Love, Holly, by Emily Stone, is the story of Holly Griffin, a young struggling artist who turns to teaching art after a family tragedy happens. In the blink of an eye Emily and her sister Lily are traveling to spend Christmas with their parents at a rented country home and find themselves in a three vehicle accident sandwiched between a car behind them and one oncoming. While Emily suffers bumps and bruises, her sister suffers a miscarriage. Blaming Emily, Lily withdraws, not wanting to see or hear from Emily for three years.

Also on the day of the accident Emily and Lily made a coffee stop just before it happened. At this stop, Emily had a chance encounter in line with a fellow named Jack. Although Jack gave Emily his phone number written on her cup, the cup disappeared in the accident and, although she thought of him, she had no way how to reach out.

As part of her own coming to terms with the fallout from the accident, Emily joins a program called Hello, Stranger, in which someone who is suffering themselves writes a holiday letter to be sent to another person in a similar situation. Each person enrolled in the program will receive a holiday letter also sending encouragement. This year Emily has received a letter from an older woman with a similar story who unwittingly gives clues as to her location and signs her full name.

As the woman divulges she has cancer and regrets and is dying alone, Emily takes it upon herself to find her and help her. As the lady describes the coffee shop where she had stopped on her one fateful day, Emily knows where to begin. And what a story unravels from that point on!

I very much enjoyed this book and I do recommend it!

I really liked the storyline and the characters. I like the Authors writing and I will look for more books by this Author.

“A young woman tries to heal a rift in her elderly pen pal’s family in time for Christmas, all while falling in love—and maybe even reuniting with her own family.”

This is my first Emily Stone book and I have to say that I’m presently surprised! I’m not usually a holiday book reader, but this one definitely hit different, much more deep than your typical holiday romance. This book has some heavier topics such as loss, heartbreak, grief and loneliness, but it also brings about the ideas of hope, healing, self-reflection and love.

This is a book about the power of forgiveness, second chances and having faith in the universe. While it was a solid read, overall, it was highly predictable and the ending…definitely bring tissues.

If you want a holiday read that is more heavy than light with a little romance sprinkled in, you should pick this one up today.

“Sometimes it takes a stranger to bring you back to yourself.”

Thank you to Random House Publishing and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
Don’t be fooled this is not your typical holiday read. This is pretty dang heavy. And it takes place not just over Christmas.
I did really enjoy the romance though.

I enjoyed reading this book which was full of love, hate, friendship, fate, and heartbreak. While its considered a Christmas story because the main events that shape the plot take place during Christmas time, this book can be read year-round.

The story follows a girl named Holly whose life took a major turn on Christmas Eve. She was with her pregnant sister, on the way to visit her family and spend Christmas together. Holly and her sister stop at a coffee shop and there she meets a stranger, who's name is Jack. Holly and her sister leave the coffee shop and get into a car accident down the road. Her sister blames Holly for the loss of her baby, as Holly was the one driving the car. After the accident, Holly and her family become distant for years.

Fast forward a few years and Holly takes part in a holiday letter–writing club for people that feel lonely. She receives a letter from Emma, who has just heard the news that she has cancer and no family to support her. Noticing the place Emma mentions in her letter, Holly finds Emma hoping to provide her with some company and comfort. She then becomes determined to reunite Emma with her estranged grandson, Jack. She does locate Jack, who ends up being the same guy she met a few years prior in the coffee shop, before the accident.

As Jack and Emma reconnect, throughout the next year Jack and Holly get to know each other too. Theres many bumps in the road for the characters to overcome and be able to heal from their tragic pasts.

This is a charming book with a bittersweet ending that I would recommend anyone reads, no matter what time of the year it is.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Dell for granting me an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

More holiday romance! This was heavier and more emotional. It deals with grief, guilt and family issues. So well written. It broken my heart and then put it back together.
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I loved Holly and Jack and seeing their story come full circle. Highly recommend, but have your tissues ready!

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Another gorgeous book by Emily Stone!!!

