BOOK REVIEW ~ LOST AND FOUND BY LORI OTTO

Independent and sensitive, idealistic and hopeful, Emi Hennigan lives her life with optimism and an open mind. Between sharing a tiny Manhattan apartment with her fun-loving roommate and spending most of her free time with her heart-breaker friend, Emi’s seen enough failed relationships to know what to avoid in her quest to find her true love. Not only that, but a single moment from her past lingers in her mind, setting high expectations for every man she dates.

Emi’s best friend, artist and hopeless romantic Nate Wilson, has been her closest companion all of their adult lives. After swearing off love with Emi in a silly high school pact, Nate has been seeing other women in hopes of finding one that evokes stronger feelings than the ones he’s been harboring for Emi since he was a teen. Over the span of a year, boundaries are crossed, feelings are confessed, and their unique friendship begins to blossom into something more.

Through Nate’s eyes, an atypical romance unfolds, disrupting the comfortable safe haven their friendship has provided. With a promising future ahead of them both, fate intervenes to bring two soul mates together. 

This review will be short because I’m in a hurry to start the next book but first I need to say that the prequel is now a must-read before this first book. I’ll be honest, without having read the prequel first, there’s a very good chance I would’ve put down this book. You really do see how events that happened when Emi and Nate were younger impacted the decisions they made in this book so if you haven’t read it yet, just stop and go grab your FREE copy of Not Today, but Someday now.___________________________________________
Lost and Found takes place nine years after the prequel. Both Emi and Nate are the closest of friends but they’re not together. They’re upholding a pact they made when they were younger – to be best friends and nothing more.
The next part of the book was tough for me. I really did not like reading about Nate sleeping with other women and Emi dating others, but at the same time I understood. There’s plenty of sexual tension but with Emi drawing the line at becoming more than just friends, it made perfect sense for Nate to move on and not wait for something that might never come. Once again I must say that I’m so glad I read the prequel first or else if I walked into this book blindly I wouldn’t have understood why the two of them couldn’t be together.
I really felt sorry for Nate. As this book is his story and told from his perspective, I got a first-hand glimpse at his thoughts and feelings and let me tell you, some of them are not pretty. It’s painful to see this gorgeous, wonderful, all-around great guy going through so many meaningless relationships, fully aware that his heart lies with Emi but never feeling worthy of her. He’s willing to take whatever he can get from her, and if the most is friendship, then so be it. She is just that important to him.
“I consider my life without her. There is no color in that world. No beauty. No life at all.”
As for Emi, I wasn’t really sure how to feel about her. My feelings were so mixed and it ranged from fury, frustration, sympathy, and a reluctant acceptance. She was letting one failed relationship in the past dictate what could be a bright and beautiful future with Nate and that made me both angry and sad. I mean, the two of them have been through so much together so why can’t they just be together?
“We’ve been friends for nearly thirteen years. We’ve been there for each other through good and bad times. We’ve fought and we’ve made up, normally with out friendship getting even stronger. We never seem to get sick of each other. We’re miserable without one another. It’s like we’re already together…like we have been for a long time.”
But thankfully, this part of their lives doesn’t continue forever and there is a point where both take a leap of faith and commit to a relationship. I have to say here that nothing felt rushed. Everything that happens occurs at a very natural, believable pace. This is Nate’s book, but in the second half, I also felt it was Emi’s as well. She grew up a lot and was willing to take charge, pursue, and work for their relationship, which felt long-overdue but nevertheless I couldn’t have been more ecstatic to see it happen. And so with them together, both their friendship and relationship truly blossomed.

Now for the next part…I’ve read spoilers (just the appropriate amount) so I knew what was going to happen next. I’m the kind of reader who likes to know things ahead of time so I can prepare myself, and for me, it doesn’t lessen the emotional impact at all. But nothing I’ve read beforehand or seen ahead of time could’ve prepared me for the gigantic mountain that just crushed my heart with that last word on the last page. My face turned ashen and I couldn’t breathe but here I am, ready to move on and advance to book