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Cover of Love, Rosie

Love, Rosie

Cecelia Ahern

503 pages

A delightfully frustrating, decades-spanning dance of missed connections told entirely through the letters and messages of two soulmates who can never quite get their timing right.

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What it feels like

Reading this book feels like snooping through a box of cherished, lifelong correspondence. Because it is told entirely through letters, emails, and instant messages, the pacing is incredibly brisk, pulling you effortlessly through decades of a deeply layered relationship. The atmosphere is steeped in a bittersweet nostalgia, balancing laugh-out-loud playful banter with the genuine heartache of missed opportunities and bad timing. You will feel the exquisite, agonizing frustration of watching two people who are so clearly meant for each other constantly derailed by the messy realities of life, from unexpected parenthood to mismatched marriages. It is a cozy, tender, and emotionally resonant experience perfect for anyone who loves a slow-burn romance that ultimately rewards your patience with a hard-won, joyful payoff.

Mood
  • bittersweet
  • nostalgic
  • romantic
  • hopeful
Tone
  • playful
  • tender
  • wistful
  • earnest
  • humorous
Pace
brisk
Themes
right person, wrong time · lifelong friendship · missed connections · messy adulthood · destiny and timing
The writing
Breezy, conversational, and entirely character-driven, unfolding exclusively through a clever mosaic of letters, emails, and instant messages.
The arc
Transitions from the breezy innocence of childhood friendship into a decades-long dance of frustrating near-misses and bittersweet longing, finally landing on a deeply satisfying, hard-won resolution.
Who it's for
Romance readers who adore the 'right person, wrong time' trope and devour fast-paced epistolary novels about messy, enduring connections.
Content notes
  • teen pregnancy
  • divorce
  • loss of a parent
  • infidelity

About the book

From the author of PS, I LOVE YOU, a simultaneously funny and tender novel about what happens when two people who are destined to be together can never seem to get it right.Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone but them seems to realize it. Rosie’s best friend since childhood, Alex never did live down the fact that he didn’t invite her to his all-boys 10th birthday party. But that wasn’t a mistake he’d repeat, and they had been inseparable after that....until the day Alex got the news that his family was moving to Boston. At seventeen, Rosie and Alex are starting to see each other differently, and the move separates them just when their relationship seems as if it will finally turn romantic. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. Rosie gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: Rosie is pregnant. And the father is not Alex.Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career are dashed against harsh reality, and Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career. As the years pass, the two continue to interact, but can’t seem to find each other at the right time. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie will find out that fate isn’t done with them yet. From the hugely talented author of PS, I LOVE YOU, this is a funny, romantic, surprising novel that is impossible to put down.

Description from Open Library.

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