BOOK REVIEW: LOST & FOUND (EMI LOST & FOUND #1) BY LORI L. OTTO

Emi Lost & Found series - Winner of the Best Happily Ever After of 2013 - HEA Bookshelf

There was true depth to the story and the characters that moved me and emotionally gutted me. I was so taken by Nate and Emi’s love for each other. It’s the kind of love that few have and many desire but never get to experience.” - Megan, Reading Books Like a Boss

Independent and sensitive, idealistic and hopeful, Emi Hennigan lives her life with optimism and an open mind. Between sharing a tiny Manhattan apartment with her fun-loving roommate and spending most of her free time with her heart-breaker friend, Emi’s seen enough failed relationships to know what to avoid in her quest to find her true love. Not only that, but a single moment from her past lingers in her mind, setting high expectations for every man she dates.

Emi’s best friend, artist and hopeless romantic Nate Wilson, has been her closest companion all of their adult lives. After swearing off love with Emi in a silly high school pact, Nate has been seeing other women in hopes of finding one that evokes stronger feelings than the ones he’s been harboring for Emi since he was a teen. Over the span of a year, boundaries are crossed, feelings are confessed, and their unique friendship begins to blossom into something more.

Through Nate’s eyes, an atypical romance unfolds, disrupting the comfortable safe haven their friendship has provided. With a promising future ahead of them both, fate intervenes to bring two soul mates together.

review contains spoilers!!

Phew! Where to start. Well, I saw this book advertised on BookBub and it was on sale for 77p and I thought "why not?" - I'm glad I did. What got me when I bought this was the fact that it says 'Winner of the best Happily Ever After' and I was hoping for something with a nice end. Something that'll make me feel warm and fuzzy. That last page? It irritated me slightly. Um... it wasn't a happy ending. Why do you lieeeee!

If you're reading this spoilery review, you'll know what happened. Everything was going great, it was all perfect. Emi was pregnant with Nate's baby, they were finally together after all that time, she was going to marry and move in with him, they were in love then BAM! Bye, Nate. A fucking car crash. To me, that's not a happy ending. It physically hurts my heart that she hasn't just lost her best friend but also the love of her life. Losing one is bad enough. She can't get the comfort from her best friend over the loss of her man because HE'S BOTH. How shitty is that. How can you just kill off Nate like that? I'll get to him in a minute but I didn't like how the story went there. Maybe it's because I put myself in Emi's shoes and came to terms with how distraught and alone she's going to feel, I was mourning slightly. Well, a lot. I can't-...The poor girl finally told someone she loves them, she's finally happy then NOPE. Sorry. You can't be happy. WHY DID THEY HAVE TO GO TO THE SHOP. WHY DID SHE CRAVE CHOCOLATE?? Why didn't they just stay at the wedding??

But it doesn't stop there! Emi not only loses her best friend and her true love - she can't even be happy - she loses the fucking baby too. Why. Why! I was hoping it wouldn't end like this. She can't even have his child, have a piece of him. Fucking hell...And now we have book two with her moving on with someone else. So, all of that build up, waiting for them to be together, all those years that went by and then this happens? Nope. It's like One Day by David Nicholls all over again..that depressed me enough!

Anyway, moving on from the depressing ending, let me move onto the characters. I really want to mention Nate. At the start, he was alright, I liked him. Protective over his best friend, obviously in love with Emi and actually quite a nice guy. I was pleased, of course. But over the course of the book, he changed. Even Emi says so a couple of times. He tries to move on from her because he thinks it won't happen, starts dating these girls and let's face it - he has bad taste, they're all bloody mental - and they ask him to not speak to Emi again. He agree's. It's just the fact that he even admits that he loves Emi and not these girls but 'he has to do it anyway, he doesn't deserve her'. Nate, seriously, why be a complete dick to your best friend of 12 and a half fucking years and completely blank her. She did nothing wrong! He apologises to her and dates another girl and she says the same thing! She's like 'I don't like her, Nate' and he just does the same thing - treats Emi like crap. Sometimes I thought that he didn't deserve her at all.

Then, we get to them finally being together - he's a different guy again. He's more relaxed and a better man when he's with Emi, she really brings out his good side. But seriously, him picking those women over his "true love" and best friend. No, Nate. One was a golddigger who faked a pregnancy and one was a jealous psycho.

Emi was sweet, I really liked her. I felt like sometimes she should of smacked Nate a few times, I would of. She had a lot more patience than me but I guess it's because she loves him. There was a lot of 'ignoring eachother' moments and I always liked the banter between the two so I loved that she forgave him. When they're in the same room, they're great to read about. I actually expected more from the 'bruises' she had from Colin. If they were from Colin.

She did tell him how it is though, she wasn't shy about it. Nobody can put you in your place quite like your best friend! They did have a cute relationship though, especially at the end. I think I liked the book more when they finally admitted their feelings for eachother, when they stated dating. They were so cute together!

The other characters were great, I really liked the families of both characters, they were charming and kept the story fresh as, if it were just Emi and Nate, it wouldn't of been as easy to read. Too much angst, you need that balance. It's nice to have the other stories like Chris and Anna, who are adorable together, and Emi's roommate. I think the roommates are always funny in these stories, they always seem to have that bright and funny personality.

I seriously don't think I can handle what happens next in book two. I actually think it might wreck me and break my heart in two. Maybe when I'm recovered from the shock of the end, I can then pick it up but for now, I need a break from the sad situation. How Emi will get over that, I don't know. Without her best friend to comfort her, she'll be so lost. She said so many times in the book that she wouldn't know what to do without him and all these other lines. I kept a look out because I was spoiled so I knew Nate was going to die at some point in the book. They really stuck out to me then, I noticed them more and they really are all over the book. It's so sad! If it were a book and not on my Kindle, I'd of put the book in the freezer. Put the bookmark in somewhere happy and make it stay like that. I went through too many emotions for that to just vanish in an instant. My creys!

And to whatever creep that tries to take Emi from Nate in book two - buggar off. Even though he can be a twat , he's her twat. #TeamNate

...if that made any sense!

Yes she should move on but.......but Nate!

Anyway, in regards to my rating, I found sometimes that the book was a bit too long so I took a star off. It might of been me but I struggled to get through some of it at the start, I actually nearly gave up. I stuck to it though and found the second half more enjoyable. I also took one off for the fact that Nate dies. Not happy about that!! ~~didn't happen, in denial~~ I wanted HEA and I didn't get it, I'm still hurting :( I actually wanted something to cheer me up because I got some bad news the other day and something HEA would of made it all better. Nope, trust me to pick up something that ended that way!

It was enjoyable though! Still rating it a high 3 and a half. May pick up book two when I'm over Nate's departure and can continue Emi's story.