Sad and sweet - all in one book. I loved this story, the characters were easy to like and there was a genuine need to know why there was no response to the letters sent. A journey of discovery for the main character and a superb book.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. I really enjoyed this. It was an easy read with likeable characters, and Miller explored the separate storylines well.

Absolutely loved this book!! The characters were very interesting & intriguing. Kept me interested from the first page!

Thanks to Netgalley for letting me read this advanced copy. This is not my favorite genre, but the writing was good and the story line not what I expected, so that was enjoyable. Parts of plot were predictable, especially the ending, which was disappointing, Most readers would like it.

I loved it. It is a heartwarming and uplifting story about a middle-aged woman who is brave enough to finally put herself first and not make do with a marriage that has lost its true meaning.
Kay goes to visit her friend sensing that there must be some trouble with her that keeps her from writing. Ursula's story is heartbreaking, but it was wonderful to read about their friendship, I also loved the supporting characters, mainly Kay's daughter. It is a bit her coming-of-age story as well. I can recommend this book to anyone who loves a good book about a strong heroine.

A heart warming story about finding your happiness both early and late in life. Kay leaves her husband of 29 years although things are "perfectly fine" when she finds the inner strength to chase the dreams she had long buried. Her journey (both physical and spiritual) allows her to reconnect to the those things that matter most. Thank you NetGalley and publishers for providing an advance copy for review.

This book had a lot of ups and downs and really made you think about the many life choices we make, and how much they can impact the rest of our lives. I also enjoyed the written letters mixed in after every few chapters, many from the past. It was a nice touch. I would give it 3.5 stars, so I'm rounding up.

Mrs. Bright is your average middle-aged woman, married for more than half of her life, mother to 2 grown children, keeping up with friends and obligations. Until one day, when she wakes up and decides that she has had enough and walks away from her marriage.
Kay finds herself at the point in her life where she wonders at the road not taken and looks back too fondly at what could have been, seeing the past through a distorted lens of wistful thinking.
After her friend’s bi-monthly letters suddenly stop with no notice, Kay decides that while she is spreading her wings and finding her own identity post marriage, she will check in on her friend in Australia.
What she learns on her travels, about her friends, herself and her marriage helps her to put feelings in perspective and find a new way forward while maintaining her relationships with her husband, children and friends.
This is a novel about midlife, looking back, family and friendship. It is a nice light read, the troubles and turmoils are put to bed a little too neatly for my taste, making it a little hard to believe at times, but overall a good book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a slow starter for me but then all of a sudden it was really good and I enjoyed it. Kay decides to leave her husband, Richard, after almost 30 years of marriage and two grown children. Kay has a good friend, Bear (Ursula) who she has exchanged letters with for years up until about six months ago. The story is told from different POVs to go along with the different story lines within this book. This is a very poignant story of love, loss and hope. Thank you NetGally and Bookouture for the ARC of this very touching book in exchange for an honest review.

I can imagine this is a very relatable book for many these days when life expectancy is much increased and forever suddenly seems a very long time in a marriage. In this example Kay Bright is not in a bad marriage but can’t shake off the feeling that there should be more to life than this, she’s feeling stuck in a rut both at home and at work where she manages a shop in the family business. There’s no trigger for her leaving her husband when she does beyond the feeling that if she doesn’t now she never will.

The story is told from two perspectives, those of Kay and of her twenty something daughter Stella. Whilst I enjoyed reading both I don’t feel that Stella’s chapters especially added to the story, I felt more invested in Kay’s travels and relationships, more so her friendships than her marriage. This is a very reflective story which definitely makes you think a little about the life you live.

This is a well written novel, with good characterization and description. I didn’t connect to the main characters Kay and her daughter Stella as much as I thought I would, but otherwise it was a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

There was nothing exciting about this book and that isn’t a criticism. This is a frank admission and discussion about a tired marriage that is finally abandoned, a friendship that is winding down, another that is strengthening, and an exploration of the possible next chapters in life. Mrs. Bright ruminates “It was hard not having a single proper reason to leave..” and that pretty much sums up the book.

I have often had the notion that one day you wake up and realize things are different and it’s time to go. Beth Miller attacked this notion and turned it into a story that I can hold close and revisit. I liked all the elements and relationships within the story and the way they held together. I liked that friendships didn’t get put aside due to an unspoken word, a misstep, a greater challenge. It really holds true friendship up to a bright light.


Thank you NetGalley and Bookoutre for a copy.

Fifty one year old Kay Bright who has spent the last twenty nine years married to her husband Richard, raising their two children and working in his stationary store, wakes up one morning and decides she has had enough of living with a man who never wants to do anything interesting. She has decided she will leave Richard and do some of the things she has always wanted to do, such as visiting her dear friend Bear in Australia. Since Bear's family emigrated to Australia when she and Kay were teenagers, they have exchanged letters regularly so Kay is concerned that Bear hasn't answered her letters for the last six months.

This is a lovely, beautifully written, book about women's friendships, mother-daughter relationships and finding yourself, no matter how late in life. Sad in places, it was also heart warming and a reminder that it's never too late for a new beginning.

A beautiful read about a women who sets out to make her own destiny after living a run of the mill life as a wife, mum and shop owner. One day Kay wakes up and ends her marriage after 29 years. She wants more from life and after finding her friend of many years stopped writing to her, key goes on a journey of life, love and loss. heartwarming and at time sad but over all a lovely read.

