I am not sure how to approach this book. I did not finish it, I end up DNFing it.
The premise was really good, but I did not manage to connect with it, and I was dragging to finish, so I decided to leave it alone. It was a shame because the audiobook is so good, the voices and the format really worked for me, but the content just did not appeal in the end. I guess because of the time travel aspect, I suppose there would be some fantasy to it and that did not happen, and that is totally on me.
I did like it overall, just could not connect to it, unfortunately.

Dearest Josephine was a combination of reading over someones shoulder as they wrote emails and living in a Jane Austen novel. I loved it!

First off, I started this book as an ebook and then at about 43% was gifted the audiobook and finished it that way for no other reason than I LOVE audio and can get to it faster. I loved both options. I enjoyed the combinations of texts, emails, a found novel, and love letters to tell a story. The author combined them in a masterful way and told a story that you wouldn't have expected at the onset.

I really liked Elias. *heart eyes* I mean, he was a bit mood at times, but for good reason. And I very much enjoyed his own novel creation as well as the insight into his real life that we got through his letters.

As many reviewers have mentioned, there was some 'insta-love' but, while at times I found the basis for his vast and undying love to be a bit suspect, I think it was cleared up well at the end as to why that was the case. And, in all honesty, I'm a romantic and love the notion of falling so madly in love with someone you just KNOW that they are 'the one' even after one meeting.

I thought the texts/emails might be limiting at first, wondering how the story would progress or feel 'full' but it worked out so well! Sure, Josie is maybe a little more verbose than any of us might be in email form, but then again...maybe not. I write LONG emails so I get it ;-)

And lastly, the ending. *SIGH* I won't ruin it here but it was perfect for this story. Just what I wanted and hoped it would be. And there was a point where I was talking to the book wondering: HOW? How will this work out? And then the end came and I nodded, smiling as I said: "this is perfect."

I'd definitely recommend this to lovers of Jane Austen fiction but also to those who enjoy a good love story told in a slightly different format than what they are used to. You'll find romance, friendship, struggles, and successes between the pages of Dearest Josephine.

My rating: 4.5*

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for gifting me an advanced copy in both ebook and audio.

"Love just was".

This book is about seeing someone and never stop seeing. Through grief, uncertainty, separation.
So, yeah, Dearest Josephine is very romantic ;-) to the point that I rolled my eyes a few times :x
And I questioned the likelihood of some parts. Still, I was just enjoying the story.
And I wanted to get to the ending... and that confirmed what I had come to realize especially towards the end. Caroline George penned a thoughtful and heartfelt story that deeply tries to reflect on love, forgiveness, and things that last.

I was excited to read this novel as it was pushed as a historical mystery with a romantic pull. It sounded very intriguing and I was ready to jump in as soon as I was approved. At the end of the recording, I was a little loss for words. I had enjoyed the book, but was confused at times and didn’t feel that this story was completely finished.

The first thing to discuss would be the three stories that are taking place through the novel: the present day, 1821, and the novel written in 1821. These became confusing, especially between 1821 and the novel as the same names were used and I often was caught off guard as to whether this was the “real” timeline or the fictious one that Elias was writing. These were often interrupted with text messages in from the present day that were announced on the audio with appropriate sounds, but took away from the story being told and made it harder to get back into after. These three storylines were often told in the same voice and tone that never helped differentiate between them (this being both through writing style and audio narration).

Even after that, I did think that each story was an interesting one and actually wanted so much more from each. I would have taken this in three separate books and been happy. I did like the characters and their reactions to the hard situations that lie before them. Personalities did come through and conversations were pretty fluid. The author did go deep into emotional impacts and feelings which can help a reader deal with their own problems that they may be dealing with.

I think that I will have readers that eat up the historical aspects of this novel and appreciate the romance in it as well. I will look for more from this author and hope that she continues to expand her stories into so much more. I think I will still to the paper version of this novel instead of purchasing the audio as it may have contributed to much of the confusion.

The story has three plots, Elias Rocks actual story from Georgian times, the novel that he wrote, and the modern day Josephine. A love affair crossing time, via letters, emails and text messages. The plots are good, however it drags with a lot of introspective meanderings that are repetitive and very long winded that really take away from the story in general.

