As an avid relationship angst romantic reader, I’m used to a punch or two to the heart. Honestly, I can take it, folks. What I have no desire in handling is overkill of tragedy after tragedy after tragedy heaped onto the main couple, especially when it is completely unnecessary to do so. I want to feel uplifted by the end, not filled with sadness and despair.

I wish this author continued writing success and hope others enjoy this book. For me, the choices she made, especially near the end, were the last straw. This type of depressing content is not what I want or expect in my romantic reads.

Title: The Last Letter, Author: Rebecca Yarros, Pages: 432, NetGalley ARC, too depressing for my taste.

(I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I was not given any payment or compensation for these comments, nor is there any affiliation or relationship between this reviewer and the author/publisher/NetGalley.)

5 Stars

I am utterly speechless. This book is like none I have ever read before. You will feel so many emotions throughout this entire novel that I cannot even describe them all. Rebecca Yarros has created a cast of characters you will love, situations that will make you smile, make you cry, break your heart wide open and stitch it back up again. This is hands down one of the most amazing books about love, and loss and life that I have ever had the honor to read. If you pick up one book this year, it needs to be this one.

Cara - Alphas Do It Better Book Blog

I don't really have the words to say how wonderful and haunting this book is. Once you start reading this book, you are drawn in and are heartbroken when it ends. So very wonderful.

Let me just say... if you love heart wrenching, thought provoking, emotionally charged novels. this one is right up your alley. A letter... a last letter signed by a dead soldier to his best friend pleading with him to go take care of his little sister. A best friend devastated by the loss of his friend and in need of someone, going to mourn with the only family his best friend left behind... a novel that will have you crying ugly and reaching for a box of tissues.... WOW!

I have to admit that I found The Last Letter rather depressing. The tragedy in this story is overkill. I expected it to be emotional and even upsetting. Ella had already so much to deal with, her brother being dead and her daughter having cancer. That she also had to deal with another loss in the last ten percent...I found that really depressing. I also didn't think it was realistic. I know nothing in life is guaranteed but this really went overboard with tragic themes. Did Rebecca Yarros have a check list to go through?

I know there will be people who will enjoy The Last Letter but I wasn't one of them.

This book should also come with a trigger warning. There are mothers out there who have to deal with the loss of a child or whose children are battling cancer. They shouldn't go into this book without knowing what to expect.

The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros

I'm like a moth to a flame for any sort of epistolary romance add in a single parent to the mix and basically it's almost like the book was written for me. And it was but also there was a lot of this book that made me unhappy.

Before we go any further, please note that this book has heavy themes of sick children, death, grieving, and PTSD. If any of these are triggering to you, this book is not for you. The book does not have any content warnings and I wouldn’t want a reader to be surprised by these things.


What I liked:
Ella and Beckett “meet” via letter. Her brother is in the military and thinks his BFF needs a pen pal. So they start corresponding. Beckett is introduced by his call name, Chaos. That is the only name Ella knows him by. The letters were the best part of this book. I love seeing characters fall in love with each other's writing. I loved that Yarros gave us the letters out of order. Each chapter opens with a letter and she ties the letter from the past and the present together. This really worked for me.

In the early stages of their penpalship, Ella's daughter is diagnosed with cancer. It's tragic. Then shortly after that, Ella's brother is killed. This isn't a spoiler. Anyway the story flashes forward a few months and Beckett shows up on Ella's doorstep, but Ella doesn't know Beckett is Chaos.
This is where the story really begins.

Beckett is wracked with guilt about Ryan's death. And honestly, if you've read a military Romance before, this is nothing new. Beckett lies by omission about who he is. I know this is a line some readers never cross but it's doesn't bother me. Anyway, Beckett is determined to be a support for Ella. They eventually fall in love and have to work through a lot of each other's baggage. Ella trusts no man as they all leave. Beckett doesn't believe he's worthy of love.

If the book had stayed solely on this path, Could have really loved it. But it didn’t. It gave me a mixed bag of tragedies.

Enter Ella's twin 6 year olds, Maisie, with cancer, and Colt, who has the emotional intelligence of a well-therapied 30 year old. This children alternated between cute and plot moppets. At times it's bordered on sickeningly sweet.


There was a line, probably not even noticed by some, that was a bit jarring to mee, especially when you understand that it had ZERO relevance to the main story line and didn’t come up any other point in the story. At one point the hero is describing his commanding officer to the reader- and this is what we got.
“I handed him the cup. I knew he liked his coffee like he liked his women, black and strong.”
I was definitely giving this author some serious side eye. Was this statement thrown in for shock value? Who knows, but at this point in the book, things started going downhill for me.

