Story about a lonely English girl (Emmie) who lets a balloon go when she is 16. Luke finds the balloon across the English Channel in France, where he is also lonely as he has just moved from England. Many years later, they are still friends and Emmie is hoping for a marriage proposal. What she gets instead is news that Luke is marrying someone else and Emmie is devastated.

Dear Emmie Blue took me on a ride I didn't know I wanted. It was both refreshing and heartbreaking all wrapped up with a neat little bow.

When first diving into this novel I did not expect the plot to go in the direction that it did - but I will say I was very pleasantly surprised. Emmie Blue's relationships were already well established but there were chapters of flashbacks that really helped me understand the context of them better.

(I very much adored the plot twist at the very end, by the way.)

**Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.**

I don't think I should have to force myself to read up to 75% of a book before it starts becoming good, and it seems many of the reviews for this book ask readers to trudge along hoping to get satisfaction out of this story.

A lot of the scenarios in the book didn't make sense to me, or how Emmie thought the way she did. Yes, she matures and eventually finds her own happiness, but the journey, in my opinion, was lackluster.

Maybe I'm just not feeling coming-of-age romance stories right now, but I had to DNF at around 60%.

Dear Emmie Blue chronicles ups & downs in the life of a woman named Emmie. Her best guy friend Lucas, with whom she is secretly in love, tells her he is marrying someone. As the story progresses, she does her best to keep herself together while seeing him plan for the nuptials. Also we get a look at hilarious conversations with her work besties, a glimpse into her relationship with her mom (who happens to be toxic towards Emmie) and flashbacks from a traumatic, humiliating experience while she was growing up. The storyline flips between past and present at times, highlighting the development of her friendship with Lucas. Throughout the story, Emmie goes through a lot of personal development and she develops unexpected friendships with her landlady as well as Lucas’ brother Eliot.

This book made me laugh out loud and sometimes almost brought me to tears, happy and sad. The characters were very relatable and easy for me to become attached to. I highly recommend reading this if you love a good contemporary fiction novel! Can’t wait to see more novels from Lia Louis! I was given an e-galley from Net Galley & Atria/Emily Bestler Books in exchange for an honest review.

A change for the usual thriller type books I read, and a pleasant and awesome change it was! Sometimes a little simplistic and expensive expected, as the book continues, the reader continues to be drawn in, and eventually not want the book to end! This was a real and solid book about love and relationships, and to me, that real ness made it even better!

I received Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis as an ARC from NetGalley. I loved this book! When Emmie was 16 she released a balloon into the air that contained a note with her name, contact email address, and a secret that no one knew. The balloon is found on a beach in France by 16 year old Lucas Moreau. Lucas emails Emmie and they develop a friendship which turns into best friends. Emmie doesn't know who her father is and her mother is very distant so Emmie feels alone in the world. Lucas has the type of family that Emmie always longed for. She & Lucas share the same birthday and celebrate together every year. Then Lucas tells Emmie that he is engaged and she is devastated because she always thought they were destined to be together. The story goes back and forth between present time and Emmie & Lucas's life together since they were 16 so it's like a combo young adult novel and rom com. This book had a great cast of characters who help Emmie figure out exactly what she is meant to do. I would love to read more by this author.

When Emmie Blue is sixteen, something terrible happens to her. She writes her secret down on a balloon and releases it, where it is eventually found by a teenage boy named Lucas. They become pen pals, and then best friends. Years later, Emmie is still friends with Lucas, and totally in love with him. The only problem? He's engaged to someone else. Meanwhile, Emmie is single, broke, estranged from her flaky mother, and the best woman for Lucas's wedding. Not to mention, Lucas's older brother Eliot has suddenly returned from Canada and is giving Emmie strange new feelings.

Dear Emmie Blue is a book about a woman putting herself back together after a tragedy and figuring out what she really wants out of life. Along the way, she finds friendship, love, and purpose. I got swept up in this charming, and heartwarming story, and walked away glad that I had read it.

Dear Emmie Blue was a perfect romantic delight, that offers an escape from this crazy time. Emmie and Lucas meet despite being an ocean apart and embark on a special friendship. But when Lucas is ready to get married to Marie, is Emmie ready to confess her love? Or is something else on the horizon?

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of this novel!

