What a perfectly beautiful book. It was an ode to words and books, while also dealing authentically with grief. Rachel is believable in how she acts and deals with her grief - I related to her journey as I have acted very similarly in grief. Henry is also believable in his teenage angst, mooning over the person he's held up on a pedestal throughout his high school career.

Can I also compliment the author on how she handled sex in the novel? Lightly mentioned but not graphic as YA is trending these days. Also, I love the Letter Library.

The night before she leaves town, Rachel writes an unrequited love letter to Henry, the boy she’s always loved from a far. Hoping that he will one day come, she waits years, only to become bitter when he doesn’t. After the death of her brother, Rachel eventually moves home and is forced to work at the same used bookstore Henry does.

Verdict: Finally! A love story that takes place in a bookstore using the classics as means to pass along private love letters. Sounds like my kind of book. So I cleared my calendar, sat down with my iPad and prepared to enjoy. I read, and I read, and I read some more until I finished the book. Then I sat to absorb what I just read. Then I contemplated. Unfortunately, my contemplation didn’t end up with complete and total awe and I found myself asking: Did I enjoy the book? Was it worth the time it took to read it? Did I like the characters? Did I like the plot? Did I like the writing style? As I answered these questions I found myself answering them differently making it hard to determine just how I felt about it.

Did I enjoy the book?: In its simplicity, this was a tough question to answer. I sat down excited to read it, I liked it well enough to finish it, and for the most part I didn’t so bored that I DNF’ed. All of these answers sparked an initial, “yes I enjoyed the book”. However, I was hesitant to say that I truly enjoyed everything that was written in the book. When asking myself, “will I read this book again”, I answered, “probably not”. Also when I asked, “was this the greatest thing since sliced bread”, I also had to answer, “nowhere close”. Hence, the difficulty to answering the question.

Was it worth the time it took to read it?: For the most part yes. I liked the book enough that I didn’t have to force myself to read it, nor did I clockwatch to see how many pages I could power through in an hour. It was also a fairly fast read for me. Ultimately, I was vested enough in the book to devote the necessary time to finish.

Did I like the characters?: Erm….what? I had issues with both Rachel and Henry. At times, both let emotion swallow them whole making them sound and feel like very weak characters. I don’t overly care for weak characters because they usually don’t let the plot progress well. They also tend to be quite depressing. I also don’t really care for love triangles and unfortunately, a lot of YA books usually employ the love triangle theme. Finally, don’t even get me started on the whole teenaged angst thing. Although I get its use in small doses, I felt like a lot of it wasn’t completely necessary.

Did I like the plot?: YASSSSSSS! True love discovered through hidden bookstore love letters mixed in with an Aussie accent. Enough said.

Did I like the writing style?: I have to admit it wasn’t the most well written thing I’ve ever read. Sometimes the writing felt clunky. Also some of the switches between Rachel’s and Henrys POV were abrupt. While it didn’t stop me from reading the book, it did detract from my overall enjoyment.

Overall, I give this book 3 stars. I liked the book well enough but the characters just didn’t pop enough for me to give it a higher rating.

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

This one was really emotional for me. Cath Crowley has an incredible knack for writing characters that I want to connect with.

While typically flowery or 'purple' prose turns me off, Cath uses her words to draw me in by putting them together in combinations I never would've thought of before. The descriptions are unique but complete enough to paint a full picture while leaving room for your imagination to fill in details in a way that is meaningful to the reader.

Rachel's relationships with her aunt, Lola, George, Martin, and the others are really just as important as her past with Henry. The sorrow she avoids, but never quite escapes is evident in everything she does. I love how she begins to work through her pain, not just because of Henry, but thanks to all of the people who are now in her life.

Words in Deep Blue touched on many different family dynamics as well as friendships. Rachel's family is fractured because of the tragedy they have lived through while the Jones family has just been beaten down by life and everyday hardships. Both families are changing so much and the family members have to make some major adjustments to navigate their new realities.

This book is great for anyone interested in young adult romance, family dynamics, and friendships. Also, to anyone who is currently breathing.

I fell in love with Cath's words with Graffiti Moon and I knew I wanted to read this before I knew what it was about.

I loved Rachel and Henry. They're both going through so much and while they rate differently on the spectrum of bad, to each of them, it's catastrophic. I loved their dynamic, their banter, their desperation to help the other when they weren't doing well themselves. And of course there are a small cast of characters who are all excellent and add a layer and texture to the story.

The plot is engaging, but it's the prose that did it for me. The topic of books and words and the passion the characters feel for them, it was electric. I was absolutely captivated and as always, I want to roll around in Cath's words.

Overall, this felt like a love letter. It was hopeful and heartbreaking and at times the grief was palpable. I was shaking my first to the sky in one page and hugging my arc in the other.

