What a joy this was to read! Your heart breaks for Emmy while you simultaneously cheer her on as she tries to find the love she feels is missing from her life. The cast of characters in her life are rich and engaging (except her Mom because, well, she's the worst) and Rosie needs her own story! The story has heart and depth and is about what can happen in our lives when we take a chance and allow ourselves to be open and vulnerable to others, something I'm always in need of a reminder of. You'll root for Emmie, want to give her a giant hug and sometimes (very kindly) want to shout at her to open her eyes but that's the sign of a great book, when characters are so real they almost become friends.

Thank you Atria Books for an ARC. The story is a bit My Best Friend’s Wedding but also deals with the trauma of sexual assault and absent parenting. Some very special characters including Emmie’s work colleagues and Elliot.

Three and a half stars for Dear Emmie Blue, which is a pretty straightforward contemporary romance with likable characters and a satisfying (if obvious) resolution. I read this a week ago, and I did have to review the plot to jog my memory, so this isn’t a book that will stick with you long after you’ve finished it. But, it was a lovely read on a warm summer day, and I’ll pass it along as a recommendation to my friends. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Dear Emmie Blue was a super cute first love story that starts with a ballon and secret.

Emmie and Lucas meet at 16 when she releases a balloon with a message ... and hundreds of miles away, Lucas finds it. BFFs forever... right? But Emmie finds herself in love with Lucas and desperate for him to love her back. He knows her deepest darkest secret, and they share everything - It only makes sense right?

This story was heartwarming and adorable... a tad bit frustrating, but a fun exploration about finding out who you are what you really want and that nothing in life, ever really goes as you think it will. And that just might be a good thing.

Oh my goodness! This book gave me all the feels. Grab a box of tissues before you start this one. I hope this gets adapted into a movie or series one day. I think audiences would love it!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC of Dear Emmie Blue in exchange for my honest review.

That. Was. Amazing.

I really really love Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis, and have added it to my favorites list! So much heart and hope, mixed in with some mixed signals and misunderstandings. There were numerous little twists and, even though I anticipated many of them, it only made me more excited to see them play out. The characters are relatable and vulnerable, and you'll be rooting for them the whole way.

Dear Emmie Blue is a new favorite - serendipity, loss, misunderstandings, and so much love. This story will break you into a million gorgeous pieces and still leave you smiling through your tears!

I heard so many good things about this book, but I just could not connect with it. The main character has so many bad things that have happened to her in her life that continue to cause problems. Unfortunately, this took half the book to get through and by that point all I felt for her was bad that there wasn't someone in her life that would help fix or cope with these problems. Overall, I think this book was just too realistic for my liking.

Dear Emmie Blue was super-cute. The premise is that Emmie experiences something tragic in her high-school years and then sends out a message to the universe attached to a balloon. Lucas finds the balloon and contacts Emmie and they begin a life-long friendship. Now, Lucas is getting married (to someone else!) and Emmie and Lucas must come to terms with what their relationship means.

I really enjoyed this book. It had much more depth to all the characters than I was expecting for a chick lit novel and didn't follow the exact pattern that I was expecting. The premise was really interesting too. Read this if you're looking for a fun new book to read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this ebook!

DEAR EMMIE BLUE • LIA LOUIS • ⭐️(DNF)

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria books for my digital copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Full Disclosure: I decided not to finish this book at the 30% mark.

Synopsis: At sixteen, Emmie Blue released a red balloon into the sky. Weeks later, Lucas Moreau discovered the balloon and immediately emailed the attached addressed, sparking a lifelong friendship between the two teens. Now, fourteen years later, Emmie is hiding the fact that she’s desperately in love with the now-engaged Lucas. She thought her and Lucas were meant to be, but now she is not so sure. Is there such thing as meant to be? Or is it true when they say that life is what happens when you are busy making other plans?

Oh Emmie Blue, how I wanted to love you. I had heard that fans of "Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine" would love this book. I was even in the mood for a sweet romance when I first picked this book up. Yet sadly, I could not get into this book. I tried off and on for over a month, but I finally decided to throw in the towel. This book is just not for me.

It seemed that the author tried a bit too hard to paint Emmie as a sympathetic character. A strained relationship with her mother, an absentee father who was kept a secret from her, a trauma during her college years, a dead-end career, a failed past relationship that left her living as a lodger to an old lady she barely knows, and of course the fact that she is secretly in love with her best friend who is now getting married to another woman...All of this made for a messy plot line that robbed me of any sympathy for Emmie.

