ARC Review: The Love That Split The World by Emily Henry

5/5 Stars ★★★★★

Published by Razorbill

Publishing January 26th, 2016

Synopsis: Natalie Cleary must risk her future and leap blindly into a vast unknown for the chance to build a new world with the boy she loves.

Natalie's last summer in her small Kentucky hometown is off to a magical start ... until she starts seeing the "wrong things." They're just momentary glimpses at first - her front door is red instead of its usual green, there's a pre-school where the garden store should be. But then her whole town disappears for hours, fading away into rolling hills and grazing buffalo, and Nat knows something isn't right.

That's when she gets a visit from the kind but mysterious apparition she calls "Grandmother," who tells her: "You have three months to save him." The next night, under the stadium lights of the high school football field, she meets a beautiful boy named Beau, and it's as if time just stops and nothing exists. Nothing, except Natalie and Beau. 

I have never read such an electrifying and thought provoking book in my entire life. Emily Henry's debut is stunning beyond belief and so full of moments worthy of awestruck reactions. I've spent the most of these past two days just trying to put into words how much this story impacted me, but it has become entirely too impossible to put into words how I feel. All I can really say is that I have never connected so deeply to a story before and I cannot even begin to put into words how grateful I am for the story Emily Henry was able to create. The Love That Split The World is a contemporary, fantasy twist with an alluring romance and delicious characters. However beyond that, it's the story of friendship and the inevitable transitioning of life. It's the maturing and moving on that comes with senior graduation; that last summer spent with hazy nights and parties with your friends. It's the story of shaping your future, taking what you have and what you want and creating it into something you desire no matter what the cost.

The Love That Split The World is one of those stories that really keeps you awake in the middle of the night pondering over the plot line, but it is also one of those books that makes you want to call up your best friend and remind them how much they mean to you. If there is one thing I value over family relations, it is friendship and Emily is able to convey the importance of friendship so clearly in this book. Within the first thirty five pages I had to stop and get myself together. Mainly because it was a graduation scene and with graduation fast approaching, I will warn you, I am a bit sensitive. It was just so beautifully written that it felt as if I were in these pages with these characters; experiencing what they were going through. And since we're talking about writing, I have to take this moment to commend Emily Henry on how amazing of a writer she is. Her work is so smooth, warm, and light, that I can't help but feel this overload of happiness when I think about it. I was speaking to my good friend Alex and we both agreed that the leaves emoji's (the ones flying in the wind) describe her writing style.

Another amazing detail I have to bring up are the characters. It was so easy to establish an emotional bond between myself and the main characters of this story. I have experienced quite a bit of what Natalie has been through and it was certainly uplifting to watch her just bulldoze through all of that and keep moving forward. Natalie is carving her future for herself in hopes of discovering who she is and that is something I admire. Along with Natalie comes Beau and my parents already know that I have fallen in love again with another fictional boy. Beau made me giggle and smile at all the right times. He was a golden ray of sunshine in this epic love story and the reason why my standards for boys are so high (*shrugs*). Together these two create the ultimate pair of friends, lovers, ass-kickers, time travelers, football players, fence climbers, sunset watchers - you name it, that's them.

I would really like to take this moment right here to thank Emily Henry for creating such a beautiful masterpiece and for giving me the opportunity to read it. The Love That Split The World reminded me of all the reasons why I love to read and it basically brought me back to how I felt when I was a little girl reading Junie B. Jones for the first time: happy. There are so many things I could say about this book, but I don't think any of it will really give it the justice it deserves. All I can say is this book will kindle a spark in you and cause a feeling to arise that is impossible to describe. I recommend this book to literally everyone and I hope you all feel as I do.

Happy reading!