This was a cute light read by a debut author. The story of Emmie releasing a balloon and it being found by Lucas, beginning a long friendship/romance was a bit predictable, however, and built very slowly, I also found that the technique of telling the story going back and forth from past to present didn't hold my interest.

Thank you so much to the publisher for sending me this advanced copy!

This was a really cute story. I found myself loving the relationships between all of the different characters. Each relationship had its own personality dependent upon who the people were. I found myself totally loving Rosie and Elliott.

This was sweet and had so many deep issues that were addressed. What I liked that the author did was she made it so you didn’t feel traumatized by the events. You felt sad and heartbroken, but you felt for Emmie rather than turn away.

I listened to this on audio as well and found it hard to follow the back and forth in time sometimes. But it was cute to see how Emmie and Lucas and Elliott got to where they are now. There were some unexpected twists along the way. I just wish there was more in the end! I wasn’t ready for it to be done.

Dear Emmie Blue by Lia Louis is about the power of friendship and the importance of having someone believe in you. One friendship of this book has elements of an unhealthy relationship - some of Lucas's choices and Emmy's dependence on him. Overall though, a story that starts off in a teenager's darkness ends up sweet and charming. The lasting impression... Everyone should have a friend like Balloon Boy in their life.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/03/dear-emmie-blue.html

Reviewed for NetGalley

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely adored this book. Emile is such a strong likeable character, and my heart aches for her as I was reading the book. Watching her come into her own, and realize that she already had what she was looking for was a pleasure to read. I am definitely going to be checking out more books by the author in the future!

This wins for my easy to read, feel good pick of the year! I say feel good because it's sweet and cute and Emmie will become your new best friend, but I should really say "all the feels" because it will break your heart and mend it multiple times while reading. It's emotional but so heartwarming.

I have a new unofficial ratings rule: a book gets an automatic five stars if it makes me cry (not easy!) or I don't want it to end, as in I'd happily read another 400 pages in its world. Dear Emmie Blue checked both boxes so it gets 5 glorious well-earned stars!

Emmie releases a balloon with a note that's found in another country by a boy who becomes her best friend. The premise is adorable. The book opens with a moment reminiscent of Legally Blonde before twisting your expectation on its head. It pulled me in immediately to the character, her voice and story. Like many romance novels you know where this one's going soon enough but there are so many questions of how it will get there. The ride is not only tons of fun, but also quite moving.

This features a cast of wonderful main and secondary characters you will become invested in and a charming story that will wrap around your heart. All the feels and all the stars!

Recommend for: Readers looking for a charming book that balances breezy and emotional with characters to root for

May not be for you if: You want an unpredictable story that doesn't lean into common tropes

Emmie Blue's life is a mess. She is in love with her best friend, Lucas, who is about to marry someone else. She is working in hospitality rather than in school counseling which is what she wants to be doing. And she has never fully worked through the trauma of being sexually assaulted as a teenager and having an upbringing lacking in warmth or sense of family.

The backstory of how she became such close friends with Lucas - she let go of a balloon with a message in it and he found it an ocean away? - is pretty ridiculous and never fully explained, but Emmie's emotions and connections to him and his family are so heartwarming, it's easy to forgive the plot device. Emmie's unrequited love for Lucas is so visceral, any reader who has been there will find themselves physically feeling her pain in empathy.

Emmie's journey - aided by her absolutely fantastic friends and Lucas's brother Eliot - is a delightful one to follow, for the real love she finds along the way, but also for the personal development she goes through on her own. It's inspiring, really, and just what I needed to read right now.

Dear Emmie Blue is another heartwarming story about a girl who is a mess and relies on everyone else to help her get it together. She seemingly crushes on any man who's kind to her and we find out she grew up without a father... hello Daddy issues. She ignores the right man who is standing in front of her treating her like a queen and pants after a man who is clearly not into her. She has no money, no career ambitions and wonders why nothing in her life is going right.

Have I hit all the typical romance tropes yet? I wanted more out of this story then I got but it was cute in that predictable, take your mind away from your own problems novel. If you want a story that doesn't have a lot of twists or turns and all's well that ends well, then this one might be for you.

This is a wonderful romance. Emmie Blue sent out a balloon on her 16th birthday and Lucas Moreau finds it in France. He and Emmie become friends, which Emmie desperately needs because of a tragic thing that happened to her. Her mother isn’t there for her and she doesn’t know who her father is, so Lucas and his family become her support network.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel.