On top of this, I just felt bored. The story felt predictable, which is not always a bad thing, but when the characters are lukewarm and the plot feels messy, it makes it hard to continue on with the book. Besides, either Emmie is REAL good at hiding her feelings (which, why would she hide her feelings in the first place if she 1. considers this guy to be her best friend, and 2. loves him and wants to be with him) or Lucas is just an ass.

I will say though that I have heard that the ending of this book is adorable, and amply made up for any predictability or a slow beginning. The overwhelming positivity surrounding this book would also indicate that I am the black sheep here. Suffice to say, I will not be dissuading people from reading this one. While it did not work for me, it seems to be well-loved by many others!

A beautiful story about life and love. A great lesson in perseverance and to keep reaching for the stars and chasing your dreams no matter what life throws at you.

I thoroughly enjoyed this warm, wistful book about a woman coming into her own, and right now I especially appreciated the armchair travel angle of vicariously visiting France and England, and the sweet story line of two strangers becoming friends with a little help from fate and with the power of the written word in the form of old-fashioned letters.

At the very beginning of the book, it’s 14 years after a balloon launch brought Emmie and Lucas together as pen pals. Emmie thinks she knows what she wants from her life, and from Lucas, until he shares unexpected and life-altering news. And Emmie is forced to reevaluate everything she thought she wanted from life—both from Lucas, and from her disappointing parents as well.

For any reader who enjoys books about independence and overcoming obstacles, and a book that is ultimately happy even though the characters suffer hard things, this is a great pick.
[00:51:48]

COURTNEY: I love that, especially you were talking about the power of letter writing and that’s something I wrote about a while ago of like the lost art [LAUGHS] of that, of receiving pen pal letters in the mail. And so I’d love to see how that relationship started based off the balloon launch that you mentioned, by how you got to that point and kinda where not sure where it went wrong, why Lucas doesn’t reciprocate those feelings towards Emmie. So I think that would be really good.

Something happened to Emmie when she is 16 and she is ostracized because of it, feeling lonely she lets go of a red balloon with her email. Across the channel in France Luc finds the balloon and starts what becomes the most important friendship in Emmie's life. This book at times had me sad, angry and happy. I struggled in the beginning because I found her character to be pretty mopey and the story was sad so I wasn't sure how much I was going to like it. About half way thru the book I got hooked and had to finish it right away! I started listening on audio but switched to the book so I could finish ASAP. I love where this story went and the growth of Emmie. I absolutely loved the secondary characters of Fox and Rosie and their story was great! If you are looking for a sweet read I recommend this one just be warned that it is sad at times. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for my advanced copies of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book hit me way harder than I was thinking it would! I wasn't sure what to expect going into it but I ended up falling in love with the characters and the story. It's a slower paced more character driven book but that worked for this story. I immediately connected with Emmie Blue and loved her! I laughed and I cried so it was a 5 star read for me!

Dear Lia Louis,
I love your book.
Love,
Amy

"Maybe home isn't a place. It's a feeling. Of being looked after and understood. Of being loved."
Lia Louis, Dear Emmie Blue

I am a firm believer that books find readers. Whatever the mode of transportation is....they make it into the right person's hands, at the right time. Dear Emmie Blue was a perfect example of that for me as a reader.

2020 has been such a piss poor excuse of a year, I need all the joy I can find. Emmie Blue, you brought me so much joy. There are two movies that come to mind that I watch over and over because I love the way they make me feel. One Day and Love, Rosie. Dear Emmie was a combination of those movies for me. Just the most lovely, quirky characters that wormed their way into my heart.

This is a romance....but not steamy. A story about family...The takeaway for me is that sometimes you have to really look to see what you have been looking for. Spoiler, sometimes, it is right in front of your face!

I think this will be one of the most underrated books of 2020. I am going to make it my personal mission to tell everyone I can about this lovely little book.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Dear Emmie Blue tells the story of Emmie Blue, who let go of a balloon 🎈 with a secret in it and across the sea, a boy picked it up. They became best friends and the story starts when they are turning 30. A lot has happened to Emmie Blue, you’ll feel invested and feel her pain from chapter 1. But we do see Emmie Blue get her happy ending...and IT IS SO GOOD!!! This book gave me all the feels!

What I loved ❤️: It was low steam ❤️ I don’t want to tell you any spoilers, so I’m just going to say that the main couple is awesome and he is totally the sweetest book boyfriend ever ❤️ The mix CDs with the clues ❤️ The ending...swoon!

