The first half of Emily Giffin's new novel, LOVE YOU MORE, takes readers on quite an emotional journey. It opens with Billie, a reproductive endocrinologist who runs a successful practice in New York City with two of her best medical school friends, on the verge of a proposal from her surgeon boyfriend, Dean. However, the couple's celebratory mood is interrupted when Billie receives an early morning phone call from someone she never expected to hear from again --- her first love, Mick.

"LOVE YOU MORE is a bittersweet romance that will appeal to those who like second-chance love stories.... [R]eaders will be rooting for Billie to follow a path that stays true to herself while also sustaining others."

The book then travels back in time to Billie's high school years in Wisconsin when she and Mick are freshmen. Billie has always been a high achiever. Mick also is smart, and as a football star and heir apparent to the town's family-run orchard, he is close to small-town royalty. The two bring out the best in each other. Along with Billie's lifelong best friend, Erin, they form a tight bond that sustains Billie through high school graduation and eventually to the University of Wisconsin, where she follows Mick despite getting accepted to her first-choice college, Yale.

Billie wouldn't trade those UW years for anything. But when Mick encourages Billie to follow her own dreams and attend Columbia for med school rather than settling yet again, they find themselves gradually pulling farther apart. Still, even though Billie is fulfilled in her New York life, she has never put Mick behind her entirely. 

Mick is not calling to try to rekindle anything. He received some tragic and heartbreaking news that compels Billie to go back to Wisconsin, and to a series of decisions that might change her life forever.

LOVE YOU MORE is a bittersweet romance that will appeal to those who like second-chance love stories. Billie's return to Wisconsin allows her to see those people and places from her youth with new eyes, and to reckon with what is really necessary for happiness --- both her own and others’. Giffin effectively creates an expansive backstory for Billie and Mick that will capture readers’ hearts even before the pivotal plot twist is revealed. 

At times in the narrative, the challenges confronting Billie and Mick as they navigate a landscape of grief are perhaps too frequently boiled down to processes and paperwork. But it's also a useful reminder that life, including the boring parts, goes on even in the wake of loss. The novel's resolution feels slightly rushed but also inevitable in the best way --- and readers will be rooting for Billie to follow a path that stays true to herself while also sustaining others.