Thursday 16 April 2015

Book review - Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey



1943, in the ruins of Blitzed London…

Stella Thorne and Dan Rosinski meet by chance and fall in love by accident. Theirs is a reluctant, unstoppable affair in which all the odds are stacked against them: she is newly married, and he is an American bomber pilot whose chance of survival is just one in five.

… He promised to love her forever

Sixty years later Dan makes one final attempt to find the girl he has never forgotten, and sends a letter to the house where they shared a brief yet perfect happiness. But Stella has gone, and the letter is opened by Jess, a young girl hiding from problems of her own. And as Jess reads Dan's words, she is captivated by the story of a love affair that burned so bright and dimmed too soon. Can she help Dan find Stella before it is too late?

Now forever is finally running out.


(I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review)

I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5.

This is a moving and beautifully written book about the love story between an USAAF Dan Rosinski and a young Mrs Stella Thorne.

Dan and Stella met by chance in a ruins of a church in the 1940's and they started writing each other love letters.

These love letters are discovered in 2011 by a young Jess when she was on the run from her abusive boyfriend Dodge. She was a squatter in an abandoned cottage house where she found these letters and met probate researcher Will who was trying to find any heirs of the house.

Jess was fascinated by the letters and was determined to help reunite Dan and Stella, and with Will's help they embark on a journey that also allows them to discover for themselves what they have between them.

Initially, the book was structed so that one chapter is in the 1940's and the next is in 2011. However as I read on, I sometimes find that within the same chapter you jump between the two which was a bit confusing, that's why I deduct half a star from my rating.

All in all, this was a very good read which I try to lose myself in any possible spare time I have, e.g. lunch breaks, tea breaks, travelling on the tube/train... highly recommended!

Goodreads link to Letters to the Lost

Get your copy from Amazon UK

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