If you are at all interested in this book and want to enjoy it to its full potential, please do not read the spoiler.

In the beginning of the book Beckett mentions he doesn't curse. So I did a search for some common curse words in the book. One popped up as being used once. I didn't read the passage but caught some of the surrounding words. This is important and leads in to a big spoiler in the book.

Maisie is very, very sick. Her cancer is aggressive and when first diagnosed she has 10% chance of surviving. Ella spends a lot of time on Maisie being sick. It's an extra plot point as Ella is basically going bankrupt in order to keep Maisie alive. A few conversations about how much is life worth were written in.

After I had stayed up too late one night reading and got to about 50% I had been feeling pretty good about the book and the story line. This is a romance after all. We are guaranteed a HEA, RIGHT?! RIGHT???

I was thinking about this book one morning and was thinking about Maisie and her cancer. I started to wonder if the author was going to give me a plot twist like My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. If you're not familiar with that book, Picoult spends 80% of the book laying the groundwork for one sibling to die only to cure that one and kill the other sibling….

Readers, Yarros My Sister's Keepered me. It was saccharine and sad and it made me angry. The scene with Colt and Beckett felt forced and moppety in the worst way. In summary, the dog finds Colt. He's trapped under a rock. He's not in pain. He's bleeding out. Beckett is there too. Comforting him waiting for the helo. Beckett tells him he loves him and that he adopted him and that Beckett is his dad. Colt says he now knows what it's like to have a father and he knows he's dying but he's so happy. Reader, I was very unhappy. I want to mention that this scene takes place at the 92% mark.

I was left feeling angry and questioning the convention of what it means to be a romance novel. The foundation of this genre are that there has to be a central love story (there was) and a happily ever after (there was). RWA doesn't talk about if a child dying at the 90% mark, does this cancel out the HEA? Because it kind of felt like it did in a way. How can I feel good about their fight for each other while watching them bury a child. I know this is fiction and I always like realism in my romance, but this felt like too much. My heart hurt for this fictional family. My logical self knows how hard it is for marriages after the loss of a child. I could not fully believe in their HEA with that tragedy at that late in the book.

End spoiler

Ultimately I enjoyed parts of this story. I was incredibly invested in Ella and Beckett working through their crap and loving each other and believing their deserved that love. As I mentioned I loved the letters to each other. I didn't love the wiser than their years moppet children. I could have done without some of the heavy handed life worth stuff. I think the intention was to be inspiring, although not an inspie, but I was left questioning the why's and how's of romance.
And the one pivotal scene near the end was too much for me. With that being said, this book will probably stick with me for a long time. Ultimately, the author did her job but I will not be giving the book a grade due to my very complicated feelings about it.

One of the best book I have ever read!

I actually won an e-copy of this book which I received via NetGalley. This is my honest review after choosing to read it. When I finished reading this book I had tears streaming down and a huge grin on my face. My first comment on twitter about it was: 'Just finished the most amazing, emotive book I have ever had the pleasure to read. 5stars just isn’t enough- nor is just one box of tissues! The Last Letter by @RebeccaYarros should be on everyone‘s must read when it’s released Feb 26th. The Last Letter is such an amazing story, a rollercoaster emotional ride, an enthralling read and I’ve never cried so much reading a story! Thank you for writing it and @entangledpub for publishing it.' I'm not normally so effusive on twitter but I was so moved by the whole story . . . . I hope that's enough to make you want to read it, too!

For those wanting more info about it, the Last Letter is a letter that someone in the armed services writes in case they are killed in action. In this case the letter is written by Ryan to his friend and comrade, Beckett, telling him to get out of the army and asking him to help look after his sister, Ella, and her twin children. Beckett has been exchanging letters with her for a while but she only knows him by his nickname, Chaos. There's so much going off in their lives, so much heartbreak and drama in the past, present and future that could crush them. Can they survive all that seems to being thrown against them? How will Ella react when she discovers Beckett is also Chaos? I daren't say more about the plot as I'd end up revealing spoilers!

The story is told through the alternating points of view of Beckett and Ella interspersed with the letters they'd exchanged before they actually met. The contrast in the openness of the letters and how shuttered they are when meeting face to face is dramatic. There are plenty of diverse threads interwoven throughout the story, creating a superb tapestry, an evocative read that has characters it is so easy to relate to and drama that keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is a real page turner and a very memorable book for all the right reasons, one I didn't want to put down until I'd read it all. I hope you get to read it, too, and enjoy it as much as I did!

