This was one of the most hyped books of 2016, and I so much wanted to enjoy it. Based on the reviews, I expected a phenomenal romance. What I got was a story that, while entertaining, wasn’t overly stellar and I ended up feeling burned by the hype-up of the book. The last time I experienced this was with Eleanor and Park, which ended up being a ‘just okay’ book for me.

It is the typical girl-meets-boy-and-they-hate-each-other-(or-do-they)- on-sight story. This trope has been done repeatedly many times and will continue to be used in the future. It is still popular for both readers and writers, as they say: “If it ain’t broke”. However, I personally find that this trope doesn’t work well in contemporary settings, since by now it is a truth universally acknowledged that this ‘hatred’ is usually just a whole lotta sexual tension. This likely also factored into my opinion of the book.

I will admit that, for the most part, the banter between Lucy and Josh was entertaining. Otherwise, I wasn’t a huge fan of the heroine. Her paranoia, neurotic behavior, and her naivete were almost literary deal-breakers. She was also scatterbrained, and completely oblivious to the most obvious things such as who really sent her the roses. I’m fairly confident that reveal was a shock to absolutely no one. She didn’t get what the big deal about the wedding was and why Josh wanted someone there with him. I did enjoy the brief glance into Josh’s family because it explained why he was the way he was, even though wedding scenes can also be one of the most overused romance novel clichés. It made him more of a sympathetic character rather than an ass, which is how we were supposed to feel about him since we were only seeing him through Lucy’s gaze.

One interesting (mild spoiler) was the change up of who was pushing for the physical aspect. Lucy consistently had the ‘horny eyes’, which Josh kept teasing her about. After the initial kiss, every time they were alone, she was the one who was trying to push the physical aspect, usually by climbing him like a tree (short joke there). This change up showed that it was Josh who wanted a relationship and not a one-night stand. He said multiple times he had no desire to be a one-night stand in any capacity, which is refreshing perspective from men in romance novels. Not that Josh didn’t want her. He wanted more than the physical relationship, which again is a breath of fresh air in the genre.

There were a few conflicts in the book, but they weren’t insurmountable to the characters. The main one was who would get the promotion and how that would work out. Another conflict was the family interaction at the wedding. Both situations seemed to be put into the book simply to create a conflict rather than to truly drive the story forward since it was clear how the promotion was going to work out and who was going to end up with it. Which isn’t to say it was a bad part of the story or wasn’t written well, but it was predictable in how it would turn out. The confrontation at the wedding was a bit of a shock and that I did enjoy.

This book was enjoyable. And while I did care enough to want to complete it, I wasn’t tempted to stay up late to do so. In fact, I had to rush through the ending to avoid a late fine. Some may blame this on a slow reading pace. I chalk it up to the book not grabbing me the way I wanted or expected it to, especially considering all the rave reviews on it. It was a ‘just’ book as in I wasn’t overwhelmed, I wasn’t underwhelmed, I was ‘just’.

There is something inherently interesting about notes in a book. I am always intrigued at those jotted notes or what a person chose to underline and highlight as they reveal something deeper. So, the idea of an entire section of a used book store devoted to this, a “Letter Library” was right up my alley. It made me wish I had something like this growing up, as it may have made more than a few steps in my adolescence easier.

This novel is all about changes and how to make the best of them. Everyone we are introduced to in this book is going through a change and they need make the best of it. The story opens with both Rachel and Henry being at crossroads. For Rachel, it is how to fully process her brother’s death and to learn how to live without him. For Henry, it is dealing with the umpteenth break up with his obnoxiously manipulative girlfriend and the looming reality that his family’s bookstore is going to fold if they don’t sell it. Their friendship starting up again requires forgiveness about perceived past misdeeds and the ability to process through their current pain. This is forced upon them when Rachel is hired to catalog the Letter Library in the bookstore, so there is record of this when the bookstore closes forever.

Rachel’s journey with grief was very real since her brother’s death didn’t happen off screen for her and she witnessed it. When someone experiences these tragedies on top of having to return to her original home and being forced to get back in the routine of life, such as going to school, it can be difficult. So, her apathy for most everything but the Letter Library, including rekindling a friendship with Henry is rather understandable. Henry’s challenge wasn’t his romantic life, as some may think, but rather the closing of his family’s store. That had been such a huge part of his life up until that point and wondering what will happen after that weighed on him.

The story itself wasn’t complex and most of the ‘mysteries’, such as why Henry didn’t get the letter Rachel left him and who his sister was writing to, were easy to figure out. However, that does not take away from the overall beauty of the story. Reading the letters that were left in the books was an experience on its own even if you didn’t find out who was behind every note that the book touched on. I’m a huge fan of the friends to lover’s trope. Reading Henry and Rachel slowly rekindle their friendship, which evolved into a romance was sweet and enjoyable as the relationship developed at a believable pace.

This was one of the best YA books I’ve read in a long time. And I read a fair amount of them despite being well past the intended age bracket. But life lessons on friendship, love, and loss are not just for a single age group. The last one I read that touched me this much was Fangirl, and like that one, I can’t say I was so enamored with it. But I was and this will be one book I will re-read in the years to come. It is beautifully written, and I would recommend it to any fellow bibliophile, if for no other reason than the Letter Library. I will likely pick up more by this author, since I was so pleasantly surprised by this one.