Emily Dana Botrous is an extraordinary writer. I’m a huge fan of her work. While she has a beautiful way with words, her writing superpower is telling stories of broken and hurting people finding redemption and love. With Love, Melody is her best book yet. I didn’t think so at first, since I was uneasy about the main character TJ pretending to be somebody else on a dating app so he could try to get close to the best friend he’s loved since they were both young teenagers.
But as the story unfolded, I loved how Emily showed these characters stumbling forward through their mistakes and learning to give in, first of all to God’s love for them and their own love for each other.
As is always the case with Emily’s books, this one deals with some deep issues. But that’s exactly what I love about her stories: she’s not afraid of engaging with gritty subjects and flawed people.