Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria/Emily Bestler Books, and Lia Louis for the opportunity to read this wonderful story - 5 stars for a charming book filled with characters you will love.

Emmie Blue has had a tough life - a mostly absent single mother, no dad in the picture, and then an incident at school leaves her friendless and an outcast. When a school project has them send balloons with notes attached, Lucas found it and contacted her. Suddenly, she had a best friend and a family that took her in for holidays and their shared birthday celebration. And Emmie was in love. As time marched on, Lucas and Emmie shared everything - but when he announces that he's getting married and wants Emmie to be his best man, Emmie is devastated. She realizes she has put everything aside for this relationship and now she is even more alone.

A book filled with so much heart, you will adore Emmie Blue and be cheering for her throughout the story. And her friends, Louise, Rosie and Fox are the best. This is a book about friendship, truth, loyalty and love - don't miss it!

4.5 / 5 🌟

This was a binge-worthy love story! I could not put this book down. But wow, my emotions were all over the place. I’m not usually one to get too wound up in love stories, but Emmie is one of those characters that has such a kind heart, however, nothing seems to go right for her. She wants nothing more than a real family and to fall in love, but fate seems to have other plans for her.

At sixteen Emmie Blue sent a balloon into the sky from her English schoolyard. Attached was her email address and the secret that had ruined her life. She was desperate for someone out there to be her friend, to believe her. Across the channel in France, a young boy named Lucas discovers the balloon and emails Emmie back. So begins a fourteen-year long friendship. Emmie and Lucas become the closest of friends. Emmie is loved by Lucas’ family, they even hang out with his half-brother Eliot.

Because Emmie has never met her father and her mother is flighty and non-supportive, Lucas has been her everything. Over time, Emmie has discovered that her feelings for Lucas have evolved. Now at thirty, she is certain he must feel the same way too. When Lucas tells her his big announcement, she no longer feels certain of anything.

I was rooting for Emmie. She’s been through so much but she didn’t use it to her advantage. And I love her friends Rosie and Fox; they add such great humor and sass. If you're looking for a lot of steam, you won’t find it. But your heart will be squeezed over this story of finding that your true love was there all along.

*There is talk of sexual assault, but it is not in a graphic manner.

Thank you to @atriabooks and @Netgalley for this advanced reading copy.
This book is available on July 14, 2020!

Song/s the book brought to mind: Wishin' and Hopin' by Ani DiFranco

Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis may have its differences, but it gave me serious My Best Friend's Wedding vibes to the point where I actually plan on watching that movie ASAP now. It's one of my favorite movies of all time and I just loved the similarities.

I absolutely adored Emmie Blue and there were a couple of little twists that I didn't see coming. I was hoping to laugh more, but I still smiled an awful lot plus I shed tears more than once. This is a total tear-jerker, but it was also a heartwarming novel and was a lot deeper than I had expected it to be. I thought Dear Emmie Blue was going to be a 4/5-star book for me but it hit me so hard at the end that I couldn't bring myself to rate it any less than a 5/5. The writing is fantastic, and I loved the addition of the WhatsApp messages, texts, and mixed CDs.

Dear Emmie Blue would make a wonderful movie and it definitely gave me ALL the feels. I couldn't tear myself away from it, and it could easily be read in just a few hours. It was emotional, adorable, and more than I ever could have imagined. Highly recommend to the women's fiction, contemporary, and romance fans out there!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an advance review copy of this book, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

“It’s weird, but in moments like this…. our cheeks aching from laughing, with nothing to do but to make up silly games to pass the time, with cold lemonades at our feet, the sun in the sky, and nothing but lovely plans for the next few days, it feels almost risky to be this happy. It feels like I am goading all the things that could go wrong, to happen.”


I was not expecting to love Dear Emmie Blue as much as I did. In fact, I'd received a copy from the publisher months ago, but because it wasn't a suspense or thriller, I kept pushing it back on my To Be Read... list. One day last week, I happened upon a review by a friend here on Goodreads, Susanne Strong, and quickly realized I needed this story in my life.
🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

I can't remember reading a book with a more lovable cast of characters than Dear Emmie Blue...I found myself cheering for nearly the entire cast. They're all so real, flaws and all, but also evolving and empathetic. I especially loved the back and forth between Emmie's friend, Rosie, and their co-worker, Fox. Their crazy banter had me laughing out loud.
🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

This is a romance story...but with heart, humor, and depth...and I enjoyed every second. Is it, perhaps, a bit predictable? In my experience, most romance novels are, yet it did nothing to detract from my enjoyment.
🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈🎈

I do, however, bet every reader has the same gripe--we all want to know what songs are on Emmie's mixed CDs!

