Review - Letters from the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Series: Standalone

Age Group: Young Adult

Published: April 4th, 2016 (Bloomsbury)

Source: Won from Author 

Hardcover - 400pgs

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Rating 5/5

Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at the local cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart. 

This book walked into my life at just the right time. I was lucky enough to win a giveaway on Brigid Kemmerer's Facebook and this title arrived on my doorstep in the middle of a reading rut. I've loved Kemmerer's books in the past, and opened this book when it arrived to sneak a peak at the first few chapters. I read a lot more than a few chapters that first day and, in general, had a hard time putting this book down.

The letters at the beginning of most chapters take up a lot of space so you move through the chapters quickly and get a lot of insight into each character from them. Kemmerer didn't shy away from tough topics like loss, abuse, and guilt. I enjoyed how she tackled all these topics and her writing tugged at my heartstrings. I was deeply invested in these two characters.

Throughout the book I enjoyed how Declan and Juliet played into some stereotypes but defied others.  This kept my interest piqued for the whole book and made the characters much more interesting. The two of them grew and changed throughout this book and their growth felt very organic. I liked how romance wasn't the cure-all for these characters problems. They had to continue to battle their demons while romance was blossoming in the background. I also really liked how the physical side of the relationship took a back seat to their problems both in the writing and their minds.

I highly recommend this contemporary and bet this will be on my list of top books for 2017. It was excellent.

Final Thoughts: This story is for fans of You've Got Mail and The Shop Around the Corner.