I loved this book! It was exactly the kind of story I was in the mood for and enjoyed everything about it from the characters to the plot and the writing. It reminded me of Sophie Kinsella book, it’s just sweet and funny and the perfect escape for an afternoon!

Check it out:

At sixteen, Emmie Blue stood in the fields of her school and released a red balloon into the sky. Attached was her name, her email address…and a secret she desperately wanted to be free of. Weeks later, on a beach in France, Lucas Moreau discovered the balloon and immediately emailed the attached addressed, sparking an intense friendship between the two teens.

Now, fourteen years later, Emmie is hiding the fact that she’s desperately in love with Lucas. She has pinned all her hopes on him and waits patiently for him to finally admit that she’s the one for him. So dedicated to her love for Lucas, Emmie has all but neglected her life outside of this relationship—she’s given up the search for her absentee father, no longer tries to build bridges with her distant mother, and lives as a lodger to an old lady she barely knows after being laid off from her job. And when Lucas tells Emmie he has a big question to ask her, she’s convinced this is the moment he’ll reveal his feelings for her. But nothing in life ever quite goes as planned, does it?

This is just a wonderful, entertaining, heart-breaking (at parts) story that is a must-read.

Get it now!

This was a super sweet read but sometimes a little hard to keep reading. I really wanted to enjoy the heck out of this book but it was a struggle to get through. I felt the pacing was a little weird and that the important information was given to us too far after it was implied.

Dear Emmie Blue was totally unexpected. I thought I knew what I was getting into, but this book was so much more than a simple romance or book about friendship. Emmie Blue is in love. She is in love with her best friend of 14 years, but it seems he is in love with someone else. Emmie has been there for Lucas for years, through broken hearts and all sorts of problems. What he doesn't realize is that Emmie doesn't just want to be his friend, she is in love with him. He is getting married and has asked Emmie to be his Best Woman. Of course she says yes, because she would do anything for Lucas.

This story was about friendship, loyalty, family, secrets and more. It is full of emotions and had me getting teary often. The characters in this book were well developed and had me wanting to react with them, not always in a good way. I do not want to spoil this story for anyone, so will not tell you much more about this story, but I will say that this is not only a sad story. There are some wonderful aspects and there is a happy ending, as well as a huge twist, so take a chance on this one and curl up with Emmie, Lucas and the rest of the characters that inhabit this story.

🍁🎈✨REVIEW✨🎈🍁⠀

🌟🌟🌟🌟💫 4.5/5 stars ⠀

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

Dear Emmie Blue was a sweet, heartwarming book that I absolutely loved. While it took me about 25% to really get into the book, once I saw where the story was headed, I was INVESTED. I love a British romance and this one had all of the heart, emotions, and tropes that I need. ⠀
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Dear Emmie Blue is about a girl who meets her best friend, Lucas, when he finds a balloon she released into the air with her email address and biggest secret attached to it. After this very serendipitous meet cute, Emmie and Lucas develop a friendship that spans 14 years. In the present day, Emmie is hiding the fact that she is in love with Lucas and is waiting for him to realize that he is also in love with her. However, things do not go as planned as Lucas is now engaged and Emmie has to deal with her feelings about her best friend, as well as come to terms with her past. ⠀
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Do not go into this book expecting a cute, happy love story about a girl with a balloon because things get super emotional real quick. It is a heartfelt story of love, loss, trauma, and friendships and yeah it made me cry in my pool. The characters are lovable and well-developed and the story has just enough whimsy to keep you from complete emotional collapse. 😂 It also features one of my favorite romance tropes (and I’ll leave it at that, so read it to find out which one). Fans of Evvie Drake Stars Over and books by Mhairi McFarlane should definitely read this one! ⠀

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fully intended by GR's meaning of "it was okay". Friends of mine have loved this book, and I can totally see why, but for me aspects of it worked but others very much did not. Overall, Dear Emmie Blue was too consistently predictable; I saw all of the twists coming from miles away. While I love romance's predictability, what makes them feel fresh is the little subversions of tropes and reader expectations, and there were no moments like that for me.

