Letters to the lost
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
15
Ratings3
Average rating3.3
"An accomplished novel from a talented writer, Letters to the Lost is a stunning, emotional love story. Iona Grey's prose is warm, evocative, and immediately engaging; her characters become so real you can't bear to let them go. I promised to love you forever, in a time when I didn't know if I'd live to see the start of another week. Now it looks like forever is finally running out. I never stopped loving you. I tried, for the sake of my own sanity, but I never even got close, and I never stopped hoping either. 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. "--
"An accomplished novel from a talented writer, Letters to the Lost is the kind of love story that will sweep you away from the very first page. Iona Grey's prose is warm, evocative, and immediately engaging; her characters become so real you can't bear to let them go. 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 love that draws them together. Dan is a B-17 pilot flying his bomber into Europe from a British airbase; his odds of survival at one in five. The odds are stacked against the pair; 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 a powerfully moving novel perfect for fans of Sarah Jio and Kate Morton"--
Reviews with the most likes.
Well that was a dud. I thought it had been written in the early 2000s when everyone was fascinated with dual timelines, old letters and lost loves. Then I could have forgiven it. Instead it was written in 2015. That means it had over a decade to read all the other identical stories before being written. If you like the premise, just watch Letters to Juliet with Amanda Seyfried. It's a very similar plot and you can finish it in just under 2 hours.
I'm not one for romances, but I really enjoyed this in spite of that (I think if you like romance, you'll like the romance-y bits). I found myself really wanting to know what happened next and find out the mystery. The only thing I didn't like about it was that I felt the antagonist was viewed through a modern day lens and so was cut more slack than they deserved. I would definitely read more from this author (and watch it if they made this i to a movie lol).
Initially, I was not entirely sure I would warm to this book despite its appearances as being a book “made for me” – a book in letters about WWII romance through the lens of modern times? How could I not be romanced? But the initial characters seemed unlikable and truly lost. And i think that was the point. But I quickly warmed to the plot and the retelling. There was love, loss, heartbreak and sweetness in equal doses. May require a tissue or two towards the end.