Trigger warnings: sexual assault, victim blaming

Get your copy of Dear Emmie Blue on July 14, 2020.

**My sincere appreciate to NetGalley and Atria Books for my review copy.

“A nice three-bed semi, a family and someone to love you” is all Emmie Blue ever wanted. What she got was a neglectful, uncaring mother who was mostly absent and a father who is a question mark. Poor Emmie Blue, absolutely nothing goes her way. Actually, it is worse than that, she has been taken advantage of and been marginalized to the point of invisibility. She is badly mistreated and we feel her pain. But read on and feel her grow stronger through her friends and her commitments to her best friend, and her caring and compassion for her landlady and watch this “closed book” open page by page.

I loved Emmie Blue, I loved, loved, loved this book. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy.

First loves and secret crushes, best friends and the family we choose. This title has the wit of Bridget Jones’s Diary and the sentiment of My Best Friend’s Wedding with a heart that is uniquely Emmie Blue.

Easily one of the best books I have read this entire year. Thank you Atria Books for the gifted copy. A story that I absolutely fell in love with. I felt like I could relate to this story and saw a piece of myself in Emmie and it made it hard to put down. A heartbreaking, comforting, and wondrous story. If this book isn't on your TBR it should be. No doubt this will be in my top ten this year and a new favorite. Highly recommend. Don't miss it.

Emmie Blue’s heart is broken when the boy of her dreams and best friend tells her that he is marrying someone else. If that isn’t adding salt to the wound, he then asks her to be his ‘best woman’ and she says yes. Darn you, clueless Lucas!

Author Lia Louis has written a very good debut with likeable and meaty characters. Emmie Blue is complex and I sympathized with her inner struggles. Elliot was my favorite, a steady and sweet superhero.

*will post on additional sites upon publication

Thank you to Netgalley, Lia Louis, and Atria/Emily Bestler Books for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!!!

What an incredible concept! Can you imagine, sending off a message with a red balloon (let’s ignore the environmental impact for a moment), and then have someone actually find it? And then they end up becoming your best friend (read: love of your life)? Sign me up!

I was completely drawn into this story from the get-go. The concept, the characters, the reveals, the love - all of it combined makes this incredibly fun, beautiful, squealy story about relationships, truths, and surprises.

I seriously love Brit Lit and this one did not disappoint! I physically need this one on my shelf and will be buying it when it is released!!! You should do the same!!!

DEAR EMMIE BLUE was a fun read—it’s a cute story, but it’s sweet in a way that I didn’t find to be cheesy or annoying. there’s a satisfying love triangle woven throughout the book, and it’s a good read for fans of EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER 4/5⭐️—I liked it! Out July 14.
▫️
thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for the early copy! #partner #netgalley

I can't help wondering if the title, DEAR EMMIE BLUE, is a deliberate play on words. While I assume, it comes from the semi-epistolary nature of the narrative, Emmie Blue really is a dear, one of the more captivating heroines I've read this year.

Feeling particularly bereft and vulnerable, teenaged Emmie Blue sent a balloon aloft, with her contact information attached. Much to her surprise, her balloon is answered with an email from teenaged Lucas, who recently moved from England to France. More amazingly, they are the same age and share a birthday. The two become fast friends. For a time, Lucas's older half-brother, Eliot, is part of their group, until he betrays Emmie when she's 19.

Lucas and Eliot's parents provide the stability that Emmie lacks. She never knew her father and her mother is absent--both physically and emotionally. As her 30th birthday approaches, Emmie thinks she's in love with Luke and nervously expects that the important question he needs to ask is a marriage proposal.

Her hopes dashed, Emmie feels more of an outsider than ever, and as she confronts many aspects of her life, she finds herself turning time and again to Eliot. Her friends claim she's falling for him, but she can't forget his earlier betrayal. By the time she learns truths about what happened more than a decade earlier, she fears it might be too late to find her true love.

With a memorable cast of supporting characters, DEAR EMMIE BLUE is an engaging novel. While the romance aspect is central, it's more a coming of age story, one that will stay with you long after you close the book. #DearEmmieBlue #NetGalley

Charming. That is the best word to describe this book. From the characters, to the setting, to the story, everything is just charming. I enjoyed seeing Emmie gain confidence as the story went on and learn to fight for what she really wanted instead of what others told her she wanted. Even though I got a little mad at a certain character at times, they were still all there for Emmie and truly loved each other.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a heartwarming story of friendship.

