What do you think?
Rate this book
Palm Meridian
A rollicking, big-hearted story of long-lost love, friendship, and a life well-lived, set at a Florida retirement resort for queer women, on the last day of resident Hannah Cardin’s life—for readers of Less and The Wedding People.
It’s 2067 and Florida is partially underwater, but even that can’t bring down the residents of Palm Meridian Retirement Resort, a utopian home for queer women who want to revel in their twilight years. Inside, Hula-Hoopers shimmy across the grass, fiercely competitive book clubs nearly come to blows, and the roller-ski team races up and down the winding paths. Everywhere you look, these women are living large.
Hannah Cardin has spent ten happy years under these tropical, technicolor skies, but after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, she has decided that tomorrow morning she will close her eyes for the very last time. Tonight, however, Hannah and her raucous band of friends are throwing one hell of an end-of-life party. And with less than twenty-four hours left, Hannah is holding out for one final, impossible thing…
Amongst the guest list is Sophie, the love of Hannah’s life. They haven’t spoken since their devastating breakup over forty years ago, but today, Hannah is hoping for the chance to give her greatest love one last try.
As Hannah anxiously awaits Sophie’s arrival, her mind casts back over the highs and lows of her kaleidoscopic life. But when a shocking secret from the past is revealed, Hannah must reconsider if she can say goodbye after all.
Spanning the course of a single day and seventy-odd years, and bursting with irresistible hope, humor, and wisdom, this one-of-a-kind novel celebrates the unexpected moments that make us feel the most alive.
It’s 2067 and Florida is partially underwater, but even that can’t bring down the residents of Palm Meridian Retirement Resort, a utopian home for queer women who want to revel in their twilight years. Inside, Hula-Hoopers shimmy across the grass, fiercely competitive book clubs nearly come to blows, and the roller-ski team races up and down the winding paths. Everywhere you look, these women are living large.
Hannah Cardin has spent ten happy years under these tropical, technicolor skies, but after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis, she has decided that tomorrow morning she will close her eyes for the very last time. Tonight, however, Hannah and her raucous band of friends are throwing one hell of an end-of-life party. And with less than twenty-four hours left, Hannah is holding out for one final, impossible thing…
Amongst the guest list is Sophie, the love of Hannah’s life. They haven’t spoken since their devastating breakup over forty years ago, but today, Hannah is hoping for the chance to give her greatest love one last try.
As Hannah anxiously awaits Sophie’s arrival, her mind casts back over the highs and lows of her kaleidoscopic life. But when a shocking secret from the past is revealed, Hannah must reconsider if she can say goodbye after all.
Spanning the course of a single day and seventy-odd years, and bursting with irresistible hope, humor, and wisdom, this one-of-a-kind novel celebrates the unexpected moments that make us feel the most alive.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published June 10, 2025
113 people are currently reading
9475 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 351 reviews
September 22, 2025
Perfect combination of devastating and life-affirming
May 30, 2025
I loved this book. 🦩🦩🦩🦩🦩 It had me at EGRET (please imagine the flamingos are egrets). Oddly, as a child living at the beach, I was obsessed with egrets, and they are adorably featured in this book. Also, this cover. Bright and bold, just like the story inside. And the comparison to The Wedding People, one of my favorite ever books? Spot-on, and here’s why: You know how The Wedding People has dark humor surrounding the main character? At least in the beginning? And then there are all these lovable, endearing characters that add a lightness to contrast with the darker theme? That’s all here, too, and on top of that, add in some dystopian, climate crisis elements because it’s set in 2062 in Florida.
The Palm Meridian is a retirement community for queer women, and it’s pretty amazing. Grace Flahive’s descriptions of the setting and the characters come alive. The main character, Hannah, has recently received a terminal cancer diagnosis, and she’s having a final party with all her closest friends because the next day she has decided she will close her eyes for the last time. Her special guest, well, they are all special 😍, but her extra special guest is a former love, Sophie. The reader also experiences their love story in flashback chapters, as well as more about Hannah’s life. It’s all engrossing, sweet, tender, all the things.
I’ll be straight up- I read Palm Meridian at exactly the right time. It was just the warm hug of a read I needed with characters I grew to deeply cherish. All told in one single day, with the backstory of more than seventy years, Palm Meridian is firmly a favorite of mine this year, and I could not have loved it more. Last thing: it’s a slim novel, less than 250 pages of hope, warmth, and fun.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
The Palm Meridian is a retirement community for queer women, and it’s pretty amazing. Grace Flahive’s descriptions of the setting and the characters come alive. The main character, Hannah, has recently received a terminal cancer diagnosis, and she’s having a final party with all her closest friends because the next day she has decided she will close her eyes for the last time. Her special guest, well, they are all special 😍, but her extra special guest is a former love, Sophie. The reader also experiences their love story in flashback chapters, as well as more about Hannah’s life. It’s all engrossing, sweet, tender, all the things.
