I found this book difficult to read, although I liked the idea of the story being to,d through letters. I found Joy, far from joyful and to be honest, she got on my nerves. It’s not my kind of book.

As this story is written in letters it’s slightly different to read than most books. It was a good story which was easy to read - and then I got to the bit about why Joy was writing the letters (hope that’s not a spoiler) and it allcanw together.  Quite emotional in places but enjoyable overall.

I had mixed feelings about the beginning of this book. The main character, Joy, seemed more annoying that charmingly neurotic. There were Dutch jokes I didn't really understand. But I kept at it, and I'm so glad I did. Joy's arc is one of the best I've read in a long time. She's so funny, and ended up completing endearing herself to me. I was rooting for her so hard. The reason for the letter writing is a bit transparent, but when it does get revealed, it's done really well. Three cheers (and four stars) for this delightful book.

Drew Davies took me on an extremely emotional journey with this story as a good percentage of it could have been written by me about my young adult experiences. 
Difficult to review without spoilers so suffice to say it was funny, sad, emotional, enlightening, enchanting and very real 
Definitely recommend this book but have your hankies at the ready.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Good book about sisters. I once saw a movie with similar plot of letter writing. It was good and this is good too.
Would surely recommend.
Thank you for the arc.

Dear Lily is a funny, quirky story that brought out all of the emotions from me (funny, sad, heartwarming and everything inbetween). Great for fans of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. The epistolary format really worked for me and the novel was beautifully written. Look forward to reading more of the author’s work! Definitely recommend the book

Thank you to #Netgalley and Bookouture for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I saw this book very last minute and I am really glad that i did because this book was heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. I liked it a lot. Davies writing was amazing too. I liked Joy because she was real. She wanted to change her life, she didn't want to change her life and she didn't know what to do with her life. Just like me. In the end i was so happy for her. She had an amazing journey. I cried and laugh a lot and wanted to go to Denmark. It was a really lovely read.

My oh my I fell in love with this book.
A funny, quirky story which did bring tears..
I hadn't read this authors work before but I must admit, I did enjoy it. 
His writing style, his storyline, both brilliant and certainly keep you engrossed that's for sure.
I completely warmed to his character Joy. 
Somewhat stressed with life, Joy takes herself off to Copenhagen in Denmark for a new life, new job with the same company and a new language to learn. How difficult can it be?
This story is told in letters Joy writes to her sister Lily which is a little different.
So as Joy settles into her new life away from her loved ones, telling Lily everything that's happening, we see Joy's funny side, we experience her sadness and we feel her longing to be back home with her family.
Beautiful and heartwarming, you will experience such an array of emotions reading this story...💕
Well worth checking this one out.

I loved this book. There was something about Joy. She poured her heart out to Lily, the good and the bad stuff. Her letters were sad, funny, heartwarming- pretty much every emotion. I laughed and cried. I felt like I really got to know Joy and her whole family. I didn't mind that the story was told through letters. I wasn't too shocked when the truth about Lily was finally revealed. I sort of figured that part out but I'm still a little confused how. It was sort of explained at one point but I wanted to know the exact reason. Loved all the the minor characters. Especially Minnie!!! No one can resist a cat!!! When Jakob revealed why he was in therapy, I about died. I was on the same lines as Joy, thinking he was a stalker, arsonist, gambler, killer...something really horrible. I would have never guessed the reason, but it made me laugh. 

Definitely recommend the book. It was beautifully written and you get to read all about Denmark. I look forward to reading more books by the author. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bookouture through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a beautiful book written completely in letters. It made me laugh, and cry. I enjoyed the journey with Lily. Fans of Elinor Opheliant is completely fine will enjoy this book. 

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I struggled with this book. The essays to her sister made it difficult to read. Had the story been told in a different way I think I would have enjoyed it much more. At times Joy was frustrating and somewhat flighty to me.

Thank you, Bookouture and NetGalley for a digital ARC!

This book caught my eye with the description "for anyone who has ever hit rock bottom, longed for a fresh start, or needed to heal a broken, aching heart" and it certainly is a decent story about a young woman looking for a new beginning. If you enjoyed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine you will like this book.

Dear Lily was a wonderfully powerful book. It reminded me a lot of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, Lily is a beautifully complicated character and I especially loved her roommate Greta, who became a close confidant. I loved the way the book was all letters, mostly to Lily, but sometimes to others. I did not see the twist with Lily coming and it was a twist that made the story even more emotional. I enjoyed this novel and will recommend it to friends and family.

