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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
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…
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
emotional
medium-paced
I desperately wanted to like this book, especially because the structure of how it is written is my favourite: mostly through letters, emails etc. But something just didn't work for me in this book and I'm trying to figure out what exactly it is.
- First of all, I will give Caroline props for her writing. She knows how to write a good book and I think the premise was really good but I think the overwhelming feeling I had towards the characters was a disappointment.
- Everything was so insta-love and I hated it. I don't ever get books that make their characters fall in love in a click. It's not realistic and Elias isn't even from this century.
- Which brings me onto the other thing, I didn't like any of the characters. Not one. They were either one dimensional or just incredibly annoying.
Overall, a sweet premise with a lack of flair and substance. I wanted to like this book and I just couldn't get through it without cringing.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
- First of all, I will give Caroline props for her writing. She knows how to write a good book and I think the premise was really good but I think the overwhelming feeling I had towards the characters was a disappointment.
- Everything was so insta-love and I hated it. I don't ever get books that make their characters fall in love in a click. It's not realistic and Elias isn't even from this century.
- Which brings me onto the other thing, I didn't like any of the characters. Not one. They were either one dimensional or just incredibly annoying.
Overall, a sweet premise with a lack of flair and substance. I wanted to like this book and I just couldn't get through it without cringing.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was…unique to say the least. I didn’t love it and I didn’t hate it. It was definitely a different way of setting up a book but it was fun to branch out and read something a little out of the normal.
4.5-ish*. This was mostly delightful. Some of the writing and content seemed too contemporary in the 19 century letters - that was disappointing. The present day relationship seems a little strange and confined. That's the main reason I am not rounding up. Even if Josephine dismissed her interactions with Oliver, as a reader I wanted to know and see more of them to understand their relationship better.
Other than that, it's an epistolary novel done right and I am very happy that I found it. It's a bit too long and I did not care for the novel inside the novel as much as I cared about the letters, texts and emails. But it's still very enjoyable and rereadable.
Other than that, it's an epistolary novel done right and I am very happy that I found it. It's a bit too long and I did not care for the novel inside the novel as much as I cared about the letters, texts and emails. But it's still very enjoyable and rereadable.
"[A] book is but a stack of paper until someone reads it. And when someone reads it, they build a house within its pages, so whenever they return to that book, they feel right at home."
Wow, this book was so much more than what I was expecting. It is written through letters, emails, text messages, and a few chapters of a 200 year old book draft. When I read the description, I assumed I would be falling into a story reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice with perhaps a bit of time travel thrown in. What I actually discovered in Dearest Josephine was so much more.
Josie and Elias live 200 years apart in the same haunting estate. Both have lost parents and are grieving privately, struggling to find the capacity to share their grief with anyone else. They are connected across time, and as Josephine reads Elias's letters written to the mysterious "Josephine de Clare," she falls harder and harder for a man who lived in the past. However, as she reads the letters and book Elias left behind, she also begins to come to terms with the realities of her own past and the choices that lie ahead of her.
This book is a love letter to stories, to words, to the power of love and friendship in all of their forms. It is a story of about grief, about anxiety-I have never seen a fictional portrayal of anxiety so similar to my own. But it is also about the process of walking through those dark things and how we discover ourselves and the ones who really see us in that process.
Add to that a best friend across an ocean, a kilt-wearing, baking, tattooed, Scottish boy next door, and it was such an incredibly fun book. It was a perfect start to my March reads and one I will absolutely be revisiting.
Wow, this book was so much more than what I was expecting. It is written through letters, emails, text messages, and a few chapters of a 200 year old book draft. When I read the description, I assumed I would be falling into a story reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice with perhaps a bit of time travel thrown in. What I actually discovered in Dearest Josephine was so much more.
Josie and Elias live 200 years apart in the same haunting estate. Both have lost parents and are grieving privately, struggling to find the capacity to share their grief with anyone else. They are connected across time, and as Josephine reads Elias's letters written to the mysterious "Josephine de Clare," she falls harder and harder for a man who lived in the past. However, as she reads the letters and book Elias left behind, she also begins to come to terms with the realities of her own past and the choices that lie ahead of her.
This book is a love letter to stories, to words, to the power of love and friendship in all of their forms. It is a story of about grief, about anxiety-I have never seen a fictional portrayal of anxiety so similar to my own. But it is also about the process of walking through those dark things and how we discover ourselves and the ones who really see us in that process.
Add to that a best friend across an ocean, a kilt-wearing, baking, tattooed, Scottish boy next door, and it was such an incredibly fun book. It was a perfect start to my March reads and one I will absolutely be revisiting.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-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:
No