4.5*
99 Days was a controversial sort of book among the reviews I have read, and while I happened to be one of the people who really liked it, the one thing I struggled with was the ending. I wanted more, and this was exactly what I had hoped for. The rare sequel that steps up its game from its predecessor, 9 Days, 9 Nights fully delivered for me. Let us chat about why!
- Lots of character growth. Molly has gone through a lot of changes since we last saw her. And not all of them are even positive, she is just trying to figure out who she wants to be, who she needs to be, now that she is an adult and living out on her own. The secondary characters have all grown and changed too. One of the most refreshing changes was that Molly's mom was really trying to be there for her, and their relationship had improved a lot.
- Female friendship was really great. There were ups and downs, as is always the case with any relationship, but I loved that Molly and Imogen cared enough about their friendship to really work at it. It was honest and refreshing.
- No one was vilified. Even though I really loved Gabe even from book 1, it was clear that Ian, the guy Molly was dating was really a genuinely nice dude. Same with Gabe's girlfriend Sadie. They just seemed like nice, chill people, both with issues and concerns of their own, who weren't just some kind of "bad guy" plot device.
- European trip! I love traveling in books, and this was no exception! We got to follow the gang from London, to Ireland, to Paris, and I couldn't have loved the settings more!
- I was quite invested in the outcome of the relationships. I wanted everyone to be happy, and I had a pretty clear idea of what that looked like in my head, but I genuinely wasn't sure how it would all shake out. It was a fun ride!
- The ending was wholly satisfying. Everything I moaned about after the ending of 99 Days was totally wrapped up. Not too neatly, mind you, but enough that I felt very content leaving the world and the characters.
My only tiny minor qualm is that a few of the circumstances were maybe a bit farfetched, but overall it felt really authentic, especially where the characters were concerned. All their feelings and decisions and such seemed to work really well, and I loved how much they were even able to grow on this particular journey.
Bottom Line: If you even kind of liked 99 Days, you want to read 9 Days, 9 Nights. The characters have all grown up a lot, and it's fabulous to see. Plus, you get some very satisfying closure!