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Dear Doctor Love
A family death, a secret agony aunt and a pair of star-crossed lovers lost to the pages of Doctor Love forever – or are they?
From the author of the Confetti Confidential series and Aloha Love comes a romantic dramedy with heart, and a little mystery. For lovers of Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes and Kathy Lette.
Aspiring journalist Ella Lawson thought she knew everything there was to know about her beloved Aunt Gina, but when she passes away and Ella begins the difficult task of packing up her aunt’s belongings, she discovers Aunt Gina had been keeping plenty of secrets
Throughout the nineties, Aunt Gina had been secretly moonlighting as an anonymous agony aunt for magazines and newspapers, but one desperate letter from a pair of star-crossed lovers to her alter ego Doctor Love appears to have been filed away unanswered.
With the help of her best friend Jazz, Ella is determined to follow the trail and find out if the lovers who had sought the help of Doctor Love to run away together more than thirty years ago, ever made their escape. Ella also knows this story could help her finally snatch the one journalist position on offer at the local paper from her rival cadet and nemesis, Sam.
But the path to finding out if true love really conquers all is less than smooth. As they chase down leads and locate the young man who wrote the letters all those years ago, his handsome son, Callum is determined to help them unravel the mystery - whether Ella likes it or not.
What soon becomes clear is that the star-crossed lovers aren’t the only mystery that needs solving. When Ella and Jazz bring back Dear Doctor Love – the online version - the letters begin to roll in and the mystery of the lost lovers unravels, but Callum seems to be hiding his own secrets, Jazz becomes withdrawn and obsessed with a letter from a young pregnant girl, and worse still, Ella discovers her mum has some shameful family secrets of her own.
Can Ella find the answers and write the story of a lifetime before she loses her cadetship, her best friend, and the guy she’s falling for?
From the author of the Confetti Confidential series and Aloha Love comes a romantic dramedy with heart, and a little mystery. For lovers of Sophie Kinsella, Marian Keyes and Kathy Lette.
Aspiring journalist Ella Lawson thought she knew everything there was to know about her beloved Aunt Gina, but when she passes away and Ella begins the difficult task of packing up her aunt’s belongings, she discovers Aunt Gina had been keeping plenty of secrets
Throughout the nineties, Aunt Gina had been secretly moonlighting as an anonymous agony aunt for magazines and newspapers, but one desperate letter from a pair of star-crossed lovers to her alter ego Doctor Love appears to have been filed away unanswered.
With the help of her best friend Jazz, Ella is determined to follow the trail and find out if the lovers who had sought the help of Doctor Love to run away together more than thirty years ago, ever made their escape. Ella also knows this story could help her finally snatch the one journalist position on offer at the local paper from her rival cadet and nemesis, Sam.
But the path to finding out if true love really conquers all is less than smooth. As they chase down leads and locate the young man who wrote the letters all those years ago, his handsome son, Callum is determined to help them unravel the mystery - whether Ella likes it or not.
What soon becomes clear is that the star-crossed lovers aren’t the only mystery that needs solving. When Ella and Jazz bring back Dear Doctor Love – the online version - the letters begin to roll in and the mystery of the lost lovers unravels, but Callum seems to be hiding his own secrets, Jazz becomes withdrawn and obsessed with a letter from a young pregnant girl, and worse still, Ella discovers her mum has some shameful family secrets of her own.
Can Ella find the answers and write the story of a lifetime before she loses her cadetship, her best friend, and the guy she’s falling for?
315 pages, ebook
Published April 23, 2023
About the author
Susan Murphy
11 books38 followersAs a marriage and funeral celebrant from Adelaide, South Australia, Susan Murphy has some stories to tell.
Having conducted hundreds of weddings, funerals, naming days and many other more 'out there' celebrations, storytelling is a natural part of the process.
Her first book 'Confetti Confidential: They Do, I Don't' was first published with Harper Collins, (and re-published in 2022), with the follow-up, 'Annabel's Wedding' soon after. Her third, 'Aloha Love' is now available in paperback and ebook through Kindred Ink Press.
After a stint as the Writer in Residence at the SA Writers Centre, Susan is now working on a historical fiction project as well as a new women's fiction series.
www.susanmurphyauthor.com
Having conducted hundreds of weddings, funerals, naming days and many other more 'out there' celebrations, storytelling is a natural part of the process.
Her first book 'Confetti Confidential: They Do, I Don't' was first published with Harper Collins, (and re-published in 2022), with the follow-up, 'Annabel's Wedding' soon after. Her third, 'Aloha Love' is now available in paperback and ebook through Kindred Ink Press.
After a stint as the Writer in Residence at the SA Writers Centre, Susan is now working on a historical fiction project as well as a new women's fiction series.
www.susanmurphyauthor.com
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 25, 2023
First in a series, this is such a well thought out story, with believable characters and scenarios. I loved every minute of reading it, look forward to reading the next instalment, and highly recommend it.
