hmmm...I have to admit this book caught my eye because I loved the show "Signed, Sealed, Delivered". It is nothing like it and I never should have assumed it would have been. This melancholy read is about a person who works in the same type of scenario but takes it too far and comes close to hurting the people around him. I found it to be rather depressing.

#TheLostLettersOfWilliamWoolf #NetGalley


Once again the description hooked me.
I envisioned the tv show Signed Sealed, Delivered. I wanted to read the letters since I love books with letters in them.

But

I tried hard to like this book. I didn't dislike William, I just never connected unfortunately..

I am glad to have read the book since it was so talked about, in glowing praises, it had my curiousity Until the end. the end? I wanted to know what happened, I wanted a proper ending. I'm still wanting.


My thanks to Netgalley for the Complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

As this was a debut novel by Cullen, I knew it was a bit of a chance to try this one out, but I was so intrigued by the idea of William's profession. The idea of being someone who found letters lost and helping them get back to their home. It was enough to get me reading.

William Woolf works at The Lost Letters Depot in London, dealing with letters that have been lost or rerouted incorrectly in transit. Each mystery is a private thrill for William to solve. Claire, William's wife, doesn't understand this thrill and thinks William has wasted potential at the depot. She has given up on her dream to be an artist and done the practical thing of getting a job that pays the bills. Other entities are encroaching on their marriage, including people, history and dreams. Whether they can survive such encroachments is the issue.

I'm not gonna lie. I wish William's job was was real. I would so work there. This sounds like a dream second job for a librarian. I think the addition of Winter's story into this part of storyline was a fantastic idea. It added in a level of personlization to William's work that was needed. It made it so he wasn't necessarily just bopping from mystery to mystery. It also gave something to him that tested him. That was the issue with William's temperament. He was so openly loyal that he almost could have let Claire cheat on him and walk all over him. Without the temptation of Winter, he wouldn't have fought for himself. Winter gave him the realization that he had options.

I feel the characterizations were fairly solid in this. I was kind of sad that we didn't get more than just Claire and William. I feel some of the characters could have been tapped into more to add some depth into the story. I do feel how these two characters were portrayed though felt realistic. Two characters very much of the world.

I think my big disappointment came through in the ending. It was so rushed. And while I don't need a nice bow for my ending, I wasn't hugely thrilled with how little information we got. The fact that we never know if so much happened because of that rush, when some other parts of the storyline were drawn out unnecessarily? It's kind of hard to stomach. Balance is such a key concept in a good story and that was poorly lacking in this ending. Some mystery is fine. But unless the ending was going to be really dramatic (which it wasn't), the pace of it was unfounded.

I loved the premise of this book and looked forward to getting lost in this story of letters. But I had trouble staying invested in the story. I enjoyed the focus on lost letters and hope. My heart ached for William and the fact that his life isn’t what he had thought it would be and a marriage that is falling apart. After all of the positive aspects of the book, I felt like the ending was rushed. I wonder if the author had to complete the book within a certain number of words or pages.

Thank you to NetGalley and Graydon House for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

William Woolf is a letter detective in the Dead Letters Depot. His job entails trying to get letters and packages to their rightful recipients when they pertinent information is missing. His marriage to Claire is not the best and she is defiantly not where she wants to be in life. One day, William finds a letter in a dark blue envelope with silver writing addressed to "My great love" from a mysterious woman named Winter. These letters, from Winter, continue to be found by William. Therefore, he decides to take an adventure to locate Winter. The concept of this book was unique and I felt it had a lot of potential, however it fell a bit short. I am giving this a solid 3 star rating. Thank you to NG, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

While the premise of this book seemed really engaging & like an interesting plot, I found the execution to be lacking. It felt a bit rushed & I didn’t necessarily care for the characters. I couldn’t stand the wife, she was a very irritating character. The ending is definitely one that can upset some readers, myself included.



SPOILER!
The lack of resolution at the end, the open-endedness, is not for me.

This was such a unique book. It's a great, refreshing read that will have you rooting for people you've never met as they "find" themselves in this one.

Reader's digest summary: William met his wife in college at a book club that failed and only she showed up to. Their marriage is rocky. He works at the lost letters depot and tries to get mislabeled packages/letters to their rightful owners. He stumbles across letters he feels are meant for him. Can his marriage survive?

What I loved about this book...both the husband AND wife have faults. They aren't perfect and feel like they both may have made a mistake with marrying each other. They both go on a personal discovery through their own means and ultimately...well, read the book.

I will admit I thought (based off the title) that there would be more to this book with lost letters, but I wasn't disappointed with how it was written. We have some happy stories of him delivering mail to people who least expected it. The focus was just on the personal journey of the husband and wife, which again, was a great story.

4 stars. I found myself rooting for the marriage throughout this book. It truly is a tale of a marriage in that dreaded 7 year itch, will they or will they not make it. The author just penned a tale of a troubled marriage and the solution so absolutely well. You won't regret picking this one up!

First of all, I didn’t know Dead Letters Depot was a thing, but sign me up! William Woolf works in this department of the post office and his job is to accurately locate exactly where these mysterious letters of packages were meant to go.

In the midst of his marriage decaying, William stumbles upon love letters written by this lady named Winter. However, Winter hasn’t met the man who these letters are intended for. With his own marriage crumbling, William finds himself striving to know more about this Winter girl. He becomes so wrapped up in finding Winter that he completely disregards his wife in the process.

