Publisher: Bloomsbury
Purchase: Amazon
Synopsis via Goodreads:
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.
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.
*Publisher approved request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've been wanting to read Brigid's Elemental series for a while now, but Letters to the Lost was a wonderful first experience with the author because I absolutely loved this story. So well-written and emotionally driven, I was invested from beginning to end and had to take a breather when I had finished.
Both characters had a lot to deal with and perhaps would have continued keeping everything inside if they hadn't found each other through one of Juliet's letters to her deceased mother. As a result, they ended up building a deep bond that helped heal their hearts. And even though initially, it came off invasive on Declan's part, I believed it was meant to happen that way because he was given the chance to share his pain and show that there was more to him than what others had presumed. I mean, Juliet's story was without a doubt sad, after all, she'd lost her mother so suddenly and thought it to be her fault somewhat. But Declan's story really pricked at my heart. He'd been let down so much by the people who were supposed to love and care for him. It's a wonder he survived that long with the kind of pain that lived in his heart. But thankfully he had the support of his best friend and towards the end was able to find some closure.
It's difficult for me to put into words just how much I liked Juliet and Declan and overall story. I felt as if I was in every moment with them, feeling their emotions, crying and smiling, and rooting for their happiness. When they had started communicating through letters, and then soon after through emails, I thought it was just fascinating. But whenever they encountered each other in person, having no clue who the other was, I'd get so frustrated with Juliet judging him like everyone else. And not that I'm justifying Declan's aggressive reactions, but I felt like his anger was due to the way he grew up and because he was always frowned upon. Glad Juliet saw his real side and that both overcame so much by the end.
I could go on and on about how great a story Letters to the Lost is but I don't want to spoil it too much for you. All I can say is please read it. The writing is wonderful; inviting. It holds your heart captive and you just can't pry away from the characters. Even days after finishing the story, I'm still thinking about it and still feeling the emotions. I'm now eager to read another Brigid Kemmerer novel.
BRIGID KEMMERER is author of THICKER THAN WATER, a New Adult paranormal mystery with elements of romance, and the YALSA-nominated Elemental series of five Young Adult novels and three e-novellas which Kirkus Reviews calls “refreshingly human paranormal romance” and School Library Journal describes as “a new take on the supernatural genre.” She lives in the Baltimore area with her husband and four sons.
