Thank you PRHaudio, Dell books and Netgalley for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

With every Emily Stone book you can expect Christmastime to be involved somewhat, time jumps and a rollercoaster of emotions. I loved going into this one blind. When the book started out I was expecting it to go one way and it went the complete opposite direction! It started off with lots of emotion and made me want to keep reading to see what happened and how everyone is connected.

I went back and forth between the ebook and audio. I loved the audio version! It was easy to decipher who’s POV you were listening to and when the time jumps occurred.

A cute, poignant rom com with all the feels. Happy, sad, hopeful! This book has it all. Holly sends a letter to a stranger to help her be less lonely. This is all anonymous but she ends end locating her. They both have past tragedies that are still causing pain. This was a great read that was more than an average rom com. This was a great read that I recommend.

Rating: 4.5/5

Dear Emily Stone, you continue to pull at my heartstrings and make me feel all the feels.

I adored how Emma and Holly connected. I loved how all of these relationships evolved. Many people commented that cutting off ones family for an accident was a lot but I also think it’s relatable for others. I loved how grief and tragedy were handled.

Highly suggest this one!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Love Holly is a heartwarming story about forgiveness and second changes. Fate has brought these people together and healed their hearts and shown them what truly matters in life. I truly enjoyed this story and would highly recommend.

This was my first Emily Stone title that I've read, so I didn't know what to expect outside of the Christmas theme, but I loved it. The flow of the writing was easy, and I especially loved the jumping timeline. Emily sets the scene with the cutest meet cute at an art gallery/cafe on Christmas 3 years ago with the prologue and then jumps to three years later. From there, the jumping 3 motif remains with time moving every 3 months. I was sucked into the story, and I loved the dual POV from Holly and Jack. The emotional depth that you can feel from Holly had tears rolling down my face that I blamed on the wind in a windowless room. And Emma. Oh, Emma. She is probably my senior spirit animal. Cold and cranky on the outside, but on the inside is warm and caring. Almost like a Mr. Wilson, but without Dennis.

I'll say the only thing I didn't like was the fade to black scene after giving us a one bed trope. Emily! How you gonna do that to me!?

Love, Holly by Emily Stone is a heartwarming and emotional Christmas book that will probably make you cry both sad and happy tears. It is a story about accidents, blame and grief and finding yourself as you learn to accept and forgive.

The book follows Holly, a young woman who is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her parents in a car accident three years ago. She has isolated herself from her friends and family, and she spends her days working at a coffee shop and writing anonymous letters to strangers through a lonely hearts club.

One day, Holly receives a letter from an elderly woman named Emma. Emma is also grieving the loss of her family, and she and Holly strike up a correspondence. As they get to know each other, Holly begins to open up about her own pain, and she finds comfort in Emma's friendship.

Meanwhile, Holly also meets a young man named Jack. Jack is charming and kind, and he quickly falls for Holly. However, Holly is hesitant to let herself get close to anyone, and she pushes Jack away.

As the story progresses, Holly begins to heal from her grief. She learns to forgive herself for the accident, and she opens her heart to love again. She also learns to let go of the past and embrace the future.

Love, Holly is a well-written and heartwarming story about love, loss, and redemption. It is a story that will stay with you long after you finish reading it.
However, the plot was a bit predictable. I was able to guess the ending pretty early on.
The book was a bit slow-paced at times. I found myself wanting to skim through some of the chapters.

✨BOOK REVIEW✨

Love, Holly by Emily Stone

Liked, didn’t love. Stuff to know going in ➡️➡️➡️➡️

🎄 there’s very little romance in this book, more women’s fiction
🎄emotional at times
🎄largely focused on blame, accidents, shame, grief, and acceptance
🎄it’s a holiday read but I needed more actual holiday
🎄loved the epistolary parts!
🎄UK setting

Ok so the gist of the synopsis is that Holly’s life is drastically changed after her and her sister are involved in a car crash one Christmas Eve. In order to heal emotionally, she decides to join a “Dear Stranger” program where she writes letters to a stranger and also receives letters from her “stranger.”

One thing leads to another and she meets Emma, an elderly woman who has also suffered similar loss. The book expands from there and asks the question “is fate a real thing?” ❤️

My thoughts are kinda all over the place. It was enjoyable but I didn’t care about these characters — the storyline was cute and heartfelt but I felt that the characters were very one-dimensional. Emma was by far my favorite (along with Pam). The romance was meh and their “conflict” was dumb 🤷‍♀️ the last 15% of the book was by far the best part. This book was enjoyable for the most part, even though it was pretty slow and not very memorable.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
OUT Sept 26th! Thank you to @netgalley & the publisher for the early eARC!

Emily Stone does it again! This was so much more than a fluffy Christmas read. If you have read her previous books, you know they're not always happy and light-hearted, but rather deep, moving and sometimes heart-breaking. This one was no exception as all the main characters meet while dealing with immense pain/trauma/heartache.

I found myself easily connecting with these characters and also found the love story side of things to be both realistic and enjoyable. There were several mini plots which helped keep up the pace and didn't leave my bored at all! I love the way everything came together in the end and won't soon forget this one!

It's also important to note that there isn't so much that's Christmas specific in this book and it could definitely be read and enjoyed anytime throughout the year.

Thank you so much to Random House, Ballantine for the ARC. This will be available on Sep 26th!

This was a cute little romance (not a rom-com, as it has a LOT of sadness, fair warning).

