Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.
When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.
What an absolute riveting gem of a novel. I expected to enjoy this but had no idea how much this book would affect me. Four things I loved:
Surprises - The plot did not follow a typical path. It felt like the characters really drove the plot forward with their decisions creating an organic reading experience (rather than one that followed typical beats for the premise.
Deep bellyaches ~ This happened to me. Those sharp intense stomach pangs when you suddenly feel the characters pain and see their hopes dashed and have your heart in your mouth just knowing there is more pain ahead before they can find their way out. The whole wanting to reach into the book and hold them tight <3
I love how the author managed to peel away layers on all of her characters so we see them so differently to how people may automatically perceive them. The characters were all beautifully flawed and wonderfully diverse.
Also, can I just say how much I *love* the secret-identity-letter-writing motif? I've read a few books recently with variations on this and it's fast becoming and fave trope (bring on more, please). So much suspense and mystery and anticipation of either the reveal/the characters realising the identity. In Letters to the Lost this was done so well I seriously felt like I could barely out the book down because I had to see how it would all unfold.
I cannot recommend this enough. Another fave read of the year for me :)
Letters to the Lost @ goodreads
I've been writing this off, for whatever reason, as something I wouldn't like but there are so many glowing reviews for it and I love a good butterflies-in-my-belly novel, so you've sold me! Onto the TBR this goes!
ReplyDeleteAlready saw this review of yours on the Goodreads. <3 So much love! I have my copy of it sitting on my shelves, just waiting, begging to be cracked open! One day, my pretty.... @_@ As always, great review Nomes!
ReplyDeleteI actually got the audiobook for this, but I just couldn't get into it! I know I was kind of gutted as a lot of my blogging friends loved this one too. I'm thinking I definitely need to try the physical copy, here's hoping that will work out for me! So glad that you ended up loving this one Nomes! Fab review as always! :)
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