Thank you to Wednesday Books for sharing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Eighteen-year-old Amelia Griffin is obsessed with the famous Orman Chronicles, written by the young and reclusive prodigy N. E. Endsley. They’re the books that brought her and her best friend Jenna together after Amelia’s father left and her family imploded. So when Amelia and Jenna get the opportunity to attend a book festival with Endsley in attendance, Amelia is ecstatic. It’s the perfect way to start off their last summer before college. In a heartbeat, everything goes horribly wrong. When Jenna gets a chance to meet the author and Amelia doesn’t, the two have a blowout fight like they’ve never experienced. And before Amelia has a chance to mend things, Jenna is killed in a freak car accident. Grief-stricken, and without her best friend to guide her, Amelia questions everything she had planned for the future. When a mysterious, rare edition of the Orman Chronicles arrives, Amelia is convinced that it somehow came from Jenna. Tracking the book to an obscure but enchanting bookstore in Michigan, Amelia is shocked to find herself face-to-face with the enigmatic and handsome N. E. Endsley himself, the reason for Amelia’s and Jenna’s fight and perhaps the clue to what Jenna wanted to tell her all along. It's so hard for me to review this book. After reading, I was just a blur of feelings and I couldn't pick them apart enough to write! Amelia Unabridged is a rare gem--a book about grief that isn't sad. There's tragedy, and some chapters were incredibly hard to read because of how much depth Amelia's relationship with Jenna had, but there's also so much light and hope for her journey. I think I've said this before but Wednesday is killing it with their 2021 season!! I'm so hyped for every title on their list. Death books always hit me differently, especially ones like Amelia's. She uses stories the same way I do--as a lifeline when everything else seems too much. Watching her find her way back to reading after Jenna's death, and grow into the person she wants to be apart from her friend is a true joy. Amelia and Jenna were closer to sisters than friends, but Amelia isn't sure she wants to follow through on the elaborate life plan Jenna had set out for her. She has to choose between staying loyal to Jenna's wishes and following a more uncertain path. I'd call Amelia Unabridged a mix of contemporary, recovery, coming of age, and romance. Altogether it's pretty perfect. Not gonna lie, a big attraction point of this book is the romance. Who doesn't love a good reclusive author? (Morgan Matson's The Unexpected Everything is one of my favorite books ever) N.E. Endsley is Amelia's favorite author, and when she gets to meet him, of course there ends up being more to the story. Their relationship is surprisingly healthy for two people who met during complex emotional circumstances--I was expecting a bit of codependency there and pleasantly surprised I didn't find it. They share some incredibly sweet moments that had me genuinely squealing, especially in the bookstore. Absurdly pleased by the magical bookstore setting! That always gets me, and I loved the concept of themed rooms in the store. I've made it my mission to visit as many bookstores as possible in my life, and though I love my local indies (shoutout Porter Square Books! I miss you!) I've yet to find one that captures a sense of storybook magic as well as the ones in... well... stories. If someone could just fly me to Michigan, I'd be more than happy to build A Measure of Prose for myself. How could I give Amelia Unabridged anything but five stars? Happy to say I've found one of my new favorite books of 2021. You should definitely pick up this new release--I promise no reader could regret it.
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The BaronessHey, I'm Shreya! I love to read, write, travel, and drink tea. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of bookshop.org and I will earn a small commission if you click the above link and make a purchase.
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