In the Lonely Hours

I finished this book 10 days ago and can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve never underlined so many passages. The writing is perfection, it flows almost like poetry in places. This is definitely my top read of the year so far.

This book was achingly tender. I enjoyed each character's journey as the story developed. It hit all the right notes for me (pun not intended). I highly recommend.

If you are looking for a well-written romance novel that will pack a serious emotional punch, look no further than this novel by Elle Alexanda. This incredible book is one that I did not want to put down - I laughed, I (almost) cried,, and overall truly fell in love with Catherine and Theodora. The main characters - Theodora (Theo) and Catherine are both memorable in their own ways, and their love story is one that will stick with me. In particular, their initial passive agressive post-it note exchanges had me dying of laughter. What I love the most about their story is how raw, emotional, and honest their love is. They truly make each other better through being with one another. Theo is by far one of my favorite characters that I have read this year. As a doctor, she displays an amazing amount of empathy towards her patients, in particular Harry, despite the judgement of her supervisors.. Her level of caring is unlike any other doctor I’ve seen written in sapphic romance novels. Finally - I could not write this review without mentioning Harry, who as a side character has such a profound impact on both of the main characters. I found myself rooting for him throughout the novel. Overall, In the Lonely Hours is a fantastic novel, with a richly developed cast of main and side characters. Full of twist and turns, this novel is sure to be one that sapphic readers will talk about for years to come.

This book drags you in with two intriguing main characters that butt heads from the very beginning. Catherine, the famous pianist that had a mysterious (for us readers) incident at The Roya Albert Hall and then left all behind and is now really struggling to get back up. Then we have the younger Theodora, an ER doctor that puts way too much of herself into her work, is pressured by her parents to succeed, and is about to break. This is a book for you if you like an endearing story with multiple layers and a lot of feelings. When Catherine finally finds inspiration to play again that is in the middle of the night when Theodora tries to get some sleep after another exhausting shift, and their fight starts, the Sticky Notes of War. I love how that plays out, so many great notes and their relationship develop in a fantastic way. They slowly adjust to accommodate and learn from each other and exactly what they need, the support they give when things are hard is amazing. At that point I wondered why so many pages left in the book since all seemed to be resolved, but of course it wasn’t. A twist I could not have expected came and the last part of the book even better. They are the perfect match, but so much to overcome as well as growth needed before that great place they both deserve is obtainable.

The writing in this was incredible. I typically don’t always love slow burns or heavy romance, (i prefer spicier) but this was so insanely good. The communication between the characters was so real, even down to just the descriptions of reactions or feelings.