I will forever read this book.

**Huge thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for providing the arc free of charge**

This is an utterly gorgeous book. I absolutely loved it. The characters are all complex and flawed. It made me want to go leave notes and letters in a used bookshop. Gorgeous writing.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rachel and Henry were the best of friends until three years ago on the eve of her move to the Australian coast, Rachel left Henry a letter that declared her love for him and told him to call, no matter what time. Henry never called. Instead, he fell in love with Amy.

Fast-forward three years. Heartbroken in their own ways, Rachel and Henry meet back up when Rachel returns to the city for a distraction from her grief over brother's death. They reconnect in Henry's family's adorable secondhand bookshop, Howling Books. While Rachel catalogs the Letter Library - a room in the bookshop where visitors may leave markings, notes, or letters within the pages of a book - Henry tries to help her heal by writing letters to her.

Narrated by Rachel and Henry and interspersed with letters and notes from the Letter Library, Crowley expertly writes about grief and missed opportunities. At its heart, Words in Deep Blue is about second chances - in life, friendship, and love - and learning how to move forward when living seems impossible.

I saw lot OZYA blogger praised and loved this book so I was curious to find out.
The beginning of this book is slow but it get better and better.
The character have lot flaws but they are likeable and made me sympathize with their condition and made me invest to know what will happened to them.
I also love the premise and letter library concept where people can write letter to stranger and put it between pages of books.
The writing format is also my type.
I can confirmed the hype did not lie. I really like it.

A digital copy of this book was provided by the Random House Children via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you so much Random House Children and Netgalley

Words in Deep Blue was an amazing book. I've been a hug Cath Crowley fan since Graffiti Moon. I love the realistic way she writes characters and relationships. I love the beauty she weaves into her books, whether that beauty is street graffiti or a shelf of books or the darkest depths of the ocean.

This isn't a sunbeams-and-rainbows kind of book, but I did find it poignant and hopeful. It's a grief book and a second-chance-at-love book. It weaves all sorts of themes and subplots together in a seamless way -- family relationships, first love, grief and heartbreak, letters, books and reading.

There is a secret-keeping aspect of the book, and that is never my favorite trope. It didn't bother me as much as it has in other books, though I still wished the character had opened up sooner. And there's a sort-of triangle-y situation, but strangely it actually didn't feel that triangle-y to me. I think that's because Cath Crowley sprinkles magic in her pages!

Fun fact: Crowley's publisher has created a virtual Letter Library on tumblr that was inspired by this book, so be sure to check it out!

If you haven't read a book by this author, you're seriously missing out! Try this, or try Graffiti Moon. I'm reading A Little Wanting Song next - it's been stacked under my nightstand for ages!

Rachel is returning to her hometown after three years. She isn't returning under joyous circumstances, but rather to try and escape her brother's death. Running from one source of pain brought her right into another, as she now finds herself working in her ex-bestfriend's, Henry's, bookshop. Rachel still feels the sting of Henry ditching her on "The Last Night of the World" and not responding to her declaration of love, and doubts she will be able to rekindle their friendship.

There is actually a beautiful letter at the beginning of this ARC from the editor, where she describes the book in so many ways, and I have to say, she was dead on. It's a story about love -- first love, second chance love, end of love, beginning of love, familial love, friendship. It's a story about healing and being able to move on after a tragic loss. It's a story about books and words and the power they can have. And Cath Crowley did a stupendous job telling this story.

Top 5 Reasons Why I Loved This Book
1. The Characters: Crowley created such an amazing array of characters in this book. Both Henry and Rachel are magnificent, with all their quirks and imperfections, but the auxiliary characters are also amazing. George is so fabulous. I fell in love with this girl who was so hard on the outside, but melting on the inside for an anonymous letter writer. Other notable characters: Henry's dad, Michael, Frederick, Lola, and Martin. I immensely enjoyed being in their company and getting to know them.
2. The grief was so real: Rachel's pain was so palpable. It caused aches in my heart and brought tears to my eyes. There were so many things related to Rachel's grieving that I though Crowley did so well. I loved that she showed not only how Rachel was affected, but also, how her grief affected those around her. Crowley also made a point of explicitly stating that it as ok for Rachel to hurt for so long after her brother's death. That it was acceptable to ache for so long. There are NO RULES for grieving. She showed that Rachel began to heal, when she began to share her feelings and come to terms with the fact that Cal was gone. I was really touched by all of this as someone who has lost an important person, and I feel there are many people out there who can also relate.
3. The banter was fantastic: These characters had a lot to say and they did so with style and wit. I lost count of how many times I grinned due to one of their conversations. These were bright and well read people, and they even scienced! Nuff said.
4. The Letters: I also loved the letters, all of them. There was the pain and longing in the letters exchanged between Henry's parents. The lovely, sweet letters of first love between George and her admirer, and also, the slow rebuilding of a friendship in the letters between Rachel and Henry. The letters were so delightful, I found myself looking forward to finding one stuck between the chapters. And well, there was the Letter Library. **This is on my wish list**
5. These characters love books: We spend a lot of time during this story in a bookshop with people who love books. They often talk about books, and these conversations were ah-mazing! When reading the bookish exchanges, I kept finding myself wanting to crawl into the book to join them, because I had found my tribe.