Dear Lily was exactly the read I was looking for. A flawed but lovable main character with an interesting family makes a new start in a foreign country, meeting new people and experiencing a new culture. This book is told via the medium of letters to her sister and is funny, heartwarming with just the right amount of sadness thrown in too. Thanks NetGalley!

I love epistolary books and I was hoping this would be a ggod one. Not so much for me. Joy kept doing the same things and making the same stupid mistakes. I was hoping she would redeem herself, but after getting  65% of the way through I gave up. 
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to try this book, but it just wasn’t one I cared for.

Dear Lily is a heart-warming read that will have you both laughing and crying! 

Joy feels like she’s lost her way, she’s in her mid-30’s and split up with her long-term boyfriend – Joy is feeling the judgement of her age versus no husband/children. As a result, Joy makes a slightly impulsive decision to accept a transfer of role offered to her in Denmark much to the dismay of her parents and ex boyfriend. 
Initially, Joy is extremely nervous about her move to Denmark and falls apart when she gets there – her fresh start doesn’t seem all it cracked up to be with some really tough times to begin with (the reality check of thinking the grass is greener the other side!) but Joy does start to get into her stride with a new country, language and colleagues.

Dear Lily is told entirely by Joy through letters to her sister Lily. To begin with, I did struggle with the concept of letters throughout but once I got used to it, I found that this a wonderful way to convey Joy, warts and all – we get to really see inside of Joy and go through all the emotions with her. 
Joy seems highly emotional and this comes through in bucket loads – it’s clear from the start that Joy is extremely close to Lily because she reaches out in times of need, lays out all her emotions and is extremely honest in her narrative which makes for both hilarious and difficult reading! From the outset it’s clear that something big happened to initiate this gut reaction to move to Copenhagen but the reader doesn’t know what. 

Joy is a wonderful unreliable narrator because we are only ever hearing one side of the various story lines and also, it’s not clear whether these are all the letters she writes or we are only getting snippets of the correspondence. 

Drew Davies conveys Joy, her personality and her experiences beautifully through the entirety of this book – the reader literally goes on this journey with her. To the extent that sometimes you feel as though you have found these letters and shouldn’t actually be reading them as they are so raw and emotionally charged. There are a number of supporting characters that come through via Joy’s experiences who make for some funny stories. 

I really enjoyed getting to know Joy through her letters!

Dear Lily by Drew Davies is a story told through letters from Joy to her sister Lily. Joy has moved to Denmark on a whim to start new beginnings without researching this new country or even learning Danish. Joy writes to her sister about her new experiences and struggles, problems with relationships and about meeting new people. I loved how descriptive this book was, and Joy’s sense of humor expressed throughout her letters.⁣
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May has been filled with a lot of new releases, but this is a light spring/summer read about love and loss, and importance of the relationship between sisters with a little twist at the end that I highly recommend. Dear Lily releases today, May 17th. Thank you to the publisher, author, and Netgalley for the complimentary copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are my own.⁣⁣

Oh what a touching story. The way it begins is that Joy is writing to her younger sister Lily. The book consists of thirty-three letters from Joy to Lily. As each letter is composed, Joy relates her life's experiences to Lily.

Joy has left her home in the UK and has moved to Denmark to take on a new job. She has completely uprooted her life, and in so doing, hopes to find happiness again and might even see if she can find a someone to share her life with.

As we read the letters, it is sad to see some of the experiences that Joy has lived through. It is also sad because she misses Lily, and her mother, so very much. But, Joy needed this break. She needed this change. Will she find something different in her life? Will she find the way to heal her broken heart?

I loved this story so very much. As each chapter was an individual letter, it was very engaging, often quite sad, albeit some humorous moments that struck a fine balance, and eventually became quite inspiring. I rooted for Joy the entire way through. There were times when her thoughts and decisions were a bit daunting. This was especially the case when she traveled back to the UK and felt there was something she needed to share with her mother. I was so moved by that entire exchange.

Drew Davies delivered a wonderful book to his readers. I love this style of book and cannot remember reading anything written in this format. I look forward to reading much more by this talented author.

Many thanks to #booksontour, Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is wonderful. Simply wonderful. I can’t recommend it enough. Funny, heartfelt, wise, sweet. It had me laughing and crying. Perfect.