> Skip to content
Read an extract
Play sample
  • Published: 24 January 2023
  • ISBN: 9781761047626
  • Imprint: Michael Joseph
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $32.99

The Last Love Note




Hailed by Culture Buzz as 'one of the best new debut adult novels of its time', this is a sparkling Australian romantic comedy with a heart-breaking twist.

'At its core, The Last Love Note is as heartwarming as it is heartbreaking. With vulnerability and honesty, Grey takes us through the entire spectrum of love.' Books + Publishing

In the aftermath of crushing grief, sole parent Kate Whittaker must learn to live and love again. It’s been tough raising her young son and wrangling a university fundraising job, an overbearing mother and a best friend intent on matchmaking her with someone new.
When Kate and her boss, Hugh, become stranded in a sleepy hamlet north of Byron Bay, she finally has a chance to process all that she’s been through and all that the future might hold. Caught in an impossible tangle of loss, love and unexpected longing, Kate wonders if she can risk her heart again.
But when it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret from her past, all she has to guide her is the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together. The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?
A sparkling Australian romantic comedy that will break your heart into a thousand shards and piece it back together again.

'funny, heart-breaking and life-affirming' Woman's Day

‘Several people told me I was going to love #thelastlovenote but I have to admit – I did not expect to become obsessed with it in the way I have! It’s somehow simultaneously unputdownable, heartbreaking AND funny. That’s a difficult combination to master but Emma’s writing is just incredible.’ Kelly Rimmer

'From the opening scene I knew this book would be amazing ...Put this on your absolutely-must-read list.' Chicklit Club

  • Published: 24 January 2023
  • ISBN: 9781761047626
  • Imprint: Michael Joseph
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 352
  • RRP: $32.99

About the author

Emma Grey

Emma is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional speaker and accountability coach. She wrote her first adult novel, The Last Love Note, in the wake of her husband’s death. It’s a fictional tribute to their love, an attempt to articulate the magnitude of her loss and a life-affirming commitment to hope, which has gone on to win hearts around the world. In the US it was selected as a featured title for the Book of the Month and Target Book Clubs, a Washington Post noteworthy book and listed in the top 25 new releases by the American Bookseller’s Association.

Emma lives just outside Canberra, where her world centres on her two adult daughters, young son, loved step-children and step-grandchildren, writing, photography and endlessly chasing the Aurora Australis.

Also by Emma Grey

See all

Praise for The Last Love Note

Leeanna Walsman immerses listeners in an emotional story that is sure to bring both laughter and tears. Two years after becoming a widow, 40-year-old Kate struggles to raise her son while juggling friendships and her career. Hugh, her boss, who was a close friend of her late husband, has been patiently supportive as she adjusts to her new life, always there when she needs him. While stranded during a business trip, Kate begins re-evaluating their relationship. Walsman's expressive, nuanced performance captures Kate's story, told in present-day action and flashbacks. These scenes ensure that listeners experience her despair as her husband's illness progresses, as well as her new tentative hope for the future. Secondary characters' voices are as distinctive as their personalities. An exquisite production fit for all shelves.

AudioFile Magazine, AudioFile Magazine

Prepare to ride an emotional rollercoaster of laughter and tears in Grey's debut novel, in which a devastated widow and mother finds that the end of love isn't the end of her story. After losing the love of her life, Kate's not sure if there is anything left of her to salvage. When an unexpected storm strands her with her boss, Hugh, she is forced to look more deeply at her life and those around her. Australian actress Walsman's performance skilfully encompasses a gamut of emotions. From gut-wrenching tears to laugh-out-loud hilarity, her narration expertly navigates the highs and lows of this story of love lost and found. Her pacing and timing for the absurd moments, and her steady narration of the profound emotional revelations, will keep the reader engaged in this story about discovering there is still love after loss. Recommend this heart-warming novel with authentic characters to contemporary romance readers who enjoy the "second chance at romance" theme.

Melissa Wheelock, Booklist

Awards & recognition

ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards

Finalist  •  2024  •  ACT Chief Minister's Export Awards

ACT Literary Awards

Shortlisted  •  2024  •  ACT Literary Awards

Discover more

Article
Better Reading’s Top 100 books of 2024 announced

Penguin Random House is proud to have twenty-four titles on the list this year.

Article
Debut authors share their best tips for aspiring authors

The Fresh Voices of 2023 share their advice with fellow writers. Whether you’re aspiring to get your book published or looking for writing tips, these words of wisdom will help.

Article
The Last Love Note book club questions

A sparkling (and heart-breaking) Australian romantic comedy to read with your book club.

Article
How grieving her husband inspired Emma Grey to write an uplifting novel

Debut author Emma Grey shares the advice she’d give her past self, how she met her agent through a random email and the way that her own grief helped inspired her novel, 'The Last Love Note'.

Article
Get ready, these 6 amazing debut novels come out in January 2023

Learn about the best debut novels of January 2023.

penguin pop image
penguin pop image