A very unusual book that took me a while to get into but it was so worth it when I did! Told entirely in letters and emails so there are no chapter breaks, making it so hard to know when to stop for a break. But the story made me want to keep reading anyway. Funny, poignant, romantic, sad. Its two main characters are ex best friends slowly rebuilding their relationship and looking to the future. And oh what an ending! Can't reveal it as it would be such a spoiler. Perfect though.

This was another excellent choice to cleanse my palate between servings of my usual crime-fiction books.
Rosie and Aggie were best friends until something happened to drive them apart. We do eventually find out what, but at the beginning they are more concerned with the present rather than addressing the past. In this present, Aggie is suffering both from an overpowering mother as well as mega writers block. With a deadline looming, she decides that a change could be what she needs and flees to the wilds of Scotland to run a cafe in its owner's absence. But before she goes, she hears that old friend Rosie is in a war zone, not as a soldier but as a weather forecaster, having recently split from her husband and wanting a change herself. When she hears this, she gets hold of her address and the two of them start to correspond. Told entirely in letters and emails between Rosie, Aggie, Rosie's mum and dad and then a few other characters, what follows is a wonderfully charming and emotional story which ran me through the whole gamut of emotions along the way to its conclusion.
The format of the book was what really made it for me. Most of the correspondence was short and punchy but contained a wealth of information in what was a relatively short book overall but which when all was said and done, was definitely more than the sum of its parts. I've always found letters to be a very effective way of information dumping in fiction, and here it worked really well. It also made the whole book very readable as it was written in a very informal, chatty kind of a way.
Characterisation was second to none. I really took to both Rosie and Aggie right from the start and our relationships blossomed as the book progressed. Their outlooks on life as well as their wonderful humour spilled off every page for me and made me feel all the more closer to them as I learned more of their history. This was pretty much the pattern as each new character was introduced and, by the end of the book, it felt like I had found a good bunch of new friends.
The way that the characters' histories and backstories were introduced were perfectly placed in the present day timeline, especially some of the more emotional ones which had me reaching for the tissue box a few times along the way. But it's OK, I also did a fair amount of laughing and giggling along the way too!
It's hard to talk about the ending as if I even hint at anything it could spoil it for others but I will say that it was the right end. I might not have liked some of the things that happened but it fitted and rounded the book off right.
All in all, a wonderful read that ticked every box for me for what I needed at the time. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Dear Rosie Hughes is for me a surprise 5 stars for me, surprise because this isn’t my normal genre of read but this kept me hooked right till the end.
Rosie has been deployed to Afghanistan before the start of the Iraq war, she is there to give weather advice as this is what she does for the RAF. Aggie was her best friend until fifteen years ago and it is only as you get into this book that we find out the reason why. I’m not going to spoil this read in anyway so I’m not going to go into the storyline too much, all I will say is the book is just emails from Rosie to various other people and vis versus which at first thought I didn’t think was going to work but boy I was wrong. I totally loved Rosie and kind of knew how this was going to plan out and in my head reading the last half I was shouting “don’t you dare” but Melanie you did and because of this I feel Dear Rosie Hughes will stay with me for quite some time.

Fabulous - I was not sure about this novel because of reading it through e-mail and letter, but it works!.The characters are slowly allowed to develop and build up their personalities; in fact they become your personal friends.
Rosie is in the war zone of Iraq and Kuwait and her friend Aggie has fled to Scotland in an attempt to free her writers block.
The story of their friendship, and their falling out, is told through their correspondence from both perspectives and the reader is allowed access to their true hopes, dreams and disappointments.
This is a refreshing read full of humour and pathos and one which remain with me for a long time.

This is one of those books that will stay in my mind for a while. I don’t know what I was expecting but I got way more than I bargained for (in a brilliant way). I need to be careful as I don’t want to give anything away. You may believe it will the predictable story of lost friendships and renewed love, but it is more, and in my opinion, very well done. I had visions of how the story would go, and found myself surprised -at times.