Dear Emmie Blue is a delight. Readers will take a jaunt through all of their feels. It's a story of true friendship, love, and self-acceptance.
Lia Louis weaves a gorgeous narrative with thoughtfully well-developed characters. Angst, elation, hope, loneliness, and forgiveness are all experienced through the eyes of Emmie Blue (not Emmaline).

With her debut book, Lia Louis will capture your heart and ensure herself a spot on your bookshelf for years to come.

Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis

AMAZING! FANTASTIC! HEARTWARMING!

That can't even begin to explain what I feel about the story of Emmie Blue. Wow this book had me from the very beginning and never let go. What an amazing story of friendship and love. I know I won't be able to begin to describe what this book did to me but trust when I say it is definitely a MUST READ. Lia Louis is a talented author and I truly cannot wait to see what else she comes up with next. I can't believe this book even exist. I'm definitely buying it and adding it to my collection.

5/5 amazing Stars

Thank you #NetGalley and #AtriaBooks for this book in exchange for my honest review.

Emmie has just turned 30 and she’s so disappointed – her best friend (and whom she secretly loves) since age 16 has just told her that he’s marrying someone else. Can she tell him the truth and then they live happily ever after?

Emmie Blue is a sweet woman who has worked hard to overcome a traumatic high school event. She’s working at a dead-end job, she lives in a small over-heated room, her mom is distant, and she doesn’t know her Dad. Now that Lucas is engaged, she’s really down on life. She and Lucas met by sheer luck, a balloon and note (detailing that traumatic event) that she released in England was found by Lucas on a beach in France. They share a birthday and have become fast friends over the years along with Lucas’ older brother Eliot.

As the wedding plans commence, Emmie realizes the depths of her loneliness. She finally starts talking to her landlord, reaches out to her mother, and begins to look for her father again. Eliot (Lucas’ brother) has even stepped in to be a strong source of support. I found Emmie to be an endearing character and I rooted for her to find happiness and love. She’s got a few good friends and once she opens her heart, more people learn to love her as well.

Though a bit predictable, I really enjoyed this one and shed a few tears at the end. This is my first read from this author and I would definitely read other books by her.

This was a fun buddy read with Jayme and we both agreed that it finished strong!

Thank you so much NetGalley for the opportunity to read Dear Emmie Blue.
This book wasn’t even on my radar but when I got offered an ARC the premise seemed good so I said why not. And I’m glad I did! This book was so cute, loved the characters and had me staying up late just to have some extra reading time. I highly recommend this book.

4.5 stars. This book is CHARMING! A lovely story of Emmie Blue, who at 16 released a balloon from Britain with her name and email and biggest secret. A week later, Lucas discovered the balloon on a beach in France. Thus begins a 14 year friendship. Lucas is basically all Emmie has, and they share a birthday, which they celebrate together every year.

I hate to just summarize the plot, but basically what Emmie THINKS she knows about life and love might be just that (or even wishful thinking). An engaging, charming story of a young woman who learns to open up and finally live.

I loved this book! This book gave me all the warm fuzzy feelings I enjoy when reading romance AND the story went deeper than the romantic storyline. Emmie Blue was a relatable and likeable character even when she was making the WRONG choices. My heart went out to her so many times and until the very last page I was cheering her on, hoping for a HEA that gave her space to flex her new muscles as a fully realized and strong woman.

Readers who liked Evvie Drake starts again would like this book.

thank you netgalley for this ARC!

I thought this book was really sweet and endearing. The charter development was really well done. The writing flowed nicely too! When Lucas tells Emmie he has a big question to ask, she's sure it is the declaration of love that she's been waiting for. But instead, Lucas drops a bombshell on her, I couldn't put down the book! I usually stay clear of British rom-coms but I really liked this one! There are definitely elements of this being a romantic comedy, it is so much more.

Jayme C (Brunettes like books too!)'s Reviews > Dear Emmie Blue

It was SERENDIPITY! 🎈

It had to be!

How else could you explain how an insecure, slightly awkward sixteen year old girl, can release a balloon 🎈 into the sky, with her big secret and her email address and have it be found by a boy, an ocean away who is the same age, with the same birthday, and the same obsession with Marmite and “Footballers Wives”?

So, Emmie just KNOWS what Lucas is about to propose, on their mutual 30th birthday...it has to be the day that their 14 year friendship, will be defined as something else...