Dear Emmie Blue was one of the books I was most looking forward to reading this summer. Unfortunately, I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed. The premise of the story was so sweet and I was really curious to see the journey that Emmie was going to go on. There were some incredibly heartwarming and charming moments (those mix CDs), but I just felt like something was missing. It didn't make me *feel* as much as I was hoping. That said, I know many people have absolutely loved this one and I think it will be a summer favorite for many!

3.5/5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Everything is changing. Except for me.”

Beautiful! Absolutely breathtaking! Our hearts are bursting, and we can’t stop thinking about the wonderful reading experience afforded to us by Lia Louis. We weren’t sure what to expect from Dear Emmie Blue, but whatever those expectations were, this incredibly emotional, witty and sentimental story of life, love and relationships exceeded them all! An absolute 5 star favourite for 2020!

If you’re in need of a tender-hearted journey that hits every emotion, be it laughing, crying, swooning or simply filling your heart with engaging characters, we urge you to pick up this book and fall completely in love with every aspect of the exquisite romantic journey, just as we did. One thing; – Expect the unexpected and devour the surprises along the way! Dear Emmie Blue made us forget everything around us while we lost ourselves in this charming and beautifully woven story.

“Where you at, Emmie Blue?”

This isn’t merely a love story, it’s so much more. An aching story of unrequited love, of friendships, hurt, life experiences and the ways in which they mould us. Emmie Blue’s story was like opening a present with every flip of the page –eager for more and loving every surprise the author delivered. Oh, our hearts!!! They were broken, fulfilled, and overflowing in so many ways!

‘I knew I loved him; had always loved him. And there was no way I could tell him.’

Emmeline (Emmie) Blue is now thirty years old and reflecting on her life, especially now her best friend Lucas Moreau has dropped the bombshell that he is getting married and wants Emmie to be his best woman. The problem being, Emmie has been in love with Lucas for the last six years of their fourteen-year friendship. It’s a friendship that began when 16-year-old Emmie set a balloon off into the sky in England, to be discovered by 16-year-old Lucas on a beach in Boulogne-sur-Mes near his hometown of Le Touquet, France. It was the beginning of a friendship that would endure the years, surviving hope and heartache, tragedy and triumphs.

‘…it happened. It was real. The man I love told me he wanted to spend forever with someone else and wanted me to be there, right next to him, in the spotlight, as he told the world.’

Emmie, Lucas and Lucas’s older brother, Eliot were the three musketeers living and loving one another’s company until a tragic event and an act of betrayal at nineteen would see Emmie ostracise Eliot and further forge her deep friendship with Lucas. It was a friendship that would see them through many relationships, many heartbreaks and lead to Emmie’s feelings being intensified, while Lucas gave his heart to his fiancé Marie. But….there are many underlying factors to experience here!

‘Even though I know it wasn’t, the sky is always blue, the sun always shining, in those memories.’

Now, we could go into more detail but honestly, it would ruin it. To allude to anything further would impede on your enjoyment of the story. Trust us on this. We will say that the cast of characters will own your heart! Emmie’s workmates and best friends Rosie and Fox will have you giggling like crazy. The gregarious, outspoken Rosie was a delight! The setting of the seaside town in England and France added a vivid ambience to the story, with the secondary characters adding layers to this well-crafted and unforgettable experience.

“I’m made of strong stuff,” I say, and Lucas says, “Always have been.”

We must make mention of the formatting in the way the text messages were delivered. It was the best formatting of this aspect we’ve ever seen. The messages were easy to read and made you feel as though you were participating in reading the exchanges between the characters.

There isn’t anything we didn’t love about this story! Every thread woven felt magical and beautiful, the way it played out was perfection! Perfection! The whole book from start to finish enthralled us and captivated us. One for the 2020 favourite list, that’s for sure! Do not miss Dear Emmie Blue! We can’t wait to discuss it with you!

Releasing 14th July – ARC provide by Atria Books for an honest review.

At first, it was difficult for me to get into this book. I was irritated by how obsessed Emmie was with Lucas. I was not interested in their romance at all. This story has serious My Best Friend's Wedding vibes and I thought it was going to be predictable. However, there's more to Dear Emmie Blue than that. Emmie's had a rough life. She's never known her father and her mother is never there or just disinterested, she's stuck in a job she doesn't want, and she is still living with trauma from her school days. These extra plot points is what kept me interested and helped me sympathize more with Emmie beyond the I'm-hopelessly-in-love-with-my-best-friend storyline. It also helped me understand why she loved Lucas a bit more as I understood her situation better. (It definitely picks up after Eliot, Lucas' brother, is introduced too.)

Dear Emmie Blue makes you wonder about what you'd do to find happiness, family, and love and what exactly those things really are.