Ella’s Aunt Gina passes away, and leaves everything she owns to Ella, who has always had a close relationship with her Aunt.
Sorting out the papers in her Aunt’s study, along with her best friend Jazz, she comes across several piles of magazines and newspapers, along with letters received from members of the public seeking help from “Dr Love” aka Aunt Gina, who worked as an Agony Aunt for the various publications.
One of the letters moves Ella to try and locate the writer, who didn’t receive a reply to his letter as the publication went out of business.
Ella traces the sender, who had never moved away from the area, even though the love of his life had been lost to him, and decides to try and track down the woman he has pined for since he last saw her.
Jazz excells in digging up information online, and finds enough to trace the woman up to a point.
All the while, Elle is grieving for her Father; is confused by her Mother finding love again; Jazz being involved in a car crash; and a love interest with a lot of potential but is holding back.
I must admit to shedding tears whilst reading this book - happy tears though - and would award it 10 stars if I could.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
Ella’s Aunt Gina passes away, and leaves everything she owns to Ella, who has always had a close relationship with her Aunt.
Sorting out the papers in her Aunt’s study, along with her best friend Jazz, she comes across several piles of magazines and newspapers, along with letters received from members of the public seeking help from “Dr Love” aka Aunt Gina, who worked as an Agony Aunt for the various publications.
One of the letters moves Ella to try and locate the writer, who didn’t receive a reply to his letter as the publication went out of business.
Ella traces the sender, who had never moved away from the area, even though the love of his life had been lost to him, and decides to try and track down the woman he has pined for since he last saw her.
Jazz excells in digging up information online, and finds enough to trace the woman up to a point.
All the while, Elle is grieving for her Father; is confused by her Mother finding love again; Jazz being involved in a car crash; and a love interest with a lot of potential but is holding back.
I must admit to shedding tears whilst reading this book - happy tears though - and would award it 10 stars if I could.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
May 6, 2023
Took a chance on a new author to me and I'm so glad I did....loved this book.
The author really captured me from the first page, the book just got better and better as I read on. I have always wanted to find out what happened to the people after reading a letter/postcard from the past. This story does just that and it was well written. Ella also discovers things from her life that wasn't what she thought it was having to deal with her Aunt's death not longer after her father's death. Life isn't all roses and things happen without you realizing it. Ella comes to terms with certain aspects and works hard to find 2 people in a letter amongst her Aunt's things.
The characters are wonderful and I loved all of them. So many emotions while reading the story. I loved how the characters were portrayed and worked through things. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
HIGHLY recommend
The author really captured me from the first page, the book just got better and better as I read on. I have always wanted to find out what happened to the people after reading a letter/postcard from the past. This story does just that and it was well written. Ella also discovers things from her life that wasn't what she thought it was having to deal with her Aunt's death not longer after her father's death. Life isn't all roses and things happen without you realizing it. Ella comes to terms with certain aspects and works hard to find 2 people in a letter amongst her Aunt's things.
The characters are wonderful and I loved all of them. So many emotions while reading the story. I loved how the characters were portrayed and worked through things. I can't wait for the next book in the series.
HIGHLY recommend
May 9, 2023
I really enjoyed reading this novel. It was a rollercoaster of sadness, happiness, heartache, love and friendship. I loved it.
I liked the main characters. I loved Australia as a setting for this story and the fact that the main character was a journalist. I like reading novels about writers.
This was the first novel which I’ve reading by the author but I’d love to read more in the future. I really liked the author’s writing style and discovering a new author for me whose style I like.
I’m giving this novel 4 stars as I’m sure other readers will like this novel especially if they like to read about relationships.
I liked the main characters. I loved Australia as a setting for this story and the fact that the main character was a journalist. I like reading novels about writers.
This was the first novel which I’ve reading by the author but I’d love to read more in the future. I really liked the author’s writing style and discovering a new author for me whose style I like.
I’m giving this novel 4 stars as I’m sure other readers will like this novel especially if they like to read about relationships.
May 2, 2023
This was a fantastic read. I really appreciated the honest portrayal of grief and responses to losing someone significant to you. I was very grateful to see a warm, loving, supportive, and positive relationship between a niece and her aunt. It felt very similar to my relationship with my aunt, although my aunt is thankfully still alive.
The love story is fantastically riveting. How does a person find another's, long-lost love? It is a bit of a detective read as Ella searches for someone she has never met for someone she is only meeting after reading a few agony aunt letters. The question of happily-ever-after isn't always answered the way we want it to be.
I am really glad I read this book. I am so glad it is out in the world.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The love story is fantastically riveting. How does a person find another's, long-lost love? It is a bit of a detective read as Ella searches for someone she has never met for someone she is only meeting after reading a few agony aunt letters. The question of happily-ever-after isn't always answered the way we want it to be.
