A heart warming, cozy holiday romance. Holly participates in a Dear Stranger program where she writes to anonymous pen pals to help cope with her grief during the holidays. When she feels a connection to one of the writers, she sets off to find her. What she discovers is more than she ever imagined. All the characters are bound by grief, loneliness and finding forgiveness, in which they could only do with the help of each other. Cant wait to read more books by Emily Stone during the Holiday season!

Love, Holly by Emily Stone. Pub Date: September 23, 2023. Rating: 4 stars. In this novel, the reader is taken on a journey of one woman's life following a tragic car accident involving herself and her sister. It was around Christmas when this happened and since then, she has not spoken to her sister due to feelings of guilt, responsibility and her sister's blatant disregard to wanting to maintain a relationship. The book takes the woman on a journey of self discovery through an unlikely acquaintance with an older woman. Through this connection she finds love, forgiveness, and grace. I absolutely adored this novel. Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhousepublishinggroup for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This was a Hallmark movie in book form (which is even better in my opinion). I loved the holiday vibes. I loved the letters that were exchanged and thought it made it even more magical. I also love the serendipity aspect as that’s always my favorite when it comes to holiday romance.

I enjoyed this book. It really went into the idea of found family lost family, and learning to love and live again. I thought this was going to be a very light and fluffy holiday romance, but it really surprised me and it touched on grief in a way that seemed extremely relatable. I loved all the side characters. I love the main characters and I especially loved Emma.

The author skillfully builds tension, using witty dialogue and charming interactions to highlight the chemistry between the protagonists. As they navigate their personal struggles—be it career aspirations, family expectations, or past heartbreaks—their journey feels authentic and relatable.

"Love, Holly" by Emily Stone is a beautifully crafted holiday romance that delves into themes of love, loss, and the healing power of human connection. Holly, the protagonist, joins a holiday letter-writing club after a tragic accident leaves her family fractured. When she receives a deeply moving letter from an elderly woman named Emma, Holly embarks on a journey to reunite Emma with her estranged grandson, Jack. This mission not only reignites an old spark between Holly and Jack but also offers Holly a path toward mending her own broken relationships.

Stone's writing is emotionally rich and engaging, making the reader feel deeply connected to the characters' journeys. The story balances heartwarming moments with the exploration of complex family dynamics, resulting in a novel that is both touching and thought-provoking. While the romance is at times predictable, the overall narrative offers a satisfying and uplifting holiday read, perfect for those who enjoy stories about the transformative power of love and forgiveness.

As always, Emily Stone brings heartwarming, emotional reads to the holiday season. She just lovesssss to make me cry??

"Love, Holly" by Emily Stone is an emotional rollercoaster that beautifully captures the essence of loss, hope, and the power of human connection. Holly, still reeling from a tragic car accident that estranged her from her sister, channels her grief into a lonely-hearts holiday letter-writing club. The letters, meant to be anonymous and therapeutic, take a surprising turn when Holly receives a deeply moving letter from Emma, prompting her to embark on a heartfelt mission. Holly's quest to reunite Emma with her estranged grandson, Jack, becomes a journey of healing and redemption, not just for Emma but for herself as well.

The relationship between Holly and Emma is a cornerstone of the novel, evolving from anonymous pen pals to deep confidants. Holly’s determination to help Emma reconnect with Jack mirrors her own longing to mend her fractured family. Their bond is touching and sincere, showcasing the profound impact of empathy and understanding. Parallel to this is Holly and Jack's relationship, which transitions from a chance encounter to a meaningful connection. Their chemistry is palpable, and their character development is rich, with Holly's determination to mend broken ties and Jack's struggle to reconcile with his past adding depth to their interactions. "Love, Holly" is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of love and family, leaving a lasting impression with its heartfelt exploration of relationships and forgiveness.

While this one was a bit heavier of a holiday read, I really enjoyed the storyline! Love, Holly was all about fate, second chances, and learning to forgive not only others but also yourself. I loved the idea of the Dear Stranger letters and think it's a fantastic idea. I can't imagine being in Holly or Emma's shoes and going through everything they did. Definitely check out this author if you haven't already.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Emily Stone ripped my heart out at the start of this book...which was expected, but maybe not so soon. Without giving too much away, I loved the connections between the 3 main characters, which was slowly revealed throughout the book. While I felt the family turmoil was a bit drastic, it is believable and works well in this story.

