*4.5 Stars Rounded Up

Oh mygod. I cried. Like, tears. I kept thinking it wouldn't happen, couldn't. But it did. And I couldn't stop reading but I wanted to. Thankfully, both of my babies are next to me to hug and be glad they are alive and well (This isn't -really- a spoiler. It isn't what you might think!)

I had started this expecting a romance, and will start that this is only just barely a romance. It was about a family dealing with one tragedy after another, being broken and then sewn back together, but not impeccably. It -was- a romance in that it is about a single mother and a man who loves her.

To be perfectly honest, I didn't really care for Ella, the female protagonist, but I loved Beckett (the male lead), and the kids. The bond there was so heartwarming and heartbreaking. I can't go into more without spoilers, but you will cry reading this one.

*** Let me just start out by saying, whatever I say in this review will never be enough good about this book! ***

WHAT AN AMAZING BOOK! (And yes, it deserves the caps there!!)

I have to say hands down this has got the be the best book I have ever read. The impact it leaves on your soul is unmatched by anything I have read so far. Maybe being a mom and a retired military soldiers's spouse helped make me feel so involved with this story, but Rebecca Yarros knows how to write, that is one thing for sure. This story needs to be made into a movie no doubt, but it would be a tear jerker for sure!

The way that this book is presented leaves you feeling a part of this whole world in Telluride. There are letters that start each chapter that are the letters between Beckett and Ella, and one from Ella's brother, Ryan. I love how we got a glimpse into how Beckett and Ella felt for each other while they were writing letters and then we get to see how Beckett is Ella's knight in shining armor per say when he shows up in Telluride. You will quickly fall in love with all the characters of this book and become encompassed in their world. This is one book that once I started, I had to finish. I carried it everywhere with me, appointments, any extra minute in the car that I could steal a few pages and of course to bed staying up way too late.

This is a story that you have to read for yourself. I don't want to give away any piece of it because it is all worth finding out on your own. There were times when I cried and gasped and then there were times when I just felt my heart so full for what was going on with Ella and Beckett. This story has EVERYTHING you could hope for in a good read! You will not regret picking this one up, just be prepared to stop pretty much everything you are doing while you are reading it because you won't be able to put it down. I really hope that Rebecca Yarros gets the credit she is deserved on this one. Excellent job!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy!

Oh, this was a hard book for me to review.
The Pros: The writing is good. The story is interesting, and the pacing is done just right. At least for me. I want the two leads to fall in love and the author does a good job building their relationship, the big reveal, the conflict, and then the final HEA in regards to the couple.

The Cons: There is so much heartache in this story, it caught me off guard. I'm used to reading about difficult situations in romance, but it felt like this book had one too many. So much loss. And it really made it hard for me to enjoy the book because of all the grief. I literally yelled at the book several times, because I was so upset, but not in a cleansing way. More of a why???? did you have to do that??

Yes, there is an HEA at the end, but I felt it should have come with a disclaimer. It read to me like more of a women's fiction than romance, because of all the heartache. With my romances, I really want the demonstrative HEA.

So three stars because the writing is good and there are elements of the romance that are excellent. But I can't give it more because of all the heartache. It just wasn't the book for me.

**** UPDATED ****

The first thing you should probably know is that during my initial reading of this book, I had a sort of visceral reaction to it.

Like, panic reaction. Like, slam the book shut, mark it as DNF, send a note to the publisher apologetically explaining all the reasons my heart couldn't handle this story right now - emotional reaction. It hit me hard, y'all - from nearly the very beginning of the book and I was afraid to keep going.

Then I stepped away and took a breath.
Lots of breaths.
And a little time.

I came back to the book over a month later and was sucked in immediately. I had my big girl pants on, and I rolled with the punches. I'm no stranger to this author. I know she doesn't hold back on the emotional hits, and I love her all the more for it. And for me, there was enough lightness and beauty in the storyline to make enduring those hits worth it.

Mostly.

Until the end.

