Dear Emmie Blue is one of my favourite reads of this year. Rarely do I read a contemporary romance novel and rate it as a five star read, so when I do you will know it is something special.
Emmie Blue is a charming thirty year old woman who has overcome many hardships in her life. She has a father which she has never known, and a mother who she has had limited contact with since she was fourteen. She has recently come out of a relationship which was difficult in itself, but also required her to move from her own place to renting a room at the home of an older woman. Luckily she has her friends Rosie and Fox, who work with Emmie at the hotel, and her best friend Lucas who is affectionately known as balloon boy.
Emmie first met Lucas when she was sixteen. She had released a balloon with a note only to have it found over 100 miles away by Lucas. The two initially became pen pals, but eventually grew to a relationship between two best friends. As the years passed, Emmie began visiting Lucas and his family frequently. Emmie has secretly always had romantic feelings for Lucas but neither pursued this kind of relationship. As Emmie’s thirtieth birthday approaches, Lucas calls and asks Emmie to come to France for the weekend as he has something important to ask her. Emmie feels that Lucas may be asking her to marry him. Instead, he announces his upcoming wedding to someone else, and that he wants Emmie to be his “Best Woman”.
The story is told in two time frames – then and now. While there are sad moments in this story, there are just as many moments of joy. It is a story of friendship, kindness, and love. The character development is excellent – I really felt I knew Emmie well. Indeed, I was rooting for Emmie to have the life she so desired and deserved. I loved her relationships with those around her – she is never unkind or insensitive. She was particularly compassionate with her landlord, a quality that really provided an outlet for Emmie to shine. I highly recommend this book to those who want to read a lovely piece of fiction.
I listened to the audiobook version which I borrowed from my local library. Katy Sobey is perfectly cast to narrate this book and provides a sweet, youthful and articulate voice to Emmie. If you are an audiobook lover, I would recommend this version which provides an additional level of enjoyment to an already amazing book.
My rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5.
Unwanted Life
If you listened to the audiobook, then you can still say you haven't read a contemporary romance book and given it a 5? as you listened to it instead ?
The concept is a best woman is cool, but that must have hurt if you have feeling for the person asking
thathappyreader
Thanks for you comment!
Anika May
It sounds like a really sweet book, and definitely the kind of thing I would read. It's on my TBR but I haven't seen any reviews yet so now I'm even more excited to read it! Great post ☺️
Anika | chaptersofmay.com
thathappyreader
Thanks Anika! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Kelly~Diane
This sounds like a book I would enjoy. Great review
thathappyreader
Thank you! ☺️
Della Driscoll
This sounds like a really wholesome read, I'd love to give it a go! Fab review xx
http://www.dellalovesnutella.co.uk/
thathappyreader
Thank you Della!
Unknown
This sounds like the sweetest read! While reading your review, my heart melted ? Great review!
thathappyreader
Thank you so much for your kind words!
irem
This sounds like a sweet story.^^ Thank you for the review.
thathappyreader
Thank you Irem!
Jessica
I enjoyed Dear Emmie Blue too. Great review.
thathappyreader
Thank you Jessica!
Alex
This sounds like a lovely story, and I love the idea of it being set then and now. I already feel heartbroken for her that Lucas is marrying someone else!
thathappyreader
Thanks Alex! I hope you read the book to see how it ends!
Lizzie Bee
Awh that sounds like such a sweet story! My heart dropped when you mentioned about Lucas saying he's marrying someone else… But I still wanna read it to know what happens!
thathappyreader
Thanks Lizzie! You definitely should read it! Let me know if you do!
Liz
Sounds like the kind of book I would enjoy reading and if you, someone who rarely reads contemporary romance novels, enjoyed this, then I definitely would like to check this out.
thathappyreader
Thanks Liz. I actually read a fair amount of contemporary romance- I just rarely rate them as 5 stars.