This was a wild ride and I was totally here for it! This was my 1st book by Sterling Watson and I will definitely be giving him another read!

#NightLetter
#NetGalley

Night letter - Sterling Watson

Great book. I swear I’ve already reviewed this one but I’ve had numerous download problems!

Thank you to Netgally, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review. Overall it was an entertaining book, just very different from the thriller/suspense I was expecting.
Loved the narrator, and will certainly listen to more books narrated by him.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader audio copy of this book. The description of this book had me fascinated, but ultimately the story did not thrill. It was trying to mix a coming of age story, with an impossible love story and a thriller. Too much, in my opinion. I will try Serling Watson again, though, and the narrator was great. 3 stars

This is a story of forbidden love and life lessons. Travis Hollister is released from reform school after 6 years following a crime he committed at the age of 12. Now 18, Travis is on a mission to find himself as well as searching for Delia, the aunt he has been in love with for years. After traveling to Panama City, Travis meets a young girl who he befriends during his search. Will Delia still feel the same or is it time for Travis to find new love?
The narration on this audiobook was excellent.
Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced audiobook of this title for review.

This book was fantastic. Reminiscent of Catcher in the Rye, with hints of Flannery O'Conner and Faulkner, it has the lyricism and surprising depth of emotion of a Helprin novel while bringing something entirely new to the table. Excellent characterization, lovely setting, multiple complex storylines with the uniting theme of people trying to forgive and love and be better than they were yesterday. It was hopeful without flinching from some dark events and themes. The narrator was perfectly cast to voice the protagonist and gave life to the colorful cast of characters surrounding our hero. It's just such a well written book. I recommend this to anyone and everyone.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

The Night Letter by Sterling Watson

I was interested in reading this novel as I previously read the author's book The Committee, which I found to be unique and memorable).

I regularly read 7 - 10 books a week, therefore finding a book memorable years after reading it is not as commonplace for me as one might initially assume...

This story begins as the main character (Travis Hollister) completes his six-year sentence as a juvenile offender. Travis is discharged with no destination as he has not maintained contact with anyone from the "outside" during his incarceration, including family members.

Finally, after hitchhiking across multiple states and doing odd jobs to feed himself, he locates his mother, only to find that she is every bit as lost as he is - she doesn't even recognize him.

Ultimately the character tracks down other family members and as the story unfolds we discover more about this character's seemingly "arrested" (yes, pun was intentional) development.

Although I found the main character super annoying at times throughout the first half of this novel, due to Travis' excess of self- worth, self- focus and externally judgemental demeanor (reminiscent of Holland Caufield, LONG before the author makes the comparison).

However, the second half of this novel won my heart in surprisingly touching and all-encompassing ways.

Travel through the pages with Travis as our guide, as he forges his own path to self-discovery, self-worth and humanity.

Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC of this novel.

Until next time, keep your family close.

**please note due to low rating I will not be leaving a public review for this book as I have not paid for it.**

Narrated by Nick Walther ⭐⭐⭐
Story by Sterling Watson ⭐⭐

So sorry for the low rating but I just could not get into the book. It started off really good but was a little too slow for me.

Would try Sterling Watson again however.

The Night Letter follows a young man through his redemption for a better life. Travis has lived through tough times. He’s done wrong and done his time. He tries to become a better person and find his love of his life, even if he can’t have her. Watson leads readers through the good and bad and makes you want the best for Travis in this addictive book.

This book was honestly kinda boring. Maybe it wasn't for me? But yeah, I just couldn't get into it.

Thanks netgalley for giving me a copy of the audiobook so I can share my thoughts and opinions with y'all 💛

Night Letter is the story of a young man recently released from juvenile detention, Travis, who has had to grow up too fast and lost his innocence due to the choices he's made and the mental illness plaguing his mother.

He moves back to his hometown with a cautious goal to assimilate back into the family he has left there, but finds he may have changed to much to go back.

Great audio narration. This is the sequel to another novel, but you don't have to read the previous book to be able to follow along. In fact, I liked the mystery that was added by having the background slowly revealed. Very moving story about a young man with some difficult choices, but no guidance.

This was utterly captivating. Firstly the narration suits it, This type of book is not normally part of my read list, but wow I have been missing out. I didn't realise that it was rather second book now am going to read that one.