I have so many emotions about this book -- all good, I might say. I could never properly explain how beautiful and gorgeous and incredible this book is. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me long for those I lost, and made me want to hold tighter to those I love. Just utter perfection.

'Words in Deep Blue' will make you smile even though the novel captures as serious topics as love and death. Rachel and Henry are each one of us, they try to understand death, they try to know what true love really means, they try to find out if it's possible to predict some situations or to be ready to accept them. I loved the book with all my heart. The characters where real-life people with their own hobbies and emotions. I loved all the dialogues that were an attempt to understand the world- I had so many of them when I was younger. The wit the author masters fell into place with the warmth and safety a true fiendship provides. I wholeheartedly recommend it to all book lovers and people who struggle with accepting the death of a loved one. You will be taken to a magical place - a second-hand bookshop every bookworm dreams about.

I would recommend this to readers of Rainbow Rowell, or John Green. Powerful and affecting. Grief takes many forms and isn't linear.

Words in Deep Blue hooked me from the beginning and I couldn't wait to get home from work to read more of Rachel and Henry's time inside Howling Books. The cast of characters was lovely and funny in all the right places. My only problem was that, ultimately, the romance storyline fell flat and left me a little frustrated.

Rachel, her mother, and her brother Cal moved away from her hometown of Gracetown three years ago. But tragedy brings her back. She's failed out of Year 12, given up on her dreams of exploring the deep blue sea, and retreated into herself giving into her painful grief. Her friendship with her best friend and subject of her unrequited love has fizzled out after she stopped responding to his letters years ago. But Rachel can't avoid Henry forever, especially when her job is in his family's charming secondhand bookstore, Howling Books. Soon Rachel finds all the old feelings towards Henry flooding back to her the more time they spend together. But Henry's still pining for his ex-girlfriend, Amy, who only has eyes for Henry when someone else wants him.

There were so many things about this novel that hooked me in the beginning. The unrequited love between Rachel and Henry mixed with Rachel's chance at her own happy ending was promising. I also felt Rachel's grief over the loss of her brother and it felt very real. Henry's sister, George and Martin, the persistent jock trying to win over George's black, emo heart were both hilarious and I loved them so much.

Howling Books deserves its own paragraph or praise and adoration. This bookstore made me want to crawl inside the pages of this novel and never leave. Henry sleeps on the "fiction couch" every night in the bookstore. At the center of the novel is the store's Letter Library filled with old books in which people can pen notes to each other, highlight their favorite passages, or leave letters to others. The store has its own regulars that add charm and character to the novel. I was simply bursting with happiness reading about this bookstore.

As Rachel continues to process her grief, she and Henry have several discussions on transmigration of memories through the store's Letter Library. The writers' memories live on through words between and on the book's pages and that these memories can be passed on to others to college and create new memories. Rachel's project in the bookstore coupled with therapy was what helped her find herself again and I loved how the author didn't try to cheapen that process by using the romance as a substitute.

If I was to rate this book solely on the things discussed above, I'd give it a solid 4-star rating. It was addictive and charming and just made me smile. But since this is a romance and Rachel and Henry's love story is a central theme from page one, I couldn't give it that rating. The romance was the most disappointing, frustrating, and underwhelming part of the whole book.

Crowley sets up Rachel and Henry's second chance at love quite well, but leaves Henry chasing after Amy for almost the entire book. What's worse is that Amy is quite obviously a complete jerk who doesn't realize what she had until someone else (Rachel) starts making the moves on Henry. Rachel understandably isn't in the headspace to tell Henry to wake the hell up. While I loved Henry's nerdiness and clear adoration towards Rachel, I also was so frustrated with his character. I would have much rather had Henry and Rachel working on their friendship and slowly falling in love with each other with the backdrop of the library, rather than having Amy stepping in when Henry wasn't even that interested.

The characters and the bookstore is reason enough to pick up this book. It's set outside of Melbourne, Australia and features several sweet and emotional moments between our two protagonists. I'd love to know what you think if you read it!

* Thanks to Knopf Books for Young Readers for providing a copy for review.

A million stars!