I am really glad I read this book. I am so glad it is out in the world.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
April 30, 2023
I absolutely loved this book!!! I fell in love instantly with the characters and their relationships. This book hit me in all the feels! I laughed out loud, was shocked by some surprises and wanted to cry as well. The writing is so well thought out and captures realistic romantic, personal and family relationships and dynamics. I definitely will be reading the rest in this series!
November 20, 2023
This is a story of lost love. And it’s the story of a self-involved narrator. And it’s the story of a cheating spouse, and of a dead aunt with a secret, and of a best friend with a secret story of her own. The book’s storyline is complicated, and its execution is inconsistent. There are many subplots, and it’s challenging to follow all the detours along the way to the last chapter.
The narrator, Ella or sometimes just El, is so deeply into herself that it’s a wonder she notices how others are affected by life-changing events…no, wait…she doesn’t. I suspect she is the character who is supposed to change for the better, but at the end, she’s pretty much the same Ella that was introduced in the first chapter. She professes to want to write, to be a reporter, but she doesn’t have the spark that a good reporter must have. She floats through her various assignments, all unworthy of her time and effort. Apparently, her writing is pretty humdrum with occasional flashes of insight, or so we glean from her boss. Frequently, Ella cannot do what reporters do, make phone calls, interview people…often alone. It seems an odd profession for her. In the final chapter, Ella makes an astounding observation, “I sometimes just needed to be quiet and listen….” Yes, she did. And while she states a truth, her actions don’t support any newfound clarity.
There is a play within a play where thirty years ago the love between two seventeen-year-olds (Tom and Maya) is dashed by the girl’s family who is so intent on getting the boy out of the girl’s life that they leave the country. Ella gets wind of this romance and immediately sees it as a boost to her career, the story that will make her somebody. At one point when Cal, Ella’s new love interest, suggests that Maya may have moved on, Ella despairs. Not for the star-crossed lovers, but for herself. “I could feel my hope fading and turning grey….” Not a thought for the lost lovers, but rather how they affect the story she wants to write. It’s a fine point, but it’s a recurring theme in the book, all about Ella. She calls herself a “hopeless romantic,” but she’s really hopelessly self-centered.
Tom and Maya’s story is central to the book, but their backstory seems vague and too fantastic. Uproot an entire family to another country, careers and all, to get away from a boy? It’s far-fetched. And neither Tom nor Maya made an attempt to find the other when they were older? Tom did try to find her when he was seventeen but seemed to just give up. It makes them appear to be in love with the idea of being in love, rather than loving each other deeply. They were seventeen, so perhaps that’s to be expected.
Ella’s aunt Gina has recently died; the story begins at her funeral. This devastates Ella, which is natural. Grief is a palpable thing. But we read little of Gina except how she was centered around Ella. Surely Gina had a rich life that did not include her clingy niece? And, yes, we discover she did. She wrote as an agony aunt (an Ann Landers or Dear Abby) for magazines and at least one newspaper. Ella is devastated that her aunt would have an activity that did not include her. How could she? [Yikes!] Ella imagines her aunt still guiding her from beyond. While this could be charming, here it seems to be one more instance of Ella’s self-interest.
The marriage of Ella’s parents was rocky and dissolving, something she never saw. Ella is thirty years old and at twenty-eight, when her father died, she was old enough to have seen the cracks in the veneer of her parents’ marriage…if she were observant. She is not (why is she a reporter?). She comes to a hasty conclusion that her mother was having an affair. At no time is there any corroboration, nor admission of guilt. It’s an assumption. (Again…why is Ella a reporter?) Regardless of the possible cheating, Ella’s mother seems happy now—two years after her husband’s death—with another man in her life. Ella has a hissy fit about this. This little mom-subplot is strange. It flares up, then disappears with a whimper.
Ella’s best friend since childhood, Jazz, has secrets of her own. A super-cyberstalker, she plays a pivotal role in finding Tom and Maya, and yet she lives in her own world of pathos. When Jazz is deep in her own agony, Ella is distraught because she needs her best friend who turns inward to deal with her own pain. It feels as if the unavailability of her friend is what disturbs Ella, not what her friend is going through.
There are some terms that I think must be unique to Australia. For instance, what is a sook fest? I googled the term with no returns, although there was a secondary reference for “sook.” According to Google, in Australia and New Zealand, it’s a timid, cowardly person, or a crybaby. And why are seats in cars called chairs? Googling that met with no success, although I did find an interesting article about a man who put a recliner in an automobile. In the book, Cal and Ella are sitting in chairs in his car. At one point, Ella is sitting in a chair “pushed hard against the strap of the seatbelt…” In the U.S., that’s a humorous picture. [It isn’t a bad thing at all, just a bit of a grin.]
A few areas in the book pause a reader, pulling the reader out of the story. Some may simply be the difference between Australian and U.S. style. No CMOS in Australia, undoubtedly.
