Member Reviews
OH WOW. This type of writing really hits home for me - it had me laughing one minute and crying the other. Lily and her sister write letters to each other and the novel is set up in this way. You slowly figure out what Lily is going through and I don't know how anyone can't relate to her. I really loved this heartwarming, quick read and it would be such a cute gift!
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC !
At first, I was intrigued by the author's approach of telling the story through emails and letters. However, I struggled to maintain interest in the storyline and found it difficult to finish the book ...
I loved this book. It was he first book that I’d read by this author and I will definitely be reading more.
It was beautifully written and made me both laugh and cry in parts. It took me a while to click on that Lily was no longer here and I felt it heartwarming the way the letters were written to her by her sister. I would definitely recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.
When I realized that Dear Lily is a novel in the form of letters, I almost stopped reading. That type of unfolding of a story does not usually interest me, and I find it a bit annoying. I'm so glad I didn't let my bias persuade me to put it in my "did not read" pile, however. This is a fun, adventurous story of a woman who moves to Denmark to start fresh. Her writings to Lily help her come to terms with the loss of her sister, as well as issues with her parents that have affected her for years. Highly recommended!
I received a digital arc of #DearLily from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This way my first experience with this author so I wasn't sure what to expect.
The use of alternative words, phrases or spellings throughout the letters was a bit off putting as it interrupted the narrative too much. Initially this happened a lot and was a bit too much, but it did lessen as the letters went on. So if, like me, you are debating binning the book during the first couple of letters because of this, don't as it does become less frequent.
Otherwise it was an easy to read book, written in the form of letters (mainly from Joy to her sister Lily). There are some humourous parts in the letters that made me laugh, along with some really sweet touching parts that added emotion.
There was a great twist included, which looking back makes a lot of sense. I did have my suspicions and slightly anticipated it but it was still a good twist nevertheless.
Overall a good read written in the form of letters which makes it easy to read. It's not something I will remember for a long time though, but worth the read if you have a few hours to kill.
I was excited about this book because of the letter format. I also have a sister so the premise seemed like it would be right up my alley. In the end I wasn’t able to get really into it but it was a quick read.
This book is one of the best book I ever read, hands down! I wasn't expecting that, especially as I struggled a little bit for the first 20 percent of the book. But then it became so so so so good! I love the way It is written, through letter. I also liked the fact that it was taking place in Copenhagen in Denmark! So nice! I loved the way we see the main character changing throughout the year she lives in Denmark. And I loved the end. It's very emotional book, very emotional, so beautiful! I really recommend it to you! it's so beautiful! 5 stars out of 5, and if I could I would give even more to this wonderful book!
Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review. I wanted to love this book - the premise sounded great - unfortunately, it just took me too long to get into it and overall didn’t enjoy it. I kept waiting for something big to happen and I just felt let down.
This is the second book I’ve read by Drew Davies and again I was pleased with the author’s clever and engaging style of writing. Dear Lily is written entirely in letter format, from Lily’s sister, Joy, who has moved from England to Denmark in search of starting over. Joy’s life is kind of a mess, but she’s endearing in a way that was so familiar to me and probably most of us, because really, no one is perfect. I loved the flawed character and I enjoyed the format of the story.
3.5 stars
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book and couldn't get into it at first but it improved as the book went on. The book is written as letters from Joy to her sister Lily. Joy moved to Denmark on a whim and got a new position with her company. She goes through a lot of difficulties settling in and meeting new people and pours them all out to her sister.
The real story is the relationship between the sisters and their family, which plays out through the letters. An emotional and heartwarming book.
Thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I have to say I was intrigued at first by the author's approach of telling the story through emails and letters. However, I struggled to maintain interest in the storyline and found it difficult to finish the book.
Thabks to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC
Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy in return for an honest review
A very good read and one I can highly recommend to others.
I could not put this down.
Thoroughly enjoyable with an amazing cast of characters that you cannot help but engage with.
Disclaimer: I received this book from Netgally for review purposes.