Second chance romance? Check.
Best friends to lovers? Check.
Angst? Check. And double check!

The summary captured my interest right away. I was hoping I'd love the book as much as I expected to. And thankfully, it exceeded my expectations.

I have been obsessed with these "dealing with loss" stories for the last couple years. So the idea of someone hiding a family death from everyone in her past really intrigued me. Tack on the fact that Rachel was in love with her best friend and it was unrequited---well, that was just an absolute bonus.

From the get-go I knew this book was going to be spectacular. But I do admit both characters pissed me off a few times. Rachel, because she was keeping her brother's death a secret. And it felt out of spite for what Henry had done in the past. And Henry, his ridiculous whiny obsession with his on-again/off-again girlfriend, Amy. Neither could get it together, even though it was obvious to everyone around them that they had feelings for each other. I wanted to punch Henry several times as he wondered how to get Amy back. Even going so far as to give up his passion to be who she wanted him to be when he should love someone who loves him as is.

Words in Deep Blue is more than this, though. Rachel's grief is real. Consuming. She's drowning (figuratively) and needs to find a way to keep living. It really seemed like she never would. And Henry has his own grieving taking place. His girlfriend dumped him for a douche. His parents are debating selling the family bookshop. Everything is falling apart. So, when these two reconnect after three years apart, you can't help but hope sparks fly.

But they don't.

Rachel is stubborn. And she thinks he never answered her letter. (What actually happened is clear to the outsider.) Henry wonders why she stopped writing him. It takes a long time for the air to clear, but I promise, the ride is worth it.

What I really loved about this book is the addition of letters and notes included. Not just from Rachel and Henry, but from other characters you'll recognize as the story goes on. Including Henry's sister, George (my absolute FAVORITE character!) and a secret admirer. That identity is also obvious to the reader, but witnessing the progression of their relationship is so much fun! And, ultimately, sad.

This is a romance novel, but it also deals with other issues such as grief and staying true to yourself. You'll be angry on occasion. You'll laugh. Some may even cry. But I really can't complain about anything here. It's told in alternating points of view, so you get both sides of the story and there's no guessing involved. I'd say this is as close to perfection as a book can get.

Read this is two days. It was predictable and sentimental but the writing flowed easily and naturally. I found the general milieu to be very cooked up casual hipster, that is, the whole thing was too perfectly artsy, but I found the characters to be raw enough to resonate beyond type, particularly Rachel. Good for fans of Melina Marchetta or Jaclyn Moriarty.

Words in Deep Blue is a heart-wrenching story about learning to move on after a family tragedy. Rachel has to find a way to move past the death of her brother and the reuniting with a boy she used to and may still loved. I loved the bookshop and the Letter Library and the talk of books and how they effect our lives. The talk of the ocean made you feel as if you were there and the way the characters found there way forward was beautifully done.

I have not read something so angsty since Jenny Han's series, THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY. I only started it one morning and was finished with it by the time I was coming home on my train. It was a total of 2-3 hours before this book was finished and I was a mess of angsty and emotional feels. This is how you write a contemporary love story and this is how you make it moving. I am so ashamed to have waited so long to read this despite the fact that it will be released again in the U.S. in June so I will be clamoring for Penguin to release it.

This is a story of best friends, long lost letters, loss, and missed opportunities. I loved nearly 99% of it, but I kept wondering just how stupid Henry and Rachel could be - if there could really be unlimited moments that pushed them to think and feel a certain way and my answer always came back as yes, there could be. It infuriated me the way that long trilogies happen and two people you know should be together are dancing around each other until the very last book and it isn't even until the last fourth of the book that it happens and you are left so unsatisfied because you wanted more fluff and more love and more everything that is good between these two characters.

I kept getting angry at Henry for being so confused and so narrow-minded. I kept yelling at Rachel because I thought she deserved better. But by the end, I found them so likable - so ordinary and so very real. This is a story that I can read over and over and feel so fulfilled by the end.

And far more, this was a book about BOOKS. I was so pleased to see how much they were involved and not just...taking place in a book store. It made me even more fond of this book and made me wish more crossings of fate happened this way - that you could find your soulmate in the shelves of your favorite books and write love letters in the margins while underlining the words that made you want all those things in the first place.

I need to read more of Cath Crowley's books because if her other books are as poetic as this one, then I have been missing out.

Thank you for sharing this title on NetGalley. NetGalley has become an important tool for helping me find new materials for our library.

WORDS IN DEEP BLUE completely took me by surprise! I guess I was expecting a lighter read (despite reading in the synopsis that the main character deals with her brother's death), so getting punched in the face with all the feels was surprising, to say the least. There were times I wanted to strangle both Rachel and Henry; there were times I NEEDED to hug them both. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for any future books by Crowley.