This story is written in letter form from one sister to another. I did guess the premise of the book early on, but that didn't alter my enjoyment. This story is heartwarming and heart wrenching, witty and believable. A wonderfully descriptive book about both characters and places alike. I am so impressed with Drews ability to write so convincingly from a woman's point of view, especially about health issues. Being a huge fan of writing letters to get things off my mind, this book worked for me on that level. Plus being a hopeless speller and triple checking words, i loved the ("spelling"?) part, that's so me. I heartily recommend reading this book.

This book was not for me. The book is told through letters from Joy to her sister Lily. Joy has just left her life in England to move to Denmark and try something different.

I think whether you love or hate this book will really come down to how you connect to Joy’s voice. I’ve seen many great reviews but I just couldn’t get into it.

Thank you very much to Netgalley and Bookouture for the advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first book By Drew Davies (he also wrote The Shape of Us) and I was given an advanced copy thanks to NetGalley. This book is scheduled for release on 05/17/19 by one of my favorite publishers, Bookouture.

This book is read through the eyes of Joy, in her letters written to her sister Lily. Joy has packed her life up, said goodbye to her parents, and moved to Denmark without knowing the language, or anyone else. Lily is Joy's seemingly only support system, even though she is not physically there for her sister. Over the course of the book, Joy writes for support about job issues, parent issues, and love issues. She's a mess and in need of every piece of support and help she can get from writing Lily.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this book. Joy is a stressful character. She is seriously flawed. From past eating disorder issues to her alcohol and tobacco consumption, it's clear she doesn't handle stress well. In addition, I started to feel very uneasy a quarter of the way through the book and I messaged one of my friends about what I thought was going to happen. My guess was accurate.

Even with my ability to predict the swing of the story, I really loved this book. It was outside my comfort zone, and I lost all handle of my emotions reading the last letter to Lily. Stress is a funny thing. Everyone handles it differently, and no one seems to have a cure. Joy certainly didn't. If she hadn't had Lily she probably would have been in a much worse situation.

If you're ready to feel all the feels, read this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll call your sister who will inevitably act like YOU are the crazy one for crying over a book. Seriously though, pick this up on 05/17/19. 💙


🌟🌟🌟🌟/5

Dear Lily sounds like the start of a letter and that is exactly what this book is! A collection of letters. We get to know Lily and her family through her sister Joy and her letters.

That is write, the book is a collection of letters. Now I've read books like "The Boy Next Door" which is done pretty much over emails and never really thought anyone else other than Meg Cabot would be able to pull off stories told in that format. I was wrong. Drew Davies nailed it just as well if not better. Its an emotional novel but is a very charming story with characters I wound up adoring as the book went on. I found a common ground with Joy, and the place she was at in the beginning of the story and then where she wound up. Joy was real she was raw, she was humorous and most of all she was relatable!

I really enjoyed this book!

THANK YOU to NetGalley for the earc

This was a delightful, off-the-radar contemporary fiction. The book is written in a series letters from Joy, the older sister, to Lily her younger sister after Joy leaves London to live in Denmark. I really wouldn't call this a romantic comedy- it's more of a story for everyone. The themes of family, sisterhood, identity and nationality could be identified with by any reader. It's the kind of book that makes you laugh, cry, feel the bottom drop out of your stomach and then sign with satisfaction as you turn the last page. The book had a fairly predictable "twist" midway through that only added depth to the book and made it one I'd enjoy rereading again. This is a perfect summer vacation or lazy rainy weekend read.

I received a free digital advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions from NetGalley.

ARC received from Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I quite liked the diary/stream-of-conscious writing style in this book. It helped give it some depth where the story was otherwise lacking, and I always find this type of narration more personal and relatable.

Unfortunately, beyond that this book fell pretty flat. Joy was so ridiculously whiny and self-absorbed most of the time that by the end when she kind of redeems herself I was already over it.

I also thought the author hid the “truth” about Lily for too long - I thought it was pretty obvious anyway. If it would’ve come out sooner that might’ve helped explain some of Joy’s insecurities and issues. Also not sure why there had to be a fixation on Lily being a lesbian and their mom not knowing. Again, kind of a drawn out storyline.