What I liked 👍🏼: Emmie had a crappy life but she still found the positive in people and in life itself. 👍🏼 Her friends were pretty great. Fox, Rosie, Lucas, Eliot, Louise even Marie! 👍🏼 The relationship she forms with Louise. 👍🏼 She finally believed the fact that she was “made of strong stuff” 💪🏼

What I didn’t like 👎🏼: The only thing i didn’t like was that I wish Rosie’s language was a bit cleaner. She is a bit naughty for me 🙈🙉

💎: “Sometimes we need to be face-to-face with there things before we realize it’s something we don’t eat.”
“It was a mistake... But that doesn’t mean you should be defined by that mistake your whole life, Emmie”

Dear Emmie Blue was the breath of fresh air romance novel that I needed this summer. Emmie is one of those fictional characters who you just want it to work out for and the book takes your emotions on quite the journey. It is a lovely story, but it is not all fluff, with really great side characters. I would love another novel set in this world featuring Rosie and Fox (ala Jasmine Guillory).

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the electronic advanced readers copy.

Trigger Warnings: Sexual assault, PTSD

Emmie Blue has my whole heart. I love her so much and I just wanted to wrap her up in hugs the whole time I read this book.

Emmie is a little bit lost and directionless and kind of clinging by a thread to this friendship that she's idealized in her head. It made me sad to see how much of herself she puts out there for this friendship and how little Lucas gives back. He is a bit better at the end but... it doesn't forgive to me how selfish he is throughout. She loves him and he definitely takes her for granted a lot.

While Emmie does end up with the love I want for her, this isn't really about her finding love. It's about her finding that she is loved outside of a romantic relationship and she does have a family and a direction. I loved watching her with Rosie and Fox, they all just such a weird relationship, but they're always there for Emmie, even when she's hiding and being a mess. I loved the relationship she builds with Louise. She has all these people around her that are ready to love her, if only she'd open herself up to it. I was so proud of herself at the end when she really takes the reigns of her life and starts going for it. I love her so much and I loved this book a ton.

🎈Dear Emmie Blue🎈
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Background: “In this charming and poignant novel, teenager Emmie Blue releases a balloon with her email address and a big secret into the sky, only to fall head-over-heels for the boy who finds it; now, fourteen years later, the one thing Emmie has been counting on is gone for good, and everything she planned is up in the air.”
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Why I loved it: Dear Emmie Blue, I did love you. This is my first novel by Lia Louis and it wont be my last. Her way with words had my heart aching, my stomach in my throat and at some point with a couple tears. I haven’t read a book like this in a very long time. I loved the main character Emmie despite all her flaws. I was with Rosie rooting her on. And I’m sure there are #teamluke and #teameliot fans out there. I am definitely a #teameliot girl. I have some feelings on the ending between Luke and Emmie but don’t want to spoil anything! This is a MUST read!
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Rating: 5/5⭐️
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Thank you to @atria for sending me this #arc in an exchange for an honest review.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

I am so glad the publisher reached out to me, asking if I wanted to read this. This book was not on my radar prior to that but it definitely hit that sweet spot and was the perfect book to pick up and get lost in, especially in light of all that we have been going through lately in life. And let me just say, I haven't read either of the two books this one is being comped two, though I am definitely adding them to my list if they are anything like this one!

Have you ever read a book where you just want things to work out for the main character so much? That's Emmie. I adored her and all her quirkiness. And while there might have been a few instances where I didn't necessarily agree with all her decisions, I still found myself routing for her and my heart hurting for her when things didn't go her way.

This book really gets at the heart of how miscommunication can really impact things. It's got such endearing characters that you won't be forgetting, both young and older, and many little nuggets of wisdom. You may think you know where this book is heading, but it has a few twists that actually took me by surprise. And while I thought it was going to be a lighthearted, breezy read, it actually was more emotional than I was expecting.

I fully enjoyed my time with Emmie Blue and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys emotional, heartwarming reads. And I will certainly be keeping an eye out for what Lia Louis writes next...I loved her writing!

Thank you Netgalley for the eARC of Dear Emmie Blue!
Let me first start off and say that I LOVED this book! It was refreshing and a funny (although very sad and depressing at times, weird that it could be both.) The writing was delightful and I really enjoyed it.
Emmie has not had an easy life. She has a mother that has all but abandoned her and a father that she never knewn. While in high school something terrible happens to Emmie by a person that should be most trusted. Emmie's life really starts to spiral downward from there. She releases a balloon and a note with her email and her secret into the sky. Her balloon is found by Lucas and their friendship is fast and long lasting.
Emmie's life is shattered when Luke tells her he's getting married, but she is sure that their chance meeting, their perfect friendship, it must mean so much more for them.
This book is definitely a book of growth and discovery. The character development in this one is so good,
It was great. I wavered between 4 and 5 stars and I went with 4 and here is why; I just wanted more at the end. A little more in the epilogue would have made me happy. We waited soooo long for Emmie in this story and I just wanted a but more in the end. Overall, it was great, I highly recommend this one!