Overall rating: 5/5

Plot: Some basic information about the story, I do want to avoid giving spoilers, is that the format of the book is a little different to traditional YA novels. It is written in the form of letter, texts, writing, etc. with each chapter focusing on one of the three characters. I have read other novels, not YA, in this structure and I have always been fond of this form of storytelling. It allows so much of the personality of each character to shine through without having to do much character building from the bottom up. It is a time saver and also an enjoyable way to fall in love with characters. The writing is beautiful and the insights to life are relatable and at times heart wrenching.

Final Thoughts: I’m not going to lie, the last 5 chapter of the book had me raving and crying and oscillating from anger to sympathy and sadness. It was not until the end of the book that I realize how badly I wanted the impossible storybook ending and the wave of emotions Josie, the main protagonist, goes through I went through with her. I was a crying mess at the end of the novel, but some books are meant to bring out strong emotional responses. I both loved and hated the ending because even though I know the ending is great and the message about love is beautiful there is a small part of me that still wishes for the impossible.

While the story is fun, I'm not in love with the audiobook. Because so much of the communication is through text and email, the constant reading of the email addresses, dates and times gets old really quickly. When reading, you can skim over this but when listening, it just feels like a lot and can make the plot hard to follow or concentrate on.

3.5/5

Dearest Josephine is a sweet, though drawn out love story. Josie is feeling lost after the death of her father and a breakup with her boyfriend. She finds out her father had been restoring a large estate prior to his death and decides to check it out which turns into a prolonged stay. Josie instantly falls in love with its charm and the feeling she gets within the house. And then she stumbles on a stack of letters which are addressed to her… though the author has written them almost 200 years prior.

The story is told in multiple formats. First and foremost, there are long emails between Josephine and her best friend Faith. There are also messages between Josephine and those close to her. Then there are the letters that Elias has written to his Josephine. Then there are excerpts from Elias’s novel. Confused yet? Somehow it worked but I was constantly having to check where I was “at” in the storyline.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. Josie is a lovely narrator and protagonist. You cheer for her from the first sentence. However, I was constantly wondering what the book would really take off. Is she a time traveler? Are they two soulmates merely separated by time? Will Josie come to realize she is Josephine? And is Josie, actually Josephine?

The ending saved this book. It’s message is sweet and simple. I recommend checking out Dearest Josephine.

Sometimes a book just doesn’t do it for you and sadly this was the case for me with Dearest Josephine.

When I read the description I fell in love with the story. In 2021 A young woman named Josie whose father has recently passed away moves into an old decrepit estate her dad was planning to fix up. There, she finds love letters from a man called Elias Roch addressed to his lover but never sent. As Josie continues to read she begins to fall madly in love with Elias. Only problem is, the letters are from 1821.

As I said, I fell in love with the premise of the story but I didn’t fall in love with the execution and the format. The book is written as a series of emails, texts and letters.
While I don’t mind books with these elements in them by only using these elements I lost the connection to the story and the characters. There was no descriptive imagery to help me get lost in the world the characters were in. All in all it felt a bit like opening someone else’s mail and trying to connect to the people it was meant for.

There were some beautiful quotes in this book and I hope with the right audience it will be a big hit.
Also how gorgeous is the cover!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishing for my ARC to read and review.

Dearest Josephine by Caroline George follows Josie in 2020 who when her father’s will reveals a family-owned property in Northern England, Josie leaves London to find clarity at the secluded manor house. While exploring the estate, she discovers two-hundred-year-old love letters written by an elusive novelist, all addressed to someone named Josephine. And then she discovers a novel in which it seems like she’s the heroine. Meanwhile in 1820, novelist Elias Roch loves a woman he can never be with. Born the bastard son to a nobleman and cast out from society, Elias seeks refuge in his mind with the quirky heroine who draws him into a fantasy world of scandal, betrayal, and unconditional love. Convinced she’s his soulmate, Elias writes letters to her, all of which divulge the tragedy and trials of his personal life.

This book was a little slow at first for me but I quickly got invested in the several timelines and was curious to see how it would all turn out. The modern timeline takes place through emails and text messages which made it a little harder for me to get invested in that time period. Overall, this was a very fun twist on a historical YA novel.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a really fun, fast read. I didn't really enjoy the main character, Annika. Throughout the book, she became a little more bearable but I found it hard to relate to her. I did however love Annika's relationship with her father and her best friend/developer. Overall, I would recommend this to readers who enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was pulled into this book and loved it from the beginning to the end. It was delightful! I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with this book. I saw the book cover (loved it) and read the synopsis (loved it too) and knew that I really wanted to read this one. I was excited for the adventure that awaited me within this book.

