A sweet tale of love, friendship, family, loss, and so much more. When Holly receives her yearly anonymous letter from another lonely soul she feels the need to connect with its’ author. The connection between them brings her closer to the truths and feelings she has always ran from. Is she brave enough to trust friendship and maybe find love? Read this book and you will find yourself rooting for Holly to believe in herself and find love.

This was such a beautiful, heartwarming and heartbreaking book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this story.
It was touching and powerful. The story focuses on Holly, who is still drowning in grief and guilt over a car accident that happened on the way home for Christmas three years before.
Holly is part of a group that sends anonymous letters to others also grieving. The person who sends Holly a letter leaves a huge impact on her and Holly decides to try to find the person and in that she discovers more about herself and trying to dig herself out of her own grief.
It was much more sad and deep than I expected but in a good way. It was a great story to read before the holidays and reexamine what is important in life and how short and precious it is.

Love, Holly by Emily Stone is an exceptional story about how reaching out to offer comfort can bring you love in a number of ways.

Holly finds herself alone during the Holidays after a car accident tore her family apart three years prior. She finds solace in writing an annual anonymous letter to someone, she receives a letter in return. This year is different though, she recognizes the place mentioned in the letter she received and can identify with the writer and decides to find them. The person she finds is an older woman named Emma. She is determined to help Emma but discovers that she has already met Emma’s grandson before and their meeting left quite the impression! Is all of this fate? Can she help someone else when she is still in so much pain? Can she find happiness and love? Emma and Holly develop a friendship that helps them both heal and mend their broken hearts.

Emily Stone writes some of the best Holiday stories. They are love stories but are also so much more. They are about forgiveness, family, love and overcoming grief. This one is no exception. It has all of the feelings that i have grown to expect and love about her books. They are the perfect Holiday read and I am anxious to see where the characters paths lead them. I have cried over every one of her books and this one was no exception!!

4.5 ⭐️

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley- thank you.

Phew, this book. I thought it was a Christmas story and a romance, but it wasn't either. It was deep, heartbreaking, and beautiful. It was a story of coming to terms with your past and healing and looking towards the future. It's a great read, though it was hard to read at times.

I love all of Emily Stone’s books and this one was no exception! She always finds the perfect balance of heartfelt and emotional and I devour them. I loved the characters in this story, too!

Arc received from the publisher; all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Stone's writing is touching, capturing the complexities of family relationships, the power of forgiveness, and the enduring spirit of the time of year that we all know can be hard. "Love, Holly" is a story that reminds us of the importance of family, the strength of forgiveness, and the magic of the holiday season. It is a heartwarming tale that will leave readers with hope and a renewed appreciation for the love surrounding them.

Tropes:
-Second Chances
-Only one Bed
-Dual POV
-Fate

if you are looking for a heartwarming and christmasish novel that will stay with you long after you finish reading, I highly recommend Love, Holly by Emily Stone.

What a beautiful and emotional story. Holly and her sister are very close until a tragic accident breaks their close bond. And accident it was and yet both her sister and mother spewed such hatred and venom at Holly that she started questioning herself, her worth and trying to figure out to navigate the world without her family that she no longer feels welcome in or even a part of. Thankfully her dear and loving friend is there for her and has signed her up for for a service that is part pen pal, part writing exercise to help her exorcise her demons. It is supposed to be anonymous. When she receives her letter she recognizes some things and makes it her mission to help the writer/sender. She embarks on a journey to help someone else and yet winds up changing her own life for the better as well. It’s a sweet, loving, sad, romantic, story that had me from chapter one wanting all the best for Holly.

This was an extremely emotional read. If you're looking for happy holiday feels, this is not it. If you want a good cry, read immediately.

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy.

Oh my, I cried throughout this one so badly that I had to cover my head with my scarf so the random man next to me on my plane wouldn’t think I was crazy. Emily Stone knows how to write to mess up your emotions. This was a beautiful story that covered so many topics. The relationship between Holly and Emma was so lovely and real. If you haven’t read Stone’s Always, in December I highly recommend it!

Emily Stone is quickly becoming the queen of tear jerkers at Christmastime. Her books are full of major emotion and heart. Holly has been estranged from her family since a terrible accident. She is incredibly lonely and becomes a pen pal in a lonely hearts holiday letter writing club. She matches up with Emma and soon becomes determined to reunite Emma with her estranged grandson. This is a lovely story full of emotion. I’m not sure if there is an actual letter writing club like this but I hope there is!

Thank you #randomhouse and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange kfor an honest review.

Touching, tragic & hopeful holiday read.

Holly hasn't been in touch with her sister for 3 years and has been writing letters through the "Dear Stranger" program. Each year around Christmas she writes a letter to a stranger and receives one in return.

This year, she recognizes a place the writer mentions in her letter that Holly is familiar with and although the letters are supposed to be anonymous, this writer signed her name. Holly decides in her loneliness and grief to go back to the cafe in search of the woman who wrote the letter.