The book is told in first person POV, my least favorite because it is nearly impossible for writers to keep out of multiple characters’ heads. Here, for example, the writer tells us “Cal seemed to hesitate for a minute as he thought over his approach.” The beginning of the sentence is good, “Cal seemed to….” The narrator is concluding that Cal is hesitating by watching him. But “…as he thought over his approach” is something the narrator cannot know since Ella is not privy to Cal’s thoughts unless he shares them. Here, the writer is telling us that Cal seemed to hesitate (good), then tells us what he was thinking (not so good). It’s a point of view violation.
The possessive form is used unnecessarily. For instance, “I picked up a couple of Teen Queen edition’s and read….” The narrator has picked up a couple editions—plural form, not possessive—so this should read, “I picked up a couple of Teen Queen editions….”
Here, a possessive form is needed: “It’s not the buildings fault.” That should read, “It’s not the building’s fault” or “…the buildings’ fault,” if she’s talking about all the buildings in the area.
In this example, there is one single tick mark too many: “I didn’t’ know…” That should read “I didn’t know….”
Some sentences are real stoppers. For example, “’Hi Honey, everything ok?’ She asked.”
-- “Honey” is a term of endearment, and the “honey” is being greeted with a pet name. A comma is needed: “Hi, honey….”
-- Terms of endearment are not capitalized unless they are a proper name. “Hi, honey….” Is more appropriate unless the person being addressed is named Honey.
-- Even though the conversation ends with a question mark, when indicating the speaker, the pronoun is not capitalized. This should read, “’…everything ok?’ she asked.”
-- The agreeable term, “OK” is either capitalized (“OK”) or spelled out (“okay”).
The entire sentence could be: “'Hi, honey, everything okay?' she asked."
Of course, it’s entirely possible that some of these are acceptable within Australian style guidelines. Here in the U.S., they pause a reader. Again, not a bad thing, just a momentary “huh.”
Commas sometimes pop up needlessly. For example, “Please call me, Martha.” Looks simple enough. The speaker is asking Martha to call her, right? Wrong. The speaker is asking to be called Martha. The comma should be removed: “Please call me Martha.”
Sometimes characters seem unnecessarily obtuse. For instance, Jazz’ mother (using her own phone) texts Ella to call her back on Jazz’ phone. Why not just use Jazz’ phone to contact Ella?
More obtuseness, perhaps: Ella visits with an interviewee and has a camera with which she snaps a picture, then takes out her phone to take a video. Why not use the phone to snap a picture? She even states that she’s setting up her phone to record (the video) and that she’ll take some snaps as well. What’s the camera for?
There is a sentence that pops in and doesn’t seem related to anything: “I momentarily thought of my own cousins, Chad and David and shuddered.” Besides the missing comma after “David” (it’s an appositive phrase), who are these people? What about them makes her shudder? They appear no place else in the book.
Perhaps it is a style used in Australia, but in other places, honorifics—when not spelled out—require a period. “Mrs Chambers” would be “Mrs. Chambers” or “Missus Chambers.” Not terrible, just noticeable.
The word, “hightailed” is misspelled as “hi-tailed.” This may be an Australian spelling, but if so, that’s pretty funny. Its derivation is from 1890 slang in the U.S., from cattle ranches and animals fleeing with their tails raised high, or hightails.
Unless the phrase, “Far out,” has a unique meaning in Australia, it probably wouldn’t be uttered after something bad happens. Here, Cal is having a crisis about his father. Ella tells us in her narration, “I waited quietly, hoping he would finally tell me what all of this was about. Tell me something. Instead, he broke down.” Her response to his breaking down? “Far out, Cal.” Holy non sequitur.
A key element in the book is the concept of sealed marriage, birth, divorce, and death records in Australia. In the U.S., these are a matter of public record, but in Australia, they are not. Their unavailability is a pivotal point in the Tom-Maya plotline because Jazz must find information regarding a marriage, and she needs a friend at the local BDM (Births, Deaths, and Marriages) office to provide it for her.
There are unanswered questions at the book’s end. In the Tom-Maya story, we aren’t given a satisfactory reason for Maya never looking Tom up when she returned to Australia. Something about just wanting to forget all about him…wait…he was the great love of her life. It doesn’t make sense. And what about Ella’s mother? A bomb is dropped about an affair and then…nothing. And Ella…will she ever, ever, ever get out of herself and stop being so self-involved? Will she ever see others’ pain without relating it to how it makes her feel?
I rated this book 3-stars because I was charmed by Tom and Maya’s love story, as implausible as its setting was. It had a sound beginning, an odd middle, and a lovely end. The reason this isn’t a 4-star rating is because I could not warm to Ella, the narrator, and there are too many moments where I was pulled out of the story due to writing errors (like punctuation) or illogical developments (like a family fleeing a continent for another country because their daughter was in love with a boy they didn’t like). Too many plotlines are interwoven so that the book sometimes seems to lose its way. It becomes a tapestry piece that unravels as we read. I would have enjoyed reading about Tom and Maya without Ella’s intercessions. It would be fascinating to see how their lives developed without one another, how they missed something deeply important, yet still carried on. It is not meant to be. Ella would never allow it unless she were “front and center” involved.