Okay, I loved this. And I'm a little surprised I did too, because it took a while for me to love it. It wasn't slow persay, the writing style of letters made it flow well, but I think it was a little bit more of me just having a lack of interest due to not a lot happening - but it had to build. I didn't care much for any of the characters but by the end I loved all of them, they felt real.
I had figured out a main plot element in the beginning of the book but that's fine. I kind of wish they hadn't went in that route because it almost felt cliched but I still enjoyed it.
Also the main character was so relatable and lovely. Just a really quaint solid little book.
I received a free e-copy of Dear Lily by Drew Davies from NetGalley for my honest review.
This is a beautiful and sweet book that is told through composed letters. The letters are written between two sisters, Joy & Lily. We learn all about their struggles, family and life. A beautiful, enjoyable, funny yet emotional read. You will laugh and you will cry but what a wonderful read.
I love the idea of this story. Letter writing is a dying art and Joy is writing about her new life to her sister Lily. Joy shares everything with Lily and and without giving away the best parts of the book we laugh and cry with each letter. Letter one starts with a move to Denmark, uprooting her entire life. With each additional letter we learn about her friends and falling in love. Great story by an author who is new to me. This book will have you laughing and crying on the same page. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Ok.
So this is a bit of a quirky read. Not in a bad way. But just quirky.
The entire book is made up of letters to Lily - Joy, our protagonist's, sister. This is the kind of book you need to read for yourself. This review won't have much in details, since I don't want to give anything away.
Basically - in a nutshell... Joy moves from England to Denmark to start anew. You gather from the start that her relationship with her parents is a little tense, that she wasted a few years on a "are we, aren't we" relationship, that she enjoys drinking... maybe a bit too much, and that she misses her sister, Lily.
What you get is a collection of letters that will make you laugh, and cry, they will make you cringe and cheer as you witness Joy's transformation from her past to her present. You cheer her as she makes some necessary changes to her life ... and then you will cry. I promise they will be ugly tears, but, especially if you are someone who has suffered the same loss as Joy (I have), you will also remember that from the loss and tears, comes hope, and happiness and good things.
The beauty of this book is how accurate a lot of Joy's feelings are - especially once you get to the crux of her sadness - and that is what got me. Dear Lily wasn't what I thought I was getting - but it became so much more than that. If you enjoyed Lost For Words - I think you will enjoy this too. Not the same, but a little the same, you know?
This was a 3.5 star read - not quite a 4 because the beginning took a little too long to get to the point, but once I was there, I didn't want to leave Joy on her own. Really good ending.
Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.
Sadly, as much as I wanted to enjoy this book (it sounded like my kind of thing at first and the cover is gorgeous) I got to about 20% before I gave up. It just wasn't for me. Whereas I liked the writing style, something about it just didn't hook me and I lost interest.
I'd love to see more from this author in the future, but I think this particular book just wasn't for me.
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing this ARC.
Dear Lilly is a collection of stories, told by one woman who has recently moved from London to Denmark to escape. She is sharing the stories to her sister, Lilly. It is a story about discovering who you are and how you must be true to yourself.
There are a few truths to be discovered in this story. Some are about the narrator and some about the people in the story itself. I have to say (without giving around one of the twists) that I had a feeling one of these was true. But I am really good at figuring out the endings of books. However, this did not make it any less impactful. Learning to be healthy and accept yourself is so important.
If you like dramatic and easy to understand reads, I recommend this. Definitely one you could read in a few days with no problem and it's so enjoyable.
I tried so hard to get through this book, but around 24% I decided to put it down. I usually enjoy novels written in letters or emails, but there was something about the characters that I just could not relate to or want to relate to. It was all one sided (maybe that changed later on?) and it couldn't hold my attention. Will definitely try more by the author though!
Really enjoyed this book by Drew Davies and am looking forward to reading his other book next! I loved Joy and her funny and relatable letters to Lily. The book made me both laugh and cry- what a great book should do!