Today tonight forever A novel

Sneed's (The Golden Season, 2022) winning second novel plays out in Watercolor, Florida, during a weekend of wedding madness. Thirty-three-year-old Athena feels her "Jesus year" is trying to kill her: she's barely coping with her father's death and her former wife's betrayal, and now she is a bridesmaid at a wedding attended by her ex-wife, Sydnee, and Sydnee's plus-one. The bride, a social media influencer named Daisy, is a bit off her game due to first marriage strains and injuries. Katie, Leo, and Eli (a real zaddy) are some of the flirting free agents in play. Plus, certain parents add their judgment and drama to the mix. What could possibly go right? Chapters pivot between narrators to flip points of view and fill in tantalizing backstories. Athena summons wisdom from Emily Dickinson to find courage and goodwill, but will it be enough to help her through weekend dilemmas? Questions around identity, transitions, and toxic religion play out in charged conversations, unexpected meetings, and stunning revelations among Athena's intriguing friends and family.