The Last Love Note was a full five star read for me - it was an intense- sad and hopeful and bright, beautiful book that truly made me feel, I actually had to stop reading in between and get back a couple of hours later because the book was overwhelming in the emotions evoked at least for me.
It is a story of grief, hope and rebuilding after intense loss but at first there is a story of intense loss, not glossed over, not just a background to build on.
Kate Whittaker looses her husband Cam quickly over the course of just two years first in increments to early onset dementia then to his inevitable death. Through the beauty of Emma Grey's masterful writing the reader gets to experience this devastating blow alongside Kate, the joy and work of young parenthood leading into the devastation of being a caregiver not just for a young child but also for a partner who was supposed to be there and later a grieving widow with a young child - do many hopes and dreams shattered. Kate has a wonderful cast of supporting characters - her best friends Grace, her mother and her boss Hugh, even work colleagues and they want to make sure she will be ok at some point and she will be but the first order order of business is just survival. Beautiful, raw and honest and last but not least romantic and hopeful!
Beautifully written - this book broke my heart and put it back together, it really did make me feel all the feels, it's special !

I'm generally not a Rom-Com reader, but I enjoyed this book. It did have a lot of Hallmark movie moments, but there were some deeper parts that I imagine came from the author's personal experience with loss. The part of the book the describes the main character's husband dying, literally had me tears. I had to put the book down and walk away for a moment. If I had to read a Rom-Com, I'm glad it was this one. Thank you for the ARC.

An incredible debut and a heartbreaking story of having to watch your spouse waste away from a terminal condition (Early onset Alzheimers). This was both a story of great love, grief, single motherhood and learning how to move on. I loved how the reader kind of knows how things are going to end but still want to cheer on the second chance love story. Great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Karma Brown or Kristan Higgins. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

Here’s a book folks have raved about that I liked but didn’t love. There were some really heart wrenching moments but it didn’t quite get me in the feels as it did for others.
After losing her husband Cameron years prior, single mom Kate hasn’t really processed her grief. Now, she may be ready with the assist of boss and friend Hugh, and notes her beloved Cam has left behind.
Given my proclivity for dark subject matter it’s no surprise flashback moments to Cam’s failing health were more interesting to me. The current day wacky best friend/second chance romance obliviousness felt a little done before to me. However, I think this book will be a big winner for folks who love a deeply feeling rom com with meat.
3.5 stars.

Wow! What a beautiful story about love and loss topped with witty humor. Such a deeply personal and beautifully introspective take on grief and heartache and rebuilding a life in the wake of devastation….. only to love again. Thoughtfully written, it will make you feel all the feels. Highly recommend.

This book proves you can love again after loss or death of a loved one. Kate is a mess after losing her husband to early Alzheimer’s. She is not really looking for love but finds it with an old boss and acquaintance. This book will leave you feeling good . It is a very fast and easy read. The book will be great for book discussion.

From the very first paragraph of the book, I knew that The Last Love Note by Emma Grey would really resonate with me. Expertly balancing both humor and sorrow, it was easy for me to lose myself in its pages, unwilling to put the book down for long periods of time. Still fully ensconced in her grief two years after her husband's death after a tragic illness, single mum Kate is struggling to navigate her career, for which she is overqualified, raising her very young son, and trying to figure out who she is and where she's headed. .
The laugh-out-loud moments seem perfectly timed to balance out the pages that cause the tears to fall in full force. Told with an authentic voice, readers can empathize with Grey's own genuine experiences, as she wrote this as part of her own healing process. The Last Love Note does a beautiful job of showing all of the heartbreak, confusion, and complications of experiencing both grief and life, as well as the frightening, eye-opening, and exciting path of self-discovery. Grey's writing is soothing to the soul .

This book was everything I hoped for an more. Fantastic writing. Great Characters. Humor and More. Loved it from beginning until the end!

