Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - The Last Letter

Exactly what I wanted... my entire heart and soul ripped from my body :)

This book... man, THIS BOOK!!!!

Where do I even start? What can I say?! Nothing will do this book justice. First off, I recommend going in absolute blind!!!! I did, and I felt like everything just hit harder because I had not a single clue about ANYTHING that was going to happen. Secondly, I think I may have just found a new favorite of all time book... I don't know how to move on from this. It hurt so much, but I want to read it all over again.

This book was everything. It had the romance to root for, the relationships you loved to watch grow, the pain of reality because life isn't perfect or easy, the sweet and heartwarming moments, the gut-wrenching sadness, and the addictiveness that made you want to keep reading it all day.

These characters will live in my heart forever and this book will officially live in my head rent-free. I loved every single thing about it. Every single page. That is all I can say because I don't want to say too much. Honestly, just please read it if you enjoy pain.

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amanda_reads13's review

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challenging emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

***Please check the warnings if you have any triggers involving children. This book should come with trigger warnings!!!

Beckett's if fulfilling his best friend, Ryan's, last wish. In his last letter, Ryan asks Beckett to get out of the army and go to take care his sister, Ella, and her children.

I don't think I have sobbed do hard reading a book. I loved this book up until about the 90% mark (see next paragraph). This is not your typical romance, you don't get a heartwarming HEA. This book is an exploration of motherhood, of loyalty, and of bonds forged through trauma. It is a story of forgiveness and the healing power of unconditional love.

I really thought this was going to be a 5 star for me. And then the last 10% happened. I knew something big was coming

when they were getting their HEA with 4 chapters left. In one way I was completely blindsided, but in another way I had a feeling that something would happen to Cole. But man, that scene when Beckett finds Cole at the bottom of that landslide destroyed me. It was gut wrentching, absolutely devastating. BUT here is my issue: it didn't add anying to the story and did not need to happen. Yes, tragedies happen, but this last 10% was added for shock value and I don't like that. Haven't they been through enough? Ella has literally lost her entire family and went through her daughter almost dying of cancer, only for her son to be killed off. Why? They couldn't just get their HEA? This whole part should have been cut out.

Beckett is broken, raised in the foster system, he joined the army as soon as he could. He has never known love or emotional connection until he met his best friend Ryan. That connection altered the course of his life forever. Ryan lead him to Ella, who showed him what it was like to truly be part of a loving family.

Ella has not only lost her entire family, but now her daughter is fighting for her life. She is an incredibly strong mother who puts everything into protecting her children. She has major trust issues and has never felt like she has been able to depend on anyone. That is until Beckett. These two help each other heal and support each other through their grief and trauma.

Of course I can't not mention Havoc... The best doggie ever! I loved her and her connection to all of the characters.
Tropes: found family, brothers best friend, forced proximity

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niksleabharlann's review

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emotional inspiring relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It broke me! I sobbed for the last 30 pages.Don’t get me wrong I cried but I just feel it took so long to get there then BAAM sobbing and then the whole book is over and we only get 30 pages to the end.

I did enjoy the book but felt it drag a little in places. The characters and their flaws are focused on a lot, basically the whole premise of the book and the reason he’s there isn’t really talked about enough in my opinion. However a great read

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bookkatbaddie's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I made it through a very good amount of this book without getting too emotional. The end ruined me. I do feel like in the end it was a bit forced but it was also devastating and beautifully horrible. I don’t think I can even talk about this book out loud yet without crying. This book makes me furious for Ella and felt so real to me that I mourned her heartbreak like my own.

My issues lie mainly in the dialogue of this book and is the main reason I couldn’t give 5 stars. The twins especially -though I understand they are meant to be wise beyond their years- are seemingly just there to give these deep, teaching moment dialogues even though they’re 6. They don’t lash out or argue with the mom or behave in anyway normal to 6 year olds to the point of diminishing their character realism. The second main reason is the lack of focus on Beckett’s grief and trauma from his unit and his life. He’s not given any focus really on how he actually copes and pulls himself from grief. Especially with the ending, I feel he was robbed of being allowed to fall into the grief that any person in his position would have fallen to.

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nickykris's review

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

This book was a solid four star up until the last 10 chapters. The third act breakup was anti climatic and got little emotional reaction from me, and the ending was terrible and unnecessary and out of left field. And not in a good and shocking way, but in a way…”what the actual fuck” way. (Beckett would yell at me for not using better vocab but, fuck is warranted.)

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anniereads0714's review

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challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This book isn’t for everyone, and I’ll have to be mindful when recommending this one. But I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful, deeply thoughtful, and touching stories I’ve ever read.

The synopsis for this book did not prepare me for the havoc that this book would wreak upon my heart. I started to read spoilers about 77% in, and I wasn’t sure I could bring myself to read the end of this book. I think I made it 8 hours before I had to pick it up again. I wasn’t sure I’d like a book without a non-HEA. Touché Rebecca. Touché.

This book rips you apart only to put you back together again. Rebecca does a beautiful job drawing you into this story. Topics addressed in this book are heavy! Even so, Rebecca does a beautiful job of addressing grief, loss, and fragility.

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siffpedersen's review

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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dmackreads's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

Um wow. This book was seriously an emotional roller coaster and I bawled my eyes out in the last couple chapters.

Why are we not making it mandatory for there to be trigger warnings on these books tho??? Like I get the element of surprise but there’s so many topics that are serious triggers for people.

Anyways. It took a bit for me to get into it because I thought a few things were weird but overall it was a very great book. So so emotional and I did not expect a lot of the turns in this book. I got attached to the kids especially and it broke my heart.

Coming from a mom and a sister, just wow. Be prepared to cry.

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