I listened to an audiobook version and have to say that it was pretty fun! You have to listen pretty carefully at the beginning to get used to knowing who the character is and the jumping around between the past and the present. But the narrator's voice was charming and I loved her interpretation of Josie De Clare and Elias Roch. Well done!

The book is written in the form of email and text messages between Josie and her dearest friend Faith. Text messages between Josie and several other characters. The text messages are differentiated with a bell sound and the emails are made known with the narrator reading the email address and to/from. Then Josie reads letters written in the past by Elias Roch to Josephine De Clare as well as a novel written by Elias Roch. The chapters of the books alternate between Josie, Elias and The Novel.

I loved how the story came to life through the written word. It was truly delightful! I had hopes for certain outcomes in the story but was delightfully surprised when it didn't happen how I had thought it would. Josie and Elias are from different time periods but have so many similarities and I love how they "help" each other. I won't say anything more than that because I don't want to spoil anything. And you truly just have to delve into the story and experience it to understand.

I was grinning and possibly giggling a little at the end of the book because I truly loved how it all came to an end. Grab a copy and enjoy this delightful book. If you've read other epistle style books and enjoyed them you will truly love this one. And if you haven't experienced this type of writing style, take a chance and dive in. This book is geared towards YA but I'm far past that age and I enjoyed it! My teenagers listened to a lot of the book with me and they didn't want to stop listening. It was a hit!

Content: I felt like this was a clean book, minus one aspect due to a word that is repeated. Other than that it was clean. There is nothing more than a couple kisses in the book. Elias' character is an illegitimate child and the author used the term "B******" for describing him. Back in that time it was what would be used to describe a child born out of wedlock. I did feel like the amount of times that this term was used at the beginning was kind of overkill. I think it could have been toned down a lot. I felt that it came across quite well that he was the illegitimate son and didn't need to hear that term over and over again. But I know not all readers mind that like I do. So if you don't like that in your reading, I will say it happens several times throughout the book. More so in the beginning of the book and it tapers off and only says it occasionally throughout the rest of the book.

I received a copy from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

“Love arrives at the most unexpected time . . .
1821: Elias Roch has ghastly luck with women. He met Josephine De Clare once and penned dozens of letters hoping to find her again.
2021: Josie De Clare has questionable taste in boyfriends. The last one nearly ruined her friendship with her best friend.
Now, in the wake of her father's death, Josie finds Elias's letters. Suddenly she's falling in love with a guy who lived two hundred years ago. And star-crossed doesn't even begin to cover it . . . “

This was such an endearing and unique story! I liked the format of letters, emails, and texts. It’s not a format I have read before. I do think it would be better as a physical or e-book and loses something in the audio version.

The narrator has a lovely voice but wasn’t suited to this story. There was a small difference in the voices of Faith and Josie, but there was no distinction between any other characters. Being as a large portion of the story was from Elias’ perspective it could sometimes get confusing as to what part of the story I was listening to (Josie or Elias).

I would like to pick up a physical copy of this book to see if that makes a difference.

DISCLAIMER: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

With thanks to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for an audio arc of this book, all opinions expressed here are my own.

Dearest Josephine by Caroline George was an interesting read, told in the form of letters, novel chapters, texts etc. It follows three storylines: Josie today, Elias in the 1800s and a fictional 1800s tale about Elias and Josephine.

Josie’s father has passed away and she moves into an old house she didn’t know he owned. There she finds letters and a novel written by Elias 200 years ago to Josephine...is it her?

I enjoyed this audiobook, the narrator did I good job. Though I did find there wasn’t enough distinction when listening to the novel chapters so I got a little confused sometimes. Although I liked the ending, I’m still unsure what made Elias and Josephine’s love so special and why Josie/Josephine were so similar. Maybe I was waiting for a more fantasy time travel element or something?

Still an enjoyable 3 star read. This book publishes on the 2nd of February. I will post to Instagram and Amazon then.

