Dear Emmie Blue By Lia Louis Book Review*

I received a copy to review but all opinions are my own*

I've said before that I love nothing more than a book all about romance. I love to get lost in a love story, as you might be able to tell from my many reviews of books like One Day In December, One Perfect Summer and Five Years From Now. They don't seem as easy to come by nowadays or at least that's what I've found so I was thrilled when I received a copy of Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis to read recently.

'Emmie Blue has a secret... A long time ago, Emmie Blue released a red balloon with a secret message hidden inside - and against all odds, across hundreds of miles of ocean, it was found on a beach in France by a boy called Lucas. Fourteen years later, on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Emmie hopes that Lucas is finally about to kiss her. She never expected him to announce that he was marrying someone else! Suddenly Emmie's dreams are shattered and the one person in her life she can rely on is slipping through her fingers. But what if Lucas isn't her forever? What if her love story is only just beginning...'

My Review

Straight away I loved the concept of this story, a young Emmie releasing a balloon into the sky one day for it to be found by Lucas who has just moved to France. What are the chances of someone actually finding it in the first place? But then for them to end up being your best friend? It's the stuff of dreams. As they grow closer, Emmie realises she's in love with Lucas but when she decides its time to reveal her feelings, he announces he's getting married to someone else. This leaves her in a dilemma - should she still tell him how she feels in the hope he feels the same? or should she accept it and move on?

I'm sure we can all relate in some way to unrequited love or wanting someone you can't have so I felt for Emmie when she's battling with her feelings. She also had her own challenges to deal with because of her childhood - not knowing who her father is, a tricky relationship with her mother and the trauma of something that happened to her when she was a teenager. All of these things made me genuinely care for the character though and I thought these all added some real depth to the story. It definitely wasn't just focused on romance which I liked and I enjoyed the interactions with her hilarious friends just as much as I did with Lucas and other potential love interests.

The story is told from Emmie's perspective and we occasionally get flashbacks to give us some background into her current challenges with various things and of course her relationship with Lucas. I did find the first quarter of the book a little slow and it took me a while to really get stuck into it but once it picked up and a certain character was introduced that I didn't expect, I could not put it down.

If you enjoy anything with romance then I think you'll love Dear Emmie Blue. It's a really sweet story about first loves and friendships with a whole lot of heart and some really touching moments. I already have a feeling I'll be picking it up again in future to re-read!

Are you a fan of romance books?

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