This book is a perfect pick for fans of serendipitous romances! But I think it's enjoyable for even readers like me who want a little bit more than just your an average love story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher (Atria/Emily Bestler books) for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. TW: Sexual assault.

This is a sweet story of a sixteen year old who sends a balloon with her email into the sky. It’s found by a boy in France, and they start a friendship. Fourteen years later, she is still pining over Louis, waiting for him to love her back.

This is a sweet and heartbreaking story, all at the same time, You will fall in love with Emmie.

Oh this book was wonderful, heartwarming and full of so much emotion! I was very invested in these characters! I loved Emmie and felt her pain in so many ways. I just wanted to reach in and hug her. Louis weaves a beautiful story and everyone needs to read this! I would not change a single thing about this book except I seriously needed an epilogue for reasons I can’t say because I don’t want to spoil anything!

Just Call it Kismet! Dear Emmie Blue Hits all the Right Notes and gives you “ALL THE FEELS!

At Sixteen, Emmie Blue feels lost and alone. When she releases a balloon into the sky with a note inside containing her name and email address, she never imagines that it will find its way to Lucas over 1,000 miles away. Lucas is the same age and has the same birthday as Emmie.
From that moment on a friendship is born and every birthday thereafter for the next 14 years is spent together. Emmie is sure that Lucas is the one for her and that he’s going to propose. Instead, he asks her to be his “Best Woman.”

Emmie has never had it easy and now, she must put on a brave face and be there for her bestie.

What’s in store for Ms. Emmie Blue? Awh, Schucks! Trials, tribulations and a whole lotta hope. Emma’s future is written in the stars. Always has been, she just has to Believe!

A beautifully, sweet, poignant novel that stole my heart and distracted me from everything going on in the world exactly when I needed it most. There is something inherently special about the writing in this book that made me feel hopeful and happy and made me shed a few tears. I adored the characters in “Dear Emmie Blue” and am so glad that I ended up grabbing this novel when I had the chance.

I am not normally one to compare one book to another, but in some way, this book reminded me of “Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine” - which is one of my favorite books of all time. The character development in both is absolutely brilliant, Emmie and Eleanor both struggle with difficult pasts, both books are extremely heartfelt and make you feel for the characters with every fiber of your being. In short, if you loved “Eleanor” and haven’t read “Dear Emmie Blue” - this is a must read. In addition, if you are looking for a sweet, heart-warming read that will sweep you away and give you the “ALL THE FEELS” - this is it!

A Huge Thank You to Imani Seymour and Ariele Friedman at Atria Books, NetGalley and Lia Louis for the arc.

Published on Goodreads on 7.5.20.

This is such a sweet book and I read this in just two quick sittings! I loved the story of Emmie, Lucas, and his brother Eliot. I was so invested in Emmie's story and heartbroken for her, rooted for her, and cheered for her success. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to her and really would love a sequel to this one! Thank you for my advanced copy!

I absolutely loved this book! I started it thinking I would read a few chapters before bed and ended up reading until I finished in the wee hours of the morning. I honestly couldn't stop. The writing was amazing and was so heartfelt and witty. Dear Emmie Blue fell more into the women's fiction genre for me, but there was also a healthy amount of romance and humor too.

I experienced so many emotions while reading this book. I laughed. I cried. I swooned. I laughed some more. I was invested in Emmie's story right away and she was such a relatable heroine. I felt her pain deep in my chest, but I also celebrated her victories as if they were my own. The story unfolded in such a beautiful and thoughtful way. The flashbacks were perfectly placed and it was like each piece of a puzzle slotting into position. I did figure a few things out before Emmie, but that made the story even sweeter and powerful. Yes, this book is a love story, but it's mainly about Emmie's journey to love herself. It's about Emmie coming into her own and being comfortable in her own skin. It's about acceptance and change and emerging stronger on the other side.

Emmie's friendships were the heart of the story. Her friendship with Lucas and his brother Eliot came at such a critical time that it irrevocably changed her (and them). It saved her in many ways, but it also came to hold her back. Lia Louis showcased all the shades and layers of friendship in such a raw and honest way. All the sacrifices and lengths we go to to maintain these bonds. Emmie's friendship with Rosie and Fox was a highlight of the book and they added just the right amount of comic relief when it was needed most. I laughed out loud almost every time Rosie was on the page. My heart was so full as I finished the last page and that epilogue couldn't have been more perfect.

Dear Emmie Blue was enjoyable and captivating from start to finish. I can't recommend this uplifting novel enough!

CW: sexual assault

*I voluntarily read an advance review copy of this book*