Y'all, I don't know what to tell you about this book. Objectively speaking it is amazing. It is so beautifully written and so brutal in its honesty. But it left me feeling...bereft. Despite the fact that the ending is technically "happily ever after", there is no emotional high here. I have no giant beaming smile. No warm fuzzy feeling. The ending is more bittersweet than happy, and I'm left feeling wrung out and sad.

So, what does this mean?

It means I have a whole bunch of mixed emotions about this story. Was it beautiful? Yes. Absolutely. This story was so much bigger than a romance. The love in this story was all-encompassing and incredibly powerful. The writing was stellar. The storytelling was compelling. It was gritty and emotional and my heart attached itself completely to Ella and Beckett and every primary and secondary character that surrounded them.

But it hurt. And as someone who reads to escape the hurt, someone who reads to feel good, I'm having a hard time processing it. So, bottom line? If you're not afraid of some intense emotional punches, then do not hesitate to grab some kleenex and pick this one up. Ms. Yarros write a heck of a book, even if this one might not have been for me.

*** ORIGINAL FEEDBACK ***

I have loved - L-O-V-E-D - every single thing I have ever read by this author. I would consider Rebecca Yarros one of my top five favorites. And the writing in this book demonstrates why. From the very first pages it's brimming with emotion, but in a way that was easy to relate to and invest in. I already know that this story is going to be incredible and I already want to dive in, heart and soul, to Beckett and Ella's love story.

Only, that's not going to happen. I'm putting this one down early because - while I think I can easily roll with the punches of the love story - my mama heart can't deal with the other storylines swirling around in this mix.

I want to be a stronger reader than this, but even in the first 10% of the book we're dancing around some hard limits for me. Things I can't read without hurting - and I don't want to hurt or feel anxiety or relate this to my own family life. So, I'm respectfully putting it down. Maybe I can read this someday when my children are grown.

For now, I'll patiently wait for the next book because I will 100% be back for more by this author. I adore the writing, and her gift for storytelling. This is just one story my heart can't handle right now.

Grab tissues and settle in for the long haul because you won't be able to put this one down, and I guarantee you'll finish it crying. But please don't let that stop you from reading this beautifully written, emotionally charged story that now sits on my Favorites Shelf. It's truly an experience - a deeply rooted, character-based story that pushed all my buttons. The title, The Last Letter, is woven into the storyline in more ways than one. I found myself sitting long after I finished - thinking about this story and its relevance. Please avoid all spoilers and read this book. I don't think it'll be the same if you know how the story plays out when you begin.

I'll briefly set up the story by saying that Beckett and Ryan are friends serving in the military - hard-core special ops service men. Ryan suggests to his younger sister Ella that she should write deployment letters to Chaos (Beckett's call name) because he has no one. She begins sharing the highs and lows of her life through letters to Chaos - without ever knowing his real name or seeing a picture of him. Eventually, events lead Chaos to start writing her back, and a life altering connection is gradually forged. As you can tell from the synopsis/blurb, Ryan doesn't make it home, but he leaves a letter for Beckett asking him to take care of his sister, Ella, and her five year old twins, Maisie & Colt. It's complicated as Beckett/Chaos is carrying a lot of guilt and baggage. I'm not going to say more about the story that develops. It has so much more depth and meaning than I first imagined as it explores love, loss, perseverance, survival, heartache, and the trust and courage it takes, in yourself and others, to accept what you can't change and search for a way out of the darkness when your load becomes too heavy. It's a story with great passion exploring the many different connections that occur between different people, and the lasting effect they have on their lives - including the rich rewards and high price of loving with everything you've got. I know I'm being vague, but as I said earlier - there's a reason for that. Read the book. I'll share one quote:

"I'd forgotten what this feels like."
"Being hugged?" My voice was sandpaper-rough.
"Being held together." (Quote from The Last Letter)

I don't want to leave the impression that The Last Letter is all sadness and tears, it's not. There's so much love and laughter in heart-touching scenes with a broken but strong hero and heroine, adorable, scene-stealing children, a protective but lovable military dog named Havoc, passionate romance, and a support cast that lends so much to the telling of the story. The writing is beautiful and the tie-in of the letters, revealed to readers at the beginning of each chapter, is genius. Souls are bared, hearts are lost, tears are shed . . . and hope springs eternal. In my opinion, Yarros does a brilliant job of handling the difficult subject matter thus bringing awareness to a subject near and dear to many parents' hearts. I highly recommend this book. It is on my Favorites Shelf. An undeniable Must Read!