I really enjoyed this story. We follow Kay and her Daughter Stella as they navigate some pretty big life changes. Kay leaves her husband of 29 years in search of the happiness that’s been missing and Stella’s relationship, career, and living situations, which were all intertwined, come crashing down around her. It’s a story of resilience, hope, second chances, and recognizing life is too short to put things off. The characters were relatable- from their gifts to their faults. Definitely recommend for an easy, feel good read!

This book was wonderful from start to finish! The writing was well done and the story was very enjoyable.
I liked how the book followed both Kay and her daughter Stella, while each of them were going through an important part of their lives. The relationships in this book felt real and relatable. The book started with Mrs. Bright (Kay) making the decision to leave her husband, the rest of the book is what follows. It had heart wrenching moments as well as times that made me so happy for the growth of the characters.
I will be recommending this book to others! Thank you @netgalley and @Bookouture for the change to read this ARC.

"You go through life, you make choices, they lead to other choices, ad before you know it, you're in a place you wouldn't have started from. It was time to make new decisions, and change the story."
Talk about a mid-life crisis where you wake up and finally decide that the priority is ones own HAPPINESS!
How is it that it took Kay 29 years to realize that she had to start moving on that bucket list?
Kay moved along as we all do in life.
Wedding, kids, job and then empty nest, grand-parenting, and then......?
I loved this novel!
It often takes that WAKE UP call from a friend or loved one to make the light bulb go off and realize that time is precious and too short! A very relatable novel!
Excellent story with wonderful characters! I love Kay, Bear and Rose!

Absolutely beautiful! A wonderful, heartwarming, life affirming tale from this fantastic author. This story was not only entertaining and addictive but it also made me think, to realise that life doesn't stop for you. It served as reminder to live life to the fullest. Every one should be reading this book and this author. Outstanding. Five stars do not do this book justice. Read this beautiful book and get 2020 off to a brilliant start! Thank you Beth Miller for this exquisite treasure of a book!

I know I don't read contemporary romance all that often, but I like mixing up my genres every once in a while and there was just something about The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright that made me want to read it instantly. I think it was a combination of the blurb itself and the comparison to Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine and A Man Called Ove; two of my favorite books with characters I absolutely adored. And the blurb definitely sounded like main character Kay was going to have the same vibe, so I was superexcited to finally meet her. I might have set my expectations a tad too high, because somehow I didn't end up enjoying this story as much as I thought I would... I'll try to explain why.

First of all I have to stress that The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright is by no means a bad read, and the rating reflects my personal reaction to this story and its characters rather than the quality of the story. There is a lot to love in The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright, and depending on how you react to the main characters your reading experience might just be completely different from my own... First of all, we have the bookish elements. Not only does main character Kay's husband own multiple bookshops, but we see other references as well throughout the story. I always love those little references in my books, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Another element I loved was travel related; not only that Kay wants to spread her wings and start seeing the world, but also those descriptions and chapters set in Australia and especially those in Venice. This Italian city really came alive for me in the descriptions and was one of the highlights of this book for me.

I also loved the idea behind the letters, and some actually being incorporated into the plot between chapters. This most definitely added an original touch! The plot itself is intriguing enough and uses multipe POVs to help us understand how different people react to Kay's decision to leave her husband of twentynine years and start doing things she has always wanted to but never has. There is the underlying worry and mystery around Bear of course as well, and it was interesting to see things develop and secrets slowly coming to light. The writing was easy on the eye and superfast to read, and in many ways this is the perfect contemporary romance read.

What went wrong for me then? I still can't put my finger exactly on the why, but part of the reason is pretty clear: the main characters. Sadly, I wasn't able to connect to the characters as I thought I would. I had issues with various decisions and personality traits of more than one character, and this really put a damper on things... I won't go too much into details to avoid spoilers, but I wasn't a fan of Kay and her selfishness after her decision. I fully get she has the right to a life of her own, but she truly only thinks of herself and doesn't seem to care too much of what her children and friends are going through... And that was not the only thing that annoyed me about her. I wasn't able to warm up to Stella,Edward or Richard either, although I did like Newland, Rose and even Piet. What I absolutely detested was the whole cheating angle, but that is just a personal reaction as I never respond well to this element in a story...

I did love the food element in The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright though. The descriptions of the food really made me crave those dishes and I actually prepared my curry recipe as a result afterwards. There were a lot of other things I enjoyed as well, like mentioned above, but as a whole something just didn't click for me and I ended up having mixed thoughts about this story. Fans of the contemporary romance genre might just have a fantastic time with The Missing Letters Of Mrs. Bright though! Definitely give this story a chance if you think it might be your cup of tea, because it seems like I'm in the minority with this one.

Wow.

The Missing Letters of Mrs. Bright by Beth Miller is a can't put down story about first loves, loss and wondering if it's ever too late to start over and live that life you always thought you'd have but never got around to living.

From the beginning of her marriage Kay Bright has always out family first. Working alongside her husband and the father of her children day in and out Kay's life becomes nothing to write to one of her nearest and dearest friends. When she stops receiving letter from her Kay is forced to take stock of her life and really think if this is something she wants to continue with or go out into the world and really experience life for the first time.

I really recommend this book. It's got everything you'll ever need and have you laughing and crying at some point in the story.

Beth Miller has hit one out of the park!
5/5 Stars 🌟