Which Brings Me To You by Steve Almond and Julianna Baggott
4/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••
I was immediately drawn to this book as I recognized the title as being a movie releasing in January. There is basically nothing I like more than a book becoming a movie or TV show so I knew I definitely wanted to check this one out.

We follow John and Jane - two relatively normal individuals who meet at a wedding, have a kerfuffle in a coat closet, and decide to write each other letters. They make a pact that the good, the bad, and everything that is true must be written between the two of them. Once they know everything there is to know about the other, they then can make the decision on if any type of relationship would be worth it.

The audio narrative was very enjoyable for this one. You’ll want to listen in one sitting!

Read this book if you like:
-stories told through flashbacks and letters
-early 2000s romance
-real, raw stories

Which Brings Me To You will be newly released in audio format on January 16th. If it's not yet on your tbr, it should be!
.
.
.
Special thanks to Blackstone Publishing for sharing a free copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

When John and Jane meet and end up in the coat closet at a wedding, it doesn’t quite lead to the quick romance they hope for. Instead, they resolve to get to know each other beyond that night through letters of confessions, full of their past loves and failures and deepest secrets.
This one didn’t quite click with me as I had hoped but I’m excited to see the upcoming film adaptation with Lucy Hale & Nat Wolff. The narrators both did a great job but the story itself fell off from the initial charm.
Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the ARC of the movie edition-release.

I really wanted to like this one, but there were so many parts that just made me uncomfortable. I also feel like this is incredibly unrealistic. Who would go through such horrible detail about each past relationship like this? It all felt very strange and I gave up at 60 per cent in.

Oh man. I was so hooked until the very end and I feel like it went completely off the rails. I'm still chewing on the train wreck (ahem, car?) that was their reunion. I didn't feel any of the zippy spark between them anymore, and though their words and actions said otherwise, it read like a massive disappointment, from one moment to the next, so any physical affection or attraction felt stilted and forced. But that didn't seem to be the author's intent. Or maybe it was.

Throughout the story of their confessions, I grappled with a bizarre sensation of being a voyeur who was addicted to their revelations, and then I had to scold myself because all reading is voyeuristic. It wasn't that raw or controversial. It wasn't erotic or salacious. It was the letters as format, like we were secretly reading their letters, and it gave me a strong discomfort that other books do not. Weird.

So, it ended up being mediocre. I didn't know what would happen after so much investment and hope for the characters, and that tension was very palpable throughout. This was an interesting idea, and I liked having dual authors for their very different internal voices. Some of the text was very . I laughed out loud many times. I think I just got mad at them for self-sabotaging. But that's who they were.

I really enjoyed the narrators for this book. Their timing and cadence in telling this story really worked. This book asks the question of how truthful one person is with themselves and others. I liked that John put a halt to anything going too far after them first meeting. The letters I felt like gave them both a true look back on who they were and who they’ve become. Sometimes things are better thought out when written than to just tell their story. It gives what experiences that have shaped them to become the people they are today. To lay all your demons out in black and white being totally truthful would be hard. Having sent these letters back and forth for months they truly got to know one another. Meeting back up in person still wasn’t easy on either. The ending I believe is left up to your own interpretation of how their relationship will play out. I really enjoyed this audiobook. It held my attention and got me through a long roadtrip! Thank you to NetGalley for this free advanced copy. I’m leaving this review voluntarily.

DNF 50%
Unfortunately this is one of those books that sounds better in theory than it actually is.
The fun way the characters meet had me excited to read (well listen) but as the book goes on with them writing letters back and forth I just found myself bored.
I wanted more interactions with the characters and less droning on and on about their past transgressions.

I know this book has been out for awhile now, and it was actually on my TBR for that long! I was so excited to get a copy of the movie tie in audio!

I loved the narrators who did the book. I overall liked the story, I just felt as the book went it did lose some of its charm that it started with. I do think this will make a cute movie and can't wait to watch it.

