ aspect too, but I feel as though there were too many unexplained parts for me to get fully engrossed in this book. It is probably more an ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ situation as I love books that really delve deep into religion, belief, the afterlife etc and I probably would have liked this book more if a heavier focus was placed on that.

Spoiler

I’m still not 100% sure if at the end of the novel, it was all real or if it was just a dream?

. But really, at the heart of this book it is a love story. and if that is what you want from a book, then I do highly recommend.

The Best Week That Never Happened was a quick and easy read and I would highly recommend to those who enjoy romance.