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.

Both heartbreaking and hilarious, this novel by Emma Grey was a wonderful read. Going back and forth over the years of Kate and Cam’s love, it is all the more difficult to learn about Cam’s decline and death, leaving Kate to carry on with their young son. But how long will Kate hold on to Cam’s constant presence in her mind?

The Last Love Note is a story of second chances and forgiveness. Kate didn't expect to become a single parent, but when her husband is diagnosed with rapid, on-set Alzheimer's that is the role she was forced to play. When a new neighbor moves on and throws Kate off kilter, she questions whether or not self chances at love are even possible. Written in an easy to follow manner, The Last Love Note will break your heart and put all of the pieces back together by the end.

Thank you Zibby Books for the gifted arc.

The attention speaks for itself: A December Indie Next pick, November Book of the Month selection, and Target Book Club pick for December, this novel needs to be on your TBR list. With romance as well as heartache, Emma Gray weaves the story of sole parent, Kate. Kate is emerging from devastating loss and grief and wrestling with the possibility of a second chance at love. Written with humor and heart-warming characters, this exploration of grief and love will leave you hopeful and impacted.

The Last Love Note | Emma Grey

“Maybe because, even in loss, there’s so much more to life.”

I’m having such a hard time writing this review because what I want to convey to you is that this book absolutely shocked me in the best way possible, while simultaneously wrecking me to my absolute core, while also bringing me joy and about 1,000,000 other emotions.

How can it do it all?

The writing was so refreshing. The story, the characters, the dialogue, the connections. Literally everything. I’m honestly still feeling like I can’t find the words to describe what this book took me through - in the best way.

This book is about Kate. Her life is a little bit of a mess. She is navigating being a single mom after losing her husband, Cam, to the unthinkable. How can she move forward for herself and her son? She is a mess, but she is also surrounded by people that were so loving and understanding. The side characters were such a bonus in this story.

Kate is trying to figure out what life looks like now. How does she properly grieve her husband? How can she ever love someone else again? So many questions.

I found myself sobbing during the last chapter and epilogue. And then as if that wasn’t enough here come the acknowledgements - Emma Grey you are a gift. This book is a gift. Thank you.

Also wanted to mention that infertility and miscarriage are both mentioned. As someone who is currently TTC and has been for a while, there was a quote that really hit me in my gut. “Infertility shredded my confidence, and eventually the complicated process of bringing a baby into the world just sort of swallowed me whole.” I’ve never been able to put it into words what this process can do to someone, but man this is it. I read this to my husband when I came across it in the book and we both agreed that it really summed it up.

Again, I cannot say enough words about this book. It is a treasure and absolutely beautiful.

5 ⭐️

Sweet story. Deeper than I was anticipating. Don't let the cover fool you.

I must have read the blurb for this one before I downloaded it, but I had forgotten what it was about and was caught off guard by the emotion of it. If you have triggers, you might want to check out the trigger warnings here (view spoiler) Even before I read the author's note I knew she had personal experience with at least one of these things, because the emotional impact of the story is real and raw.

Kate has been widowed for two years and is raising her son while working a job fundraising for a university. She feels as if she is barely holding things together, made a bit easier by her friends and her boss Hugh. When she and Hugh are stranded during a work trip Kate is forced to look closely at her life and see if she wants things to continue as they have been or if she wants to make changes.

Although there is some romance in this novel, it's really more about deeply felt grief and learning how to navigate through it. There are some humorous moments that provide a bit of levity, but overall it's a thoughtful examination of life, death, and everything in between.

There are some side storylines that I felt were not really necessary and kind of detracted from the main plot. It didn't make a huge difference overall, but they could have been easily removed and it would have been a tighter novel.

If you're looking for a book that will make you laugh, cry, and feel, then definitely pick this one up.

This novel set in Australia is about a young widow and mom named Kate, whose husband died two years before, though with flashbacks to the time before and just after his death as well. The book follows her through her journey of grief, as she learns to live and love again - part contemporary women’s fiction and part very slow burn romance.

I loved this book, a really sweet story that made me both laugh and cry. Vibe-wise, think a cross between Katherine Center and Jojo Moyes. And definitely read the author’s note after, which makes the book even more poignant knowing that the author wrote it while processing her own grief at the loss of her husband. I look forward to seeing whatever Emma Grey writes next!

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey really surprised me. I gotta be honest, it took me a few chapters to really get into this one. The beginning was a little chaotic, but once we got over all of the excitement and craziness, I was glad that I stuck with it. I was able to fully settle in, and enjoy this beautiful story about moving forward after a major loss, and learning to love again.

While reading this novel, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that the author experienced loss, grief, and lost a spouse. The writing was incredibly heartfelt and sincere. You could tell that bits and pieces of her were entwined into the main character, Kate. Everything felt so realistic. At times, it read like a memoir.

Based on the subject matter, of course there’s a lot of sadness in this novel. But don’t let that stop you from picking this one up. Kate’s journey is full of hope, love, and laughter. She’s an admirable character, and I felt lucky to witness her growth in these pages. 4/5 stars for The Last Love Note!

What is the book about?
After the death of her husband, 38 year old Kate finds herself alone and doing her best to raise their three year old son and maintain her sanity as well as her job. Little by little, Kate begins to reclaim the woman she once was, and also finds a new version of herself.