Ryan and Beckett are best friends in the army, so when Ryan is killed his final letter goes to Beckett. Beckett has no family and had been corresponding with Ryan's sister Ella, a single mother with young twins, and so when in his final letter Ryan begs Beckett to look after Ella he does. Ella is all alone now with the twins, Ryan being the last of her family, so she is happy to be friends with Beckett especially with the problems she has!

A heartbreaking story that will stay with you long after you have finished reading. You really relate to the main characters and so are really rooting for them hoping for a happy ending for them amongst the heartache. My first book by this author but I will be looking for more.

This book was so much more than a romance. It is very emotional and heartbreaking. Great writing!

The story of Ella and Beckett. Two lost souls who find each other. Ella's brother, Ryan is a soldier and his best friend is Beckett. When Ryan dies in combat he leaves a last letter to Beckett. He wants him to go and help his sister, Ella through a very rough patch in her life. Ella, is a single young mother of 6 year old twins. One of them is very sick and needs treatment.

Each chapter begins with a correspondence between Beckett and Ella that began before Ryan died. I thought this was clever and really added to the story. The romance is strong and heated and very emotional. I went through many tissues while reading this book. So much heartache and grief. Parts of this book were very sad (especially if you are a mother.) It is also a book about love and acceptance and battling through hardships and coming out stronger.

I'd like to thank NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for granting me the opportunity to read this Advance Reader Copy. It is a story that will stay with me for a long time. I could really see this one being made into a movie.

Beautifully written while heart-breakingly, gut wrenching!!

So this book will take you a while to get over. This story is so beautiful, but achingly sad as well. Beckett lost his best friend and combat partner; he receives Ryan's last letter (the one you only get to read when someone is gone); and goes to fulfill Ryan's last bequest.

Ella is a single mother of twins who is going through tough times. She's lost the rest of her family and is just trying to get by while taking care of her kids, receiving devastating news (besides the death of her brother) and running her own business. Colt and Maisie are such a joy to get to know. They bring sunshine to this story.

There are so many facets to this story and the secret that Beckett is keeping is a BIG one. “There were two distinct paths ahead of me: the first, where I told her who I was and what had happened, and she promptly walked out of my life, and the second...where I did everything I could to help her, no matter what the cost.” You may not always agree with Beckett's decisions, but he remains steadfast in his mission to help Ella the only way he knows how.

"She'd given me gravity when everything went sideways." Letters make up a big part of this story and they weave a story within the story that will bind you to these characters even more.

This is a tough read - my first tears came at 9% and at 75% I was sobbing. But that's the beauty of Rebecca Yarros and her incredible talent to move the reader - especially with her military stories. I think I've cried with every one.

This is one of the best books I've read...period. It wasn't easy and I needed time to decompress before posting this review, but in the end - it was worth the journey.

I voluntarily requested and reviewed an advance reader copy while pre-ordering the paperback. This is one I want to hold in my hands!

Overall The Last Letter was a good read. It was emotional and I was invested into what will happen to these characters. I enjoyed seeing the progression of Beckett and Ella’s relationship. There were many layers to it and it was interesting to see how it would play out. I liked the characters of Beckett, Ella, and Ella’s two kids. I enjoyed reading the development of the relationships between everyone. This wasn’t just a sweet romance, there is a lot of heartache in it as well. My emotions bounced back between high and low throughout the story. But I was cheering for all the characters. I needed the happy to win at the end. Rebecca is a great writer and it is demonstrated greatly in the story. For the most part I liked the story. There was an instance that really bothered me and because of that it hindered my reading experience at the end and that knocked it down for it a bit. But still I did enjoy.

The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros is a gripping standalone. I recommend go into this book blind, don't read the blurb or an spoiler-ish review, just pick it up and start reading. It's so worth reading.

Meet Beckett Gentry. He's special ops and has no family. His best friend Ryan convinces him to take his little sister as pen pal.
Ella MacKenzie is a single mom, owner of a B&B and works hard to make ends meet. Beckett becomes her sounding board and somehow the two fall in love through their letters. But what she doesn't know, yet, she's in for the fight of her life.
And Chaos - aka Beckett - the broken wonderful soul stands by her side through thick and pretty much thin. The hits keep coming and somehow Ella has never the time to take a breather.

The Last Letter is a intense, gutting, heartwrenching read that had me in tears more than one time. It's an ugly cry story that put me in an emotional rollercoaster, whirled me around and then spit me out.
The writing is excellent and the story is addicting. I read the book,cover to cover in one sitting. I simply could't put it down. My heart was aching for the characters and I wished for a beautiful and well deserved HEA.
I highly, highly recommend the book and wish I could give more than 5 stars.

A heart-wrenchingly beautiful story!

This is probably the hardest review I’ve ever done. How do you explain a book that will without a doubt leave you heartbroken and crying ugly tears, yet at the same time be filled with the power of love?

This is a story unlike any I’ve ever read. The premise is about a soldier and the letters he receives from his best friend’s sister, first, as a gesture of kindness, then increasing as a genuine connection is formed between the penpals.

Chaos (Beckett) isn’t used to caring about anyone other than his MWD and his best friend, Ryan, but finds he looks forward to the letters from single parent, Ella in Telluride. When one of her five-year-old twins develops a rare form of cancer, Chaos makes it his mission to help any way he can. When Ryan is killed in battle, this becomes even more important an assignment.

Ella is used to going it alone, and she’s managed just fine until now. Her baby girl has cancer. Just thinking the words is enough to weaken her knees just when she needs to be stronger than she’s ever been before. The treatments are brutal. The only thing that gives her hope is that her brother should be home soon to help and the letters she receives from the mysterious Chaos.


Until Ryan comes home in a coffin.

Then Beckett arrives, like a guardian angel, and takes over some of the burden she’s been carrying. But all is not what it seems, and soon Ella is faced with life-changing decisions she’s ill-equipped to handle.

The end of this book was unexpected. I don’t want to ruin it for readers, suffice to say the bonds of love shine in this novel of strength against all odds, and the undeniable connection between twins and a mother who just won’t give up.

This is so much more than a romance. It’s tragedy, destiny, and fate entwined with an unbreakable thread of hope that will remain with you long after turning the last page.

I give The Last Letter 5+ lovely kisses- Best Reads!

The Last Letter has to be one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. Beckett and Ella’s story is heartbreakingly beautiful. I was rocked with a million different emotions from the first chapter to the point where I could barely get through the end without breaking down in tears. I’m at a loss for words on how this book made me feel. Beckett and Ella had so many obstacles to overcome together and separately. My heart still aches due to everything that Ella had to endure. I loved the way this book was written with the letters at the beginning of almost every chapter. It was so easy to connect with both of these characters. So easy to feel the love and the loss. Rebecca Yarros blew me away.

The Last Letter isn't your typical romance story and if that's what you're looking for, this book isn't for you! If you're looking for a book that breaks your heart, makes you smile, restores your faith in love, has humor, romance, two great kids and just makes you feel so much, please read this book!

I made the mistake of taking The Last Letter on the train with me when I started it. Within the first four chapters this book had me in tears! This author makes you feel every little thing, of course it helps she's a mother of six and has a husband in the military. She knows what she's talking about and you can feel that in her writing.

The Last Letter is over 400 pages and still wasn't enough (okay, my heart couldn't take much more). I don't want to talk to much about the actual plot, because it's so much more than the blurb. I loved all of the letters we read at the beginning of the chapters. A letter can change your life in more ways than one and this book sends that message clearly.

Ella needs Beckett even though she doesn't want to and Becknett needs her and the children more than he realizes. Maisie and Colt are so cute and play such a crucial role in this book in my opinion. This isn't an instant romance and at times these characters frustrated me so much. Life is short, so why make it so difficult? Both of these characters are so strong, more than they believe!

This book proves that family is more than blood, having faith isn't wrong, life is too short to sweat the small things and to enjoy everything, especially the small moments! The Last Letter was an ugly cry book for me though. Just when I thought things were looking up, the last I'd say 10% of the book came crashing down. I've never cried as much as I did! I had to stop a few times, because I couldn't see the pages anymore!

The ugly cry is a compliment to this writer, because if an author can make me feel so much for her characters, I'd say that's a job well done. The Last Letter doesn't have the typical happily ever after we're used to, but it's beautiful. Life isn't always happily ever after in the ways we want, so this book fits that perfectly! Life isn't always fair, but it gives us things that make the journey worth it!

I'm so emotionally wrung out from this book... I just don't have the words to describe it.
I'll try but, I'm warning you now, I'll ramble and possibly be incoherent and may not make sense because to explain myself I'd have to give too many spoilers and you need to read this book without the spoilers. Yes, it'll punch you in the gut and you'll wish someone had told you the frigging journey you'd be on in reading it so you could avoid the pain, like a sane person, but don't be a sane person because this book deserves to be read.
It needs to be read.
It is beautiful, it is poignant, it's heart-breaking, it's bittersweet and it is a joy... A bittersweet joy that rips out your heart, stamps it into the mud, sets it on fire and then proceeds to haunt you and make you cry when you think about it days after finishing it.
(And you will think about it for days... Trust me.)