I’ll be straight up- I read Palm Meridian at exactly the right time. It was just the warm hug of a read I needed with characters I grew to deeply cherish. All told in one single day, with the backstory of more than seventy years, Palm Meridian is firmly a favorite of mine this year, and I could not have loved it more. Last thing: it’s a slim novel, less than 250 pages of hope, warmth, and fun.
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
March 13, 2025
):
full rtc closer to pub day
full rtc closer to pub day
June 26, 2025
I can always count on the Nowhere Bookstore Strangelings Club to bring me the weirdest, most heartwarming, quirky stories. It is 2067 and Hannah is at a queer retirement community in Florida. Climate change has renders the state unrecognizable but she is so strong in her relationships and ready to hang it up as she has a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The narratives skips back to her early life, falling in love, falling out of love, and her entire life. For me, the overtly sexual conversation did seem a bit insufferable but that is a personal preference. I do think that there is a lot of humor in this novel and wonderful characters. I loved the speculative nature of fiction and how our current course is putting us on a trail of destruction. I really loved Hannah and her neighbors. I am such a sucker for a found family theme too!
The narratives skips back to her early life, falling in love, falling out of love, and her entire life. For me, the overtly sexual conversation did seem a bit insufferable but that is a personal preference. I do think that there is a lot of humor in this novel and wonderful characters. I loved the speculative nature of fiction and how our current course is putting us on a trail of destruction. I really loved Hannah and her neighbors. I am such a sucker for a found family theme too!
August 22, 2025
they should’ve killed that guy
September 14, 2025
I love the idea of a retirement community for a bunch of queer friendly geezers, in fact I would like to live in such a commune myself someday…
The main plot is a bit morbid. Hannah, having received a terminal diagnosis, decides she will terminate her life while she still has her dignity and mental faculties, rather than suffering. She wants one last big party to celebrate her life and invites all her old friends and former-flames.
Unfortunately this was just not the book for me, I thought the premise was interesting, although slow pacing, and struggled to connect with the characters across either timeline.
The climate change and subsequent impacts were stated up front and mentioned in passing references, but other than that did not impact the plot, making it superfluous.
The miscommunication between all 3 of the main characters I would have understood in their late 20s and early 30s, but now at age 70-80, when it’s all but too late, it was excruciating. I almost threw the book when we get to the final reveal of “the secrets” being kept from Hannah.
Definitely an interesting premise and points for a weird, eccentric concept.
2.5⭐️
The main plot is a bit morbid. Hannah, having received a terminal diagnosis, decides she will terminate her life while she still has her dignity and mental faculties, rather than suffering. She wants one last big party to celebrate her life and invites all her old friends and former-flames.
Unfortunately this was just not the book for me, I thought the premise was interesting, although slow pacing, and struggled to connect with the characters across either timeline.
The climate change and subsequent impacts were stated up front and mentioned in passing references, but other than that did not impact the plot, making it superfluous.
The miscommunication between all 3 of the main characters I would have understood in their late 20s and early 30s, but now at age 70-80, when it’s all but too late, it was excruciating. I almost threw the book when we get to the final reveal of “the secrets” being kept from Hannah.
Definitely an interesting premise and points for a weird, eccentric concept.
2.5⭐️
May 27, 2025
A solid debut by a new Canadian author that I was REALLY excited for and while I did enjoy it, it wasn't quite as amazing as I had been hoping. Set in a future world of 2067 Florida where residents of The Palm Meridian Retirement Resort, a Sapphic queer commune essentially, are living their best lives, one member (Hannah) decides she wants to end her life after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
With flashbacks to the 2020s Montreal, we get to learn more about Hannah and the love of her life, Sophie, an Olympic gold winner, fell in love and later fell apart and how Sophie went home to Montreal when her father was dying from cancer. Moving, tender and heartfelt, this was original and well-written with lots of emotional depth and imagination.
It was good on audio too and I would recommend it for fans of books like The brilliant life of Eudora Honeysett or Girlfriend on Mars. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
With flashbacks to the 2020s Montreal, we get to learn more about Hannah and the love of her life, Sophie, an Olympic gold winner, fell in love and later fell apart and how Sophie went home to Montreal when her father was dying from cancer. Moving, tender and heartfelt, this was original and well-written with lots of emotional depth and imagination.
It was good on audio too and I would recommend it for fans of books like The brilliant life of Eudora Honeysett or Girlfriend on Mars. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!
December 30, 2024
This book is SO incredibly good. It is all the things - funny and bright but also so deeply moving and thoughtful. The characters are so memorable and stay with you for a long time, as if they were people you’ve always known. The writing is also so sharp. Every word feels intentional and captivates you once you start. I was so torn between devouring it in one day and trying making it last for a long time. Good luck trying to put it down as you get closer to the end!!
July 14, 2025
4.5✨ My heart has never braced itself so much in the last few moments of a book then broken into so many pieces. This was so unexpected and so incredibly special. A book about love and loss and time well spent, about never giving up on love, and understanding the importance of both old and new friendships and found family. Wonderful read!
June 20, 2025
3.75/5
Okay, but I was totally digging the Palm Meridian Retirement Resort! If this great sense of community is what I have to look forward to in my 70s, I'm all in! I love the vibrant lives these friends have created for themselves! There was just so much love!
Through dual timelines with flashbacks, we follow Hannah's journey as she builds a life, finds love, and forges fierce friendships.
I was in tears as I finished Palm Meridian. I couldn't have imagined just how much Hannah's story would affect me. Just like real life, this book is full of love, joy, friendship, and heartbreak, and I can't believe it's over.
"Hannah felt herself smile.
She'd had so much fun being alive."
Read this if you like books with:
• Fabulous friendships
• Dual timelines
• Reflections on life
• Florida vibes
Many thanks to @avidreaderpress for the complimentary copy! Thoughts and opinions are my own.
Okay, but I was totally digging the Palm Meridian Retirement Resort! If this great sense of community is what I have to look forward to in my 70s, I'm all in! I love the vibrant lives these friends have created for themselves! There was just so much love!
Through dual timelines with flashbacks, we follow Hannah's journey as she builds a life, finds love, and forges fierce friendships.
I was in tears as I finished Palm Meridian. I couldn't have imagined just how much Hannah's story would affect me. Just like real life, this book is full of love, joy, friendship, and heartbreak, and I can't believe it's over.
"Hannah felt herself smile.
She'd had so much fun being alive."
Read this if you like books with:
• Fabulous friendships
• Dual timelines
• Reflections on life
• Florida vibes
Many thanks to @avidreaderpress for the complimentary copy! Thoughts and opinions are my own.
July 16, 2025
3 stars. Really cool and unique premise but I just wasn’t all that into this. The writing was clunky and awkward and it felt unfocused at times. Three stars for the premise and I would check out this author’s next book but overall this one left me feeling underwhelmed.
July 7, 2025
not being objective with this review and idc this book is about a queer utopia retirement home and love and friendship I have no choice but to give it 5 stars
made me sob!! life is beautiful!!
made me sob!! life is beautiful!!
August 5, 2025
Feeling: devastation
August 28, 2025
This book broke me and made me laugh. It beautifully balanced the fear and reality of death alongside the joy of life and the loved ones we get to live it with. A book that reflects on Hannah, the main character's life, as she prepares to live her last day before assisted suicide following a terminal cancer diagnosis. The question asked throughout this book is if Sophie, the love of Hannah's life, will make it to her farewell party. The finite end this book has its sights set on keeps the plot moving along at the perfect pace with narrative moving between the past and present, telling us more about Hannah's life.
This book has really stayed with me since I finished it, the ending was incredibly emotional. An excellent read.
This book has really stayed with me since I finished it, the ending was incredibly emotional. An excellent read.
July 13, 2025
Oh what a ride that was 😭🤍
July 23, 2025
ANY MAN NAMED LUKE BETTER WATCH THEIR BACK FOR THE NEXT SIXTY YEARS
September 19, 2025
3.5 stars. Fuck this book
June 3, 2025
This is, I believe, Grace Flahive's debut - and what a debut! It's about to come out in the UK (not sure whether it's out in the US), but it's definitely worth picking up and Grace Flahive is one to watch!
The setting is just fabulous - it takes place at Palm Meridian Retirement Resort in Florida, 2067, and this particular retirement home is exclusively for queer women! It sounds like an absolute riot there; I loved the idea of these people in their 70s, 80s and 90s having full out parties basically every night, and just LIVING, getting round their mobility issues, medication etc very deftly - the virgin cocktails flow just as freely as the regular ones at Frankie's, the bar there, and everyone very kindly looks out for each other (except, perhaps, when they're too drunk - which, it's implied at least, happens quite a lot!).