Drew Davies’ Dear Lily is an epistolary novel in the same vein as Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. Our protagonist Joy starts off the tale by writing letters to her sister Lily. Throughout the book, we see the evolution of Joy - set against the backdrop of Denmark. An emotional read worth checking out.

This book is composed throughout of letters that are written between sisters Joy & Lily. The format is so fun to read, as you get to learn what has happened plot wise and learn more about their relationship, based on how the letters are written.

All of the characters are written so uniquely and their individual journeys are documented well, dealing with all aspects of life and how they deal with things. Truly emotive and definitely worth the read; some tissues definitely required if you're like me and cry about anything.

Joy is hilarious even though she may not try to be. I followed along her story quite often thinking "What will she do next?" and "Oh wow, she actually did that!".

NOTE: I received a free advance reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Written in letters, mostly from 35-year old single professional project manager Joy, who has recently moved from England to Copenhagen, to her little sister Lily - this book grew on me. Unless this is literally (and i do mean literally!) the first book you have ever read, you will see "the big twist" coming from page 1, so the efforts to keep that surprise felt a little forced and grew tired. However, once the twist is revealed, Joy's character development and showcasing of the secondary characters are better able to shine and take center stage and the book is better because of it. At first Joy's personality is so grating I considered giving up, but I am glad I stuck with the book and by the end Joy, her friends and the book as a whole really grew on me.

"Sometimes, when you don't know if you're making the right choices, even embracing a bad one makes you feel powerful."

I'm a sucker for epistolary novels. This book consists only of letters from Joy to her sister Lily, telling her about all the quirks and events happening in her life, and new start in Denmark after transferring for a job from England. Going into this story, I didn't know it was about Copenhagen and even though the Danes are not the focus of this book, the way Davies incorporated the characteristics of Denmark was absolutely charming.

Joy is an absolute hilarious and engaging narrator, trying to strut through life, getting rid of bad habits and coming to terms with the past and herself, while healing and forgiving and finding peace and happiness. The supporting cast was such a delight and so well developed. Her awkward encounters are relatable and often made me laugh out loud. A lot of witty lines which sometimes felt over the top and melodramatic, but they way Joy matures and grows as a person with every letter is lovely to watch.

This book is an easy read, flows nicely and has a genuine and uplifting character, letting the reader in on her ups and downs of life, while being humorous and fun to follow along.

This is an emotionally brutal novel wrapped in a charming package, quite in the tradition of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. It’s about new beginnings and the reality of it not being as happy as it seems to be. It still involves a lot of painful adjustments and mistakes.

The main character Joy, is ironically not very joyful. It can be difficult to read in her voice sometimes because she is clearly a person in pain. It is rewarding to see her journey from this seemingly obnoxious and damaged person to someone who is finally enjoying life, and living it to the fullest.

I loved reading about Denmark—the places, the culture and its people are all so fascinating. I recommend this novel to anyone who loves the epistolary format, and is looking for a novel about dealing with grief and loss. Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bookouture for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 32%

Looking at the description, this book sonunded like it will be good. But it just wasn't the case.

What I most disliked about it was the format. It's told through letters which Joy writes to her younger sister Lily, but in my opinion, it didn't work here. The letters were so long and filled with somewhat unnecessary details, and as the book progressed it all turned into annoying rambling.

I couldn't invest myself in Joy's story to any extent. Her voice felt flat and dull, and this overall feels like some really bad attempt of merging Me Before You and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine (with annoying main character and missed format) which didn't work for me at all.

Thanks to the Netgalley and publisher Bookatoure for providing me with eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is only my second book that I’ve read entirely written in letter form and I absolutely loved it. It was a little slow going at first but I soon became so lost in the story that I couldn’t put it down.

This is the first book by Drew Davies I’ve read and I look forward to reading more of his books in the future!