There's heartache, romance, holiday scenes, family strain, new friends, time jumps/reminiscent thoughts & tears!

I enjoyed this novel a bit more than One Last Gift by Emily. I thought it was heartfelt. It wasn’t too overly “holiday”, so it would be a great read for anytime of the year. I liked how the romance wasn’t the main focus of the book, but that their own journeys of forgiveness were.

I love love love love Emily Stone! Emily is definitely one of my favorite romance authors. Her books are an annual tradition for the Holidays (or any season really). Emily’s books have a way of tugging on all of the heartstrings. Be forewarned, this will emotionally destroy you…in all the best ways.

While Holly and her sister are traveling to meet their parents for Christmas, they stop to get coffee at a coffee shop. Holly then experiences an adorable meet-cute with Jack and takes a chance on grabbing his phone number. Upon leaving the coffee shop Holly and her sister get into a car accident right after that eventually causes her family to break apart. Ever since then Holly has been writing letters in a ‘Dear Stranger’ program to bring lonely strangers companionship. Until Holly reads one letter that connects her to an elderly woman who she ends up tracking down.

Love, Holly touches on tragedy, grief, and loneliness. Of course Emily adds some heartwarming moments as the characters embark on a journey toward forgiveness and second chances. Although I loved the romance, I’d say what truly made me happy was the bond between Emma and Holly.

trigger warnings: cancer, death, miscarriage

Love, Holly by Emily Stone

The writing is well done, the storytelling first-rate, the pacing perfection, and the overall vibes ideal to curl up under a blanket with. There is heartache and longing, fulfillment and charm. I have never enjoyed crying more than I did reading this book.

The characters, you guys, the characters. Each one expertly crafted. I’m in love. Jack? Are you kidding me?? Was there ever a more perfect book boyfriend? Holly is endearing and sweet with the most amazing character arc. Her growth is chef’s kiss.

I’m sorry this turned out less of a review and more of me just gushing but these are the only words I have to describe this book. This was my first time reading Emily Stone and I can’t wait to devour more.

Love Holly is Emily Stone at her best! From the very first page I was pulled in to Holly’s story and in true Emily Stone style, it pulled at my heart strings.

After an accident a few years prior on Christmas Eve Holly no longer spends Christmas with her family. After joining a Dear Stranger anonymous letter group to deal with grief Holly feels a pull to figure out who one of the letters is from.

Love Holly is not your average Christmas book, but instead a deeply emotional book about grief and fate. Emily Stone captures the essence of the Christmas spirit and makes you cry from the beginning. I’ve read and loved all of Emily Stone’s books and I look forward to reading what she writes next!

If you’re looking for something more emotional this Christmas, pick up Love Holly.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

This was a charming, classic Emily Stone novel. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. While I don't think it quite lived up to the success of her first book, Always in December, this was a close runner up. I will always pick up an Emily Stone novel - she manages to write about deep sorrow and massive joy without getting cliched.

Emily Stone doesn't write lighthearted Christmas Tales. Her novels are about the loneliness and heartbreak people that can surround people during the holidays. And, as always, there is the threads of fate that help bring hope back into their lives.

Holly hasn't spent time with her family in three years after a car accident tore them apart. As part of a writing club she sends letters to other lonely people at Christmas but when she receives one herself she recognizes the place where her letter came from, and how easily she could find the author. Holly sets out to find Emma, and in a moment of serendipity, perhaps find Jack, the handsome stranger she met at the cafe in town three years earlier.

While I enjoyed uncovering the threads binding these three together I felt like Holly and Jack's self-imposed isolation from their families dragged on too long. I found myself skimming parts of it because I was losing patience with the three of them.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book so much! I've enjoyed Emily Stone's past books and this one was just as good.

Holly is estranged from her family when she receives a letter from a stranger named Emma. On a whim she decides to find Emma, which launches her in to unexpected places. I think this is one book that the less you know going in to it, the better.

I loved all the characters, even if I felt so frustrated by some of their choices. The build- up of suspense was great, and I loved the way the story unfolded.

Emily Stone has such a lovely way of writing, and I especially loved her descriptions of locations in this one. I could picture the coffee shop, and Emma's house, and Venice so vividly.

The depictions of family and the ways that miscommunications and assumptions can hurt people was very real and authentic. I could understand everyone's motivations and why they thought it was the right thing, and I know how easily that happens in families.

I would recommend this to anyone who wants a feel-good holiday read. It feels warm and cozy and it's impossible not to fall in love with all of the characters.

Emily Stone will be an auto-read for me and I cannot wait to see what's next!

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

While I wouldn’t necessarily call this a Christmas story, it is a very emotional tale that does eventually tie back to Christmas. I am a sucker for grumpy older people in stories and Emma was no exception. The romance was just meh for me. This was more about the family relationships and friendships.