What did I think of the book?
I never really thought about grief humor as a genre, but this proves not only does it exist, but definitely worth looking into. It gave me Steel Magnolia vibes, in that I was often laughing through tears.

The author beautifully conveys the experience of grief into words.
When Kate oversleeps and almost misses a work-related flight, she finds herself on the back of her new neighbor’s motorcycle, racing to the airport.
“On the back of it for the very first time since the night Cam died, there’d been a sliver of time free from obsessing over the sheer awfulness of it all. Obsessing over Cam. And how much I miss and adore him and can barely gasp for air sometimes in his absence. What a precious escape this ride was.” Absolutely brilliant!

I’ve seen a lot of great reviews and thought the premise sounded promising. Unfortunately, the execution just didn’t work for me and I found that any time I set it down, I didn’t want to pick it back up. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free book to review.

This book was so emotional!

I’ve dealt with grandparents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s but never early on set as young as Cam in this novel. The grief this novel encompasses is profound. There is a lot of it. But I enjoyed the story and the character arc it gave. I did feel like the ending/falling action was a bit rushed, but I absolutely loved the Epilogue. This book felt very Hallmark/romance movieesk to me.

Emma Grey's THE LAST LOVE NOTE was that engaging, fully immersive plunge into another person's life that entertains, informs, and moves me to consider my own life when I finally emerge. Protagonist Kate is 38, reeling from the untimely death of her beloved Cam, still surrounded by the notes and vivid presence of a man and a life they created together and struggling to make sense of a world without him while raising their young son. Badgered by well-meaning mother and good friends, Kate is finally challenged with facing her grief when she's stranded on an island with her boss and there is nothing for her to do but go through the notes and memories and find a way through to the rest of her life. Kate is fantastically well-wrought, the story well-paced, the dialogue and notes remarkably done. A truly wonderful book! I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

You know when you are just in the mood to have not just a little cry but a big cry? If that is the mood you have found yourself in then this is the book for you. It is absolutely beautifully written. Your heart breaks for the main character as you navigate her grief and loss with her. Highly recommend, just make sure the tissues are nearby.

This book had me smiling from page 5, then tearing up a few pages later. That continued as we went from past to present. This was a sweet, heart breaking story that I devoured. I also appreciated the pop culture references that made even some of the grief pieces relatable.

Thank you to Zibby Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

Spoiler: While a tad predictable, I love a good HEA. I appreciate the realness, the rawness of the emotional rollercoaster, and the goal of putting yourself first.

Don't be fooled by this colorful, beachy cover. You're going to want to have your tissues ready when you read 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘.

I love a book that makes you feel all the things and this is one of those books. I laughed and cried along with Kate, a young, widowed mother trying to rebuild her life while mourning her husband. Emma Grey captures this in a way only someone who's experienced such a loss herself could (don't miss the author's note). The reader is on the emotional rollercoaster right along with Kate, finding joy in small moments while being shattered by others as she figures out how to create a life so different from the one she imagined, how to balance preserving memories with moving on and how to allow herself to be happy after experiencing such tragedy. But I promise this book isn't a downer. With a cast of wonderful side characters, there are so many funny moments, but what struck me the most is how real it all feels. The grief and guilt are palpable but so are resilience and hope.

The Last Love Note is considered a rom com, but that pigeonhole is not a good fit for me. This novel is about losing. Losing love, jobs, babies. Sounds depressing right, but the novel is about so much more. The setting is Australia, so the places were unfamiliar, but Emma Grey’s sense of place takes over! At the novel’s core is the journey of a widow through grief, the understanding and acceptance of the self-sacrificing actions of others, and the mosaic of the human heart. There are secrets, low points and turning points-all revealed through love notes. Readers will long remember the overall theme that ‘love outlives death.’ This novel is humor and scaffolded grief shrouded in wisdom.

This book explored the topic of love after an early widowhood. I really appreciated the depth and breadth the author brought to the experience, but it moved way too slowly for me. I felt the timeline for the story itself was fine, but the author and editors could have cut about 70 pages.

Kate and Cam are the perfect couple. They are madly in love both with one another and their little boy Charlie. But after a car accident, the doctors note something that Kate has been noticing recently, too - Cam is having trouble processing and understanding language. And that’s when their entire world flips upside down. Kate loses Cam and has to navigate this new life as a widow at only 38. Her best friend Grace, and her boss Hugh, have been nonstop by her side, picking her up when she falls, helping her to hold her life together. And now when Kate and Hugh become stranded together, Kate gets the opportunity to learn more about Hugh and why he’s really been there for her.

This book will definitely be in my top of the year. I felt everything in these pages - I felt joy, and heartbreak, and a swell of love. I cried, and I smiled, and I was so devastated that I had to put the book down and walk away. The way that the author explained grief and how it felt to watch Cam diminish in front of Kate’s eyes, you knew that she had experienced something similar.

It reminded me of how I felt while reading Someday Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli - like I was being punched in the gut over and over again. But that also, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. This book both looks and sounds like it’ll be a romance. And it is absolutely not that - or, at least not in the typical sense. This book is a love story - a love story between Kate and Cam, a potential love story between Kate and Hugh, but really a love story about what it means to find yourself again after unimaginable loss.

My heart broke for Kate over and over and over again. I felt the pain that she felt as she had to say goodbye to the person she never expected to lose.

My one tiny quibble is that I thought the end wrapped up too simply, but that didn’t stop me from loving this entire book, even through the tears streaming down my face, and giving it five stars.