Is it possible for a book written entirely in letters to sustain my interest?
If you’d have asked me before I started Dear Lily, I would have said ‘no’. In fact, if you’d asked me about 10% of the way through Drew Davies’ second book, I would have still said ‘no’ but something happened as I carried on reading - I forgot how it was written and became captivated by the story.
So, yes, with great writing, a wonderful cast and a catchy tale, which is funny and heartbreaking and all the things in between, it is possible to write an engaging book entirely in letters.
Joy is a character who gets better the more you get to know her – and as it’s written as a sort of stream of consciousness, you get to know her well.
She looks like she has it together – moving to a new country for a promotion - but she’s like a duck on water, gliding along on the surface but furiously paddling underneath to keep going. And sometimes she sinks.
She has a great supporting cast around her who help to move the story along and I really enjoyed learning more about Denmark.
Without giving anything away, I found myself getting more and more intrigued by Joy's little sister, Lily, and was thrown off course a couple of times but that's all I'll say about that.
In summary, this book turned out to be a nice surprise, it has a slow start but I couldn’t put it down by the end.
Well done to Drew for taking a risk, it paid off.

This was a good read but I have to be honest and say I found it really hard going to start with and was tempted to give up. I’m glad I persevered as I did enjoy it but it didn’t absorbed me as much as I’d hoped especially as I found the main character Joy hard work! Given how much other reviewers have loved it, I conclude it just wasn’t for me.

(Also posted on my Goodreads account!)

(5 stars because of awesomeness)

I LAUGHED THEN CRIED THANKS TO DEAR LILY

Dear Lily started fun, your run-in-the-mill chicklit, but then turned into something more.
I am the type of person that don't mind something so cliched and a thin plot as long as I got entertained. And damn, Dear Lily did just that.

I was able to notify the twist straight away, but it didn't matter! It wasn't about the twist, it was about a journey to self-healing, with romance, family matter, and friendship(s) along the way.

Dear Lily was a heartwarming story of forgiveness, particularly on yourself. And I'm glad to be a part on this journey.

I'm gonna hug my sis real tight later

This book started out rough. Drew Davies story-telling style was emotionally charged and easy to power through, but I thought the protagonist, Joy, was annoying, whiney and self-centered. However, the more I learned about her, the more I related to her and her anxiety. Without giving away any spoilers, the twists in this novel kept pulling me in to see how they shaped Joy. By the time I reached the ending, I was actively cheering for her! Some of the context is heavy, but this would be a great beach read with summer coming up, though it would be great any time of year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC and opportunity to review this novel.

The beginning was really, really drawn out. I didn't get pulled into the story until the 50% mark. I found Joy to be a spineless, whiny, self-indulgent jerk. I also just wish Davies had said about the sister earlier, and didn't drag on the bit about her being a lesbian and how hard it was for Joy to tell her mom; that whole bit seemed to make it more about Joy than Lily. I'd like to say Joy redeemed herself in the end, but I was so over her that it didn't quite work. Overall, I give this 3 stars.

⭐️Review!⭐️
I generally do not love epistolary novels- with some exceptions. This is one of the exceptions. Dear Lily is funny, heartwarming, and entertaining. I love when books are able to make me feel a range of emotions, and this one made me both laugh and cry. @drewdavieswriter did a great job at capturing Joy’s inner dialogue in an authentic way that made me really identify with her. I highly recommend this gem, which is available on May 17th! 4/5⭐️’s!
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Thank you to @netgalley and @bookouture for this copy in exchange for an honest review!

This entire book is the stream of consciousness letters from Joy to her sister Lilly. She only writes when she is high on emotions and that comes out clearly in the pages. I am not sure if everyone has a friend who goes on tangents like Joy does, but I do, quite a few of them in fact. They honed my tangential conversation skills in the four years of living in a girls hostel at college. This means that the ambience of the book will seep into this review and I am not (actively)trying to mimic the storyline.

Joy has moved to Copenhagen (if all goes as per plan, a place I intend to visit in June) on a sudden impulse. She volunteered for the role of her company in the city and took the jump without too much forethought. The first few weeks are excruciating to watch unfold since she is miserable and it is hard to see how each day turns out only a little better than the last. As she settles in this new place (I understand the feelings of an expat), she grows. Each epiphany brings her closer to normalcy or what passes for it in our world. I liked all of the supporting cast, even before Joy gets used to them and/or sees their true colours. Although I guessed a few events that occurred in the story, before they were even remotely hinted at, it did not lessen the impact of the tale. I snorted with laughter at points, smiled ruefully at others and shed a tear or two. I highly recommend this as a rainy day read.