I normally don't read romance heavy books, but I'm intrigued by the mention of books / storytelling in Amelia Unabridged so I last decided to give this a go. I think this is overall an achingly heartbreaking book about processing grief, featuring a main character who loves reading.

Personally my favourite thing about Amelia Unabridged is the subplot where Amelia reads / thinks some defining sections in the Orman Chronicles. I think the storytelling in these subplots are quite well done that not only there's a story within the subplots on their own but also on how the themes in these subplot paralleled what Amelia herself is going through. In other words, Amelia's emotional headspace is well fleshed out and felt believable.

On the flipside, I found the romance between Amelia and the author a bit abrupt and latched on a bit too quickly. Not that the author of Orman Chronicles is less well fleshed out than Amelia, but I think some of the romance heavy chapters could be shortened in favour of streamlining Amelia's character growth as she comes in terms of who she is and how she moves forward amid the grief.

Despite my concerns with the pacing and the romance, I think thematically Amelia Unabridged
explores the complexity and the messy sides of processing grief really well. If you're a book lover, you'll hopefully relate to Amelia herself and her passion in reading to gain self-understanding through relating to the stories within the books that she loves.

N.B. This book contains following content warnings: death, loss of loved ones, and grief