I received a copy of the audiobook from netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
Jane and John meet at a wedding and are about to hook up in the coat closet, when John wants to slow things down. Instead they exchange addresses and nothing else to write letters to each other about the past loves in their lives.
There is heartbreak and a lot of disfunction in the characters lives as the characters learn about themselves based off their past experiences. It’s a unique test to see if the characters can fall in love through letters.
There were some parts where I didn’t like the characters but was still captivated to learn more about their pasts. The narrators of the story sucked you in.

The idea of this book instantly drew me in. I love books that offer a glimpse into the past and how that shapes an individual especially those looking for love. I enjoyed the book overall but did find myself wanting a bit more for the characters. I felt in some ways they lacked depth and I had a difficult time really connecting. If I am completely honest, I think this is partially due to the female narrator. She did a good job with narration itself, but considering the storyline, I would have preferred a voice that was a little less matured. I don’t mind spicy books, but I need to feel connected to the characters and the story and I didn’t feel as fully engaged as I would have liked. I do think this is a good book and know of others who would really enjoy this, so will definitely pass it along!

I would like to thank the author, NetGalley and the publisher so the advanced copy of this audiobook.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. I really liked the premise and the idea of them writing letters too each other, but it just seemed to be alot about sex and that's not my cup of tea. I was hoping for more. Thought it was a rom com when I requested it.

Embarking on this auditory journey, I found myself captivated by the allure of a world illuminated by letters. The storyteller skillfully transported me back in time, painting vibrant scenes with words that spoke of a bygone era.

Each letter carried a weight of emotion, weaving a tapestry of connection and depth. The narrative's gentle cadence resonated with the romantic charm inherent in handwritten correspondence, evoking a sense of longing for a simpler time.

As the story unfolded, the delicate dance of pen on paper became a symphony of sentiment, leaving a lasting impression that lingered in the heart and mind.

This book… THIS BOOK! I’m genuinely upset that this book didn’t come into my life sooner. I have been looking for a book for many years that is like this. It’s the perfect mature version works from John Green, Ned Vizzini, and David Levithan. So if you like them like I do, this book with blow your socks off. Perfectly profound, funny, and slightly pretentious in the best way. I’ve already placed an order for a physical copy of this book to re-read and annotate as well as bought tickets to the movie!

I can’t get over all the love and loss in this book and how it helped the characters grow and come together. I’m gonna be thinking about this book for years to come.

This was too raunchy for me; too many descriptions of sex and at 12% it seems the only thing that has happened is both characters talking about sex and orgasms. Not for me, sorry! I was hoping for a rom-com.

This dramatic work is perhaps a bit on the romance side, but really much more on the adult drama side of things. It is gritty and at times the two main characters reveal their flaws in uncomfortable detail, but it is also a great examination of how we get to know one another, the secrets we share and the ones we hide, and the parts of ourselves that shape us that we then choose to ignore and never speak of. The writing flows well, the narrators are well chosen, and the playback quality is superb. It isn't a light beach read, or a feel good pick me up, but it is a thoughtful and intriguing look at these two lives and how they intersect. In the end it isn't my preferred genre, so I'm docking it one star just because it was perhaps miscategorized as "romance" when really that doesn't fit the feel of the work. If you're looking for introspective gritty drama with plenty of descriptions of platonic sex grab this one!

Engaging and entertaining. A recommended purchase for collections where contemporary romance is popular.

Jane and John are both burned out on dating and meet at a dull wedding in 2003 where they stumble into a coat room to have sex and decide not to go down that familiar path. Instead they decide to confess their sorted pasts to one another and see if honesty is the better approach to take.

Romance is not usually what I choose to read, but the premise of this one sounded good. I liked the flawed characters and I thought the narration by Kirby Heybourne and Renee Roudman was very good. This isn’t a typical romcom and I enjoyed the time period and the set up. It’s quite funny and yet tragic at times. I’m looking forward to seeing this one. The movie starring Lucy Hale and Nat Wolff will be released in January of 2024.