The entire book is set over the course of a single day: the day before Hannah, our loveable MC, is going to die. Because she's had a diagnosis of terminal cancer and she's opting for euthanasia. What do you do at Palm Meridian when you're going to die? Host a fantastic all day/all night party, of course! Not just her closest friends are invited, but the whole community at Palm Meridian because - well, we want everyone to have fun, right? Hannah sees her childhood friend, Luke, for the first time in a few years, has great fun with Esme who she's known most of her life, and parties really hard with all her fantastic queer friends from the resort.
But she really, really wants to see Sophie. Sophie is special. Without spoilers, I won't say why - but they haven't seen each other in years. Hannah knows she's got her invite and didn't reply, but of course she's coming. It's Sophie - she does things on a whim, she's going to turn up because... well, she's Sophie. Right?!
As the hours tick by and Sophie doesn't appear, Hannah's anxiety rises and truths from the past begin to emerge...
There are extensive flashbacks to various scenes throughout Hannah's life, exploring her love life, her career, her friendships - and they're all engrossing, and tender. Sweet. Really sweet.
I realised partway through that Hannah is only a tiny bit older than me (I mean, we're basically the same age, and I feel so OLD now! *cries*), and I started wondering: wow, what will things be like if I reach that age? Will the world be like that? Will I find a magical Queer community too? There's a touch of dystopia to it - Florida is burning, so many people have had to relocate, and other (hotter) parts of the world aren't mentioned, so you can only imagine... I also wondered if I have the friends NOW to make up Hannah's party then - if that makes sense. At this point, I started comparing myself to her at every life stage, and the enjoyment soured a little, but that is completely personal.
It was a bit clunky to get into, and there were parts where I wanted more - this is a very short novel! It was very North America-centric; what was happening in the rest of the world? If Florida was that badly affected, then wasn't there a global crisis? I know that wasn't Hannah's story, but it feels like it would have deserved a mention... Still, a 3-star rating isn't bad (I'm quite harsh with stars); I enjoyed it a lot, mostly the fantastic celebratory Queer community.
Hope to hear more from Grace Flahive.
The setting is just fabulous - it takes place at Palm Meridian Retirement Resort in Florida, 2067, and this particular retirement home is exclusively for queer women! It sounds like an absolute riot there; I loved the idea of these people in their 70s, 80s and 90s having full out parties basically every night, and just LIVING, getting round their mobility issues, medication etc very deftly - the virgin cocktails flow just as freely as the regular ones at Frankie's, the bar there, and everyone very kindly looks out for each other (except, perhaps, when they're too drunk - which, it's implied at least, happens quite a lot!).
The entire book is set over the course of a single day: the day before Hannah, our loveable MC, is going to die. Because she's had a diagnosis of terminal cancer and she's opting for euthanasia. What do you do at Palm Meridian when you're going to die? Host a fantastic all day/all night party, of course! Not just her closest friends are invited, but the whole community at Palm Meridian because - well, we want everyone to have fun, right? Hannah sees her childhood friend, Luke, for the first time in a few years, has great fun with Esme who she's known most of her life, and parties really hard with all her fantastic queer friends from the resort.
But she really, really wants to see Sophie. Sophie is special. Without spoilers, I won't say why - but they haven't seen each other in years. Hannah knows she's got her invite and didn't reply, but of course she's coming. It's Sophie - she does things on a whim, she's going to turn up because... well, she's Sophie. Right?!
As the hours tick by and Sophie doesn't appear, Hannah's anxiety rises and truths from the past begin to emerge...
There are extensive flashbacks to various scenes throughout Hannah's life, exploring her love life, her career, her friendships - and they're all engrossing, and tender. Sweet. Really sweet.
I realised partway through that Hannah is only a tiny bit older than me (I mean, we're basically the same age, and I feel so OLD now! *cries*), and I started wondering: wow, what will things be like if I reach that age? Will the world be like that? Will I find a magical Queer community too? There's a touch of dystopia to it - Florida is burning, so many people have had to relocate, and other (hotter) parts of the world aren't mentioned, so you can only imagine... I also wondered if I have the friends NOW to make up Hannah's party then - if that makes sense. At this point, I started comparing myself to her at every life stage, and the enjoyment soured a little, but that is completely personal.
