Oh my goodness, the way I wanted to love this book! It started so strong! A chance encounter in a coffee shop on Christmas Eve. An accident. Three years of regret. A chance encounter shakes things up again.
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I just…if we kept the story focused on family and friendships it works for me. The romance fell so flat. For a right person/wrong time trope to work, I feel like the relationship has to be super strong, and Jack and Holly’s just wasn’t. I also thought the grudge Holly’s family held against her was completely ridiculous and unbelievable.
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I settled on three stars for this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc!

Fate. Friendships. Family. This book will tug at your heartstrings and what better time to grow our grinchy hearts (that are two sizes too small anyway) but at Christmas! This is a precious Christmas book that makes you cheer for Holly and Jack but you will want to shake them for their poor communication skills! A car accident changes Holly’s life as she knows it. A car accident has also changed Jack’s life. With a host of coincidences, some letters, a few small town friendships plus some good old Christmas magic, these two might figure out that forgiveness cures everything. Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the book! I just reviewed Love, Holly by Emily Stone. #LoveHolly #NetGalley

Love, Holly by Emily Stone looks and sounds like a perfect Hallmark Christmas story. It is not exactly what it seems, but I still think it’s perfect for the holidays. While the story is not light and perfect, there is still plenty of hope and redemption. The characters have adorable meet cute moments. The book will capture your attention throughout with various plot twists you may not see coming. There are elements of charming romance novels included for readers of that genre. But readers of more serious women’s fiction will also really enjoy this book. It is a unique hybrid and I really enjoyed it. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Thank you to PRHAudio for the ALC! Thank you to Netgalley, Emily Stone and Randomhouse/Ballantine for the ARC.

And Every year at Christmas, Holly writes a letter to someone in a lonely hearts’ pen pal program. The letters go answered; the whole point is for the lonely person to just pour out their heart to someone. But this year, the letter Holly receives comes from a woman named Emma, who mentions a place Holly herself has visited. From that point on, Holly is determined to reunite Emma with her estranged grandson, Jack, whom she desperately wants to reunite with. When she tracks him down, she realizes she’s met him before - and there was a spark of chemistry between them that was unforgettable.

Once again, Emily Stone delivers! My favorite thing about this author’s books are that she manages to mix the warm and cozy holiday feelings with the complex emotions that we often experience around the holidays. For as merry and bright as they can be, sometimes the holidays can also be painful, and a reminder of something (or someone) lost. Emily Stone is wonderful at putting all of those emotions into words. If you have enjoyed her previous books, you will enjoy this one too.

“Love, Holly” is out now. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly.

I enjoyed this holiday read! It focused on multiple years during Christmas and the main characters viewpoints throughout these years. I enjoyed the romance throughout the novel as well.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy to honestly review.

Read This Book If…you want something a little sweet and emotional.

Please note: this was an ARC provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Love, Holly by Emily Stone

Genre: contemporary holiday romance:
Spice Level: 2/5🌶, steamy, fade to black
Setting: London and UK
POV: single, 3rd person, past tense
Tropes: one bed

What I Thought: While I really liked this one, it didn’t quite have the magic of Always in December. The romance was really sweet, but it didn’t have the emotional punch I was bracing for.

Thank you Random House/Ballantine for the gifted copy of Love, Holly.

I really enjoyed the last 2 books I read by this author, so I was so excited to receive a gifted copy of Love, Holly. This was one of the first holiday books I read this season and it didn't disappoint!

Holly stole my heart in this book. I felt so bad for her after finding out what happened and the repercussions. True, she shut herself away from her parents, but I was also mad that her parents didn't do more to bring her back to her family.

The Dear Stranger letter is an interesting concept. The letter Holly receives has a familiar location mentioned in it - the cafe Holly and her sister went to before the accident - and where she met Jack, a random man she felt a connection with after bumping into him and spilling his coffee. They were supposed to get in touch but the accident happened right after and she lost the cup with his phone number. What are the chances that Emma wrote her letter in the same cafe, and had a connection with Jack? Holly's connection with Emma was my favorite part of the book, and I loved how Emma started out as such a grump and became just as attached to Holly as Holly was to her.

Yes, you need to suspend reality a little bit but it's a fictional novel, so who cares? This book made me feel the feels, and so many emotions along with the characters - grief, joy, anger, love, etc. As always, looking forward to the next book by Emily Stone!