So begins a charming tale of “love redefined” that I am so glad that I was invited to read, by the publisher.

I had to set the book down at the end of Chapter 39, as my eyes blurred with happy tears, even though I guessed what was coming!

And, they blurred with happy tears again, when I read the epilogue, and the
story of Emmie Blue and Balloon Boy, revealed just ONE LAST SURPRISE! 🎈

Thank You to Atria/ Emily Bestler books, NetGalley and Lia Louis for the digital ARC I was provided in exchange for a candid review!

Available July 14, 2020

A special thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When she was sixteen, Emmie Blue released a red balloon attached with her name, email address, and a secret. Having discovered the balloon on a beach in France, Lucas Moreau immediately emailed Emmie, thus sparking a life-changing friendship.

Fourteen years later Emmie has another secret: she is desperately and hopelessly in love with Lucas and as a result is neglecting her life. Emmie has stopped trying to find out who her father is, has given up on trying to salvage any sort of a relationship with her mother, and barely knows the elderly lady that she rents a room from.

When Lucas tells Emmie he has a big question to ask, she's sure it is the declaration of love that she's been waiting for. But instead, Lucas drops a bombshell on her.

What an endearing and lovely book! I'm such a sucker for British rom-coms and although there are definitely elements of this being a romantic comedy, it is so much more.

With a narrative structure that relies on flashbacks—versus alternating perspectives or a past to present format—the story is fully fleshed out and well-paced. Through the multi-layered plot, Emmie experiences growth in all of her relationships. Even the one with herself! There is an underlying darker storyline that seeps through. It is a little unexpected given the cute cover and lighthearted synopsis but it helps propel the narrative.

The characters are complex and layered, yet also full developed. They give the story an emotional depth that took me by surprise. Although there's some cheeky comedic bits, there are some tender and beautiful moments too. For fans of My Best Friend's Wedding, I highly recommend!

Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis was a book I thought I had figured out as I started reading. What I loved is the real story was so much different - and better! The story focuses on Emmie. As a sixteen year old, Emmie wrote a secret in a balloon. This was something she wanted and needed to share with someone. With the message, she included her email address. Weeks later, a boy named Lucas finds the balloon, reaches out, and a special friendship begins. In present day, Lucas is getting married, and Emmie is asked to be his best woman. The thing is, Emmie is in love with Lucas. She has loved how he has cared for her through the years, and she now much figure out how to navigate and share those feelings. Y'all, again, from here, I thought I knew where this story was going. I did not at all. What happens is there is more to Emmie's story, as well as the relationship with Lucas than Emmie realizes. These are important secrets and details that have never been explored or discovered or revealed. What I thought was going to be a "predictable" love story was really the story of a woman truly learning who she and those who loved her really were. As I read this one and realized more and more what this book was, I really was more captivated by it all. It was such a beautiful story, and I adored it. It's one that just made smile, and I was so here for that. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this July 2020 release.

To me a sign of a really great book is when 1/2 way through reading I find myself searching online to see if the author has written any other books - because I can't wait to start another one by them. I found myself searching Lia Louis in this way after falling into this delightful story.

The main character - Emmie Blue lives a lonely life while handling some difficult trauma from being hurt by so many.. But she finds connection with an unlikely friend after sending out a balloon with a message as a teenager. The boy who finds her message responds to her and a lifelong friendship ensues. Emmie finds family, love, friendship as well as betrayal and disappointment in her relationship with Lucas. She also learns to let people in and learn to love.

I really enjoyed the author's writing, the characters she developed, and the story she weaved. A great escape and delightful reading experience.

(I receive an Advanced Readers Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for my honest review of the book)

When she was sixteen, Emmie Blue released a balloon with a note which is discovered over 100 miles away in France. Thus leads to a lifelong friendship between Emmie and Lucas. To Emmie, it feels like she was destined to be with Lucas. When Lucas gets engaged to be married, Emmie begins to realize that you can't leave your life up to fate.

A heartwarming love story about friendship and loyalty, Dear Emmie Blue is one of my surprise favorites of recent months. I devoured the story in a day (thanks to self-isolation) and I couldn't get enough of Emmie Blue. I loved the complicated relationship between Emmie and Lucas, and Emmie's journey of self-discovery during the novel. Honestly, it's the perfect summer read to pick up right now. (Trigger warning: Sexual Assault.)