Dearest Josephine follows our main character, Josie, after the death of her father where she goes to a house that he lived in to spend the fall and winter there to deal with the grief. There she finds letters, and eventually a novel, from the 1800s from a man named Elias to a girl named Josephine. Josie ends up falling in love with Elias and the centuries difference becomes an unforeseen problem for her.

SO INTERESTING PREMISE. annnnnd I'm not sure how I feel about this book. On one hand, the audiobook and writing were so engaging and intriguing. I was so HOOKED. I loved the characters and this plot was SO INTERESTING.

BUT on the other hand, I didn't know what I expected but like Elias was still, you know, dead and it ended with him still being dead. Not a spoiler because HE WAS FROM THE 1800s. Maybe I read too much fantasy, but I wanted him to be a real person lmao. Don't expect that.

Also, the book was written in different formats from the actual text to emails to texts to the novel and the letters. This was okay, I have no strong feeling of love or hate for it.

I definitely recommend this book to contemporary lovers, and definitely not for avid fantasy readers :))

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy for me to review.

An interesting book told primarily by text messages, letters, and manuscripts. that Josie finds in a an old house. When she finds letters addressed to her, she becomes intrigued and falls into a century old love triangle.

I really enjoyed this book. I was intrigued by the synopsis- a modern day girl finds letters written 200 years ago to a woman with the same name! How fun! I do love a story told over multiple time periods. This book also had so many great quotes. I wished I had a physical copy so I could highlight them.

I listened to this story as an audio book and I feel that I might have enjoyed it more as a physical book. I liked that the story was told through text, email, letters, and a novel but in audio format it was kind of hard to keep track of the different timelines and plots. The chime for texts was helpful but I wished there would have been another narrator for Elias’s letters and/or the novel. That was the hardest part of keep track of for me and I’m still not 100% sure how Elias really met Josephine/what was invented for his novel manuscript. But even with that said I was still eager to finish so I could find out how the story ended and the ending was satisfying.

Thanks NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to listen to Dearest Josephine and Caroline George for writing it. I hope many other YA fans enjoy this book.

Review also posted to goodreads.

𝙱𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚁𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠 - 𝙽𝚘 𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 by Caroline George

𝚚𝚞𝚘𝚝𝚎
“Her kiss tasted like...finally.”

𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚛𝚎
YA Romantic Fiction, Historical Fictio

𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎
<9.5 hours

𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢
𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒐𝒔𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 follows main character Josie as she manages the recent loss of her father, love, and discovery. While exploring a property her father secretly bought prior to his death, she runs into a pile of letters from a man who lived in a different century. Even though this man may have lived is 1820s, each letter starts with “Dearest Josephine.” Josie struggles between present problems and past predicaments.

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍
-This is an epistolary- the entire story is told through letters, texts, emails, and such. It was interesting to see an entire story told through forms other than typically narration and dialogue.
-romantic twists and turns

𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝙸 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚗𝚓𝚘𝚢𝚎𝚍
-the love interests and plot were almost instant. Instant love seems a little far fetched.
-there were some anachronisms with the past storyline.
-the narrator does a good job overall in the audiobook, but the different voices weren’t different enough. You’d have to listen extremely closely to hear the changes in voices. They were certainly spirited, though!
-I think this would be much better to read in a physical format, but that is not an option for all people. So, for those who read through audiobooks solely, I would just recommend listening closely.

𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐
★★★☆☆
I would recommend those book to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and is fond of epistolary writing. Otherwise, this may not be be for the reader.

𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜
☞︎ Please note that some of these could be considered spoilers, so only read if you need to know possible triggers.

Parent death

𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚎-𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚘𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚊 𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚎𝚠. 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚏𝚕𝚞𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝.

I just finished the audiobook for Dearest Josephine, and it was such a fun listen! The book is written as a series of emails, letters, texts and a novel. Whenever I read a book that is a series of letters, I initially am a little put off, but always end up loving it - which was the case for this book. I loved the narration and the use of text alert noises. It made the story feel relatable and modern, even though half of this story took place in the past.

I loved Josie and kept thinking that this story would make a fun movie. This book made me feel like I was somewhere else, which is something I've personally been longing for over the past year (I'm sure we can all relate lol). I would love to go visit her in the mansion once its restored.

