Tag: the last love note

ARC Book Review: Pictures of You by Emma Grey

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Emma Grey
Publisher: Zibby Books
Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

If you knew then what you know now, would you make the same choices? Imagine having a second chance with the one you never forgot.

From the author of the global breakout bestseller The Last Love Note comes the story of a young woman struggling to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragic accident, and the man who gives up everything to help her.

When Evie Hudson wakes in an unfamiliar hospital room, she thinks she’s fresh out of a teenage party with her best friend, Bree. Except, Bree isn’t around anymore and high school was years ago. Evie had just survived the crash that killed her husband, Oliver—whom she can’t remember either. After suffering a traumatic loss of memory, she’s left to connect the dots. But how?

Drew, a promising photographer whose chance encounter with Evie unravels the elusive details of her marriage and her husband’s death. As Drew watches Evie stitch the story of her life together, secrets emerge that might shatter both of their worlds.

This tangled second-chance romance leads Evie to question every decision she ever made. This time around, she’s seeing all the things she missed–and the life she gets to choose…again.

Thank you Zibby Books for the gifted ARC.

HOLY TWIST.

This book took me on a JOURNEY. I’m quite confident this is my new favorite book involving amnesia. I usually struggle with the handling but this hit all of those spots so well. The romance was angsty and filled with incredible tension as you start to unravel Evie’s life and what memories she is missing.

The flashback sections were exactly what I was hoping for. Adding in the notes to build those reveals at the end. If you think you can guess EVERY single place this book will go I am impressed because I was blindsided plenty.

I loved the intensity of feelings, the themes of forgiveness, and just how complicated the cycle of abuse can be. There’s many moments that squeeze your heart and make you yearn for that elusive HEA.

My one little 1/2 star issue was that the ending was a bit abrupt. I was hoping for something else to close off a few things.

But anyways, two books in and I’m an official Emma Grey fan girl.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low – moderate
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: abuse is the main theme (mainly psychological and emotional), loss of a parent (cancer), grief depiction, mentions of suicide ideation

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Book Review: The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction + Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Emma Grey
Publisher: Zibby Books
Release Date: November 28th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.

Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball—and yet clinging to her sense of humor.

Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who’s determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor.

When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time?

When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together. The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?

The Last Love Note will make listeners laugh, cry, and renew their faith in the resilience of the human heart—and in love itself.

Thank you to LibroFM for the audiobook and Ro Romanello PR for the gifted copy.

THIS HURT.

I’ve gotta admit, I’m actually not one to pick up a widow based book because it sends my own anxiety through the roof. BUT, I had heard great things about this and still wanted to give it a try and I honestly enjoyed this so much. This was EMOTIONAL and heartbreaking and slowly but surely watching hope and time win out in the battle against losing your spouse way too soon.

I liked that Kate was a mess. I felt it was accurate to the story being portrayed. Grief is an up and down, absolutely non-linear battle and we saw many facets of that fact. The flashbacks only increased the emotional turmoil and showed how deep and raw this journey has been.

If I was being a little nitpicky I do wish there had been a touch more romance (because my initial interpretation of the book was that it was a romance first). But, upon finishing I saw the plot as a whole and feel like it went where it needed to in order to allow Kate to find some solid ground for herself.

If you’re in need of a good cry book, this is it.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Fiction + Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: losing a husband to early onset Alzheimer’s, miscarriage, grief depiction, mentions of losing a partner (briefly recounted, cancer)

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