The Love Letter: A Novel

The Love Letter is the latest novel by Rachel Hauck. Chloe Daschle is auditioning for a role that could change her career. She has become stereotyped into roles where she dies, and it is time to change her fate. She gets the role of Esther Longfellow in Bound by Love written by Jesse Gates. The other thing Chloe longs for is her one true love. After several disastrous romances, she wonders if the right man is out there for her. Then Chloe meets screenwriter and actor, Jesse Gates at a friend's wedding. Based on a letter from an ancestor, Jesse wrote Bound by Love. When Jesse meets Chloe, he wonders if she is the woman for him. He is not sure that he deserves a happily ever after because of what happened eight years prior.

Esther Longfellow has been in love with Hamilton Lightfoot for many years. She has returned from two years in London with the hopes of marrying him. However, war is breaking out and their families are on opposite sides. Esther's father, Sir Michael is a loyalist who will not allow his daughter to marry someone unworthy of her much less a patriot. After a devastating death, Hamilton goes off to war and sees many horrors. One night before a big battle, he pens a love letter to Esther. Four people, two stories, one letter.

The Love Letter is a novel about finding someone who will love you, complement you, be there for you during the good times and the bad times. Finding someone to love can be easy but finding your soul mate is a different matter. I thought the story was nicely written and the author takes readers on a journey. The Love Letter is a dual storyline novel that is told from four point-of-views. I did find it jarring with the four POV's in the beginning (trying to keep the characters and their stories straight). It became easier as I progressed through the book. I found Esther and Hamilton's storylines more compelling. The author did a wonderful job at capturing the time-period (starts in 1781) with the descriptions of the area, the clothing, the various Revolutionary War battles and attitudes. It was clever how the author connects the four people together (I do not want to spoil it for you). The Christian elements are light but present throughout. Having faith is the main theme. You need to have faith that God has the best plan for your life. I appreciate that the author did not make the characters perfect. She made them realistic with their own flaws and struggles. My rating for The Love Letter is 4 out of 5 stars. It is a lovely story, but I did find the pacing to be slow and the transitions were not smooth (as we switched from character to character). The Love Letter is a satisfying romantic Christian story with an unpredictable, heartfelt ending.