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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
2.5 stars ✨
Yet another book that intrigued me because of all the hype on bookstagram that I have mixed feelings on.
I've been sitting on this review for a week and still don't know how to express my thoughts on this book. Let me start off with what I liked.
Oliver. I want an Oliver. The character that redeemed the story and made me push to the end.
The concept. Finding old letters written to someone who is literally a nineteenth century version of yourself is a story I am here for.
And that leads me to what I didn't like.
The execution. This is where I find the story falls short. It's split into 3 sections: Josie's emails, the novel, and Elias's letters. Personally I don't get the point of the novel section; it feels unnecessary and. The entire novel has a touch of fangirl/wattpad feel (Yes, I did just say that *insert embarrassed monkey face emoji here).
The characters. Once in a while, you come across a fictional man who's sensitive, loving, able to express his feelings beautifully - in letters if not words, and you realize: this ideal man, written by a woman, is actually a woman. He's just not realistic. To any stretch of the imagination. Who obsesses over a woman he met for 10 seconds total, for years?? And don't get me started on Josie. I don't have a solid reason for not liking her, I just didn't.
This story had so much potential, but I think it tried to be too many things at once. A lot of people absolutely love this story, and I feel weird not liking it because I had such high expectations. Most of what I didn't like about the story is just personal preference, so I'd recommend looking to other more objective reviews if you're still unsure of the book.
Yet another book that intrigued me because of all the hype on bookstagram that I have mixed feelings on.
I've been sitting on this review for a week and still don't know how to express my thoughts on this book. Let me start off with what I liked.
Oliver. I want an Oliver. The character that redeemed the story and made me push to the end.
The concept. Finding old letters written to someone who is literally a nineteenth century version of yourself is a story I am here for.
And that leads me to what I didn't like.
The execution. This is where I find the story falls short. It's split into 3 sections: Josie's emails, the novel, and Elias's letters. Personally I don't get the point of the novel section; it feels unnecessary and
Spoiler
feels like it's just an excuse to get Oliver to do something romantic like finish the book for JosieThe characters. Once in a while, you come across a fictional man who's sensitive, loving, able to express his feelings beautifully - in letters if not words, and you realize: this ideal man, written by a woman, is actually a woman. He's just not realistic. To any stretch of the imagination. Who obsesses over a woman he met for 10 seconds total, for years?? And don't get me started on Josie. I don't have a solid reason for not liking her, I just didn't.
This story had so much potential, but I think it tried to be too many things at once. A lot of people absolutely love this story, and I feel weird not liking it because I had such high expectations. Most of what I didn't like about the story is just personal preference, so I'd recommend looking to other more objective reviews if you're still unsure of the book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This book is incredibly unique. I loved the epistolary form (through letters, emails, texts...) and the embedded story. At first, I thought the format would be confusing, that I wouldn't be able to set the characters apart and distinguish what was real and what was "fiction". I'm happy to report that it was not the case because the writing style was flawless. I have not read such a well-written book in a while. I'm usually more plot or character-driven but the writing style was enough to make me care. If you read the synopsis then you know we get to read letters from Elias Roch who lives in the 19th century and I can tell the amount of research the author went through (at least I think haha) into making Elias' letters sound as authentic as they are. I'm a sucker for love letters and his letters were Mr Darcy-level good. I could even tell the influences of Jane Austen or even Emily Brontë ( i.e "If you are a ghost, then haunt me"). through some quotes or lines that made me think of 19th century literature. It was a real joy to read this. I loved the sarcasm, wit and love seeping through the letters, emails, texts and emails. I highlighted so many quotes from this book one of my favourites being :
"I meant humans often fail to acknowledge the beauty around them, but their lack of notice doesn't determine a thing's value. Gorse does not require an audience to grow, and neither do people. We aren't who we are because of what others see or say."
I absolutely loved all of the characters and the fact that some of them were flawed. I mean the book begins with Josephine apologizing for being a bad friend. I liked how the author didn't sugarcoat anything and delved into the characters' emotions. It was so pure and raw and I think it conveyed every feeling beautifully - especially grief. I liked how each character had its own voice and seeing some of them growing and coming to terms with who they are was so beautiful.
I enjoyed the way "romance" was depicted in this even if I'm not really a fan of instalove. I like seeing my characters fall in love through the pages but the book solves that issue in some aspects so I guess it was okay.