This story is amazing!

A
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I realize it is only January 3rd, but this is my best read of 2019!!!
I have a hard time believing any book can beat this one. It has everything I look for in a wonderful story. Everything! I was happy and sad so many times over while reading this one.

This story starts with Ella and Chaos becoming pen pals. Her brother, Ryan, had asked her to write him because he had no one at home to help keep him grounded. A beautiful friendship develops between the two and both are looking forward to meeting each other in January when him and her brother come to visit while on break. I should mention Chaos and Ryan are best friends.
And then bad happens.
Ella's daughter is diagnosed with an illness, bills are overwhelming her and she loses her brother to war.
And then one day a few months later, Beckett shows up at her 'hotel' and plans to stay for 7 months. He allows her to read the letter her brother left for him explaining how he wanted Beckett to help take care of Ella even when she acts like she doesn't need it. Because she does.

I'm not going to write anymore - I don't want to ruin this story for you.
This author is new to me, but I can assure you I will be reading all her other stories.
I HIGHLY recommend this one!
You will not be disappointed.

this book is a tear jerker. But it is a great book and well written. This book is jam packed with so much love and emotions, I didn’t get much else done while I read this! It’s one that’s not going to be forgotten soon. I wish I could give it more then 5*.

A heartfelt touching journey of lost and love in The Last Letter will be felt by anyone who reads this book. There will be tears of sadness, grief and happiness to go around. I am a military wife and this book really hits home for me and I know other wives and family members of soldiers are going to feel the same way. Ella and Beckett are two people who needed someone and when they start a pen pal relationship their life takes on a new meaning. They both have been through so much in life that they look forward to each letter they receive. Ella is a single mom and business owner all at such a young age. She has been through so much in her short life and life is about to get even more stressful for her. With her brother being deployed, she writes to him asking for another person to write to and he gives her Beckett’s call name (Chaos). When Beckett receives her letter, he is reluctant to read it but one night he can’t take the suspense. After that first letter, they keep on writing and getting to know one another. Each letter brings them closer together and they develop a relationship no one saw coming. Then life gets in the way and Ella and Beckett are hit with blows to their hearts. What happens when tragedies of life keep piling up and all you feel is hopelessness and grief at all turns? Ella and Beckett must find a way to fight through all the heartbreaks in their story to find the other side of happiness.

Rebecca you have made me cry, laugh, and smile through this whole story and that is a feat with me. The Last Letter pulls you in right from the first page with it’s two characters giving you their stories. Then when they come together on paper you can see the friendship brewing but in person their chemistry is intense. The Last Letter is heartachingly sweet and sad. The children in the story brings about a bond you don’t get to see everyday between brother and sister. It’s is a gripping addition to the book and you will find that you want more of them than the adults in the book. This story has some of everything and nothing overshadows, it is a great balance of family, friendship, small town life, second chances, love and grief. When you pick up this book you will not want to put it down because it will hook you right from the first page.

Touching story. Military of any kind pulls at my heart strings in every way imaginable. There is just so much heartfelt feelings there.

WOW. Just…Oh My God…WOW!

The Last Letter by Author Rebecca Yarros will, without a doubt, be a top book of 2019. This was one of the most incredible and emotional books I have EVER read. It has taken me a few hours to sit down to write this review because my scattered emotions from this story. The storyline, the side stories, the deployment letters between “Chaos” and Ella, the cancer diagnosis and treatments, the deaths, the accident…from start to finish it was all so “edge-of-your-seat” “I-cannot-put-this-down” “I-have-tears-streaming-down-my-face”…yeah…this book is all of that and more.

Ella Mackenzie owns and runs Solitude, a beautiful resort in Telluride, Colorado. She is a single mom of 5 year old twins. The father of the children divorced her and disowned the children while she was 18 and pregnant, but she is stubborn and determined and refuses to fail.

YOU ARE ENOUGH

After being abandoned and given up by his birth mother at 4 years of age, Beckett Gentry was then passed from foster home to foster home. Feeling like he had no family and was alone, “Chaos” quickly enlisted in the military at 18 years of age. He became friends with Ryan and they served together in special ops.

While Ryan is deployed, he suggests Ella become a pen-pal with a soldier he knows, his best friend “Chaos”. After a series of letters back and forth, they unknowingly start to fall in love with one another…then suddenly, the letters stop.

Then Beckett shows up at Solitude a few months later, with a letter from Ryan, asking him to go take care of his sister, Ella. He is determined to follow through with his best friend’s request…but doesn’t want Ella to know his secret…that he is actually “Chaos”.

“Say it. I’m not going to believe it unless you say it. Who are you?”

I absolutely LOVED the way Author Rebecca Yarros blended Emma and Chaos’ letters throughout the whole book. I loved reading the letters they shared, I loved the honesty they could send back and forth without judgement, the way they were able to lean on one another…it was just all so deeply touching.

I want to go on and on about this epic book, but don’t feel that I can without spoiling too much. What I can say is that the characters in this book are absolutely incredible…Beckett Gentry AKA Chaos, Ella Mackenzie, Ella’s twins (Maisie and Colt), Beckett’s dog (Havoc), Ella’s brother (Ryan), Larry, Ada, and Hailey (employees of the resort), the ex (Jeff). There are more extras as well and they all blend together so perfectly.

This book gave me such incredibly deep heartbreak. **You WILL need Kleenex while reading this!!** Reading the acknowledgements at the end of the book made it hit home even harder. The author, Rebecca Yarros is a military wife. She is able to write some of this first-hand and on such a personal level. The parents of the children with cancer who shared their stories…my heart goes out to you for what you have to go through. I could not imagine, but I can understand somewhat more clearly after reading this book, and God…you are so very strong! YOU ARE ENOUGH!

This book was so emotionally draining! It was about grief, heartache and love. It was farther into the romance genre than I typically go for, but the focus and characters and family kept me interested. I loved the character development, and the use of letters throughout worked.

I was annoyed with some of the plot points that brought tension. Like with Beckett, I just found myself yelling at him in my head the entire time!

But oh the grief! This book really makes you feel it! Which is cathartic, but make sure you’re emotionally ready!

This is one of my favorite books in some time. Ella writes to a special ops member, Chaos, at the urging of her brother who is in the same company . Ella is raising 6 year old twins, Maisie and Colt and Maisie has just been diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Through their letters, they share their lives and when her brother is killed in action, Ella is left alone until Chaos comes to Telluride to fulfill her brother’s last wish. Only problem is that Chaos gives his real name, not his nickname and Ella doesn’t realize who he is, thinking Chaos also died. But that’s just the beginning and there is so much more to this book that I just can’t give it away. The type of ending you never expected and are truly surprised at and cheer for the underdogs. A MUST read!

I just can’t even describe how much I loved this book. I loved the characters, and walking through their stories. There were some parts that were a little predictable, but some parts that I never saw coming that made up for that. This book took me on an emotional journey that I am so glad I took.

I saw a lot of similarities between myself and Ella, so maybe that’s part of the reason that this book just really struck a chord with me. I wish this story never had to end.

As with all the books that I have read by author Rebecca Yarros, The Last Letter was done so well and the story was just beautiful!
This book was more of a journey than a story. It grabbed my heart and although it was broken in parts of the book, it also warmed my heart as well!

I can't recommend this book enough!

I don't even know where to start with this book. It is hands-down one of the best books I've read this year. The story is so well-written, I was captivated from the very beginning. I didn't want to put this down, I was so emotionally involved in this story and these characters. It made me laugh at the twins' antics, while the ending made me cry. This is such a beautiful story, do yourself a favor and read it!

