Close Enough to Touch is the type of novel that makes you feel. You feel Jubilee's pain and heartache, her fear, and her courage. Watching her burgeoning romance unfold gives you the same butterflies as your own first love did, while watching her face down every challenge thrown her way fills you with pride and tenderness. In the end, she reminds you that life is meant for living and that the pain and suffering that comes along with that is part of the experience. It is a wonderful reminder that we all need every once in a while, made more powerful given the daily drama and increasingly terrifying headlines.

Colleen Oakley admits in her author's notes that being allergic to humans is a made-up ailment, but she sells it well. After all, dogs can be allergic to dander too, so it takes no great stretch of the imagination to accept a human-to-human allergy. Given her severe reaction to others, her self-imposed isolation also makes total sense. There is the added pleasure of the fact that she is living the life so many introverts dream of having - no human interaction, surrounded by ALL the books with nothing but time to read them. Yet, Ms. Oakley shows the dangers of such a life instead of glorifying it, not destroying the dream exactly but highlighting the impracticality and long-term effects of it.

Jubilee is a delightful character with whom it is all too easy to fall in love. She is a tragic figure but is able to laugh at herself and at the hand she was dealt. More importantly, she does not sit and wallow...much. She recognizes the situation in which she finds herself and accepts it. She is also extremely strong, more than she consciously believes. When needs must, she does what has to be done, whether that means stepping foot outside for the first time in ten years or saving the life of a boy at the risk of her own. Her struggles to adapt to life outside her sanctuary, the lack of human contact she must maintain, and her adjustments to living life after so long all endear her to the reader, but it is her strength of character that makes the greatest impression.

Close Enough to Touch is a gorgeous novel about love and life. While there is a romantic interest for Jubilee, what she discovers about love is more than the relationship kind. She discovers what it means to love yourself enough to care about your future and take a chance at life. It is the type of feel-good story that makes you glad to be alive and reminds you why you love to read.

Imagine being allergic to the human touch. Jubilee has lived most of her life unable to touch or be touched by others. Now that her mother has died, she must find a way to support herself. She nearly dies after giving in to instinct, jumping into a river to save a drowning child and resuscitating him. She falls for the child's dad--and he for her--but cannot bring herself to tell him why she keeps him at arm's length. (Netgalley)

Unusual and quirky romance with characters that are easy to relate to...we all have issues and flaws to deal with. I have not read any other works by this author, but will be sure to look for some of her other works.

I loved this book! I read it in two days -- I didn't want to put it down!

This book is like a mix of Everything, Everything and Pushing Daisies ... main character Jubilee is allergic to people and after her mother dies she becomes agoraphobic and like a neighborhood recluse. Through a series of events she becomes a librarian and saves the life of a precocious 10 year old boy named Aja. Because she "touched" Aja while giving him CPR, Jubilee lands up in hospital and Aja and his adopted dad, Eric, eventually become a part of her life.

Eric has struggles of his own ... he yearns to understand his daughter, Ellie, who lives with his ex-wife and to do that he decides to read novels that Ellie wrote about in a school project. His conversations about books with Jubilee lead to a unique friendship.

Eric and Jubilee just broke my heart. You could see their feelings for each other just build up and build up until finally it culminates in Eric wrapping her in a blanket and then wrapping her in a hug. Jubilee is starving for human touch, and Eric and Aja -- including their dog, Rufus -- have come to mean so much to her.

This was my first Colleen Oakley book, and I'm so glad I had the chance to read this arc from Netgalley. It was a joy to read, and I will be thinking of these characters for a long, long time -- and to me, that's the mark of a good novel.

This is my first Colleen Oakley book and now I am a big fan. She had me at the mention of Boo Radley and the unique storyline kept me intrigued. This refreshing love story with a well-developed plot and quirky engaging characters was hard to put down. Jubilee Jenkins (don't you just love the name) is a young woman who suffers from a life-threatening allergy of the most bizarre kind, she is allergic to other people. After going into anaphylactic shock and almost dying, she becomes a recluse and lives without face to face human contact for many years. She receives an unexpected phone call and her life changes forever.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a Jodi Picoult or a JoJo Moyes fan. Relevant issues of today are addressed in a way that draws the reader in and leaves them wondering how the characters are doing, long after reading the last page.

Thank you to Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and Netgalley for this Advanced Reading Copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

I wanted to love Close Enough to Touch. The premise was so interesting and the inherent anticipation was so high throughout the first two major sections of the book, but in the end this one just did not wrap up in a satisfactory manner.

The lack of closure regarding Eric and Jubilee’s relationship sadly soured my view of this entire novel. Many parts of this book worked incredibly well (Jubilee’s personal development, Eric’s struggle to be a single dad, Oakley’s exploration on the concept of family), but the romance aspect of this book left much to be desired. Now this book is not billed as a romance, it’s strictly women’s fiction, but it did have strong romantic elements that filled pages and pages of this novel. At the end of the day I felt somewhat cheated. It actually felt like I was back in high school literature class searching for the deeper meaning and the hidden message...was I just missing it? After a crazy amount of self-reflection I’m resigning myself to the lack of closure I felt regarding Eric and Jubilee’s relationship.