I love emotional reads and The Last Love Note, a heartfelt story about rediscovery following an
unimaginable loss, will undoubtedly pull at your heartstrings. Two years after the loss of her husband,
Kate is struggling with the demands of being a single, working parent while still grieving the loss of Cam.
One of the people by Kate’s side throughout it all – from Cam’s diagnosis to the aftermath of his death –
has been Hugh, Kate’s boss turned best friend and confidante. When a flight mishap during a work trip
leaves Kate and Hugh stranded together, she begins to allow herself to process her grief and consider a
second chance for herself.

Told in past and present timelines, The Last Love Note, is a bittersweet, second-chance love story that I
enjoyed immensely and while it was pretty clear to me from the beginning how it would end, there were
still a few surprises along the way.

I couldn’t get into this/m- the beginning felt was too slapstick and silly- like, really? The grenade schtick went on for way too long and I was rolling my eyes. I’ve heard good things so I think I’m just an outlier.

This amazing book has burst onto the book scene and into our hearts! A powerful and heartfelt story about a recently-widowed, single mom Kate and her journey to live and love again. It will make you laugh, cry, and cringe in embarrassing sympathy. What a great time for this book to come out, when we need a story about hope, love, and resiliency!

Short synopsis: Following the death of her young husband, Kate is trying to survive as a single mom moving through her grief.

My thoughts: I’m trying to keep this somewhat vague because i feel it best to go in somewhat blind to this. Above all, make sure you bring tissues with you as you read this heartbreaking and uplifting story.

There is tragedy, grief, loss, infertility, death, and loneliness. But among those sad moments there is hope, the power of family and true somewhat unlikely friendships, and love.

My heart is still trying to recover, especially after reading the authors note and how this book was based on her own experiences as a widow.

Read if you love:
- Emotional books
- Past/present timelines
- Sunshine through the darkness

There is no time table for grief. Kate suffered two massive blows in a short amount of time and has stifled the grief.
The one constant in her life who gives her unfailing support is her boss Hugh. I already knew a major part of the story because it’s so obvious.
Readers,will need to keep Kleenex handy as the book is littered with tear jerker moments.
I loved the motorcycle scene and Also the beach shower scene, very tender and touching.
What the book shows is that life can begin anew in ways we never imagined. There is life behind grief.

“‘I’ve had a more amazing love story with you than some people get in a lifetime,’ I tell him. ‘And that’s enough.’”

I thought I was prepared for this book after reading the author’s note that came with the ARC. I thought I was prepared for this book after reading reviews from trusted sources. I thought I was prepared for this book when I saved it for the long holiday weekend. Turns out I had no idea how much I would love this book, how many passages I would want to mark, and how many feelings I would have while reading. This is easily the greatest love story I’ve ever read. It’s in my top books of the year and now among my favorites of all time.

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Read if you like:
Books that will make you laugh and cry Authentic, raw emotions
Explorations of grief but not in a depressing way
Anne of Green Gables references

Thank you Zibby Books for the gifted package.

I have been seeing so much love for this book and for good reason. I will have to say I do usually get emotional while reading books but this one had me all up in my feelings❤️

𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙜𝙖𝙞𝙣

This debut by Emma Grey is the ultimate love story. We are able to walk along with Kate as she deals with the loss of her husband also learning that it’s ok to move forward and love again.

The story flowed seamlessly between the past and the present and while the grief Kate faces is visceral, it’s the determination that she has to not live in that grief that makes this such a beautiful story.

Kate is clever and witty and her relationships feel authentic and I love the support that she has. There were so many funny moments in this book and I could totally relate to Kate as a mom just trying to do the best for her child.

If you love romance but want more than a fluffy rom-com I would absolutely recommend this book!

Thank you to @zibbybooks for this #gifted copy

"The Last Love Note" was the first book I've read of Emma Grey's, but it won't be the last! After the death of Grey's husband, she channeled her grief into this fantastic novel. This novel centers around Kate, who lost her husband from early onset Alzheimers two years earlier, and is still just going through the motions while just trying to raise her young son and survive. Her boss, Hugh, has become her best friend and confidant throughout it all. But when they have to travel together to a work conference and everything starts to go wrong, she begins to look at Hugh differently. What will happen when she realizes that he's been loving her from a distance for a long time?

