Dearest Josephine by Caroline George Review

 Happy Monday Friends :)

I pray you are all doing well.

I'm still struggling, but I'm thankful for God's never ending mercy and grace, and how He's always there. I'm still dealing strongly with an attack on my mind with lies from the enemy, and since our province is still under orders that we can't visit with other households, it's definitely been extra challenging.

One way I've been keeping myself motivated is by studying my Bible. I've also been keeping in touch with my family by phone, and being extremely careful what type of medias I'm allowing myself to consume. This practice has been so important for me personally, and of the sixteen books I've read so far this year, I've only ended up rating one less than four or five stars.

Today I'd like to share a review with you all for a title that's going to release tomorrow that I really ended up enjoying.

Dearest Josephine by Caroline George:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Publication Date: February 2nd, 2021

Genre: Young Adult Fiction/Christian Fiction

 Synopsis

Caroline George sweeps readers up 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 two-hundred-year-old love letters written by an elusive novelist, all addressed to someone named Josephine. And then she 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. 

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

Dearest Josephine is truly unlike anything I'd ever read before, and I ended up adoring it. I've long been a fan of both timeslip novels, and the epistolary writing style, and I loved that this beautiful story is both of those things. Told in two different time periods through letters, emails, and a novel manuscript, I found myself barely able to put this one down once I picked it up.

I adored Josephine, Faith and Elias all as characters, and I loved how brilliantly described the English setting is, especially the historic manor. Perhaps what really makes this one stand out though, besides the unique way in which it's told, is the supporting cast of characters that truly helped bring the story to life. Dearest Josephine is basically a star-crossed lovers tale, with quite a bit left to the reader as to how they choose to interpret everything. 

I had an idea in my mind as to how everything was going to come together, and I was pleasantly surprised when I was proven wrong. Caroline George is a master storyteller, and I'm definitely interested in looking forward to reading more of her books in the future.

I was also pleasantly surprised that this one is fairly clean, with only a couple of minor content concerns including a certain term being used for Elias being an illegitimate child, and Faith being obsessed with the Kardashians of all people. The only other minor complaint I ended up having was that I thought some of the way everything wrapped up didn't really explain some of the questions I'd developed while reading it, but that didn't affect my enjoyment of the story, and I really ended up enjoying this one.

Final Rating: 4/5.

Thanks so much to Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read and review this!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not required to give  a positive review.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day!