The narrator, Ella or sometimes just El, is so deeply into herself that it’s a wonder she notices how others are affected by life-changing events…no, wait…she doesn’t. I suspect she is the character who is supposed to change for the better, but at the end, she’s pretty much the same Ella that was introduced in the first chapter. She professes to want to write, to be a reporter, but she doesn’t have the spark that a good reporter must have. She floats through her various assignments, all unworthy of her time and effort. Apparently, her writing is pretty humdrum with occasional flashes of insight, or so we glean from her boss. Frequently, Ella cannot do what reporters do, make phone calls, interview people…often alone. It seems an odd profession for her. In the final chapter, Ella makes an astounding observation, “I sometimes just needed to be quiet and listen….” Yes, she did. And while she states a truth, her actions don’t support any newfound clarity.
There is a play within a play where thirty years ago the love between two seventeen-year-olds (Tom and Maya) is dashed by the girl’s family who is so intent on getting the boy out of the girl’s life that they leave the country. Ella gets wind of this romance and immediately sees it as a boost to her career, the story that will make her somebody. At one point when Cal, Ella’s new love interest, suggests that Maya may have moved on, Ella despairs. Not for the star-crossed lovers, but for herself. “I could feel my hope fading and turning grey….” Not a thought for the lost lovers, but rather how they affect the story she wants to write. It’s a fine point, but it’s a recurring theme in the book, all about Ella. She calls herself a “hopeless romantic,” but she’s really hopelessly self-centered.
Tom and Maya’s story is central to the book, but their backstory seems vague and too fantastic. Uproot an entire family to another country, careers and all, to get away from a boy? It’s far-fetched. And neither Tom nor Maya made an attempt to find the other when they were older? Tom did try to find her when he was seventeen but seemed to just give up. It makes them appear to be in love with the idea of being in love, rather than loving each other deeply. They were seventeen, so perhaps that’s to be expected.
Ella’s aunt Gina has recently died; the story begins at her funeral. This devastates Ella, which is natural. Grief is a palpable thing. But we read little of Gina except how she was centered around Ella. Surely Gina had a rich life that did not include her clingy niece? And, yes, we discover she did. She wrote as an agony aunt (an Ann Landers or Dear Abby) for magazines and at least one newspaper. Ella is devastated that her aunt would have an activity that did not include her. How could she? [Yikes!] Ella imagines her aunt still guiding her from beyond. While this could be charming, here it seems to be one more instance of Ella’s self-interest.
The marriage of Ella’s parents was rocky and dissolving, something she never saw. Ella is thirty years old and at twenty-eight, when her father died, she was old enough to have seen the cracks in the veneer of her parents’ marriage…if she were observant. She is not (why is she a reporter?). She comes to a hasty conclusion that her mother was having an affair. At no time is there any corroboration, nor admission of guilt. It’s an assumption. (Again…why is Ella a reporter?) Regardless of the possible cheating, Ella’s mother seems happy now—two years after her husband’s death—with another man in her life. Ella has a hissy fit about this. This little mom-subplot is strange. It flares up, then disappears with a whimper.
Ella’s best friend since childhood, Jazz, has secrets of her own. A super-cyberstalker, she plays a pivotal role in finding Tom and Maya, and yet she lives in her own world of pathos. When Jazz is deep in her own agony, Ella is distraught because she needs her best friend who turns inward to deal with her own pain. It feels as if the unavailability of her friend is what disturbs Ella, not what her friend is going through.
There are some terms that I think must be unique to Australia. For instance, what is a sook fest? I googled the term with no returns, although there was a secondary reference for “sook.” According to Google, in Australia and New Zealand, it’s a timid, cowardly person, or a crybaby. And why are seats in cars called chairs? Googling that met with no success, although I did find an interesting article about a man who put a recliner in an automobile. In the book, Cal and Ella are sitting in chairs in his car. At one point, Ella is sitting in a chair “pushed hard against the strap of the seatbelt…” In the U.S., that’s a humorous picture. [It isn’t a bad thing at all, just a bit of a grin.]
A few areas in the book pause a reader, pulling the reader out of the story. Some may simply be the difference between Australian and U.S. style. No CMOS in Australia, undoubtedly.
The book is told in first person POV, my least favorite because it is nearly impossible for writers to keep out of multiple characters’ heads. Here, for example, the writer tells us “Cal seemed to hesitate for a minute as he thought over his approach.” The beginning of the sentence is good, “Cal seemed to….” The narrator is concluding that Cal is hesitating by watching him. But “…as he thought over his approach” is something the narrator cannot know since Ella is not privy to Cal’s thoughts unless he shares them. Here, the writer is telling us that Cal seemed to hesitate (good), then tells us what he was thinking (not so good). It’s a point of view violation.
The possessive form is used unnecessarily. For instance, “I picked up a couple of Teen Queen edition’s and read….” The narrator has picked up a couple editions—plural form, not possessive—so this should read, “I picked up a couple of Teen Queen editions….”