I really enjoyed this sweet, quiet love story and read through it quickly. Kate and Hugh are so relatable and they make you want to root for them and their happiness. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Can Kate have a second chance of love? After loosing her husband Cameron life is incredible difficult as she is a single parent of Charlie and working at the University.

As life happens, she gets stranded on the coast of Australia with her boss Hugh. “You many never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.” That quote is profound. Most people hope to find an incredible love in their life.

Get your tissues ready for this novel full of love, loss, comedy and new beginnings. Life is short, so live it to your fullest.

Thank you Zibby Books for this amazing novel. You always bring unique and emotionally filled novels.

Two years after her husband's death, Kate, a young widow with a very young son, is still recovering.  This novel takes the reader through her experience with flashbacks to her husband's diagnosis, illness, and through her experience of grief.  With the present day scenes Kate is agonizing over the potential of falling in love again - but not any love, but another significant love that could almost equal her first and she is facing deep feelings of guilt associated with this.

This is a novel of love, loss, grief and rediscovery and I was pulled in for all of it. 
 
This novel had me actually crying (multiple times), smiling and just truly enjoying the story. It is a bittersweet love story that I absolutely fell for.  What a wonderful debut novel - it was made even more poignant for me knowing the author's background story - that she wrote it based on her own personal loss of her husband (I had the pleasure of hearing her speak, and heard her tell the story in person, but it is in the acknowledgements).  I cannot wait to see what Emma Grey has in store for her sophomore novel - I can guarantee that I will be reading it as soon as I can.
4.5 stars
Thank you to Netgalley and Zibby Books for the ARC to review

This is my first book by this author and boy did it blow me away. This is such an emotional story. Filled with so much love and loss. New beginnings. It has a few chuckles too. It seems to have it all but mostly it's a big tearjerker. About such an unfair disease. A happy family. And a loss that will leave you breathless.

The Last Love Note made me weep. I don't mean just cry either. I had to take several breaks because I could not see the words. It also keeps you hoping for something new. Something to begin anew.

Kate and Cam have the perfect life. Until they don't. The journey they take in this book will definitely make you have feelings. The love they have for each other and their son is so deep and so strong. Even after seventeen years they have that deep set love that nothing can tear apart. Until it does. When they receive the most devastating news a couple can their lives take a huge turn. It's so tragic that this is happening to such a young couple.

The author does such a good job describing the feelings that Kate felt. I had to wonder if she had first hand experience. Or did she weep while writing this book. Read the Acknowledgments and find out. The depth of Kate's sorry just took my heart and twisted it in knots. It's also a story of hope. In comes Justin and Hugh. While I adored Justin my heart was with Hugh all the way. I wanted so bad for him and Kate to finally end up together. Maybe they do. Maybe they don't. Kate has gone through a long journey to get where she ends up. Lots of ups and downs. Survivors guilt also. She has such a hard time letting go of Cam. Not that she will ever stop loving him. She just needs to move on with her life. For herself and for their child, Charlie.

When Kate finds the "last love note" things do change for her. It's so obvious how much Cam loved her. How much he wanted her to have a life after him. How much he trusted a certain person. This book is about love. Even though it hurt my heart I thought it was a beautiful story. Heartfelt and heartbreaking. Told from Kate's pov throughout. You find out exactly what and why things happened the way they did.

Thank you Emma Gray for this wonderful heartfelt story. I'm so sorry about your loss. I finally understood where all that emotion came from.

Thank you #NetGalley, #EmmaGrey, #ZibbyBooks for this ARC. This is my own thought about this book.

Five big stars for this book. Have a lot of Kleenex handy also. You will need it.

Get ready to see this book everywhere! It was a Book of the Month November pick, was selected as a Target Book Club pick and it releases out into the world today!

A second chance romance, this story follows Kate as she navigates through life during her young husband’s terminal diagnosis, death, and life as a widowed young mother. This book will hit all the feels - of course sadness and grief, but also laughter and hopefulness. I think my favorite part of the book was the acknowledgement section where the author very vulnerably shares just how personal this book is to her.