Love Hope by Juliet Ann Conlin Blog Tour

 Sometimes a book comes along that just pulls out all of the emotion in you. You know what I mean, the all encompassing sympathy and empathy combined.

And that's exactly what I felt when I had the opportunity to read Love Hope.

Juliet Ann Conlin has created a beautiful tale of love, loss and lasting friendship.

An unexpected letter. An unlikely friendship. A chance to start again.

Ever since she first picked up a violin, Hope Sullivan dreamed of going to music college, joining an orchestra and travelling the world with her best friend Janey. But when her parents were killed in a car accident on the way to one of her recitals, she gave it all up to look after her younger sister, Autumn. Ten years later, Janey is living their dream on her own, Autumn is flourishing as a doctor and Hope's life is smaller and less musical than ever.

Arnold Quince had the happiest of lives - until he lost his beloved wife Marion. Once the life and soul of the village, he withdrew into his grief and pushed all his friends away. Now, five years on, he is sick, lonely and just counting down the years until he can be with Marion again.

When Hope and Arnold are pushed into writing to one another, neither has any idea how much their life is about to change.

What immediately drew me into this story was its format.

Written through the medium of letters. Some the old-fashioned way (pen to paper) and others via the wonder that is the internet (emails). Combined with things like newspaper articles, receipts from shops and job applications.

All of which are based around our unlikely heroine Hope.

This is a story that manages to be both heartbreaking and hopeful all at the same time.

Told over several years, we get to see Hope, her sister Autumn and her best friend Janey as they live their lives. Growing, learning and experiencing so many things. The highs and the lows. The tragedies and the successes.

I particularly adored Hope and Janey's long-lasting friendship. The way they talked to each other, the ease in which they slipped back into chatting even when they hadn't been in contact for many months. It came across as true friendship.

Honest.

There is nothing hidden in this story.

As the reader, we experience everything that the characters go through with them. The grief, the joy and everything in-between.

Nothing short of a rollercoaster of ever expanding feelings.

Written in a way that makes it amusing, entertaining and meaningful all at the same time, the author clearly has a talent for real story-telling.

Unlikely friendships blossom across the pages and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing them bloom.

Dialogue is of great importance in this novel too. 

Through various conversations we are given an abundance of detail, not only through what is said but how it's said. There's that age old problem of not always being able to tell what tone is meant when simply reading a message, an email etc and it was great to see some of those frustrations as it rang true. Making the correspondence all the more realistic.

I'd describe Love Hope as a coming of age book with heart.

It simply makes you feel good reading it as well as having the power to really make you think and feel. 

I'd love another book to see how Hope and Janey's friendship caries on as they move into their middle age years and beyond!

Please check out the rest of the blog tour for more reviews and insights into this beautiful book: