Letters to the Lost...#BookReview

About the book:
Late on a frozen February evening, a young woman is running through the streets of London. Having fled from her abusive boyfriend and with nowhere to go, Jess stumbles onto a forgotten lane where a small, clearly unlived in old house offers her best chance of shelter for the night. The next morning, a mysterious letter arrives and when she can't help but open it, she finds herself drawn inexorably into the story of two lovers from another time.

In London 1942, Stella meets Dan, a US airman, quite by accident, but there is no denying the impossible, unstoppable attraction that draws them together. Dan is a B-17 pilot flying his bomber into Europe from a British airbase; his odds of survival are one in five. In the midst of such uncertainty, the one thing they hold onto is the letters they write to each other. Fate is unkind and they are separated by decades and continents. In the present, Jess becomes determined to find out what happened to them. Her hope—inspired by a love so powerful it spans a lifetime—will lead her to find a startling redemption in her own life in this powerfully moving novel.

Running from an abusive boyfriend, Jess finds herself on a ragged lane with an old house that appears vacant. Breaking in, she finds a place to stay and discovers a mystery when a letter arrives and she is too curious to leave it alone. The letter is from Dan, writing to see if his long-lost love Stella is still alive.

In 1942 London, US airman, Dan meets Stella and they are drawn to each other. While Stella is trapped in an essentially loveless marriage, she and Dan write with the hope that one day they might be able to be together. But, as so often happens, especially in war, life doesn't turn out the way we hope. 

As Jess finds more letters in the house and begins a quest to find out what happened to Stella, she goes on her own journey of self-discovery.

I loved everything about this novel. The present merging with the past. Star-crossed lovers. It's not always inherently happy and I would give a trigger warning for an instance of marital rape and depression. But it ends well and it was an engaging, heartwarming read. 

I purchased my own copy.

Read 6/20

* * * *
4/5 Stars

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