Always so gut-wrenching when I read one of Emily's books! Prepare the kleenex and the ugly cries because her stories are way deeper than your typical Christmas books. I can always count on this author to bring out the emotions.

Do NOT be fooled by this adorable Hallmark vibes cover. This is not some cutesy holiday Romcom.
This is a rip your heart out and step on it a few times EMOTIONAL holiday read. Filled with soooo much loss and grief. My heart hurt constantly while reading this one.
Overall it's a beautiful story.

This was a very emotional read. I went into this book blind and was really surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Holly was a sweet character, and I liked Jack and Emma’s storyline(s) as well.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

I found this book charming and delightful. It has more depth than your typical holiday read (and while the book begins and ends at Christmas, most of the book is about what happens in between the two holidays). I loved the relationship between the curmudgeonly character of Emma and Holly as well as the relationship between Holly and Jack. The ways that their stories intersected and mirrored each other was well-done without feeling forced or cheesy. As mentioned, the book does deal with heavier issues than a typical holiday rom-com, but if you're in the mood for a holiday read with more heart and depth, this is a great choice.

This book was a work of art with all kinds of different feelings and emotions running through it from start to finish. Highly recommend!!

A heartwarming story of trying to help the lonely at Christmas time and in turn maybe helping yourself. Loved the hope that the characters began to feel, although everything doesn't always turn out as planned. A difficult lesson to learn.

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I was able to find the audio version through my local library app.
Hmm I was very excited to receive this book, the cover is very cute and just by the cover I knew it was a Christmas time book.. but I was shocked when it barely even has Christmas in it. I don't know why these authors are doing this this year to us but I have noticed a pattern. Christmas on the cover but it doesn't even take place during Christmas.
The characters themselves were very very frustrating. I think the whole drama behind all of them is just dumb for them not to be talking to each other. The main character and her accident and what came between her and her sister. Was just stupid that her sister would blame her for the accident. Then how all the characters met and is just such a very very small world. The whole story should have been cut from 10 hour audio book to 5 hours in my opinion. The story just rambled on and on. I only like the Emma character. She was the only sensible one and I honestly feel so sorry for her in her situation. My heart just went out to her. I couldn't even imagine what she went through with her ordeal.
All in all this book was frustrating, way too long and very misleading cover.

Oh my! This was such a beautifully written Christmas story. It really had me in tears, but also so many smiles. I haven't read Emily Stone before this book, but I am now a fan. The characters were everything! I loved all of the real life emotions of this one. Do yourself a favor and pick this up ASAP!

This was such an endearing and emotional holiday read. It’s the ideal book to get you in the holiday spirit but also delves into the serious matters of grief and loss. Very well written.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

What a beautiful book! This story gave me all the warm fuzzies of a usual holiday book, but this one was only loosely based around the Christmas season. I loved the characters, especially the spitfire Emma and the relationship between Holly and Jack. The pacing of this book was excellent and I think this is my new favorite of Emily Stone's festive books!

Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for granting me access to this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love, Holly is a beautifully written story centering on the themes of forgiveness, found family, and a sprinkle of romance. Even though this is a Christmas-themed book, it touches on some heavy topics. Be sure to check out the trigger warnings before reading.

A Dear Stranger letter fixes sets off a chain of events that fixes so many people’s lives.

This book was so wonderful. I enjoyed Emily Stones other Christmas novels so I was excited to read her newest one.

Holly is alone on Christmas again living with her regrets. She receives that years Dear Stranger letter and is moved by it. While the letters are meant to be anonymous, the writer mentioned key details to a place Holly knew. So on Christmas Eve she sets off to find the author of this letter. From this point it becomes a journey of second chances and second meetings, the impact of fate, and learning to forgive.

Like Stones other Christmas novels, the entire book isn’t set at Christmas. The pacing of the book is perfect.

At first I was a little confused because there’s flashbacks to memories embedded in the plot that took me a few passes to understand what was happening. It was a great addition to the story and it enhanced it.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🫑 (steamy not spicy, closed door)
TW- loss, miscarriage, car accidents

Oof… I just couldn’t get into this one. Holly was incredibly difficult to like. The romance aspect lacked chemistry. I was bored and completely unmoved and disinterested.