This was a bit hard for me to read for multiple reasons. First, William is emotionally cheating on his wife by being so interested in Winter and wanting to meet her, almost fantasizing about a life with her. Second, too much of the story is focused on William and Clare’s relationship versus the actual letters. It would’ve been nice to hear about a few other stories. And lastly, isn’t it illegal to open mail?! All you need is listed on the front of the package or letter, not inside!

The beginning of the novel was extremely slow and the ending was entirely rushed. So much so, that I actually found myself confused since it was left open-ended. It left me feeling sad versus joyful, especially being a hopeless romantic and believing that you should never give up on a marriage.

Readers who enjoy second chances, lost communication, and the pursuit of love will enjoy this novel.

The Dead Letter Depot is so intriguing and to work there... to see the words someone wrote but no one read... or at least, not by the intended.
In a age where everything is done digitally and the written word has devolved into emoji and 'txt spk' a letter is more romantic and enthralling than I imagined.
I could easily see myself being entranced by a letter, piecing together clues about the author, and trying to connect the pieces.
More than just the love of letters, this is about love itself, and Cullen truly elevates the emotion.

I really thought I would love this book based on the synopsis but I didn’t. I’m sorry I did not finish and have not posted in any online venue. Thank you for the opportunity to read.

My thanks to NetGalley and HARLEQUIN - Graydon House Books (U.S. & Canada) Graydon House for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

This did not work for me. Not a bad book, but I was hoping for more of the dead letter office and less of a marriage going bad and then a resolution. I DNF'd at about page 76, skipped to the end and didn't really like it, so decided to not read from page 77 to the end.

Due to my not having completed the book, nor having a strong aversion to it, no stars. If you like relationship drama, then you may enjoy this book more than me. It just wasn't quite what I was looking for.

Two stars on NetGalley since I can't enter a review without having a star rating.

The Lost Letters of William Woolf is a hard book to read.
Some may like the slow burning story of William and Claire. But to me, it was too slow. Then, too rushed at the end. I felt that they should have keep it one POV so it can be less confusing because they keep switching and then switching time zone too. It was too much to keep track. Keeping it to one POV would have better that way we know what's going during the past and present.
If you are good with multiple POV, then you will enjoy The Lost Letters of William Woolf.
2 1/2 Stars

Beautifully written, original, and heart-warming. I adored this tale of lost letters and misplaced love.

There is a song called Escape or The Pina Colada Song by Rupert Holmes. That is the soundtrack of this book for me. If you know the song, you know how that story ends. The question is ... how does the story of William Woolf end? I am little disappointed that the story is not more about the Dead Letter Depot. It is rather a quiet exploration of what it means to love in the context of a long-term marriage.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2019/09/the-lost-letters-of-william-woolf.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

The Lost Letters of William Woolf has an interesting concept. William struggles in his own marriage and creative writing, finding an outlet and fascination in lost letters, written with passion and never meeting their destination. For me, it was a little slow to develop, yet sweet. Thank you NetGalley for the e-copy. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately, I did not find a connection to this book. I was expecting a different type of story than what I unfolded. I felt like it was redundant in some ways and continued to revisit the same topics. It was just not the book for me.

William Woolf is a "detective" of lost letters at the post office. It is his job to try to find the person that the letter or item should have gone to. When he discovers a letter addressed to "my first love", his work takes on a new meaning. Stuck in a marriage that seems to be falling apart, William believes these lost letters are for him and tries desperately to find the author. This is a slow read, not a lot of action. I found it hard to like Claire, and felt the ending was a bit unsatisfying. A decent read, not a great one.


**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

Author Helen Cullen demonstrates her creativity and exceptional literary skills in "The Lost Letters of William Woolf". The story-line, though, feels dated without any sense that we've been transported back in time. The premise that someone would repeatedly post unaddressed, anonymous love letters leaves me dubious. Just not a genre that this old man enjoys.

The Lost Letters of William Woolf is a delightful little novel wherein not much happens, but you finish the story moved beyond expectations. The idea that there is an entire department devoted to uniting lost mail with its intended recipient, no matter how long the delay between shipment and final delivery, is charming and a story that occurs in such a department is equally so. I never considered the idea that people send letters to the post office with no intention of delivery, outside of letters to Santa Claus that is, but I now see the appeal. It is a bit of desperation and a whole lot of hope that would inspire someone to do that, and the letters that captivate William Woolf confirm this. It is these letters that are the true highlight of the story, especially as William learns more about the mysterious author and she becomes more than just some words on a page. The Lost Letters of William Woolf is more than a story about soulmates and lost loves; it is about the importance of living in the moment, of focusing on the present as well as anticipating the future. It is about not letting life pass you by. Charming and so very British.

William works in a department of the post office called the Dead Letters Depot. This is where the mail goes when is it undeliverable. The people in this department are trying to find a way to deliver this mail within reason. Addresses are double checked and the mail is sometimes read to try and find who the recipient should be and/or the sender. If possible, the mail is sent to the correct person and sometimes, depending on the circumstance, hand delivered. This is not William’s chosen job. He had always planned to be an author. He took this job to make some money while he spent time writing but the writing eventually stopped and he works full time at the post office. This is much to his ambitious, lawyer wife’s disappointment. Their marriage is failing. There are so many disappointments and resentments built up they barely speak. William becomes overly fascinated with some of the mail he is reading as his wife takes a step away from the marriage. Will they be able to reconnect or have they moved too far apart? And what of William’s interest in a mysterious letter writer? I found this to be a really sweet story. I enjoyed the characters and will definitely pick up another book by this author.