Lots of karmic happenings in this story: a cafe in Devon where strangers meet and feel a spark, a terrible accident that changes lives, a family estrangement, careers that scream for change, a cancer diagnosis, and the letter writing of lonely strangers on Christmas Eve.

The love story is sweet, classic use of miscommunication and stars crossed all over the place.

Quick and Dirty⁣
-sweet closed-door romance⁣
-snarky older friend⁣
-epistolary aspects⁣
-sibling relationship story⁣
⁣
Thank you @randomhouse and @netgalley for the advanced access!

Thoughts ⁣
It's still summer, but your girl took one for the team to dive into a holiday book while soaking up the summer sun. This was my second Emily Stone book, and it did not disappoint. Like One Last Gift, Love, Holly tugs at all the heartstrings. It's a great combination of romance and woman's fiction, focusing on grief and loss. The emotional journey that Holly experiences in the book is moving, and the relationship between her and Emma is especially powerful. They resolved some of their personal traumas through their relationship, which felt profound for such a fluffy read. The romance between Holly and Jack was sweet but felt a bit frustrating at times probably because of the stop/start nature of the relationship. Overall my biggest complaint was the unrealistic response of Holly's family to her accident; to me, it felt like an overreaction. I would describe this as Christmas-adjacent (like her other books) because it doesn't give strong holiday vibes. So, if you're looking for a romance with some substance that's holiday adjacent, this one is a good option this year!

Thank you NetGalley and Dell for the ARC! Emily Stone returns with another emotional tale. Holly is traveling with her pregnant sister Lily to be with their parents for Christmas, when she makes a stop at a small town cafe. There, she literally runs into Jack, a man in a hurry to get to his next destination, and they share an instant connection. After continuing on their way, a sudden traffic accident changes Holly's life. We jump ahead a few years and Holly is celebrating Christmas alone. She details in a Dear Stranger letter how her life has changed and how dearly she misses celebrating with her family. She, in return, receives a Dear Stranger letter and learns of a woman who lost her son in a car accident and with him, her relationship with her grandson. She is now alone and dealing with a cancer diagnosis. When Holly recognizes the cafe referenced in the letter, she sets out to meet the letter writer, Emma. Suddenly, the two women's lives come together and Holly begins to think that maybe this is fate. As she seeks to reconcile Emma with her grandson, she discovers that he is Jack, the man she ran into at the cafe years before. With authentic characters and struggles, this book is sure to tug at the heartstrings of readers looking for more in their holiday romance reads.

This is the second book I have read by this author. And I don’t think this author is for me. Both of the books I read by her were supposed to be holiday themed books and they didn’t give the holiday vibes I was expecting. This book had a lot of serious topics for a holiday themed book. If you are looking for a light hearted holiday book this is not that kind of book. I didn’t really enjoy this one. I don’t think I would suggest.

This book follows a serendipitous turn of events as a chance meeting turns into so much more. A letter from one lonely person to another creates a domino effect that changes the course of several characters lives. This book was very well written and covers grief, illness, loss and forgiveness. This is not a light holiday read but it was a good book. I do think the love connection between the main characters could be strengthened.

Love Holly

4.25 ⭐️

This was such a beautiful, sweet story! Though it’s centered around some Christmas dates, it covers multiple years and doesn’t need to just be read at Christmas time!

Holly is estranged from her family after an accident and happens to get a letter from an elderly woman in a similar situation. They become friends through their healing journey, and it’s so beautiful to watch.

I really enjoyed Holly and Jack, especially with both of their perspectives. This slow burn had so much hope in the story line, definitely check it out when it’s released in September!

Thanks to @netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!

A heartfelt, lovely story of friendship, estrangement, and a touch of love. The relationship that builds between Holly and Emma is touching. It leads Holly to search for Emma’s estranged and so dearly loved grandson. Fate has a hand throughout the story and its thread ties everything together.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Fun holiday romance, but not my favorite. In all of the legions of holiday books out there, this one just didn't hook me the way that I'd hoped.

This is a fluffy holiday romance, The story tried to add substance, but it did not work for me and felt forced. the characters were very surface level without much depth. Still, a perfect palette cleanser for when you need something very light that doesn't require too much thought.

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

Love, Holly by Emily Stone was a quick and fun holiday romance. I greatly enjoyed her style of writing and the story line. It follows a young woman who experienced a traumatic loss on Christmas Eve. 3 years later Holly is determined to find the owner of a Dear Stranger letter that she receives. She comes to find a unique connection with this writer and develops a close relationship with her. I highly recommend putting this on your TBR list!

This was such a sweet, easy read.

I loved the story and how it was all connected. I actually felt like Holly and Jack were totally meant to be and it was absolutely perfect how they were always brought back together. This story was so realistic and had some hard topics that were covered so beautifully. I felt all the emotions! I would totally read this again for a sweet christmas read or even an any time read!

This was a good read, but there were times when it was a bit slower in pace and I flew through other parts. It was a great plot, loved the characters and their development. The relationship that blossomed even where there was such turmoil and pain was beautiful, sometimes we get so caught up in the bad and the guilt we feel when something like this happens that we have no control over sometimes, it makes us thinks that we are unworthy of even feeling the slightest bit of happiness or even peace but this book shows that that is not the case. Also shows how good it is to Allow yourself to forgive even when it is hard. But it also has to be your decision to get to the point where you feel you are ready. So glad I got the opportunity to read this.