A bittersweet and cozy read. Love, Holly invites you to curl up on the couch with a blanket and cup of tea while enjoying the story.

Holly is grieving three years after a car accident. She feels sad and lonely, and disconnected from her family. When Holly gets her annual “Dear Stranger” letter around Christmas and the stranger includes her full name, Holly feels inspired to help the stranger (Emma) reunite with her family. Emma is shocked and unnerved that Holly has tracked her down though they soon form a tender friendship. But will Holly’s continued meddling threaten to destroy this newfound friendship?

I had a great time reading Love, Holly. The friendship between Holly and Emma is really lovely and Emma’s grandson Jack (conveniently handsome and around Emma’s age!) enhances the story as well. Jack has his own baggage regarding his work, professional aspirations, and relationships. He has to decide whether he is willing to let Emma back into his life. And in addition to all of that, Holly and Jack feel an intense connection with one another and have to figure out whether they should or shouldn’t pursue it given everything else going on in their lives. Recommended to anyone looking for an emotional and sweet read about grief, family, forgiveness, and love.

Thank you to Random House Ballantine and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy.

This one doesn't pack the emotional punch that Stone's other books do, mostly because the characters are pretty bland or, in Holly's case, irritating.

Love, Holly by Emily Stone is 5⭐️. Emily does a fantastic job of representing grief, survivors guilt, and the love that can heal us all.

This book was beautifully written! I really enjoyed the way it spanned such a long time and a wide variety of relationships. It wasn't the classic rom-com with two relationships it followed, but it followed a wide range of people and relationships at various stages of life and status.

I loved the way it jumped between months and skimmed over a few years, because it showed how healing and bridging the gap in relationships takes time. It wasn't an overnight fix for the broken things in these relationships, but it was a genuine journey that each character took to get to the end of this book.

The emotional tug of this book was undeniable. Getting to go through the healing and heartbreak with these characters was such a special thing! I really appreciate the way this book took me through such a wide range of emotions, but left me feeling satisfied and emotional in the best of ways. What a beautiful read!

This book was a beautiful mix of sad and happy, of grief and forgiveness, and helping others while finding yourself. It made me cry, but not in a way that I was overly sad or couldn’t keep reading. This book found a way to keep the sad in check with the happy and make the overall theme of the book uplifting even while handling some tough topics. I think it is so rare to see this so well done in a story. There was a romantic aspect to the book too and I loved how that relationship built, but I truly enjoyed the overall theme of second chances and forgiveness that was woven though the rest of the story. This book was easily 5 stars for me. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC of this book.