When You Read This

For fans of Maria Semple and Rainbow Rowell, a comedy-drama for the digital age: an epistolary debut novel about the ties that bind and break our hearts.

Iris Massey is gone.
But she’s left something behind.

For four years, Iris Massey worked side by side with PR maven Smith Simonyi, helping clients perfect their brands. But Iris has died, taken by terminal illness at only thirty-three. Adrift without his friend and colleague, Smith is surprised to discover that in her last six months, Iris created a blog filled with sharp and often funny musings on the end of a life not quite fulfilled. She also made one final request: for Smith to get her posts published as a book. With the help of his charmingly eager, if overbearingly forthright, new intern Carl, Smith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris’s last wish.

Before he can do so, though, he must get the approval of Iris’ big sister Jade, an haute cuisine chef who’s been knocked sideways by her loss. Each carrying their own baggage, Smith and Jade end up on a collision course with their own unresolved pasts and with each other.

Told in a series of e-mails, blog posts, online therapy submissions, text messages, legal correspondence, home-rental bookings, and other snippets of our virtual lives, When You Read This is a deft, captivating romantic comedy—funny, tragic, surprising, and bittersweet—that candidly reveals how we find new beginnings after loss.


My Review


I had no expectations going into this book. I will say that if I had, my expectations would have been shattered. This book blow me away (in a good way). Instantly, I just fell in love with Iris, Simon, Carl, and Jade. Although, I will have to admit that my favorite was Iris. 

The way that Iris wrote her blog was real. She did not hold back anything. The graphics that accompanied her blog posts were awesome. So were the comments on her blog. The next shining star is Carl. She was naïve but with a hint of paprika. Finally, there was Simon and Jade. I loved that Simon would write to Iris even though she was gone. 

I felt like this book was more of a celebration of life and moving forward than about death and sorrow. With engaging characters and tons of laughter, I had an enjoyable time reading this book. Mary Adkins will have you laughing with joy as you read When You Read This! A five star recommended read.