I was given an advance copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own

5 out of 5 stars

I would like to thank RB Media and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I will be honest, I requested this and I thought it looked good but I was not super excited but I ended up falling in love with Travis Hollister and the people he comes across in Panama City, Florida where he returns after a stint in a reform school for boys. Sterling Watson wrote a beautiful novel and Nick Walther is a fantastic narrator who really captured Travis' voice.

Travis returns to Panama City to search for Delia, the girl that captured his heart at the tender age of twelve. Is she the same as she was when he left? How did the secret they share affect her? DId she think of him nearly as much as he thought of her while he was away?

What he finds is not what he expected. Night Letter is about found family, hope and all kinds of love you never expect to find. I fell completely in love with this novel, it is such a beautiful and melancholy novel that had me feeling all kinds of things I didn't expect and is the best novel I have read so far this year. I will be visiting Travis again and again.

Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for this Audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Set in the '60s in the Florida Panhandle, and the novel’s focus is on Travis Hollister, an 18-year-old youth just out of six years in a Nebraska reform school.

I must say, ive not read or listened to anything quite like this. It was different than I expected in a good way.

The beginning got me hooked.
I would have loved to know more about Travis sessions with the doctors than just a brief description.

This coming of age story is filled with struggles, regrets, racism, abuse and tragedy.
At the same time unexpected bond, Friendship, loyalty and Redemption.

Overall it was an entertaining book, the mind of travis was something else 😀.

I wished I had read the book 1 first, I'm sure I would have liked this book even more.

I Loved the narrator, and I hope to listen to more books narrated by him. ❤️

I didn’t care for this book at all. I wanted to not finish, and then I got so far that I felt I had to complete it. When it was over I was just left wondering what the point was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

This book was convoluted and I was not sure what genre it actually fell into. Travis was an unlikeable character throughout the book and did not seem to change or grow much. This was a different book and was ok.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

SO I liked this book.... not loved. It was OK... I almost DNF. Cant say I am 100% glad I didn't. It was just OK. Some parts I loved.. but not enough of them. It was just OK. I would not say do not read this. Everyone gets something different from books.

#FirstLine ~ "You've never opened up to with me, Travis, not really."

This book was definitely original. It was unlike other books I have read. I am, however, neutral on this story. I think others may really enjoy it. There were some components of the story that felt flat for me or felt strange. I would not like somebody else to not read this book though...others may gobble this book up because the story is really one of a kind.

Night Letter follows eighteen year old Travis Hollister who, six years ago, committed a serious crime in his home town. For that crime, he spent six years in a youth reform school in Florida. It's now the mid 1960s and Travis has done his time. On his release, Travis feels compelled to move back to his home-town, driven by a romantic obsession with the woman at the center of those crimes: his aunt, Delia.

I really enjoyed this audiobook. For some reason, I went in expecting it to be a thriller (perhaps the cover felt thriller-y to me)? I learned fairly early on though that this book isn't a thriller. Instead, it really felt to me closer to a mystery-noir. Since I expected a thriller, the plot was slower than I'd anticipated but was totally captivating throughout; at no point did it drag and I always felt excited to pick it back up. The characters felt realistic and gritty; the main character in particular was morally ambiguous in a way that was challenging but fun to grapple with, especially since we meet him at a point in his life when he's really making a decision about what kind of person he wants to be. The writing felt unexpectedly literary, which I was surprised by but which I loved. Importantly, it felt fluid and warranted by the story, rather than pretentious (which can often bring down a book's rating for me). I listened to the audiobook, which was excellent. I thought the narrator was perfectly cast and gave an outstanding performance throughout. After some research, I've learned that this book is a sequel to a novel which came out in 2002. I haven't read the first in the series, but in my opinion this book holds up perfectly well as a standalone. Would highly recommend! I'll be looking out for more releases from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Recorded Books for letting me listen to this before its release.

(I'll post this review to my instagram on its release date.)

Night Letter
Sterling Watson

Our tale begins at Bridgedale School for Boys in the early 60s. Travis has spent the last six years as an inmate at the school. He is eighteen and just released. He hitchhikes his way to San Francisco to see his mother; but realizes she has started over and doesn’t need him in her life. His next move is Panama City, Florida to find his Aunt Delia. He takes a job as a busboy at Sam’s Shrimp and Slaw. He makes a friend with the fry cook Emil and an almost friend with Jimmy.
I’m still not sure what to make of this tale. I struggled to finish it. The characters did not appeal to me. Travis was obsessed with his Aunt Delia. It was definitely and inappropriate “relationship.” The voice of the narrator grated on my nerves. I would classify this as a coming of age book.