The story is told through a series of letters, messages and emails, unusual but brilliant – it made me pay attention, focus on who was saying what and think about how their stories were playing out. I love the attention to detail and the little ‘tit-bits’ of back story every so often, enough to make you try and put the pieces in place but not too much to reveal it all in one go. I liked this, and I was eager to know why these two best friends, that seemed to slot back into each other’s lives very easily, could ever lose that relationship.

I think the friendship between Rosie and Aggie was wonderfully written, funny and emotional. Aggie has a great sense of humour and is a character that I would love to have as a friend – cheerful and positive yet reassuring and full of love. Although she is outwardly confident, she does have a vulnerable and sensitive side, she’s really looking for love and has a difficult relationship with her Mum. Rosie strikes me as vulnerable too yet given the circumstances she’s showing how tough she can be.

With an eclectic mix of additional characters, you will read some light-hearted and comedic moments whilst overall the story shows how everyone has the capacity for kindness, love and that we all may find ourselves in a situation that leaves us feeling vulnerable and in need of the care, loyalty and support of their loved ones. I think some characters could have been included and developed more whilst some seemed a little redundant and a little unnecessary, but it didn’t ruin or distract.


‘Dear Rosie Hughes’ is a great read that I highly recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Impulse for allowing me an advanced copy to read so to provide an honest review.

This book will stay with me for a long time.

I honestly don’t know where to start, I’m still reeling a little, even though I guess what was coming (there are no spoilers here).

It has taken me just shy of three weeks over Christmas and New Year to read this book, its format helped me to read on my commutes with easy stopping points. To have diary entries for each of the characters in Rosie’s life made for a well-rounded reading experience.

I loved the humour of the characters and their personalities shone through the words, I could be seen laughing and sobbing, depending on the point at the book on the 07:02 train to work each morning.

I know the author used some experience she had from her time in the forces and that Rosie and co are fictional but reading this story brings home some of the more personal, unreported issues which come with combat. My respect for service personnel only grows.

Yes, there were bits of the story I would have liked expanding on, I’m a very nosey reader after all but once readers finish the book, they will understand why getting all the answers isn’t always possible.

I thank #Netgalley and #HarperCollins for trusting me to give an honest review about a book which has certainly wedged its way into the top three I’ve read in the last twelve months. I will by gifting a copy of this book to several friends.

This review is so hard to do basically because the very best bit I can’t mention because it would give too much away – sigh. Apart from that I’ve really enjoyed the whole story.

Aggie and Rosie have been best friends since school. Then something happened which the reader doesn’t find out about until later into the book, which led them to lose contact for 15 years. When Aggie hears that Rosie has gone off to Afghanistan just prior to the Iraq war starting back in 2003 she decideds to let bygones be bygones and starts writing to Rosie. Rosie is working as a meteorologist there on behalf of the army to give them daily weather forecasts and is out in the desert on an army base.

The whole story is told via messages, emails and letters, not just between Rosie and Aggie but other characters in the book too. I’ve read quite a few books written either via emails, or in diary format so didn’t have any problems with the story being told in this way. If anything they suit me more so because they’re chatty, less description and more dialogue. Having said that, it must be very difficult to get a story across in this way by the author I would have thought, so very well written. It is certainly never devoid of emotion for being written in this way.

I really liked the relationship between Aggie and Rosie, most of the way through they were funny, I liked Aggie’s sense of humour. Though I think her outward jolly demeanour hid a lot of sadness Aggie felt, especially about the relationship she had with her own Mother.

It’s a story of the value of friendship, of making the most of every day and as Rosie’s Dad had said to her at one time keep smiling. There were other characters in the book too, Gethyn a colleague who was working as a Docotor along side Rosie, they shared a great comradeship and helped each other to stay positive whilst out in the Desert. Rosie’s mum and dad who were lovely. Then there were Aggie’s friends who she met when she moved to a tiny Island in Scotland to run a cafe for a friend.