Here, a possessive form is needed: “It’s not the buildings fault.” That should read, “It’s not the building’s fault” or “…the buildings’ fault,” if she’s talking about all the buildings in the area.
In this example, there is one single tick mark too many: “I didn’t’ know…” That should read “I didn’t know….”
Some sentences are real stoppers. For example, “’Hi Honey, everything ok?’ She asked.”
-- “Honey” is a term of endearment, and the “honey” is being greeted with a pet name. A comma is needed: “Hi, honey….”
-- Terms of endearment are not capitalized unless they are a proper name. “Hi, honey….” Is more appropriate unless the person being addressed is named Honey.
-- Even though the conversation ends with a question mark, when indicating the speaker, the pronoun is not capitalized. This should read, “’…everything ok?’ she asked.”
-- The agreeable term, “OK” is either capitalized (“OK”) or spelled out (“okay”).
The entire sentence could be: “'Hi, honey, everything okay?' she asked."
Of course, it’s entirely possible that some of these are acceptable within Australian style guidelines. Here in the U.S., they pause a reader. Again, not a bad thing, just a momentary “huh.”
Commas sometimes pop up needlessly. For example, “Please call me, Martha.” Looks simple enough. The speaker is asking Martha to call her, right? Wrong. The speaker is asking to be called Martha. The comma should be removed: “Please call me Martha.”
Sometimes characters seem unnecessarily obtuse. For instance, Jazz’ mother (using her own phone) texts Ella to call her back on Jazz’ phone. Why not just use Jazz’ phone to contact Ella?
More obtuseness, perhaps: Ella visits with an interviewee and has a camera with which she snaps a picture, then takes out her phone to take a video. Why not use the phone to snap a picture? She even states that she’s setting up her phone to record (the video) and that she’ll take some snaps as well. What’s the camera for?
There is a sentence that pops in and doesn’t seem related to anything: “I momentarily thought of my own cousins, Chad and David and shuddered.” Besides the missing comma after “David” (it’s an appositive phrase), who are these people? What about them makes her shudder? They appear no place else in the book.
Perhaps it is a style used in Australia, but in other places, honorifics—when not spelled out—require a period. “Mrs Chambers” would be “Mrs. Chambers” or “Missus Chambers.” Not terrible, just noticeable.
The word, “hightailed” is misspelled as “hi-tailed.” This may be an Australian spelling, but if so, that’s pretty funny. Its derivation is from 1890 slang in the U.S., from cattle ranches and animals fleeing with their tails raised high, or hightails.
Unless the phrase, “Far out,” has a unique meaning in Australia, it probably wouldn’t be uttered after something bad happens. Here, Cal is having a crisis about his father. Ella tells us in her narration, “I waited quietly, hoping he would finally tell me what all of this was about. Tell me something. Instead, he broke down.” Her response to his breaking down? “Far out, Cal.” Holy non sequitur.
A key element in the book is the concept of sealed marriage, birth, divorce, and death records in Australia. In the U.S., these are a matter of public record, but in Australia, they are not. Their unavailability is a pivotal point in the Tom-Maya plotline because Jazz must find information regarding a marriage, and she needs a friend at the local BDM (Births, Deaths, and Marriages) office to provide it for her.
There are unanswered questions at the book’s end. In the Tom-Maya story, we aren’t given a satisfactory reason for Maya never looking Tom up when she returned to Australia. Something about just wanting to forget all about him…wait…he was the great love of her life. It doesn’t make sense. And what about Ella’s mother? A bomb is dropped about an affair and then…nothing. And Ella…will she ever, ever, ever get out of herself and stop being so self-involved? Will she ever see others’ pain without relating it to how it makes her feel?
I rated this book 3-stars because I was charmed by Tom and Maya’s love story, as implausible as its setting was. It had a sound beginning, an odd middle, and a lovely end. The reason this isn’t a 4-star rating is because I could not warm to Ella, the narrator, and there are too many moments where I was pulled out of the story due to writing errors (like punctuation) or illogical developments (like a family fleeing a continent for another country because their daughter was in love with a boy they didn’t like). Too many plotlines are interwoven so that the book sometimes seems to lose its way. It becomes a tapestry piece that unravels as we read. I would have enjoyed reading about Tom and Maya without Ella’s intercessions. It would be fascinating to see how their lives developed without one another, how they missed something deeply important, yet still carried on. It is not meant to be. Ella would never allow it unless she were “front and center” involved.
June 6, 2023
Cadet reporter Ella is leaving the funeral of her beloved Aunt Gina, not so long after burying her dad, when a stranger presses a card into her hand—Meg Russel, Russel Gallery & Exhibits—says she ‘helped Gina with her affairs’. Ella still grieves for her dad, and Aunt Gina’s death hits her hard. Gina has left her house to Ella, and Ella is glad to move away from home.
