Score: 5/5 Bookmarks

Steam Level: 🍆 /5

Thank you to Berkley for gifting me a review copy of Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey.

I’ve really enjoyed this author’s previous books but this one is by far my favorite. In fact, it’s likely going to make my top ten for the year. I just loved it so much. It was like a warm hug in book form, if a warm hug also made you laugh…and cry…and want to watch children’s TV. Ok, maybe not that last part.

30-year-old Teddy (Theodora) Phillips is feeling a little directionless, and under a lot of pressure to ‘pick a career’. To make matters worse, she thinks her long-time boyfriend, Richard, is about to propose but instead he dumps her. The one thing that helps her escape and feel at peace is watching Everett’s Place, a local children’s TV show. It doesn’t hurt that the host, Everette St. James is very easy on the eyes.

In a moment of ‘why the heck not’ Teddy writes to Everette on the show to ask him a question. Sure, it’s usually kids writing in to the show, but Everette has some really great advice for Teddy, and they start emailing back and forth. Through their exchanges, they get to know each other on quite a deep level, all while never having actually met….or at least that’s what Everette thinks.

This book is sweet, and hilarious, and will probably make you cry and snort-laugh in equal measures. Teddy and Everette are amazing, and the supporting cast of characters are simply brilliant as well. Frankly, I’m jealous of anyone who gets to read this for the first time. It’s making my list of favorite books of 2021 for sure.

Synopsis:

Teddy Phillips never thought she'd still be spending every day surrounded by toys at almost thirty years old. But working at a vintage toy store is pretty much all she has going on in her life after being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend. The one joy that she's kept is her not-so-guilty pleasure: Everett's Place, a local children's show hosted by Everett St. James, a man whom Teddy finds very soothing . . . and, okay, cute.

Teddy finds the courage to write to him, feeling slightly like one of the children who write to him on his show. He always gives sound advice and seems like he has everything figured out--and he pretty much does: Everett has a great support system, wonderful friends, and his dream job. But there's still that persistent feeling in the back of his mind that something's missing.

When a woman named Theodora starts writing to Everett, he is drawn to her honesty and vulnerability. They continue writing to each other, all the while living their lives without meeting. When their worlds collide, however, they must both let go of their fears and figure out what they truly want--and if the future they want includes each other.