Scan barcode
mannnishboy's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Grief, Car accident, Death, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Dementia
syvanahlouise's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Dementia, and Death
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, and Suicidal thoughts
nataliebootlah's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This book was beautiful and hard and heavy.
I can only imagine the debilitating loss that comes after your spouse dies. This book captured that grief—losing yourself, becoming a single parent, having to return to “normal”—so well. Despite being overwhelmingly sad at times, there was still joy, humor, and a bit of romance.
It’s a little over two years after Kate’s husband died and she’s holding it together for her young son. Being thrown suddenly into being a single parent has forced her to grieve inwardly and only when time allows for it—which isn’t often. But when a work trip goes haywire, she finally has the time away from her son to process the depth of her loss.
Expect to be a bit heartbroken with this one.
I can only imagine the debilitating loss that comes after your spouse dies. This book captured that grief—losing yourself, becoming a single parent, having to return to “normal”—so well. Despite being overwhelmingly sad at times, there was still joy, humor, and a bit of romance.
It’s a little over two years after Kate’s husband died and she’s holding it together for her young son. Being thrown suddenly into being a single parent has forced her to grieve inwardly and only when time allows for it—which isn’t often. But when a work trip goes haywire, she finally has the time away from her son to process the depth of her loss.
Expect to be a bit heartbroken with this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Dementia
Moderate: Infertility and Miscarriage
jessica_thelen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Dementia, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Infertility and Panic attacks/disorders
totallynottrip's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
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? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death
llehouser's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
This book is very heavy and truly a story about grief.
Kate is coming back to herself after the death of her great love, Cameron, two years earlier. There are lighthearted moments, lots of growth and revelations, and a bit of romantic reawakening. A few surprises too.
Kate is coming back to herself after the death of her great love, Cameron, two years earlier. There are lighthearted moments, lots of growth and revelations, and a bit of romantic reawakening. A few surprises too.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Infertility, Death, and Miscarriage
hbhummer17's review
challenging
emotional
funny
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Dementia, and Grief
eve_liest's review
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, Grief, Dementia, Infertility, and Miscarriage
alyse_turns_pages's review
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Death, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
lovelymisanthrope's review
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.
"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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage