Image from Google/Amazon
Overall, I enjoyed this book. For some reason, this review has been a little harder for me to write than some of the others I’ve recently written. I think I've struggled in finding the right to words to use and I'm still not 100% I'm explaining my thoughts/feelings well, but I'm going to give it a go anyway! I gave this book a 4 star rating because I did really enjoy it, but there were a couple of parts I think that I didn’t feel connected to and/or felt dragged on a little. This may just be me for whatever reason so I would definitely still encourage you to go read this! I think different people take different things from books so I would love to hear your thoughts! Please consider reading below to see if it is something that may be the right fit for you!
I really liked the concept, especially the pen pal part! I love the idea of still writing handwritten letters during this crazy, tech forward time.
I love that the letters had humor and passion and honesty and grit. I love that their relationship developed from their letters, where they shared the truest parts of themselves to a total stranger.
I love that Luca and Griffin were both flawed in real ways, but both were able to accept all of the parts they hid from the rest of the world.
This is the part where this gets a little heavy.
If you are concerned about SPOILERS- PLEASE STOP READING and scroll to the bottom to pick up the book or read more about it at Goodreads ;)
Luca is an interesting character for me. I may be more critical of the book to an extent because Luca can remind me of myself. I have dealt with Generalized Anxiety Disorder for years, with occasional panic attacks. It’s a horrible disease. It makes you feel insane and exhausted just being. Period. Not being...something. I mean, just being. Anxiety has a way of making you feel so drained from all the thoughts going haywire and fearing the worst in your mind constantly that it's too hard to truly describe. It can be crippling and constant. For the most part, mine has been managed well, to the point that I’m now a therapist myself and have helped others with their own mental health needs. I’ve had some more struggles with it recently due to the pandemic and I can only imagine how this would be for Luca. Her character definitely has a more severe case and a huge traumatic event that has made a huge impact on her. There’s are parts of the book where I found myself frustrated with her because I just wanted her to work harder or take a leap of faith for the man she loves (sooner than she’s willing to), but I also think that’s probably more my own stuff wanting to kick myself out of my comfort zone. Overall, I think Luca is strong and none of us have any idea where we’d be if we’d experienced what her character has and for all of us it would look a little different. I guess I was just so sad for her in parts because she has something so good that she can’t help but to self sabotage somewhat. One of my favorite quotes is listed below and I think it is something that was thoughtful and something that made me stop and reread:
"If you stay in the present moment and not go where your mind is trying to lead you, then you will always be safe. There is safety in the now. Right now, you are in your bedroom talking to me. And that is all there really is. Your worries stem from past experiences and fear of the future. Neither the past nor the future is real. Only the present exists. If you stick to this mantra, you will be okay in anything you do."
I can't talk too much about Luca's anxiety without talking a little about Doc. Doc is the character that everyone loves. He's that person though not family by blood, is family by heart. Clearly, I liked Doc quite a bit, though to call their relationship patient/doctor is probably a bit of a stretch. There’s no therapist I know that would cross that many boundaries with a patient, but I would honestly view their relationship as more family/friends. Technically, she doesn't really "pay" him for their sessions so it's more of a gray area, but still. I guess my concern with this part of the book is I wouldn't want readers to read this who are considering getting help and hope to have a relationship like Luca has with Doc with their mental health professional. That will definitely not be the norm. Regardless, I like the relationship they have and I think it’s sweet how much he cares for her, like a father would and Luca needs that love.
And because I love quotes, especially positive encouraging ones, here's another one from the good Doctor:
"Progress takes time, Luca. Don't feel down. You might not be where you want to be, but you're also not where you were yesterday. Each day is a baby step. You just keep looking forward and taking them, and I promise one day you're going to look back and be surprised how far those tiny little steps have taken you."
Now, on to some other areas of the book! Speaking of the love Luca has, let's get to Griffin. What a dreamboat.
I don't know why I chose that gif of a Jonas... I guess I was thinking front man of band, but not covered in tats like my dear Adam Levine? Either way, happy accident? ;)
Griffin is the dream. He has worked hard to build a career for himself in the music industry from the ground up. He moves to the US from the UK on a hope and a prayer to start something and ends up making quite the name for himself and his band. He is the one to reach out to Luca after years of not hearing from each other. She makes the next move by going to surprise him which he seems grateful for, even though he basically specifically asked her not to. To be honest, we all know it's 50/50 if Luca hadn't made that move on her own, how long it would take the man to find the right time to expose his secret, if ever. But the book would've ended sadly and we don't want that! So, we're going to focus on the awesome things about Griffin, like he is constantly pursuing Luca, even when he gets shut down. He tries so hard to make accommodations for her, to make her feel loved, to make her feel understood, to make her feel protected, and to make sure she knows she's not a burden by having some of the struggles she does. Again, dreamboat. Most men probably would've just been done after the amount of times Luca tried to push him away, but he stood his ground. His faith, his love, was strong enough for the both of them.
"In case I wasn't clear, love is enough for me, Luca. But you have to let me love you."
You'll have to read the book to see how his pursual goes, and I say persual because I do feel like most of the book he was chasing Luca, loving Luca, and who doesn't love a romance like that?!
Anyway, I think that's all for now! I hope you'll check this book out! See the links below if you're interested!
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