Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - The Last Love Note

This is a book about endings, grief, and new beginnings. It is beautifully written about the loss of a spouse, and you really feel Kate’s anguish. I do like how the story ended, although you do see it coming a mile away. I did feel as though the book dragged some unnecessarily, along with the aforementioned predictability; however, it is still an inspiring romantic story about love and second chances.

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eve_liest's review

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3.75

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alyse_turns_pages's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Author Emma Grey takes us alongside Kate while she walks down the road of being newly widowed. Her journey with grief is a fragile one as she must maintain a sense of strength and stability for their young son Charlie. I know from personal experience how debilitating grief can be and the dark thoughts that come with it—living life with one foot straddling heaven and the other earthside leaves you with a nagging guilt that is unbearable.

I deeply appreciated that a light was shone on how friends, family & yes even strangers can help support someone during times of tragedy. Hugh was an exemplary example of just sitting beside someone in their grief. Yes, he did do much more than that but at his core, he wasn’t afraid of Kate’s emotions and he wasn’t afraid to simply sit with her while she felt them.

There are many, many quotes that readers who have endured a loss like this will cling to…just that same feeling Kate had with Hugh…”Yes. This person knows exactly what this feels like.” “I’m not alone in my grief.”

Despite this story being heavily focused on what it's like to tragically lose someone you love, it is a redeeming story of how life can still be beautiful. How loss doesn’t define us but simply becomes a part of us, a piece that we will carry forever.

Thank you Emma for writing this novel, and thank you for sharing bits and pieces of your husband through Cam and Hugh. Thank you for sharing your heart. Thank you for allowing us to sit beside you in your grief, and simultaneously sitting beside mine as well.

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lovelymisanthrope's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I selected this as one of my Book of the Month picks.
"The Last Love Note" is a devastating novel that follows Kate, a young, grieving widow who two years after the untimely death of her husband is still trying to feel like she has her life back. Due to an unfortunate flight problem, Kate and her boss, Hugh, are left stranded on the east coast of Australia, and Kate finally has the time and space to fully process her grief of everything she has lost.
This book was a lot heavier than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a heartbreaking love story between a husband and wife, and to an extent, it was. But this book ventures to explore so many different avenues of grief, and continually broke my heart after every turn.
Kate is immeasurably strong, and her resilience is admirable, but what I enjoyed seeing more from her were the moments she fell apart. She lost her husband, in the most unexpected and heartbreaking way, and she was left to raise their very young son alone. She was left broken, and she did not recover from losing the love of her life so easily. I felt like this was so relatable, especially as someone who recently got married.
Kate has a bit of a connection and a romance with a character in the book following her husband's death, which I think the author handled with respect and care. This character was a good friend to Kate's husband in his final days, and I was rooting for him and Kate throughout most of the book.
Had I known more about this book, I probably would not have picked it up at this specific time in my life, but that is a me opinion and should not reflect negatively on the novel.
I did enjoy this novel overall, and I am curious to keep this author on my radar in the future.

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rereadsromance's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

The Last Love Note is women’s fiction novel with a romance subplot, it deals with a lot of heavy topics

(including grief, terminal illness and the death of a spouse)

, and it made me sob. It’s also a beautiful story about healing and human resilience.

Kate's grief was palpable, her journey of self-discovery was inspiring, and her friendship with Hugh, which slowly turned into something more when she finally allowed herself to love again, was so rewarding.

I loved The Last Love Note and so will any reader who enjoys a good cry and all the angst (with a happy ending).

P.S. I read while listening to the audiobook and the narration was fantastic. Also, I believe this is the first time I’ve ever cried reading the acknowledgments.

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