Filled with loving memories of Aunt Gina, Ella sets to clearing out her aunt’s effects. Jazz joins her with bagels and coffee, and in one of the albums they discover a bunch of clippings from newspapers and magazines, agony aunt letters and responses. Then a set of hand-written letters and typed replies. Aunt Gina had been a secret agony aunt. She was ‘Doctor Love’.
In a letter to Ella left in her office, Gina confessed her secret side job and asked Ella to contact Meg Russel about mounting an exhibition of these letters.
Ella finds some letters that had not been answered ‘due to program shutdown’. Among them is evidence of a young love story facilitated by Doctor Love, yet just at the point when Tom was to notify Maya of a rendezvous point for their elopement, the newspaper shut down. Had these star-crossed lovers found each other?
They decide to reinstate the Doctor Love column, track down Tom and Maya and write the story up for the paper. They find Tom and find an ally in son Cal in the hunt for Maya. She and Cal connect.
But Jazz has gone one too far. She takes too personal an interest in one of their cases, which triggers something in her. She goes off on a search of her own.
The Tom and Maya story comes to a conclusion, 30 years after their last good-bye, and Ella’s article is a hit.
The relationship of Ella and Jazz is quite adorable, and the bit where she’s cleaning Gina’s house portrays her loving memories of Aunt Gina beautifully. Each of the trio contribute their own talents and personality to both the Doctor Love column and the search for Tom and Maya. Cal provides a serious side to counterbalance Jazz’ exuberance.
Both love stories are handled with a light touch, which seemed to match the style of the work. I really liked the ending, so simple and joyful and looking to the future.
This review first appeared in Reedsy Discovery.
Filled with loving memories of Aunt Gina, Ella sets to clearing out her aunt’s effects. Jazz joins her with bagels and coffee, and in one of the albums they discover a bunch of clippings from newspapers and magazines, agony aunt letters and responses. Then a set of hand-written letters and typed replies. Aunt Gina had been a secret agony aunt. She was ‘Doctor Love’.
In a letter to Ella left in her office, Gina confessed her secret side job and asked Ella to contact Meg Russel about mounting an exhibition of these letters.
Ella finds some letters that had not been answered ‘due to program shutdown’. Among them is evidence of a young love story facilitated by Doctor Love, yet just at the point when Tom was to notify Maya of a rendezvous point for their elopement, the newspaper shut down. Had these star-crossed lovers found each other?
They decide to reinstate the Doctor Love column, track down Tom and Maya and write the story up for the paper. They find Tom and find an ally in son Cal in the hunt for Maya. She and Cal connect.
But Jazz has gone one too far. She takes too personal an interest in one of their cases, which triggers something in her. She goes off on a search of her own.
The Tom and Maya story comes to a conclusion, 30 years after their last good-bye, and Ella’s article is a hit.
The relationship of Ella and Jazz is quite adorable, and the bit where she’s cleaning Gina’s house portrays her loving memories of Aunt Gina beautifully. Each of the trio contribute their own talents and personality to both the Doctor Love column and the search for Tom and Maya. Cal provides a serious side to counterbalance Jazz’ exuberance.
Both love stories are handled with a light touch, which seemed to match the style of the work. I really liked the ending, so simple and joyful and looking to the future.
This review first appeared in Reedsy Discovery.
May 2, 2023
This book has left me with the best 'good feeling' I've had in a long time!! It was a highly emotional read based around Dear Dr Love articles, Aunt Gina had written, but no one knew she was the author of these highly publicized and well known articles in newspapers and magazines. It wasn't until after her death that Gina shared these with her beloved niece Elle (El to her friends and family) and told her about this hidden treasure, because she'd kept all the magazines and newspapers over the many years they were published.
It was after Aunt Gina's funeral and El was going through her desk in her aunt's office and also El's favorite room in the house that Aunt Gina gave to her. In finding her aunt's note and went through this beloved treasure and found an old love story, El found these articles and shared with her oldest and dearest friend, Jazz. They resurrected Dear Dr. Love and started responding to questions that people were sending them via the internest. It was in going through these stores and articles that El found a heart touching love story of 17 year olds. On the last day of publishing the newspaper Dr Love was not able to get the final article tying this love together in the paper, as it it stopped publishing the day before it was to have been printed.
El pursued these love letters and was able to piece together where these lovers were located and what happened from there. Also, El found the Love of her life while pursuing these Lovers and their locations. Found this book to be well written, pulled at all of the heart strings. It was also very relatable and brought joy and happiness as well.
I received an early, free copy for my honest and voluntary review.
It was after Aunt Gina's funeral and El was going through her desk in her aunt's office and also El's favorite room in the house that Aunt Gina gave to her. In finding her aunt's note and went through this beloved treasure and found an old love story, El found these articles and shared with her oldest and dearest friend, Jazz. They resurrected Dear Dr. Love and started responding to questions that people were sending them via the internest. It was in going through these stores and articles that El found a heart touching love story of 17 year olds. On the last day of publishing the newspaper Dr Love was not able to get the final article tying this love together in the paper, as it it stopped publishing the day before it was to have been printed.