This was a lovely warm hearted but fun read. It was never over sentimental, just full of kindness with people trying their very best to be happy, in often difficult circumstances. It teaches us that life really is what you make it and always make the best of what you have.

I only read half the book. It was amusing and humorous ut got too repetitive. Was of a Bridget Jones type humor. I hoped it would change by half way through but it did not.

My Review of Dear Rosie Hughes by Melanie Hudson

Oh how I loved this book...and was a bit apprehensive as it is told through emails and letters and I was worried it would be hard to get into...but I needed of worried, after the first few letters, you get swept away with the story unfolding.

This story follows two childhood friends Aggie and Rosie who’s friendship abruptly ended. When Aggie hears that Rosie has gone off to war, she realises that her friend needs are more than ever and begins to write to her

Aggie is hilarious, she is so honest and real about her flaws, and mistakes. She hides a lot of her real pain from the outside world, but through letters, she begins to open up to Rosie about her worries, and you get to watch her grow and evolve.

Rosie letters were hard to read sometimes as you could sense her despair of fighting in a war that might have been started under false pretences, coming to terms with the collapse of her marriage, but there was also joy, mainly due to her friendship with Gethan, who I fell in love with

At the core of this book is friendship, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, but most of all it will make you treasure the friends you have as who knows what each day may bring

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A story of friendship-how it never really dies.
A conversation and the friendship is undertaken via emails. Which for a novel isn’t slightly odd.
A good read.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Harper Impulse and Killer Reads for my eARC of the book in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. What a lovely lovely book about friendship of 2 people. I really enjoyed this book

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the power of friendship. Rosie and Aggie were best friends until they weren’t and now when Aggie hears that her old friend is off to war she reconnects. The unusual style of this book is in the form of emails and once you slip into it the pages fly by. I must say the surprise ending took me aback but it did leave me thinking about it for days afterwards which only a few special books do.

Two friends reconnecting two friends helping supporting each other.Two friends who connect on line through emails.Warm real emotional loved this story.#netgalley #harperimpulseand killerreads

I loved this book. What a great story about two friends who found their way back to each other and created a support system that allowed them to persevere despite hardship. I cried at the end as it took me by surprise. A must read.

what an amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end
I loved the authors style of writing and will be looking for other books by this author.
I would recommend this book to friends and family

This is Melanie’s only novel that I have had the pleasure of reading and I am so pleased that I chose to request “Dear Rosie Hughes” on Netgalley and was very excited to be approved to read it. When I got started with it I realised that this is probably not my normal type of read but I am so excited I carried on reading. Even the format of the book is different to what I am used to. But I still found the flow easy to read.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the story was the level of detail in the scenes to give you a clear image of the scenes in your mind, especially the parts set in Iraq and Kuwait. I really got a good image and Rosie’s feelings were my feelings. When I read I like to really imagine the story playing out in my mind like a movie (this should be a movie!)

I was so excited to see Aggie and Rosie’s friendship getting built back up stronger than before, especially in very difficult circumstances. Also how they both built up new friendships. When you read it you will think about how you don’t judge a book by its cover.

There was definitely an amazing sense of community in the story too with other people also communicating with Rosie whilst she was at war. This made me want her to get home to her family and friends safe and well (I’m a sucker for a happy ending)

There was certainly plenty of twists and turns (a specific one I won’t mention as I don’t want to spoil it too much!) though some happy and some sad. I got about 80% through finding myself coming up with an ending of my own as I just didn’t know how it was going to end. I found myself wanting (no actually needing) all the characters to do well and be ok. I was literally so desperate to find out the ending I fought my own sleep till 2am!

Overall I found myself feeling a mixture of emotions - what a rollercoaster read! This book is definitely a book I would read over and over again. Highly recommend 5* out of 5* 🙂

I loved this story of friendship. It was emotional and memorable. The book is unique in that the story is written as emails between people. When I first started I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy that, but it worked. I highly recommend it!