Review of Looking Glass Friends

[Isabel Jackson]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Looking Glass Friends" by E L Neve.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Looking Glass Friends by E.L Neve is a romantic tale that explores the passionate intimacy between two strangers through letters and emails. Neil, our protagonist, is saved from his thoughts of suicide by Ellie, a woman he met whilst working at the bakery. Both Neil and Ellie are married to other people, Ellie even has a five-year-old son, yet they instantly feel connected to each other. Eventually, they start contact through letters and then emails, mostly bonding over books or poetry that they have both read. Ellie and Neil find themselves intellectually matched by the other and start to realise that maybe their spouses aren’t right for them after all. Will they stay friendly through emails, or will they betray their morals to be together?

There were many enticing and amazing things about Looking Glass Friends. Something that I adored in this book was the use of language and the way the author strung sentences together. Every line I read felt like poetry and Neve had a distinct writing style, yet I could still differentiate between which characters’ point of view I was reading. This made the book feel special and unique compared to many others that I’ve read. Everything written felt as though it was carefully thought out and planned to fit perfectly on the page.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the growing love between Ellie and Neil- from friends to soulmates. E.L Neve had a compelling take on the word soulmate during this book whilst Ellie and Neil figured out the extent of their love and what their version of soulmate meant. It was utterly compelling to witness their love grow page after page, and I loved the way they figured it and everything else out together. Their love for each other was so beautiful and something that I will strive for from now on.

Furthermore, I really loved the philosophy that was mentioned frequently in this book. Although I didn’t understand all of it, the philosophical quotes and moral dilemmas made me think and made this book even more unique and interesting to me.

I could find absolutely no faults or flaws in this exceptionally well-edited novel which is why I have decided to give this book four out of four stars.

I would recommend this book to adults aged eighteen plus as there are many mature themes such as suicide, rape, and sex present in this book. You don’t have to love romance books to enjoy this novel, as long as you can appreciate philosophy and poetry, you can appreciate this beautiful piece of art.

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Looking Glass Friends
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