Review: The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

With the colonies at war and his country divided, Hamilton Lightfoot must choose sides: Fight for the British Crown or for the Independence of America. But after witnessing the death of his family at the hands of redcoats, he fears he’ll fight for revenge instead of honor. On the verge of a great battle, he pens a letter to Esther, the woman he loves.

 Esther Longfellow is in love with Hamilton, but her father is a loyalist, living in upcountry South Carolina and working for a wealthy British lord. When the Revolutionary War comes to her doorstep she is forced to choose between devotion to her father and her love for Hamilton.

 Chloe Daschle is the daughter of Hollywood royalty—a great director and an Oscar-winning actress. Yet her career has taken an unexpected turn: She’s the queen of death scenes. Trying to break out, she accepts a supporting role in a revolutionary war film. But she longs for the perfect role and the perfect real-life romance. Does happily ever after only exist in the movies?

 After a life-changing tragedy, MIT graduate Jesse Gates decides to leave his life behind and move to LA to try his hand at acting and screenwriting. When he finds a page from one of his ancestor’s letters, he becomes consumed with the love he finds there. Determined to help his grandfather find happiness at the end of his life, Jesse writes and sells a screenplay based on the events surrounding the lost love of previous generations.

 When Jesse meets the woman he has cast to play Esther Longfellow—his grandfather’s one true love—the stories of all four collide across time and space. The love letter from the past might have more power to affect the future than any of them could have imagined.

Kindle, 352 pages

Expected publication: June 12th 2018

by Thomas Nelson

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Authors probably cringe when a review starts with something like ‘I am really not a fan of ‘such and such genre ‘ when I see that myself my first thought is why are you even reading it then? So here so, I am not a big fan of romance novels, but I am a big fan of historical and dual time period stories. Ever since reading Rachel Hauck's books The Wedding Dress and The Writing Desk I have become a fan. Both those books grabbed me with the unique stories and characters.

The Love Letter follows along with its dual time period but this time it was a bit softer, quieter almost in the plots.  I wasn't totally absorbed in the present day story there were times it was a little too neat and tidy.  The historical aspects is usually what draws me right in and I found the letter interesting as well as the connection to Jesse.  I would have loved more of that time flushed out.

 Faith played a big part in both story lines.  The characters are flawed, carrying around a load of guilt.  Ultimately The Love Letter is a story of discovering oneself, letting go of baggage and of course love.  I can't say I enjoyed this as much as her 2 previous books but she is still an author I will continue to read more of.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson (via Netgalley) for an advanced copy in exchange for honest review.  The Love Letter can be found on at your favorite bookstores starting tomorrow (June 12th).