The other major issue for me [that made this more of a three than a two is Anna and Elliot. The plot's drama unfolds largely as a result of the meddling of Elliot's jealous girlfriend/ex, who is a classic mean girl. I also loathe that they don't really deal with the fact that he was dating his counselor who helped him process his divorce? Like, it's mentioned that this is bad, but why is Elliot dating her? If he's in love with Emmie all of this time, why does he keep dating her once Emmie's back and he has feelings for her? That's total shit to Anna. And why does he continue to date her when she's very overtly mean to Emmie? I really couldn't support the romance, which did have good bones, because of all of this unexplained drama. (hide spoiler)]

I'd recommend this to readers who like their stories a bit heavier on the drama and who don't expect tropes to be subverted.

Oh look, it’s another British Rom-Com I gave 5 ⭐️s... shocker 😂😂😂 All jokes aside...I seriously can’t get enough of British romances/rom coms. The witty banter, hilarious side characters, and swoon worthy romance just hit all the right notes for me. 
 
16-year-old Emmie releases a balloon with her biggest secret inside. When Lucas finds it a few weeks later the teens connect and develop a lifelong friendship. Problem is, Emmie wants to be more than friends and is convinced Lucas feels the same way. That is until he asks her to be his “best woman” in his upcoming wedding 😬. Emmie puts her feelings aside and what proceeds is a beautiful & heartfelt story of finding yourself, and maybe a dash of love along the way. 
 
This jumped right to the top of my favorite romances of the year & was one of those books I wanted to hug at the end. All the stars for Dear Emmie Blue🎈

This is normally my kind of book and I can see why it’s recommended for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over. I wanted to know how it would all play out but I was not sold on Emmie’s ever evolving feelings in this one. I just didn’t believe it and everything worked out too easily.

What a beautiful heartwarming story. Emmie falls in love with her friend, but like many women, she is unable to unveil her true feelings and watches her friend fall for someone else. I enjoyed this book. This was a light hearted book and would recommend it to anyone who is on the fence of revealing their true feelings.

If you are looking for a sweet, heart-warming story, look no further than Dear Emmie Blue! {Thank you so much to Atria Books and Netgalley for the gifted copy to review}

As a teenager, Emmie releases a balloon with a note attached and becomes best friends with Lucas, the teenage boy who finds her balloon hundreds of miles away. Fourteen years later, Emmie is down-on-her-luck, lonely, and hopelessly in love with her best friend, Lucas who is about to get married to another woman.

Emmie is just adorable and you can’t help but feel for her, especially with some of the horrible things she has experienced in her life. Since the book is very character-driven, some of my favorite parts include the development of Emmie’s relationships with some of the secondary characters, especially her landlord Louise. I also loved the theme that family does not have to be based on blood relation, but can be made up of people who love you and stand by you!

It did take me a while to get invested in the story, which is the primary reason for my lower star rating. I also blame part of that on my huge book hangover from reading A Court of Mist and Fury before this one! I do still recommend this book, especially if you enjoy heart-warming women’s fiction stories or if you love the movie My Best Friend’s Wedding!

3.5/5 stars!

My heart is still swooning after reading 'Dear Emmie Blue' and it's been weeks. At the age of sixteen, Emmie Blue releases a red balloon into the air...that same balloon is found weeks later washed up on the beaches of France by a young Lucas Moreau. This leads to a beautiful friendship between the two of them, and fourteen years later Lucas asks Emmie to be the "best woman" at his wedding. The thing is, Emmie is head over heels for her best friend.

Emmie has neglected everything in her life, from her job, the search of her absentee father, and where she lives. The only real thing she ahs going on for her is the potential relationship that she has with Lucas - I was absolutely in love with the supporting characters that she works with at the hotel it brought in such comedic moments for the different situations that were happening.

During this time, we get introduced to Lucas' half-brother Elliott it is clear that the three of them used to be very close, but after something happens (we learn the truth later on in the book), it is clear that Emmie is no longer a fan of his. I will admit that not after long, I was team Elliott - just because it felt like the whole Lucas situation was not going anywhere.

There's a minor twist (if you could call that) that involves some mix cd's and I called it way before it was revealed and just made my heart so happy. I went into this book without knowing anything and I read 60% in one evening, if you're looking for a witty binge-read pick this one up!!
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I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Although there wasn't anything I could pinpoint as to why this story feel short, I feel like I wasn't as into the story as I wanted. It felt flat and I didn't identify with the characters at all.