RATING: 4 stars
GENRE: Women’s Fiction/Holiday Romance

READ IF YOU LIKE:
▫️ Dual POV
▫️”Right person, wrong time” romance trope 🥺
▫️Hand written letters ✍️
▫️Venice, Italy
▫️Emotional reads 😢
▫️Themes of: grief, family, forgiveness

THOUGHTS:
Emily Stone can do no wrong in my book. Her stories are so deep and tender, which is a mood that I am ALWAYS here for! Romcoms are the best, but I find myself thinking about how similar all holiday books can be... but not with Stone's books. I swoon at her writing style and strong character development. Her characters have real issues, that I think many, many readers can relate to!

RATING EXPLAINED:
This book was beautiful and simple. Exploring grief and shame in ficiton is never an easy task and Stone did it well. It wasn't a 5 star favorite bc I did feel like the characters all knew each so fast?? Like they instantly connected... if that makes sense. Lastly, most of the holiday feels were more in the beginning. I would have loved more holiday feels throughout! I definitely still recommend this one if you enjoy emotional reads.

Thank you Random House & PRH Audio for my gifted copies.

This book had its ups and downs, but overall was an enjoyable read. I loved the characters as well as the twists and turns that gave their “chance” meeting more layers and significance. Some things I saw coming and others were truly a surprise. It is a great holiday or vacation read.

I have liked Emily Stone's other Christmas books, so I was excited to dive into this one! I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is a bit heavy at times as it seemed to center a lot on fractured relationships, with Holly and her sister and Emma and her grandson Jack. With that being said, I appreciated that we got resolution by the end of the book. I appreciated the friendship that Holly and Emma had developed and loved to read the parts of the book when they were together. I found Holly is be one of my favorite main characters in a book for a while, and while curmudgeonly, Emma was very charming as well. I loved a character driven story, and this book definitely delivered on that. I do recommend this book who is looking for a heartwarming read during the Christmas season.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.

Really enjoyed this one! Started out a bit slow but there was a twist about 40% into the book that totally caught me off guard and got my attention. Will definitely be recommending this as a future holiday read.

This book was emotional, yet so heart-warming and I still can't stop thinking about these characters. It had some of the sweetest and introspective moments. This is an absolute staple going forward for Christmas novels.

Emily Stone sure knows how to write touching stories and this one is a doozy!!

This Christmas is the first Christmas without my mom and it's bittersweet. Finishing this book the day after Christmas on the day I'm meant to celebrate the holiday with my family feels like fate.

Holly's story isn't one that I can relate to personally but there are so many moments in this book that I feel deep down in my soul. As I reached the epilogue I knew that I was holding a book that would stay with me forever. The words so beautifullly written on each page will stay with me forever!

Such a beautiful book that I think everyone should read!

"Please don't spend too long mourning me. Miss me occasionally". - This line broke me but is still a favorite 😁

I want to hug this book real tight and never let go. And now I’ve read it and I loved it. It was a very hopeful and emotional read it was all about the journey the MCs were on before they could even begin something between them.

This book was sooo cute! I loved everything about it. Couldn't read it quick enough. Adored the characters and sad it's over!

I read to 17% and then stopped… I’m sorry but I didn't meet one character I liked… and her family turning on her for the reason they did? Toxic.

4 ⭐️
I really enjoyed this heartfelt Christmas novel! It dealt with real-life issues, had a sweet romance, and it pulled at your heartstrings a bit. Love that it discussed grief when grief is so difficult around the holidays 🤍

*Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read it!

I couldn’t get past the tragedy and sadness of this book, so I chose to DNF at a little past 15%. There was too much depressing content for the kind of Christmas reads I enjoy, just not the book for me.

The premise of this one, while interesting, ultimately hinged on a lie by omission which I'm finding is one of my least favorite tropes lately. I love a good intergenerational friendship, which ultimately kept me reading this one, but the female main character is absolutely insufferable. She does not listen, refuses to address underlying situations and stand up for herself, and is all around unlikeable. Also her family are flat out the worst. The grief in this one is appropriate at times, and absolutely ridiculous in others. While I like Emily Stone well enough, her books are either hit or miss for me, and this one was VERY much so a miss. Interested to see if her next book is a hit, as I am really hoping it will be. Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved this one and highly recommend for some cozy, holiday reading! I found myself smiling from ear to ear one moment and tearing up the next. The concept of the letters between strangers was so endearing to me and I love reading a story about grief as someone who has experienced loss myself.

Seems like it might be a cute Christmas story but couldn’t capture my interest / nothing special. DNF at 25%.