3.5 stars for Close Enough to Touch.

I was provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review. This book tells the story of Jubilee Jenkins. Jubilee is hard to describe as she is a complicated woman. Jubilee has a very rare condition that causes her to have an allergic reaction to other people. And it is so severe that a simple touch leaves her skin with large angry welts, and a short touch of the lips makes her throat close up, literally. And when she almost dies two weeks before her high school graduation from kissing a boy, Jubilee hides herself away in her house, out of what seems to be a combination of hopelessness, depression, and fear. And there she stays for the next nine years. She figures out how to survive without ever leaving her house (thank goodness for the internet and delivery services). But at 26 she runs out of money and she gets a job at the library where she meets Eric and his adopted son Aja. And as she develops feelings for Eric, is it really feasible for her to be in a relationship when she can't touch anyone?
Overall I liked this book a lot. Although I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. The book did a great job of building up the relationship between the characters and really drawing the reader in and engaging them. The ending just fell a little short for me and it was a little sad. A second "love interest" was introduced within the last few pages and it just didn't feel like it fit and I couldn't ascertain a reason for it being added into the story line. And I think the reader misses too much between the end of the story and the epilogue, there is a large amount of time that passes. While the ending wasn't a good fit for me personally, I thought this was a great read full of hope, laughter and love, and I would definitely recommend it!

I'm sorry, but I wasn't interested in this story. I won't be finishing it.

A very unique and satisfying story. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really, really loved this book. From the get go, it was just very easy to read and the kind of story you could fall head over heels in love with and become absorbed in the pages. I didn't want to put it down. I loved the characters in this and how different everyone was while at the same time desperately needing each other. While I don't believe this book is Own Voices, it's definitely diverse with Jubilee dealing with severe allergies that effect her way of life as well as a touch of agoraphobia. Aja is also on the autistic spectrum and is a mixed-race child with a white adoptive father. Jubilee's allergy isn't real but Colleen Oakley put an interesting note in the back of the book about how she wanted Jubilee's allergies to be relatable to severe allergies people live with every day like peanut butter and eggs, as well as connecting with readers who also have suffered agoraphobia. I haven't suffered anything like this so I can't say how correct or relatable Jubilee's story was but I definitely enjoying reading her journey.

I loved Eric, he was just pretty adorable and I adored how he tried to connect with his daughter Ellie by reading all her favourite books and trying to figure out why she connected with The Virgin Suicides and The Bell Jar. This is a great story for book lovers too as Jubilee and Eric often discuss books together.

There were defintiely times I felt frustrated in this book by the behaviour of Aja and Ellie but I think it all eventually played out quite naturally. There was no overnight fix for everything, it all took time. The same with Jubilee's relationship with Eric. They had a friendship first that deepened into something very raw and real. It took time which I think was appropriate for Jubilee's situation and was realistic.

I was going to give this 5 stars but had to change it to a 4.5 stars as I couldn't help but feel disappointed by the ending. It was was't what I had been hoping for. It was still sweet and lovely but was just missing some kind of spark for me. [I do like the fact that Jubilee's life didn't just stop after Eric left and that she made some really great, strong connections. I just was disappointed that she might have ended up hurting Michael, or Eric, or both of them. I wasn't really sure where the epilogue was going, whether it would lead to heartbreak or not. I can't really pinpoint exactly why I felt a bit let down from the epilogue, I was just left feeling flat by it. It might have been the huge time gap between the end and the epilogue possibly.

Another fabulous book by Ms. Oakley! Interesting premise with well-developed characters and emotional content. Highly recommended!

I thought the characters were well developed, but I didn't really like any of them. I"d compare the story line to Jodi Picoult or Jojo Moyes, but this book is not quite there as far as execution. I did not care for the ending. Meh.

I was a little hesitant to read this book.. Partly because I wasn't sure about the main character not being able to touch humans and how this would affect the storyline. Plus, I'm a huge Jojo Moyes fan and don't think many books come close to Moyes style and narrative. This book was emotional roller coaster. I had to keep a box of tissue next to me. I read it over the weekend because I couldn't put it down. I have been thinking of this book all day Monday. A must read if you are a Jojo Moyes fan.

An absolutely enjoyable read and one that I'll be recommending to friends. I love the way they took a topic that could have gone a more science fiction/fantasy route (which Aja would have enjoyed) and instead created a realistic look at what someone's life might look like.

It is hard to express my thoughts about this book. It actually kept me awake during the night after I finished it. My thoughts and emotions were all over the place. I read this in one sitting and cried many times through it.

The author has such an amazing talent for her unique depiction of the main character, Jubilee… Love the name too, but such an oxymoron to her despair and longing for love. I felt every hurt, every ounce of shame, every shred of anxiety she felt. The authors incredible ability to pour her heart into this book is evident with every turn of the page.