It was a bit clunky to get into, and there were parts where I wanted more - this is a very short novel! It was very North America-centric; what was happening in the rest of the world? If Florida was that badly affected, then wasn't there a global crisis? I know that wasn't Hannah's story, but it feels like it would have deserved a mention... Still, a 3-star rating isn't bad (I'm quite harsh with stars); I enjoyed it a lot, mostly the fantastic celebratory Queer community.
Hope to hear more from Grace Flahive.
May 23, 2025
Palm Meridian by Grace Flahive
☑️ review copy via @simonschusterca
👥 buddy read with @roshlite
Ok. Look. I tried so hard not to hate this one. And I’m trying not to go too hard on it because it’s a debut and had a lot of really great potential but the delivery?! Oh man, the delivery was not great.
Palm Meridian is supposed to be about a bunch of queer millennials in a retirement home in Florida at the tail end of the climate crisis all gathering to say goodbye to (I already forgot her name) Main Character who is sick and planning to die the next day via physician-assisted s*icide. But nearly every element of that description feels like an afterthought in execution.
Were these millennials? I couldn’t tell. Is this the end of the world? There’s almost no atmosphere building to that effect except the dearth of info about the heating-cooling system that the MC apparently invents. What could have been a fun romp with a melancholy centre just felt lacklustre and buried under the sheer amount of characters that were introduced every chapter and then existed in name only.
While there’s a mystery involving if her long lost love will show up to the party and what happened between a friend of hers that caused them to become estranged—the way the plot unfolds and the lack of effective characterization made it so difficult to get invested at all.
If it weren’t for @roshlite I would have DNFed several times but I owed it to her to drag my unwilling brain to the finish line. 🏁 🙏🏼
This is told back and forth from past to present and the bits in Montreal are really good but then we move on, so.
My biggest issue with this book is probably why this retirement home exists in the first place. If the world is overheating and crumbling it just doesn’t seem likely Florida is a place a bunch of old QUEER MILLENNIALS would gravitate to and then spend time outside? What? Wouldn’t they all be dying of heatstroke? She invented a cooling system but you can’t cool the whole world can you?! I just kept wondering why tho. WHY THO?!
Unfortunately, do not recommend. 😬
☑️ review copy via @simonschusterca
👥 buddy read with @roshlite
Ok. Look. I tried so hard not to hate this one. And I’m trying not to go too hard on it because it’s a debut and had a lot of really great potential but the delivery?! Oh man, the delivery was not great.
Palm Meridian is supposed to be about a bunch of queer millennials in a retirement home in Florida at the tail end of the climate crisis all gathering to say goodbye to (I already forgot her name) Main Character who is sick and planning to die the next day via physician-assisted s*icide. But nearly every element of that description feels like an afterthought in execution.
Were these millennials? I couldn’t tell. Is this the end of the world? There’s almost no atmosphere building to that effect except the dearth of info about the heating-cooling system that the MC apparently invents. What could have been a fun romp with a melancholy centre just felt lacklustre and buried under the sheer amount of characters that were introduced every chapter and then existed in name only.
While there’s a mystery involving if her long lost love will show up to the party and what happened between a friend of hers that caused them to become estranged—the way the plot unfolds and the lack of effective characterization made it so difficult to get invested at all.
If it weren’t for @roshlite I would have DNFed several times but I owed it to her to drag my unwilling brain to the finish line. 🏁 🙏🏼
This is told back and forth from past to present and the bits in Montreal are really good but then we move on, so.
My biggest issue with this book is probably why this retirement home exists in the first place. If the world is overheating and crumbling it just doesn’t seem likely Florida is a place a bunch of old QUEER MILLENNIALS would gravitate to and then spend time outside? What? Wouldn’t they all be dying of heatstroke? She invented a cooling system but you can’t cool the whole world can you?! I just kept wondering why tho. WHY THO?!
Unfortunately, do not recommend. 😬
July 27, 2025
WHAT THE FUCKKKKK 😭😭😭
February 24, 2025
This was gorgeous. I cannot wait to read and follow this author on other projects because while the subject matter was so crushingly heavy at times, the writing kept it from feeling that way. Descriptive and beautiful and oftentimes funny, you could imagine yourself in this future with these people. The future painted is pretty bleak so far as the environment and the electrical grid go, but every chapter also underscores the ingenuity and hope.
Palm Meridian is my favorite book of the month and I'm sure will be a strong contender for my favorite book of the year. I know this will stick with me for a while.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Palm Meridian is my favorite book of the month and I'm sure will be a strong contender for my favorite book of the year. I know this will stick with me for a while.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 14, 2025
"Pain was going to come, sometime. Hannah had always known that. What we love will be taken away. And when we, ourselves, go, she thought, maybe we'd find it wasn't like sleeping at all, but like waking up."
