I am a big fan of Lucinda Riley and have read all of her books to date and I pre-ordered this book as soon as I spotted it on amazon, so receiving an advance copy to read and review made my day :-)

I put the book I had been reading to one side and started this book straight away and at once I was hooked. Joanna is impossible to not like, she is such a strong character and her relationships between the other characters is what makes this book i think.

Marcus however was not so instantly lovable but he does redeem himself in the end! His sister Zoe is another great female protagonist and it is her that I ended up wanting to know more about. The fact that she has her own storyline that's weaved and interwoven with Zoe's worked really well and it had me guessing at the underlying plots.

There are a few plot twists and turns in both layers, Zoe's love life and the letter that has brought chaos and loss to everyone involved. That storyline with the letter added the mystery and a fairly sinister element to the romance and shows a darker side to people and what they are prepared to do to protect what they believe to be the right thing.

The mystery surrounding a 70 year secret unravels slowly and I thought I had figured it all out but NO, I can safely say that I never in a million years guessed the ending!! I can't say much about it otherwise it would be a major spoiler but I can say is that it will probably have you scratching your head as bemused as i was! A genuine WTF ending that I am sad to say im not sure i liked! There a few elements at the end that let the book down and made it way to far-fetched for me sadly.

Not one of her greatest but still a great read and I would still recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good romantic suspense and mystery. ( )

I am a big fan of Lucinda Riley and have read all of her books to date and I pre-ordered this book as soon as I spotted it on amazon, so receiving an advance copy to read and review made my day :-)

I put the book I had been reading to one side and started this book straight away and at once I was hooked. Joanna is impossible to not like, she is such a strong character and her relationships between the other characters is what makes this book i think.

Marcus however was not so instantly lovable but he does redeem himself in the end! His sister Zoe is another great female protagonist and it is her that I ended up wanting to know more about. The fact that she has her own storyline that's weaved and interwoven with Zoe's worked really well and it had me guessing at the underlying plots.

There are a few plot twists and turns in both layers, Zoe's love life and the letter that has brought chaos and loss to everyone involved. That storyline with the letter added the mystery and a fairly sinister element to the romance and shows a darker side to people and what they are prepared to do to protect what they believe to be the right thing.

The mystery surrounding a 70 year secret unravels slowly and I thought I had figured it all out but NO, I can safely say that I never in a million years guessed the ending!! I can't say much about it otherwise it would be a major spoiler but I can say is that it will probably have you scratching your head as bemused as i was! A genuine WTF ending that I am sad to say im not sure i liked! There a few elements at the end that let the book down and made it way to far-fetched for me sadly.

Not one of her greatest but still a great read and I would still recommend this book to anyone that enjoys a good romantic suspense and mystery. ( )

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A fascinating story with lots going on, an intergenerational family, relationships, loss, romance, mystery and intrigue, this book has it all. After The Seven Sister series I am just starting to read some of the authors other books, and I recommend this as a good read, long and a little hard to follow at the end - until it all fell into place. ( )

I was really looking forward to reading The Love Letter by Lucinda Riley. Riley's The Seven Sisters series is a favorite of mine and I was curious to see how this stand-alone book would be. And, the mystery and the events surrounding the mystery are gloriously entertaining to read about. I love mysteries that make the characters in books dig deep to reveal truths from the past. And, if I'm lucky the love stories that usually are a part of books like this will work out for me.

Unfortunately, that's what made this story limp a bit. I found myself not really caring about the romantic hookups. Partly, I think this lies in the fact that the character never really truly connected with me. And, this is a massive book, the Kindle edition is 624 pages. And, to feel, unconnected with characters in such a large book is a bit hard. Thankfully the main story, the secret that James Harrison left behind is pretty amazing. If the story had focused more on that, rather than the romantic entanglement, not to mention all the cheesy moments (especially the ending) then the book would have been truly great.

So, would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. It sure is a thick book, but Lucinda Riley is a great author and if you're lucky you will find both the mystery and the romance great.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review! ( )