El pursued these love letters and was able to piece together where these lovers were located and what happened from there. Also, El found the Love of her life while pursuing these Lovers and their locations. Found this book to be well written, pulled at all of the heart strings. It was also very relatable and brought joy and happiness as well.
I received an early, free copy for my honest and voluntary review.
May 27, 2023
An absolutely sweet and heartwarming read.
I'm a sucker for a cute love story and this one gave me the warm and fuzzies :)
It was well written, and easy to read and follow, and engaging enough for me to pick up and finish within a couple short reading sessions (between my full time work schedule and moving house!)
The storyline was really sweet and I thoroughly enjoyed the concept of the letters and finding a long lost love. I also quite liked the fact that there were more than one 'love-story' interwoven, and enjoyed the atmospheric description of the little 'getaway' scene.
I do wish we could have found out more about the Maya & Tom's 'love story' but perhaps a little prequel story could be a future project ;). I'd also love to hear more of Cal & Ella's budding romance so perhaps a little sequel for that one? and I wouldn't be opposed to a Jazz spin off either lol! I'm absolutely seeing some series potential with these characters!!
The only thing I would say brought down my star rating (3.5 rounded down) is that is was somewhat predictable and cliché and sort of missed that 'oomph' spark to make it stand apart from other rom-coms. Overall though, it was enjoyable and engaging. I'll definitely be back to read more work by Susan Murphy!
Thank you to Booksirens and author Susan Murphy for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
March 29, 2023
This is the first Susan Murphy book I have read, and I wasn't disappointed.
This is the first book of the series, and I can't wait for the next one.
Ella's aunt Gina has passed away and left everything to her, she takes on the heavy task of sorting out Aunt Gina's house and finds out she was once an Agony Aunt called 'Dr Love' for several magazines and newspapers. Ella finds letters from a boy and girl that were forbidden to see each other. Fast forward 30 years and Ella with best friend Jazz decide to track the boy and girl down.
This book has a lot of grief, emotion, laughter and tears in it and I totally loved it.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
This is the first book of the series, and I can't wait for the next one.
Ella's aunt Gina has passed away and left everything to her, she takes on the heavy task of sorting out Aunt Gina's house and finds out she was once an Agony Aunt called 'Dr Love' for several magazines and newspapers. Ella finds letters from a boy and girl that were forbidden to see each other. Fast forward 30 years and Ella with best friend Jazz decide to track the boy and girl down.
This book has a lot of grief, emotion, laughter and tears in it and I totally loved it.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book, and am leaving this honest review voluntarily.
June 2, 2023
I'm still crying!
I must admit, I had to get into it as I felt in the first part of the book it was a bit superficial and 'young'. There are also a few typos, but nothing too serious.
But the story is well told, it kept me captivated and I really wanted to see how it developed and I'm so glad I read this book!
Spice: none to almost none. But the main story is so sweet and moving that it would have not belonged there.
And at the end I sat bawling my eyes out. Partly because it was so relatable to me (I won't tell which part to avoid spoilers), but surely because all the emotions written were so deep-felt and genuine.
If you like a book about agony aunts, people helping people, true love and which gives you all kinds of emotions, you should read this!
I must admit, I had to get into it as I felt in the first part of the book it was a bit superficial and 'young'. There are also a few typos, but nothing too serious.
But the story is well told, it kept me captivated and I really wanted to see how it developed and I'm so glad I read this book!
Spice: none to almost none. But the main story is so sweet and moving that it would have not belonged there.
And at the end I sat bawling my eyes out. Partly because it was so relatable to me (I won't tell which part to avoid spoilers), but surely because all the emotions written were so deep-felt and genuine.
If you like a book about agony aunts, people helping people, true love and which gives you all kinds of emotions, you should read this!
April 22, 2024
If you are a fan of Dear Abby you will love this book. I finished the book but it wasn't for me. Not to say that the book wasn't good because it was well written I just didn't care for this style of writing. The book was full of love, heart, secrets, and friendships that stand the test of time. The Author did an amazing job portraying the friendship between Ella and Jazz it felt so real, so genuine. The letters were amazing to read at first but after a while, they just kind of took me out of the story. But again it's not the fault of the author it's a me thing. I am glad I was given the chance to read this book. I think others will truly love it.
April 18, 2023
'The Agony Aunt Chronicles' was poignantly written. Its mesmerizing page-turning plot was filled with passion, heartache, reconciliation, and love. I liked the author's writing style: compassionate and believable characters, a picturesque setting in Australia, interesting dialogue, and a heartfelt storyline that was compelling. I liked the fascinating narrative.
I received a copy for free and am voluntarily giving my honest review.
I received a copy for free and am voluntarily giving my honest review.
March 7, 2024
This Contemporary women's fiction book is well written, full of heart and soul and includes many tales to share. I'd say it's relevant for women of all ages.
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