Did NOT think this book would have me tearing up 😭
Did NOT think this book would have me tearing up 😭
December 12, 2024
already a 2025 favorite.
November 21, 2025
I don't know if it made it more devastating or comforting to start this book just before I made the appointment to euthanize my cat, where this book is about the time just before assisted suicide for the main character
June 12, 2025
A quick read, but a fun one. Climate disasters are happening but the story isn't devastating (well, not for climate reasons) and people are still finding ways to go about their lives. Smart people making new technology, people adapting to new conditions, surviving. It did the cursed alternating chapter timelines thing that I despise, but every now and then I'll give a book a pass on that. This one deserves it.
May 26, 2025
Let’s talk about Palm Meridian, a book that came in with a disco ball, a death date, and an introductory letter from the editor that basically whispered “hey babe, what if climate collapse was real but so was joy?”
And for most of this ride? I was OBSESSED. Like, top books of the year, screaming-from-the-rooftops, tell-all-your-friends level obsessed. I wanted to move to this weird, wonderful queer retirement utopia immediately. I wanted to high-five every podcasting lesbian on the lawn. I wanted to live in this book and never leave.
The writing? Stunning. Whip-smart, tender, funny as hell, and so full of heart it made me ache. Grace Flahive’s voice is it. The residents of Palm Meridian were technically retired but spiritually feral, and I loved every minute with them. The community, the friendships, the weird little rituals and deep, simmering love between women who have lived—YES. Inject it.
BUT THEN.
Something happened in the back half of the book - a major plot point that made me want to bite a pillow and scream. I wanted to love this book unconditionally, and I came so close—but that one frustrating choice left me emotionally frayed and a little bit feral.
And the ending? Still got me, even if I was side-eyeing it through my tears. Flahive knows how to hit a note bittersweet enough to punch you in the teeth and kiss your forehead at the same time.
Despite the rage (and oh, there was rage), I still adored this book. The joy and heartbreak and community and queerness of it all—the sheer hope of imagining a future where we don’t fade, we flourish? I’d read ten more set in this world. Tomorrow, preferably.
If you want a book that makes you laugh, cry, want to start a commune, and scream “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT” into the void—welcome to Palm Meridian. Thank you to Avid Reader Press for the free ebook to review.
And for most of this ride? I was OBSESSED. Like, top books of the year, screaming-from-the-rooftops, tell-all-your-friends level obsessed. I wanted to move to this weird, wonderful queer retirement utopia immediately. I wanted to high-five every podcasting lesbian on the lawn. I wanted to live in this book and never leave.
The writing? Stunning. Whip-smart, tender, funny as hell, and so full of heart it made me ache. Grace Flahive’s voice is it. The residents of Palm Meridian were technically retired but spiritually feral, and I loved every minute with them. The community, the friendships, the weird little rituals and deep, simmering love between women who have lived—YES. Inject it.
BUT THEN.
Something happened in the back half of the book - a major plot point that made me want to bite a pillow and scream. I wanted to love this book unconditionally, and I came so close—but that one frustrating choice left me emotionally frayed and a little bit feral.
And the ending? Still got me, even if I was side-eyeing it through my tears. Flahive knows how to hit a note bittersweet enough to punch you in the teeth and kiss your forehead at the same time.
Despite the rage (and oh, there was rage), I still adored this book. The joy and heartbreak and community and queerness of it all—the sheer hope of imagining a future where we don’t fade, we flourish? I’d read ten more set in this world. Tomorrow, preferably.
If you want a book that makes you laugh, cry, want to start a commune, and scream “WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT” into the void—welcome to Palm Meridian. Thank you to Avid Reader Press for the free ebook to review.
February 23, 2025
I received a proof copy last year at the Cheltenham Literature Festival and I knew as soon as Grace described the story I would like it. However, I didn't expect the emotions I would feel. It grabbed me straight away and gave me a glimpse into a future many of us could experience, which got me in touch with aging that I never really envisaged for myself at all. I have so much to say about this book but I refuse to spoil it for anyone, but I truly loved it from start to finish.
June 13, 2025
I would give ANYTHING to live at the Palm Meridian
June 18, 2025
MY HEARTTTTTTTTTT
August 1, 2025
gosh dang it I’m crying..
Displaying 1 - 30 of 351 reviews