Book Review: The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

The Love Letter

by Rachel Hauck

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Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (June 12, 2018)
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From the New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Dress comes a story of long-lost love and its redemption in future generations.

Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle’s forte—in life or on screen. But everyone knows who to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career.

When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. But once on-set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.

Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years, and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.

Set in stunning upcountry South Carolina, The Love Letter is a beautifully-crafted story of the courage it takes to face down fear and chase after love, even in the darkest of times. And just maybe, all these generations later, love can come home in a way not even Hollywood could imagine.

My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Chloe never understood how one could simply fall out of love. Was it an open window, a trap door?

Hollywood is getting tired of me. I’m fifty-seven going on a hundred. I refuse to have plastic surgery and…  I refuse to play one of those horny old cougars who makes a fool of herself by falling for some hot thirty-something who only has one thing on his mind.

My Review:

While the premise sounded interesting, I struggled to remain engaged with this book, it wasn’t my cup of tea. Written with two timelines that were 240 years apart, both storylines involved a young couple of ancestral heritage bucking authority and yearning to establish a romantic relationship during a turbulent period. Both timelines were overflowing with heartbreak, grueling disappointments, angst, stress, despair, and conflicts of every sort – which again,  not my favorite tropes.  As such, my frustration and dissatisfaction were entirely self-inflicted - I chose poorly. There was considerably more religious spirituality than I was expecting and I couldn’t seem to invest or connect to but a few of the characters as I found most of them rather shallow and tedious. Several storylines seemed to lack cohesion - or maybe I just got lost. I probably should have stopped with a DNF but was ultimately glad I continued as despite my disappointment and frustrations with the author’s choices, I needed closure and in due course, I did enjoy the ending, although I doubt it would be an easy read for anyone, nor was it an HEA all the way around.

Empress DJ

About Rachel Hauck 

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Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pet and writes from her ivory tower.