By the end of the book I felt satisfied and happy for Josie, but I kept wondering....who the hell was the other Josephine? Why were they so similar? Was it really her? I know it wasn't her, and that this wasn't a time traveling book (I love a good time traveling moment), but that has been in the back of my mind all day. Not a gripe about the book, but I just want to know more. Which if anything, is a sign I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. It was a nice little escape and I enjoyed listening to the audiobook.

***** Read if you:

- Enjoy Jane Austen novels

- Love regency-era romance

- Like literary mysteries

- Enjoy epistolaries (novels written in document form -- emails, letters, texts, etc.) Or at least don’t mind them!


***** Proceed with caution if:

- You don’t like epistolaries. As a reader/audiobook listener, I do struggle with this format. It’s harder for me to keep track of timing, at a minimum. At maximum, I can’t keep track of characters, plot, etc.

Overall:

Thankfully, I didn’t lose track of the characters. I did lose track of the setting/times while reading. The novel has three different settings/times going on - one is the Regency-era, one is modern times, and one is a fictional novel written in the Regency-era, penned by a main character, that is based on real-life characters.

So sometimes I forgot where I was and had to go back to the chapter headline and determine if I was in an ‘Elias’ chapter or a ‘The Novel’ chapter.

The writing is beautiful, with quotes that are gems. I like how the author describes grief and how it can manifest.

***** What could be improved upon

If ‘The Novel’ chapters were read by a different narrator whose voice was not similar to the present narrator, that would provide enough of a differentiation to avoid confusion.

I wish text messages hadn’t been interspersed throughout the ‘Elias’ and ‘The Novel’ chapters as often as they were. The intrusion in audioform was a bit of an annoyance, as text messages were delineated by not one, but two different alert sounds. One would have been less obtrusive.

Thank you, Netgalley, for the chance to listen to and review this audiobook.

I typically don't read books that are more centered on a romance plot, but after I kept hearing so much buzz about Dearest Josephine, I decided to go ahead and request an ARC of it.

Dearest Josephine is an epistolary novel told in emails, texts, letters, and a manuscript. It alternates between letters written by Elias Roch in 1821, emails and texts from Josephine (Josie) De Clare in 2021, and a manuscript written by Elias.

Elias's part of the novel covers his struggles as the illegitimate son of a lord, who's now come into his father's title. He writes to a Josephine De Clare he met once, even though he doesn't know where Josephine lives and therefore cannot send them.

Josephine's part of the novel covers her life as she moves to the estate her recently-deceased father bought. As she processes her grief and what to do next, she finds the letters written by Elias 200 years ago to someone with her name.

The novel was written by Elias and is basically his daydream about what could have happened between him and his Josephine De Clare. There is also a little bit more to the novel, but that would give away some spoilers.

Nathalie Pownall does a fabulous job narrating Dearest Josephine and bringing the characters to life. After listening to Dearest Josephine, I kept thinking in a British accent. I also liked the small chime that played between the text messages in the novel. It made it more clear that they were text messages since it could have otherwise been confusing in audiobook format.

Because I also received a Kindle ARC, I was able to listen to and read Dearest Josephine and ended up finishing it in a day. While I wasn't sucked into the romance of the book, I was very curious as to how the author was going to tie everything together. Was she going to pull in time travel somehow? How was she going to end it?

I liked how George ended the book. It was a very fitting ending and tied everything together.

While the random snippets of texts between Josie and some of the other characters didn't add to the plot of the novel, they did help keep the world of Dearest Josephine feeling fleshed out and gave us some more glimpses of Josie's character.

There were times when the novel part of the book made me confused about what really happened in Elias's real life. Once I got it in my head though that if it was talking about Elias in the third person it was part of the novel, I had an easier time.

Some things I wasn't a huge fan of:

The various break-ups and reunitings between Faith and Noah also started to annoy me a little bit after a while.

I also was surprised by the abbreviated, "oh my --" used throughout the novel. I wasn't expecting that in a book published by a Christian publishing house. Also, for people who are concerned about content, there are several instances of kissing, and a swear word is used frequently throughout the novel, though with its original meaning.

Overall, Dearest Josephine was an enjoyable book. It's in a different genre from what I normally read, which makes it a little hard to decide if I'll listen to it again. However, if I have a friend who I know enjoys YA romance and asks me about the novel, I'll probably recommend it to them.