Book Review: Return to Sender by Stephanie Parente
A sweet, road trip romance, this book is sure to feel like summer with plenty of adventures in store. Check out my full review for Return to Sender by Stephanie Parente below!
Book Information
Violet has just lost her father, taken custody of her teenaged sister, and literally has no idea what she’s doing. She keeps on the brave face for her sister, Phoebe, but inside? She’s crumbling. Phoebe won’t smile, won’t engage, and just doesn’t seem happy. Until a letter comes in from the previous tenant of their apartment. Phoebe opens it, realizes it’s a letter from the guy who used to live there proclaiming his love and regret to the girl who he broke up with. The only problem? The letter never got delivered and was returned even though the guy no longer lives there. So, Phoebe takes it upon herself to find this man and bring the letter back to him. What follows is a sweet romance, a road trip, and healing after losing someone you love.
Review | Heidi Dischler
I obviously picked this book for the cover (it’s GORGEOUS). What I got, though? A sweet, slow, fun adventure with romance, sisters, and so much more. I won’t say it was the best book in the world, but I really did enjoy it. Return to Sender felt like a palate cleanse. Bad books that came before were wiped clean. This made me feel like I had a clean slate and that was honestly so wonderful when literally all I do is read.
With our characters, I obviously loved Phoebe, Dex, and Violet. They were all fun and easy to read about. What bothered me, though, is the fact that they never truly felt fully developed. I knew their hopes and dreams. I knew their past traumas. I felt like I was just missing the deeper essence of their personalities that would make them feel real. Definitely where some points came off.
The road trip itself along with the plot was really fun. I didn’t have many issues with it. You basically get to read as they make a ton of pit stops on the way to find Catalina across the country. There were amusement parks, couples’ hotels, and a lot of other laughable romance tropes that really make you giggle.
The ending, though? Yeah, could’ve guessed it. I probably won’t write a spoiler just because I feel like it was totally obvious. Even though it was predictable, I still thoroughly enjoyed the ride.
Overall, this is a slow-paced (in a good way), sweet, road-trip romance that will definitely be a hit if you’re a romance lover. I really enjoyed it even though there wasn’t a lot of substance. A solid 4/5 stars in my opinion. Definitely something you read when you need to quiet the noise and get a fresh start!
Source: Book of the Month Pick
(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)
