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bookwyrm_lark 's review for:
Love Letters
by Debbie Macomber
Review originally published at The Bookwyrm's Hoard.
A moving and heartwarming tale of betrayal, loss, and healing. The main characters' pain is at times heartwrenchingly real, and always believable. What's wrong in Roy and Maggie's relationship goes very deep, and Ellie's feelings of abandonment and betrayal ring true as well. Unfortunately, that makes the ultimate healing and resolution of both issues seem a bit too rushed. Still, Macomber pulls it off, leaving me feeling hopeful and optimistic for the future of all concerned.
Since I first started reading this series, I've been really drawn to the longer story arc of the innkeeper, Jo Marie, and her taciturn, somewhat irritable handyman, Mark Taylor. Things come to somewhat of a head in this novel, with any resolution very much up in the air -- a tactic that works only because the guests' stories are resolved, or well on the way to it, by the end of the book. Mark intrigues me almost as much as he does Jo Marie, who is itching to know his history. He reveals several unexpected facets in this book, which only serve to make him both more appealing and more mysterious.
Macomber alternates between first person narration (Jo Marie) and limited third person (the guests at the inn), and it works surprisingly well. There's also a running theme in this book, summed up in the title: a love letter from Jo Marie's deceased husband, a love letter Roy wrote to Maggie before their marriage, and letters and emails sent between Ellie and Tom and between Ellie's long-divorced parents. Letters that prompt memories, build or strengthen bonds, remind the reader of love once felt. It's the letters that provide the bridge between what was and what can be. Jo Marie sees the inn as a healing place, but this time around, it gets a lot of help from all those love letters.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are entirely my own.
A moving and heartwarming tale of betrayal, loss, and healing. The main characters' pain is at times heartwrenchingly real, and always believable. What's wrong in Roy and Maggie's relationship goes very deep, and Ellie's feelings of abandonment and betrayal ring true as well. Unfortunately, that makes the ultimate healing and resolution of both issues seem a bit too rushed. Still, Macomber pulls it off, leaving me feeling hopeful and optimistic for the future of all concerned.
Since I first started reading this series, I've been really drawn to the longer story arc of the innkeeper, Jo Marie, and her taciturn, somewhat irritable handyman, Mark Taylor. Things come to somewhat of a head in this novel, with any resolution very much up in the air -- a tactic that works only because the guests' stories are resolved, or well on the way to it, by the end of the book. Mark intrigues me almost as much as he does Jo Marie, who is itching to know his history. He reveals several unexpected facets in this book, which only serve to make him both more appealing and more mysterious.
Macomber alternates between first person narration (Jo Marie) and limited third person (the guests at the inn), and it works surprisingly well. There's also a running theme in this book, summed up in the title: a love letter from Jo Marie's deceased husband, a love letter Roy wrote to Maggie before their marriage, and letters and emails sent between Ellie and Tom and between Ellie's long-divorced parents. Letters that prompt memories, build or strengthen bonds, remind the reader of love once felt. It's the letters that provide the bridge between what was and what can be. Jo Marie sees the inn as a healing place, but this time around, it gets a lot of help from all those love letters.
FTC disclosure: I received a review copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are entirely my own.