And Eric. Oh, what a sweetheart of a man. A man who is struggling to connect with those he loves and misses with every ounce of his breath. A man who is overwhelmed and a bit broken. A man who is drawn to a strange and wildly uncomfortable, mysterious woman, but what they build together slowly is an amazing feeling… until it is broken apart.

And on come the tears again. But there is hope. And that is all I am going to say. Other than I found myself wishing we got more at the ending. I wanted sooooo much more. However, I dried my tears and then tried to figure out how to express my feelings toward this awesome read in hopes that you may find a deep and incredible connection to the story, like I did.

One of the most unique premises of a romance novel I've ever read. I enjoyed the writing style so much and the characters seemed very life-like, especially with all the detail of the heroine's medical condition. Very well done.
Also, best opening line ever: “One time, a boy kissed me and I almost died.”
I do wish the ending could have been less abrupt :)

I'd give 3.5 to this.

Jubilee has a rare kind of allergy—to humans. Due to an incident back at school, and her mother leaving her for another man, she hasn't left home for nine years. Upon receiving news of her mother's death and the end of the monthly checks that kept her, she needs to get out in the world and find a job. Eric has just moved to the same town, and he is in trouble as he fails yet another kid.

Well, this story wasn't only focused on allergies. It also touched topics like family, communicating with one's own children, grieving, the importance of having emotional support, among others. In my opinion, that was where the plot felt richer.

I wasn't fond of Eric and most of the supporting characters read a little too shallow to me. On the other hand, Aja, who is Eric's adopted son, made up for everything. Not that Jubilee wasn't great just as much. For many and many pages I kept hoping the two would meet and was delighted that they hit it off so well. So this isn't a book that failed me character-wise—then again, Eric was just so pushy and yet so over himself he got on my nerves every time. He did have some nice points. I don't condone how willing he is to stalk his daughter—albeit the unconventional way, by reading her book reports along with reading the books themselves—, but the effort he put in getting to know her made me pity his predicament. Also, he basically ignored Aja's red flags but he eventually did his best. He is as oblivious as I don't know what but he works hard to compensate, which was refreshing to read.

I think that the problem was exactly what made me pick this book—the allergies plot. Being more than a romance novel, and not even YA, I hadn't considered it could be a mere plot device. All the parts of Jubilee being afraid of going outside, in addition to her past traumas, and her issues with her mother, had great descriptions, making the beginning very easy to relate. As the story advanced, however, the allergies sounded less and less real. For some reason, they would just kick in when it was most convenient, and basically to represent a barrier between her and Eric. To the very end, the disease only existed to be the drama in the way of their love story.

Also the resolution wasn't bad but it was so weird... I can't explain without spoilers so you will have to trust me on this. After realizing the allergy to human meant so little, I had my hopes on a well-thought ending. I mean, okay, she didn't want to analyze this deeper but at least she must have a good conclusion from all this. Only she didn't. To be honest, she got close to something that wasn't ideal but at least it didn't feel predictable, only to suddenly go back on that, which was even worse because of how sudden the change was. I wonder what happened there...

Closing this, the book was good to read. The narration flew well, all characters had their voices, there were all sorts of emotions going on and the story was the heartwarming type that leaves you a silly smile. However, the allergy was nothing but a plot device, which made this book lose not only points but also its singularity to becoming just a romance. A cute one, at least. So I can't give a 4 as I thought I would for half of the book but this should be enjoyed by people who like easy-to-read stories.

I have been waiting for Colleen Oakley to write a new book, so I was excited when I came across Close Enough to Touch. I had mixed feelings about her first book Before I Go, but I thought it was well written so I wanted to give her a second chance. Close Enough to Touch had me interested from the first page. While not a real condition, imagining someone with an allergy to other human dna cells was intriguing. How would she live without the touch of another? Not surprisingly Jubilee feels very alone and angry at the beginning of the story. I was thrilled when she worked up the courage (really out of necessity) to go out and get a job. We get to see how she interacts with other people after not seeing or interacting with a single soul for 9 years, besides occasional phone calls. Oakley's writing reminds me a lot of some of my favorite author's of contemporary fiction: Nicholas Sparks, Jodi Picoult, Cecilia Ahern, Jojo Moyes, authors that pull at your heartstrings and are masters at creating a romantic story. Beyond Jubiliee's relationship with Eric, which is a refreshingly different take on a relationship because they can't physically touch, I love the dynamic between Jubilee and Aja, two people who have trouble communicating with others, but find solace in someone similar yet so different. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary fiction.

Such a cute book! I was definitely outside my comfort zone when I read this since no one is murdered, but I'm glad I read it. Jubilee has life threatening allergy to people doesn't leave her house for 9 years. She is forced to leave once she runs out of money and gets a job at a library. Although the premise is far fetched. Jubilee and the other main character Eric are extremely relatable.

very emotional. well written. lovely story. This is the perfect curl up by a fire and read book. Oh and bring Kleenex