I knew the premise of the story was a soldier who didn't make it home (not a spoiler, it's in the blurb) sending his best friend to look after his sister. His family.
So, I knew the book would be emotional.
I just wasn't prepared for how emotional it would be.
I wasn't prepared for how much I'd love Beckett, Ella, and Ella's kids: Maise and Colt.
Hell, I even loved the damn dog and spent just as much time worrying about her as I did the rest of the characters!
I even loved the departed Ryan - Ella's brother - even though we only met him for like 5 minutes.

These people... They got under my skin.
They were real, fully-fleshed out people, and they sweep you up in their story, they take you on a journey, you fall in love with them, you care, you want everything to be okay, you fight with them, laugh with them, and you cry your ever-loving heart out with them.

Just when you think you have things figured out, things change. Just when you begin to think you're on the home-straight - that everything is going to be okay - you're hit by a frigging truck.

I LOVED this book and I HATED the ending.
The last 10-15% of the book can go frigging do one.
Hadn't we all been through enough?! Seriously?!
It's been three days and I still cannot accept it. I still cry over it - proper snot-inducing ugly cry - because wtf?
It's not fair.
I guess that's the point. Life isn't fair. Bad shit happens to good people. You can't take life for granted... I swear I've been clinging to my kid and husband like a traumatized loon since finishing this. I could have handled everything this book threw at me accept the final twist.

I can't honestly say I'll read this again - because I don't think I could survive the gauntlet of emotions a second time - but I know that this book will be one I remember forever. It'll be one that stays with me. One I think about. One I want to read again, for I'll miss these characters, but just can't.

I also know that this will be one of the best books I'll read this year without a shadow of a doubt.

This was my first story by Rebecca, and she made me feel all these emotions during and after reading this romance. I’m still in a book hangover, and not afraid to admit I cried during a few parts of the story.
I loved how Rebecca wove in the letters Ella and Beckett wrote to each other into the story, you fell in love with them a little bit more after reading their words. Poor Ella has lost almost all of her family and Beckett never had a family, except the men on his special ops team. They were a perfect match, creating a new family from family tragedy. Beckett was so sweet, always there to help Ella with whatever she needed, never pushing her for more than she could handle. It was a slow-burn romance in that they don’t really become a couple until the last quarter of the book. When reading their letters before that, you can see they fell in love with each other months ago but didn’t realize it.

This book was one of those that you walk away from feeling 99.9% positive that someone will decide to make into a movie and you'd make sure to not miss it!


Many emotions and feelings. The relationships were believable and the storyline was very moving. This book will definitely tug at your heart.

***I will make a disclaimer though... I'm not big on full on sex scenes (very descriptive) and if you aren't either be warned. I'm one of those people that doesn't feel it adds to a story. I feel it detracts. I probably would have scored it higher had it been less descriptive.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the Publisher and was under no obligation to post a favorable review.

6 Stars

First things first- this book was one of the best books I've ever read. Hands down the best. I could not put it down! I don’t even know how I am going to write this review without tears streaming down my face. But I’m going to try. Just know that this review will not ever come close to explaining all of my thoughts/feelings I felt while reading.

The Last Letter is the latest stand-alone novel by Rebecca Yarros. This was the first book I've ever read from her, and it definitely won't be the last. The Last Letter is everything you could ever want in a story. I mean, it was soooooo incredibly beautiful and heart-wrenching all at the same time. There were so many emotions I felt. You know how you read reviews that say it had all the feels, well this story really did have it all. Ranging from sadness to hope to awe to love. I FELT IT ALL! I cried so much throughout the entire book. AND I’M NOT A CRIER! Sure a few tears here and there but this story GUTTED me in the best possible way.

As a mother myself, I could really relate to Ella. She was something fierce. Single mom, business owner, and just an all around extraordinary person. She has been through so much but no matter what, she pushes through. Even when it all crumbles around her, she digs deep and does what needs to be done for her children without relying on anyone else. So when Beckett comes into her life, she has a really hard time accepting any type of help from him. Even with his good looks and his patient personality, she's still hesitant. Luckily for her, Beckett doesn’t give up that easily.

There are so many things that I want to shout from the rooftops but I don’t want to give anything away. The Last Letter was written beautifully and it flowed seamlessly from scene to scene. I could literally picture everything perfectly. I loved Ella and Beckett so much. If there is one book you read this year, this HAS to be it. I highly recommend reading it!

The middle of the novel was wonderful but the beginning and the end... I wish the beginning was a little less tortured male lead, as the whole "i'm not deserving of love" trope is a bit played out. I think the book did fix that towards the middle, but that ending. Yeesh. I just don't want to cry when I'm reading a romance novel.