Ella has been through so much tragedy in her young life, but she's a fighter and she just keeps moving forward. Beckett has been in the military with Ella's older brother for years. He joined right as he was graduating high school because he was aging out of the foster system and didn't have a connection to anyone to keep him there. When Ryan, Ella's brother, hooks the two up as pen pals, they end up falling in love through their letters. When tragedy strikes Ella's life again though, will her and Beckett, call sign Chaos, be able to make it through the other side together - especially after she realizes he's been lying to her?

How can there be beauty in heartache? How can there be smiles through tears? How can your heart beat faster while at the same time it feels like it’s stopped completely? I’ll tell you how…through the words of Rebecca Yarros! This book…oh gosh, this book! I finished it a couple of weeks ago and I still don’t have the right word to express my love for this story. What I can tell you is that my eyes still water when I think about it and my heart still aches when it crosses my mind. It’s amazing how just a few short pages can have such an impact, but they certainly did on me.

I’m not going to tell you much about this book because you need to experience it for yourself. Just know that I loved Ella and Beckett’s story beyond compare. Nothing I can say will do justice to the emotions and the truth that’s held between those two covers. This story touches every important relationship in life…family, friendship, parenthood and, while doing so, it fully explores the elation and devastation possible with each. The highest highs and the lowest lows, the sweetest romance and the toughest heartbreak, living, dying, and wishing you were dead…Ms. Yarros leaves no emotion unaccounted for and I, for one, respect her all the more for the courage to take me to places I didn’t want to go and for the kindness of bringing me back.

This is a story that will stay with me for a very long time. I’m not ready to read it again, my heart is still too fagile. But I’ll return to it in the future because a story like this is not meant to sit on the shelf…it’s meant to be experienced over and over again and to remind you that in life the heartache and tragedy can truly lead to healing and happiness.

This book was an emotional experience like no other! It gripped me from the beginning until the very last page and left a lasting impression. It is a beautifully written masterpiece!!

5++ Phenomenal Stars!

The Last Letter is a poignant love story about fate, forgiveness, and family. It’s about enjoying the happy times and holding on through the bad. Finding solace in believing that everything happens for a reason despite our greatest fears and our highest hopes.

I can’t even remember the last time I cried so hard for a character. I was so heartbroken, then I was angry, and left even more heartbroken. Rebecca Yarros touched my soul with this story. A real story set in a fictional world. It was so easy to fall in love with and become emotionally invested in the characters. Ella, a single mother of Maisie and Colt, was fierce, devoted, and a survivor. Time and time again, life came crashing down on her, yet she clicked her armor together and rose above it all. Maisie... so sweet and innocent, but yet incredibly brave and resilient... a true fighter. Colt... wise beyond his years. So full of life and love....a born protector. Then there was Beckett... guarded, intense, broken... forever loyal. He is the true definition of a hero!

Everything about this story was outstanding. The writing, the storyline, the character development... it was simply flawless. The way the author seamlessly placed the letters within the chapters was brilliant and added so much insight on who Beckett and Ella truly were. Between those letters and the events of the story, I felt every emotion: anticipation, fear, despair, hope, happiness, love, and heartache. Only an exceptionally talented author can take you through all those emotions and somehow bring you out of it feeling enlightened.

The Last Letter is so much more than it’s synopsis. It’s EVERYTHING!

♥ Review by Lys

Ms. Yarros, there are no words that I could say or write that would do justice in regards to this novel. There are books that stay with you once you've close the cover and this is one of those novels. I wish I could award more than 5 stars cause this book truly deserves more. Beautiful, emotional are just a few. Reader beware tissues a must! You will laugh, be angry, and you will be cry brought to tears. A must read!!! Kudos Ms. Yarros kudos!

This book is so very beautiful and I guarantee it will leave its mark on your soul. This is definitely one of the best books I have read in my lifetime! I blubbered away through most of it as it rips through your emotions. It has its painful moments too. I cannot say more than this because it is a reading experience I want no one to miss. It has elements of deep love, family commitment, forgiveness and infinite and unselfish giving of oneself to one’s love and one’s children. This is one not to miss!