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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
A creative concept, but it’s premise fell flat for me and was ultimately a bit boring and immature for me.
This book felt like a cozy sweater on a foggy morning, watching the steam rise from your mug of tea and birdsong filling the air. I did feel that the audiobook mildly ruined the experience for me, so I bought the book and plan on rereading it some time to see if I love it more. But as it was it was a beautiful story and one that felt like it was for me. If you love period films. Pride & Prejudice, old letters, and star-crossed lovers, you will love this book. (Also, Elias and Oliver, how is it that they are so different but also just the best guys ever?!
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was an interesting read, told in many different ways, letters, emails, texts and a novel manuscript were among the ways used to propel the story forward.
Our main plot is set in 2020 with Josie De Clare going to her family's secluded manor house after having a teen life crisis with the passing of her father, we mostly see her plot being told through texts and emails to her best friend Faith, and, boy next door Oliver.
Meanwhile, we have letters written by Eliash Roch in 1920 to his "Dearest Josephine" who also happens to share the same last name as Josie. Josephine was a mysterious woman Elias met at a masquerade, and thus, he fully fell head over heels for her.
I loved the use of the time crossed lovers trope. However, the story was somewhat confusing.
Our main plot is set in 2020 with Josie De Clare going to her family's secluded manor house after having a teen life crisis with the passing of her father, we mostly see her plot being told through texts and emails to her best friend Faith, and, boy next door Oliver.
Meanwhile, we have letters written by Eliash Roch in 1920 to his "Dearest Josephine" who also happens to share the same last name as Josie. Josephine was a mysterious woman Elias met at a masquerade, and thus, he fully fell head over heels for her.
I loved the use of the time crossed lovers trope. However, the story was somewhat confusing.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book kept me guessing all the way through, trying to figure out where the story was going, and how the author was going to reconcile the two storylines and time periods. The ending was a little lame, and still left me with some questions, but overall I enjoyed the book.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
In 2021, Josie inherits Cadwallader Manor when her father dies, and discovers love letters written by Elias Roch to Josephine De Clare in 1821. As Josie reads the letters she falls in love with Elias, and wonders if perhaps they've met somewhere in time, since Josie's full name is Josephine De Clare.
5/5 stars!!!
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
It’s 2020 and Josie is having a horrible year. Her father passed away, she and her boyfriend broke up, and she has a rough relationship with her mom. She suddenly finds out that her father owned property in Northern England and decides to move there temporarily. What she finds there starts an adventure unlike any other—letters and a novel addressed to her, but they were written over 200 years ago. The man writing them, Elias Roch, was the previous owner of the property. Josie sets out to solve the mystery of what happened to Elias and Josephine, all while trying to deal with her own life in the present.
This book was so amazing that it caught me off-guard! I just binge read this book until 1:30 in the morning and had to review it immediately. First of all, this book is told through emails, text messages, letters, and a novel. I was not expecting that, but it worked for this book. I was a little confused here and there, but the writing and the plot totally sucked me in. I desperately wanted to solve the mystery of how Josephine was connected to past Josephine, and I wanted to know more about her relationship with Elias. I don’t know how I expected this to end, but the ending was so sweet and unpredictable! I was trying very hard not to squeal in delight! For the sake of spoilers, I won’t go any further than that!
Josie and Elias are the two main characters. I was very interested in both of their lives. Josie’s life was expressed in emails and texts while Elias was expressed in his letters and novel. The side characters also had such a key role in the story, mostly Faith and Oliver! I loved how the reader gets to learn a lot about Faith; the author didn’t just invent her as a random character to progress the plot! She has a life and issues that the reader gets to learn about. Oliver and the other citizens that Josie interacted with made the story so fun and sweet! The mystery and tragedy between Elias and Josephine were balanced by the warmth and joy Josie, Oliver, and Faith brought to the story. I was captivated by the mystery, but I adored the cast of characters and their antics!
I would definitely recommend this book! Anyone who loves YA historical romance or is looking for an interesting read should pick up this book! Elias somewhat reminds me of Mr. Darcy and Josephine’s personality is similar to Lizzy’s, so I think lovers of Pride and Prejudice would enjoy this book!
On a somewhat related note, where can I buy a “My Heart Belongs to Elias Roch” mug and is there also a “My Heart Belongs to Oliver McLaughlin” mug? Asking for a friend…
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
It’s 2020 and Josie is having a horrible year. Her father passed away, she and her boyfriend broke up, and she has a rough relationship with her mom. She suddenly finds out that her father owned property in Northern England and decides to move there temporarily. What she finds there starts an adventure unlike any other—letters and a novel addressed to her, but they were written over 200 years ago. The man writing them, Elias Roch, was the previous owner of the property. Josie sets out to solve the mystery of what happened to Elias and Josephine, all while trying to deal with her own life in the present.
This book was so amazing that it caught me off-guard! I just binge read this book until 1:30 in the morning and had to review it immediately. First of all, this book is told through emails, text messages, letters, and a novel. I was not expecting that, but it worked for this book. I was a little confused here and there, but the writing and the plot totally sucked me in. I desperately wanted to solve the mystery of how Josephine was connected to past Josephine, and I wanted to know more about her relationship with Elias. I don’t know how I expected this to end, but the ending was so sweet and unpredictable! I was trying very hard not to squeal in delight! For the sake of spoilers, I won’t go any further than that!
Josie and Elias are the two main characters. I was very interested in both of their lives. Josie’s life was expressed in emails and texts while Elias was expressed in his letters and novel. The side characters also had such a key role in the story, mostly Faith and Oliver! I loved how the reader gets to learn a lot about Faith; the author didn’t just invent her as a random character to progress the plot! She has a life and issues that the reader gets to learn about. Oliver and the other citizens that Josie interacted with made the story so fun and sweet! The mystery and tragedy between Elias and Josephine were balanced by the warmth and joy Josie, Oliver, and Faith brought to the story. I was captivated by the mystery, but I adored the cast of characters and their antics!
I would definitely recommend this book! Anyone who loves YA historical romance or is looking for an interesting read should pick up this book! Elias somewhat reminds me of Mr. Darcy and Josephine’s personality is similar to Lizzy’s, so I think lovers of Pride and Prejudice would enjoy this book!
On a somewhat related note, where can I buy a “My Heart Belongs to Elias Roch” mug and is there also a “My Heart Belongs to Oliver McLaughlin” mug? Asking for a friend…