Review: Dearest Josephine

 

Dearest Josephine

by Caroline George

About the Book

Caroline George sweeps readers into two different time periods with an unexpected love story that prompts us to reimagine what it means to be present with the people we love.

2020: Chocolate and Earl Grey tea can’t fix Josie De Clare’s horrible year. She mourned the death of her father and suffered a teen-life crisis, which delayed her university plans. But when her father’s will reveals a family-owned property in Northern England, Josie leaves London to find clarity at the secluded manor house. While exploring the estate, she discovers 200-year-old love letters written by an elusive novelist, all addressed to someone named Josephine. And then discovers a novel in which it seems like she’s the heroine…

1820: Novelist Elias Roch loves a woman he can never be with. Born the bastard son to a nobleman and cast out from society, Elias seeks refuge in his mind with the quirky heroine who draws him into a fantasy world of scandal, betrayal, and unconditional love. Convinced she’s his soulmate, Elias writes letters to her, all of which divulge the tragedy and trials of his personal life.

As fiction blurs into reality, Josie and Elias must decide: How does one live if love can’t wait? Separated by two hundred years, they fight against time to find each other in a story of her, him, and the novel written by the man who loves her.

My Thoughts

This book blew my mind! Like, it’s been a while since I finished reading it, and I still can’t completely wrap my head around it. It was vastly different than what I had expected, and I mean that in the best way possible.

First off, let me start with the format of the novel. I love epistolary novels, and this book offers us this in multiple forms, from emails, to text messages, to letters dating back over 200 years ago. I love the way this book was written; it was just perfect for this type of story.

There was so much depth to this story. While it is marketed as YA, it doesn’t necessarily read as a young adult novel. Yes, there is a coming of age vibe, but the book goes so far beyond that. The writing is so sophisticated, making it more appealing than most YA lit. There are so many layers to the story that it roots in your heart and causes you to really think. About time and your life and the lives that came before you.

And the setting. Be still my heart. I absolutely adore books set in the moors of Northern England. But when you add an old castle–that may or may not have a ghost or two haunting it–to the mix, then I am so excited I can hardly think straight! That kind of Gothic flair lends such atmosphere to the setting and is just perfect for this story.

All these elements combined made this book so hard for me to put down. Dearest Josephine is a book that I will most certainly be recommending to others, as well as a book I see myself returning to in the future.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.