A review by rachelshubin
Love, Holly by Emily Stone

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad 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? Yes

4.0

Love, Holly is my second Emily Stone novel and it was so well written. It’s a tender hearted story that deals with very heavy topics like car accidents, parental death, cancer, and miscarriage, to name a few. I think her books would be better characterized as women’s fiction with a dash of romance. 

I didn’t find this book to be particularly sad as Always in December. It starts and ends at Christmas time but has scenes in almost all the months of the year, as it’s set over two years. I liked the time organization and what was a real treat was that we got dual POV of both Holly and Jack! The book was significantly improved by knowing Jack’s thoughts. 

Grief and found family are the major plot points of this story. The way we deal with grief, the mistakes we have to overcome, and the power of forgiveness is especially important to this story. Fate and healing, as well. I was a little sad at the end, but we do get good closure!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine/Dell for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review

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