The ending made me both want to throw the book across my bed (I promise, no reading devices were harmed while reading this book) as well as swoon. I audibly went "aww" when I read the last pages. This novel was such a beautiful book about healing and looking for love in life, the little things and the people around us.
I highly recommend!
[A free copy was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review]
Dearest Josephine is a book containing several stories in one, and I’m not entirely sure it was for the best.
Dearest Josephine tells the present-day story about Josie De Clare, who moved to an estate in Atteburry after her father’s death, where she tries to renovate the old building. Her story is told through e-mails with her best friend, Faith, and text messages with her mother, Faith, an elderly couple living on the estate and their grandson Oliver. Josie find old letters from a man called Elias Roch, who lived 200 years ago and never posted his letters to a Josephine De Clare, which brings us to the second story being told. The third story that is told, is a manuscript that Elias Roch has written that Josie finds as well.
The manuscript is the only book-like storytelling in Dearest Josephine. Everything else is text messages and e-mails. I think it was a very cute way to tell the story, and the short chapters of manuscript in between the letters were a nice way to change the pace. However, the writing of it all bothered me a bit. The e-mails between Faith and Josie were sometimes written like beautiful prose, like two literature-majors showing off their skills, while Elias’ manuscript was written awkwardly and changed in pacing every other page.
Another thing that bothered me a bit was everybody falling in love at first sight (or letter, I guess). Josie reads one letter from Elias, and decides this man living 200 years ago is her soulmate. What bothered me the most about that relationship, though, was Josie reading about Elias describing his Josephine De Clare (who looks and acts a lot like Josie, almost like they are twins), and her first thought isn’t ‘Maybe this Josephine is my great-great-great grandmother and this Elias my great-great-great grandfather’. I feel like that would be a much more logical conclusion than ‘this man that has been dead for 200 years wrote about me’.
The pacing of all the stories was a bit off as well. The book is quite slow in the beginning and middle, whereas the ending suddenly goes into overdrive. Everything had to be solved in a few chapters. I think the story would’ve benefited from one story less to really flesh out the other two.
The stories themselves were kinda cute, and I did enjoy the book. I ended up with 3/5 stars. It was a fun read, but it won’t be very memorable to be. Which makes me sad, because the premise was so good.
Dearest Josephine is a book containing several stories in one, and I’m not entirely sure it was for the best.
Dearest Josephine tells the present-day story about Josie De Clare, who moved to an estate in Atteburry after her father’s death, where she tries to renovate the old building. Her story is told through e-mails with her best friend, Faith, and text messages with her mother, Faith, an elderly couple living on the estate and their grandson Oliver. Josie find old letters from a man called Elias Roch, who lived 200 years ago and never posted his letters to a Josephine De Clare, which brings us to the second story being told. The third story that is told, is a manuscript that Elias Roch has written that Josie finds as well.
The manuscript is the only book-like storytelling in Dearest Josephine. Everything else is text messages and e-mails. I think it was a very cute way to tell the story, and the short chapters of manuscript in between the letters were a nice way to change the pace. However, the writing of it all bothered me a bit. The e-mails between Faith and Josie were sometimes written like beautiful prose, like two literature-majors showing off their skills, while Elias’ manuscript was written awkwardly and changed in pacing every other page.
Another thing that bothered me a bit was everybody falling in love at first sight (or letter, I guess). Josie reads one letter from Elias, and decides this man living 200 years ago is her soulmate. What bothered me the most about that relationship, though, was Josie reading about Elias describing his Josephine De Clare (who looks and acts a lot like Josie, almost like they are twins), and her first thought isn’t ‘Maybe this Josephine is my great-great-great grandmother and this Elias my great-great-great grandfather’. I feel like that would be a much more logical conclusion than ‘this man that has been dead for 200 years wrote about me’.
The pacing of all the stories was a bit off as well. The book is quite slow in the beginning and middle, whereas the ending suddenly goes into overdrive. Everything had to be solved in a few chapters. I think the story would’ve benefited from one story less to really flesh out the other two.
The stories themselves were kinda cute, and I did enjoy the book. I ended up with 3/5 stars. It was a fun read, but it won’t be very memorable to be. Which makes me sad, because the premise was so good.
I need a day with you, then another. I need an infinite amount of last days with you because none of them, no matter what we do, will be good enough to encapsulate how much I love you.
I am destroyed and I need to savor this book before I can properly explain how much I loved it.
I am destroyed and I need to savor this book before I can properly explain how much I loved it.
reflective
slow-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
adventurous
fast-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated