If there’s one book this year, that I can’t seem to let go of, it has to be Dear Emmie Blue. Reading it, I felt my heart would burst out of my body. Once finished, I felt it been chewed up and spat out in one piece, leaving a gaping hole behind.

A long time ago, Emmie Blue released a red balloon with a message hidden inside. A secret that was weighing her down which she desperately wanted to be free of. And against all odds, across hundreds of miles of ocean, it was found on a beach in France by a boy called Lucas who immediately emailed the attached address, sparking an intense friendship between the two teens.

Fourteen years later, on the eve of her thirtieth birthday, Emmie hopes that Lucas is finally about to kiss her. She has all but neglected her life outside of this relationship - given up the search for her absentee father, no longer tries to build bridges with her distant mother, and lives as a lodger to an old lady she barely knows after being laid off from her job.

Dedicated to her love for Lucas, she doesn’t expect him to announce that he is marrying someone else! Suddenly Emmie's dreams are shattered and the one person in her life she can rely on is slipping through her fingers. But what if Lucas isn't her forever? What if her love story is only just beginning…?

The idea of releasing a balloon into the air and someone, miles away, finding it is serendipitous. How can you not attach meaning to it? I love how the story develops with snippets of the past revealing Emmie and Luke’s budding friendship and why it suddenly seems to have taken a different direction. Little things that remind you of your youth – birthday’s spent with best friends, putting together mixtapes, living in a world of your own – fills you with a fondness.

Which is why this book is all heart, from the beginning to the end – warm, snuggly, overwhelming, heart-wrenching. In the end, all I can think is, if this is what love is, then yes, please, one for me!

This ARC courtesy of Netgalley and Trapeze Books - an imprint of Orion Publishing.

This book made me cry. In a good way. It's sweet, lovely, funny and charming. I loved Emmie, my heart broke for her, all the shit she'd overcome. I loved Rosie and Fox, they're hilarious. Lucas was kind of an arse, Eliot was hot.
Just a really, really lovely book.

Where you at Emmie Blue?

Emmie is sixteen when she lets go of a red balloon against all the odds the balloon is found in France, miles away. No one could have thought that this simple act of letting go of a balloon would end up providing Emmy with friendship and a family she never felt like she had, but everything happens for a reason.
Fourteen years on and with Emmie and Lucas turning thirty, Lucas has a question to ask Emmie, but is it that question she is thinking and dreaming of?
All of a sudden everything Emmie knows is slipping away, what if Lucas isn't her forever? what if she trusts everything will work out how it is meant to? What if nothing is as it seems?

I love Emmie Blue, she is a kind, warm, relatable character that has been through a lot, she is just really endearing!
Lia's writing really makes you feel like you are there and don't we all just want a Moreau brother in our lives?
I really hope this review does this story justice as it has become one of my favourites!
I read it in one sitting as I couldn't put it down, but at the same time didn't want to finish it... which is always a sign of a great book!

A tender and beautiful book about finding hope where there seems to be none, and discovering what it really is that you want. It's not always what you think. I was captivated from first to last. Wonderful.

Oh my goodness, where to start?!
What a magical book. Lia Louis has a way with words that can immerse you right into the story. How I wanted to be there with Lucas and Emmie and Eliot.
As Emmie finds herself best woman for her lifelong best friend Lucas' wedding, she is trying to come to terms with her feelings for him and how their lives will irrevocably change. Emmie not only has to confront her romantic feelings but also all the feelings she has for herself and her family and friends.
I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down.
Thank you so much to Lia Louis, Netgalley, and Orion for the chance to read this and review.

This is one of my favourite books of 2020. Emmie is a character that I took to my heart - a mother who wasn't interested, an absent father and a teacher who was breached his duty of care.

The book begins as Emmie and Lucas are about to turn 30 - they met aged 16 after Lucas found a balloon in France with Emmie's contact details, and became friends. The story follows on from the 30th birthday, but also takes the reader back in time to Emmie's childhood, teenage years and the years of friendship with Lucas and his family.

Life has never been easy for Emmie and people have let her down throughout her life. However with support from sometimes the least likely people, this is Emmie's opportunity to face her demons and move forward with her life.

Thank you Lia Louis for your sublime storytelling - this was a book I didn't want to put down.

She’s done it again. Following on from her lovely debut novel, Dear Emmie Blue combines love, friendship, family and Jon Bon Jovi into one perfectly sweet book. It’s about making a family from friends, about massive mistakes, about things you do for people you love and about getting back up when you’ve been knocked down. And it’s all done so effortlessly and with such energy and humour. I feel fifteen years younger just having read it, and ready for an adventure. Instead I’ll make the dinner, but this is a lovely book and I can think of loads of people to gift it to. Top work Lia!

Firstly a big thank you to the publishers for approving my request to read on netgalley. Ive interacted a lot with this author but yet to read her debut so was excited to read this. Following reading i can safely say ill be a fan of all of her work.

This is a beautiful book and written so eloquently that ive fallen in love. Not only with the story and characters but also with words again . The power they have will always remind me how amazing it is to read.

Heartwarming and at times heartbreaking. A real rollercoaster of emotions! Full of humour and relatable moments.

I could resonate with Emmie in many ways and shes just a great character. We all need to love who we are a bit more.

My heart was whisked away and i swooned a lot but i wont give spoilers…

Highly recommend if you enjoy Miranda Dickinson and Roxie Cooper books.

Published July 14th.

A wonderful story that is emotional, heartfelt and nostalgic. It's about growing up, first loves, best friends and the rocks we cling to when things get stormy.

Everyone knows I have a massive girl crush on Lia.😂 I loved her first book and I have been hounding her for months about this book. I wish I was kidding!🤣 I read this with the legend @headinthepages so thanks chief!🎈

This book was one big ball of loveliness and the premise is just so bloody charming! I was laughing out loud then sobbing the next as it just pulls at your heartstrings.
Emmie is a closed book. She has had her fair share of knocks and you can’t help admiring her strength and bravery. She’s like a creme brûlée. 🤣 You have to tap the hard exterior to get to the soft and sweet part.
It’s pitch perfect this book. Not too corny or too hard. It has a lot of depth, the right amount of angst, loveable characters and is a well written story of friendship, love and facing past struggles to embrace your future. I read it really quickly which is always a good sign. Oh, and I’m not about the spoilers but I’m definitely Team Elliott!🙋🏼‍♀️

It’s inevitable that I was going to cry at the end because it’s just one of those stories that fills your heart with hope.😭
A book that gets you thinking about the big stuff, you know? Remembering to pause and appreciate the people we have in our lives. Remembering that life is a journey, and to stop and look up at the sky. Knowing we are enough.❤️

Get DEAR EMMIE BLUE on your summer reading list folks! Perfect for fans of Beth O’Leary and Josie Silver.
Lia - I’m coming for you for book 3!😆

I was hooked by chapter 1. DEEAR EMMIE BLUE starts off as a typical unrequited love story but then develops into a warm and comforting read that explores what it means to be a family, the power of friendship and the sacrifices people make for those they love. I really enjoyed the dynamics of all the relationships, from the old to young, posh to working class, French to British. The pop culture references were amusing, and the end uplifting. DEAR EMMIE BLUE balances a much loved romance formula with serious subjects of abuse (mental and physical) in a gentle yet real way. This is a book to read in bed, mug of tea in hand, as the rain lashes at the window. A big tender hug of a book.

What a wonderful book! I loved Lia's debut and this is such a wonderful follow-up. Warm, funny, emotional - just gorgeous. It is so lovely to read something so delicious at such a stressful and frantic time. I hope it does brilliantly. X

I don't even know where to start with this review. I have been walking around with my Kindle glued to my face because I couldn't bear to put this down and leave Emmie for a moment. I have so many feelings and I'm worried this review is going to be a random, jumbled mess of how much I loved this novel and these characters.

Dear Emmie Blue is a heartwarming and perfect story of love, friendship and loneliness. It made my lips hurt from smiling and my heart ache with sadness. Through Emmie's story, Louis explores how we allow memories and experiences to define us, and the importance of connections and friendships in helping us to move on. I loved the concept of the balloon, Emmie, Lucas and Eliot's friendship, the mixtapes, the secrets, the stars. Everything about this novel was so special.

Emmie is a wonderful protagonist who was so easy to relate to and I loved seeing her grow over the course of the novel. Even though she's a "closed book" to those around her, Louis shows her emotions so vividly in her narrative that I felt for her in every chapter. The side characters were equally well defined, with their own motivations, problems and desires - I especially loved Rosie and Fox.

I bought Somewhere Close to Happy straight away so that I could read more of Louis' wonderful writing. She will be joining Mhairi McFarlane on my list of auto-buy contemporary authors.

Great read. Beautiful cover, stunning story. I have devoured this book in just one sitting. I haven’t wanted to put it down and I’m gutted I won’t be able to experience reading this for the first time again.

Oh this book! I got about 20% of the way through and bought ‘somewhere close to happy’ because I had to have more of Lia’s writing!

The characters in this book are so 3 dimensional - like in somewhere close to happy. Lia just writes brilliant relatable people and makes it look so effortless. I could relate to Emmie a lot for several reasons, and I think the way she was portrayed and the decisions she made didn’t make you shake your head or want to shake her.

There are so many personality traits in these characters that make them feel so real. It really is the little things that make such a big difference.

The character development and arc in this book is brilliant. You start off feeling some ways about some people and things change and you don’t know when it happened but you realise that you’ve somehow managed to do a complete 180 😂

The story itself is brilliant and although romantic, it’s also about self discovery and realising that maybe sometimes things aren’t as bad or as good as they seem.

I genuinely can’t wait for what Lia writes next!

Beautiful writing & a heartwarming story! I found myself giving up hours of sleep and sneaking away from my kids just to read an extra paragraph. Devastated that I can't read for the 1st time all over again!

Where do I begin? I absolutely adored this book from start to finish. The French vibes, the heartache, the friendships...just brilliant! The author explores trauma in such a sensitive, thoughtful way, showing how it can reverberate like shock waves through the years...and keep resurfacing. Emmie Blue is endearing, sweet, funny and hopelessly romantic, and who wouldn't be with the Moreau brothers in their life?

The premise is irresistible; a friendship formed over many years, after Emmie released a balloon that was found by Lucas, an ocean away. What follows is mix tapes, weekends away at his family's house in France, pastries and layer upon layer of moments, with secrets hidden in between, just waiting to be discovered.

Lia Louis is firmly on my 'auto read' list now, let's hope there will be many, many more books to come!