Love, Holly by Emily Stone

Love, Holly is not what I would consider to be a light, holiday read like the cover would lead you to believe. This book tackles a lot of sad, somber topics surrounding trauma and loss. It's also not Christmassy at all. I enjoyed it, but think a trigger warning is necessary because I can easily see this book taking someone unawares. It's an emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs. I loved seeing how the lives of these characters are intertwined. The romance is barely there, but sweet. It balanced out the heavier moments nicely. The ending is incredibly bittersweet, and left me feeling many things. Overall, I feel sad. I don't like reading books that make me feel sad, but this was well written and heartwarming in places so I feel conflicted as to who I would recommend this to. I highly recommend not saving this for holiday reading, though! I'm glad I read it in June!

✨ARC Book Review✨

Love, Holly by Emily Stone

On her way to visit family one Christmas, Holly and her pregnant sister, Lily, stop by a cafe where she accidentally meet-cute bumps into a stranger. Unbeknownst to her, this random encounter tethers them together in ways they never could have predicted. After, Holly and her sister get into a life-changing car accident, and her whole world changes in a moment when her sister loses the baby. Now, Holly finds herself spending Christmases alone, writing letters to strangers each year as part of a lonely-hearts holiday letter-writing club. The letter she receives this year, though, inadvertently changes everything.

Another Emily Stone tear-jerker. This one is good for fans of invisible string theory, found family, slow burn romance, and multiple POV.

I think this one is a solid, entertaining tear-jerker rom-com. It didn’t totally blow me away, but it did get my feelers out. I finished it a couple days ago and am still thinking of the characters. My biggest complaint is that the story often seemed to tell rather than show because of the way it jumped around, and some plot points didn’t feel relevant at all (like Holly’s breakup). I thought the time-jumping worked well for the ending, though. I’ll still continue to check out Stone’s books. 💚

Thanks to @randomhouse and @netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

📖: (3.5/5—rounding up on Goodreads) ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Oh my! So dang touching! I love the concept of fate and vulnerability and guilt and TIMING! Absolutely incredible! It did feel a tiny bit long as.m a whole but so worth it.

This was so much more than just a cute little Christmas romance. One thing I love in any book, is the discussion of grief and getting to view how there is truly no wrong way for you to grieve. This was so powerful in getting that point across, and also showing that if you really love someone, don’t give up on them. The entire idea of anonymous Christmas pen pals was already intriguing, but Emily Stone did a great job weaving it into the storyline seamless. Now let’s talk about the romance, it was so perfect. I loved that they had a meet cute that never came to fruition and they had there second chance. All in all, I enjoyed this book, and I’d definitely suggest it for anyone looking for a cozy Christmas read.

Holly was in a car crash that changed her life forever and she's barely living when she gets a Dear Stragner letter in the mail from another anonymous person feeling lonely and dealing with grief. The letter contains enough details for Holly to figure out who the person is and her spontaneous decision to find that person and help them sets off a series of events that will help her find not only friendship, inspiration, and love, but a way back to her family and a happier future.

I felt all of the emotions with this book and loved every second of it. It's a fated romance that comes with a lot of baggage and complicated emotions due to trauma and grief while still being incredibly sweet. Following along with Holly and Jack's stories feels like hearing a real person's tale. There are high and low points and people doing their best to get through them even if they might not always make the best decisions. it results in a highly engaging story that I couldn't put down.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and Dell for the wonderfully emotional read!

I love Emily Stone's writing and she has a great way of sucking the reader in from the beginning. I love the holiday aspect and the letter writing format.

If I can find a book where the character has my name, I like to read them. This book the main character Holly shares my name. Holly's family was ripped apart after something happened. Now she spends the Christmas holiday on her own. Holly, is determined to help her pen pals family not go through what her family has gone though.

When Holly reconnects them, she realizes she has met one of them before, and feelings start to develop.

This was a fun holiday romance.

Love, Holly is a beautiful, poignant book that discusses grief, healing and fate. It also speaks of forgiveness and second chances. The holidays are such a joyous and magical time of year but we forget the people who are alone or are suffering from grief and/or depression. I appreciate how this book shines a light on those topics we don’t normally see depicted in movies/books during the Christmas season.

(Normally I would add a brief summary but don’t want to give too much away from the story.)

Things I Loved
♥️The LETTERS(I love any books with letters) it’s so intimate and gives you an old time feeling
♥️Dialogue of grief and death
♥️Glimpses of Holly and Lily from the past
♥️Found family 🥹
♥️the romance part gave me Serendipity vibes and I absolutely LOVE that movie
♥️Dual POV(however I wish other characters had a brief chapter POV)

Holly and Jack carried W W W. Jack >>> but wow that was sooo good and cute. I love my sisters. Emily stone is such an underground writer!!! All of her stories are punched in the stomach crazy!!

What an emotional journey this read was! A lot sad with a big HEA! It was the perfect read for the holiday season. It's like your favorite holiday rom-com movie in a perfect book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for the advance copy to of this book in exchange for an honest review.