Review: The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

Title: The Last Love Note

Author: Emma Grey

Year published: 2023

Category: Adult fiction (romance)

Pages: 384 pages

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Location: (my 2023 Google Reading map): Australia, UK, US, Norway

Summary: You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.

Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball―and yet clinging to her sense of humor.

Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who's determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor.

When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time? When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together.

The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?

Review: I really do like most of the Book of the Month books that I choose. I carefully read the summary, look them upon Goodreads, and feel confident that I've chosen well. And I did well with choosing one. 

I am all for a good romance and know that there are tropes (this one is widow with a crush on her neighbor and the widow falling for her boss) and I enjoy them. This story snuck up on me. I thought Kate was going for the neighbor but that isn't what happened at all. 

The grief in this book is so strong, so real, it pulled me in and didn't let go. Reading the Author's note at the end explained a lot: she knows of what she writes. The reader can feel the sadness oozing off the pages as Kate is propelled into her future. Will she be able to both let go of her past and move on with her life? What is the right thing to do? How long should one grieve?

This isn't a sad book per se, there are beautiful and happy moments as well, but the author does a wonderful job of showing just how losing a spouse colors someone's life even when they are moving on to something new (spouse, job, experiences). 

Challenges for which this counts: 

• Literary Escapes--Norway
• Bookish (the main character is a wanna be author who ends up going for it)