REVIEW: Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

My rating:

Sometimes you have to look at life in a whole new way...

From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You comes a delightfully enchanting novel about what happens when two people who are meant to be together just can't seem to get it right.

Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S. 

She 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: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex. 

Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. 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 find out that fate isn't done with them yet.

From the gifted author of PS, I Love You comes this charming, romantic, addictively page-turning novel that will keep readers laughing and guessing until the very last page.

"Life is funny isn’t it? Just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, just when you finally begin to plan something, get excited about something, and feel like you know what direction you’re heading in, the paths change, the signs change, the wind blows the other way, north is suddenly south, and east is west, and you’re lost. It is so easy to lose your way, to lose direction. And that’s with following all the signposts”

This book... gave me so many damn feellllssss... so many fucking emotions...

there were times I was cracking up like a freakin' hyena...

there were times I was crying like I was the one who was heartbroken...

there were times I was swooning over Alex and Rosie..

Oh my goodness! So good. So good. So good.

Honestly though, I wouldn't have bothered picking this book up if I didn't see the freakin movie trailer. It was hilarious. It was so cute. Sam Caflin was so hot! Lily Collins looked really good too. So there, that's the story of why I picked this book up.

Lookie that movie poster.

Pretty good ei?! Sam Caflin. I didn't like him as Finnick. Didn't even recognize him. Haha. Found out when I googled him after I watched the movie trailer. Sam Caflin... I'm in love. He's the perfect Alex.

Alright. Enough of that.

So here's the gist

Rosie and Alex has been best friends ever since they could remember. They've been through a lot. They hade their fair share of happy, sad, and mostly embarassing moments at school, even arguments actually (Rosie got really upset when Alex didn't invite her to his birthday.. That was hilarious).

Alex's family had to move to the US being his dad got a good job offer there. So Alex and Rosie got separated, their only form of communications were mails, letters, and IM's. Rosie was heartbroken. She had feelings for Alex for a long time, but was too scared to admit it. She was too scared to lose her best friend.

Rosie applied to Boston University and got accepted, while Alex got into Harvard. But life had other plans for them, Rosie got pregnant. She slept with a guy that night Alex didn't arrive to escort her to a gala. She decided not to move to the US and pursue her studies there. Rosie stayed in Dublin. She struggled making ends meet. She struggled raising her daugher while working on jobs that would feed them both. Although she had the support of her parents, it still had been hard for Rosie.

Alex, on the other hand, successfully graduated at Harvard. His plans were slowly becoming reality. His career is right on track. He met a woman whom he thought would complete him, then started a family of his own with her.

Would there still be a chance for Alex and Rosie when too much stuff have already happened?

Let me tell you a bit about the characters.

Rosie

I see myself in her. I really really do. She's a single mom like myself. She's lucky though that she has a best friend like Alex, who despite being in another country, was still there for her. He got married, he was there for her. She got married, he was still there. Of course, he couldn't be there for her physically, but the moral support that he gave her... just so sweet.

From Alex

To Rosie

Subject Dreams

Again, Rosie, you're just not stretching far enough. I'm right here. Always have been, always will be.

Anway, back to Rosie. I'm so proud of this girl. You see her change, mature, and make really good decisions for herself. She transformed from a weak, undecided teenager to a blossoming young woman who knew exactly what she wants for herself and for her daughter.

“I think I need to face what I could have been in order to understand and accept what I am.”

I like Rosie, because I experienced the same stuff she's experiencing... actually until now. I'm not struggling, but I am coping with my being a single mum. I love my daughter just as much as Rosie loved hers. Like I said earlier, only difference was, she had an Alex, I don't. I wish I had Alex or Sam Caflin whichever... I won't be picky. LOL.

Rosie's been through a lot. She had been heartbroken a lot of times. When Alex moved. When she got pregnant. When Alex got engaged. When Alex got married. When she had husband issues. Her frustrations with her career. There were a lot of things that put her down, but each time, she stood up stronger than before. So proud of Rosie.

One last thing, Rosie was a smart mouth. I absolutely adore her for that. Here's a teaser:

“To the most inconsiderate asshole of a friend,

I’m writing you this letter because I know that if I say what I have to say to your face I will probably punch you.

Alex

I loved Alex. He was such a good friend to Rosie. He has always been there for her. But I do have to say he was a coward. He has feelings for her, but didn't want to act up on it. Both of them were cowards actually, but still, he's the guy!!!! What the hell Alex? What the freakin hell? You could have save all Rosie all those tears and pain and rejection.

Like Rosie, Alex really did mature as well. But there was one thing that didn't change about the young and the old Alex.. Ahaha. How he spells his "know". Despite his age, he still spells it as "no". He's a sample.

"I no what the feeling was at your wedding - it was jealousy."

See what I mean with the "know"? Haha. So cute.

What else can I say about Alex? Well, he's a good dad, a good uncle, and a good husband. He tried. You'll see it throughout the book. You'll love him more and more as you read through the series of messages.

Oh god. I really love Alex. I want a best friend like him. I want to have that person who wouldn't give up on me, someone who would always be there even in my ugliest day.

You deserve someone who loves you with every single beat of his heart, someone who thinks about you constantly, someone who spends every minute of every day just wondering what you're doing, where you are, who you're with and if you're OK. You need someone who can help you reach your dreams and who can protect you from your fears. You need someone who will treat you with respect, love every part of you, especially your flaws. You should be with someone who can make you happy, really happy, dancing-on-air happy. Someone who should have taken the chance to be with you years ago instead of becoming scared and being too afraid to try.

Are you in love with him yet?

FINAL RAMBLINGS

Alex and Rosie's story reminds me of the song "Realize" by Colbie Caillat.

They were so perfect for each other, but they were too scared that if they jump into something, they will end up losing the friendship, the years of friendship that they've developed. They felt that in a way, staying friends will let them keep each other longer. But it doesn't work that way, in my opinion. As time pass by, they'll have a lot of "what ifs" and "what could have beens". And that's exactly what happened to these funny couple.

However, I was happy. Everything about this book made me happy.

I was satisfied.

It took a long time, but the ending just made me really happy, contented, and just... i dunno how to explain it. It made me believe that if two people are meant to be together, fate will find a way for them to be.

The story was told in a very unconventional way. You'll meet and know the characters based on their letters, emails, instant messages, and the sort. The pacing of this book was so fast. You'll breeze through the life of these two and also the people around them.

For those of you who wants a sweet love story about two best friends who lost each other but found their way back together again, then I definitely recommend this. It may sound clicheish, but it's not - definitely NOT! I loved it so much.

PS. I really can't wait to see the freakin movie. If you haven't watched the trailer, I recommend you do so.... NOW!

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