Member Reviews
Laura Bradshaw has lived a sheltered life since her mother tragically passed away. The feud between her family and the Campbells also caused her father to keep her under lock and key. Her only real friend is a pen pal she met accidentally and doesn't know the identity of. They would exchange letters by leaving them in a tree. She looks forward to hearing from her friend until she realizes her mystery friend is actually Issac Campbell. They both cherish the friendship and decide to work together to uncover why the feud started in the first place.
This story was sweet and charming. It is a wholesome story that focuses on the forbidden romance between the two main characters, Laura and Issac. It has a Romeo and Juliet feel since their families worked together but now are rivals and don't speak. There is a bit of mystery as well since we don't know why the families, who were once so close, ended up this way. Laura and Issac do a bit of detective work to try to figure out the secret. Leaving the letters to correspond in the tree was adorable, and the story of how it came to be was fun to read.
I enjoyed that Laura was a little unconventional for her time. She loved to read and write. She has an affinity for animals and volunteers to help at the local zoo. She realizes her father is damaged after her mother's death and challenges him where she can. She was looking for a meaningful partner and not just anyone. Her and Issac had great chemistry, and I loved their story. If you enjoy a clean, historical romance with feuding families, then check this one out.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
What a sweet love story, with a bit of mystery, set amidst a family feud in the early 1900’s. The plot is engrossing with twists and turns and varying points of view. The main characters are full of personality and verve, and I just thoroughly enjoyed this one!
I absolutely love stories that take place in the Roaring 20’s! Combine that with a forbidden Romeo & Juliet love story and nods to romantic favorite movie You’ve Got Mail and you have one amazing story! Rachel Fordham is a favorite author who interjects the perfect amount of romance, emotion and faith. From the start I was pulled into this story of childhood friends whose fathers become bitter business rivals/enemies with the children caught in the middle and banished from seeing one another again. Through anonymous, secret letters, these would be enemies develop a beautiful friendship which turns to more as the years go by. But what happens when they discover who each other’s secret pen pal is?
Feeling alone after her mother’s death, 14 year old Laura Bradshaw writes an anonymous poem and places it in a maple tree at the Buffalo Zoo. When she goes back to retrieve it, she’s surprised to find it gone and a letter from an anonymous boy (Isaac Campbell) in its stead. As the letters continue for seven years between “wishing girl” and “the boy who threw pinecones,” their fondness for one another increases. When they each discover who’s behind the letters, they have to decide whether to continue their relationship or the feud between their shoe manufacturing families.
The feud is intriguing and I was definitely pulled into the mystery behind it. Isaac hires a private investigator when his father refuses to provide answers, but also does some sleuthing on his own. There’s also another mystery surrounding the suitor Laura’s father has chosen for her. Everything leads up to an exciting conclusion with all the pieces to the puzzle revealed.
I loved this book! I loved the letters between Laura and Isaac. I’ve always thought it would be fun to exchange letters with someone in a secret location and this book fulfilled that romantic wish. I enjoyed how they each found out separately who their secret pen pal was and their complicated, forbidden relationship after. Both want to see the feud end and I loved how they worked together to solve the mystery and save their families’ businesses from potential ruin. I also loved the way they encouraged each other to develop new talents and forge new paths.
I loved the feel of the Roaring 20’s glamour with flapper dresses, jazz, and Prohibition. I enjoyed the historical 1920’s Buffalo, NY setting with attention to the details of the times and the Buffalo zoo. In addition to the sweet romance, I also loved the touch of humor and faith. Loved how the author created well developed, endearing side characters. I adored Mrs. Guskin, the housekeeper who’s a kind confidant & mother figure to Laura, and Isaac’s friend Charles with his long engagement.
Highly recommend this heartfelt, tender, enemies to lovers romance with forgiveness, faith, and mystery! I received an advanced complimentary copy from the author and publisher. All opinions are my own and voluntarily provided.
I loved every minute I spent within The Letter Tree. The story drew me in and the main characters captivated my attention. I loved the way the historical setting added to the story without taking over the story.
The Letter Tree tells the story of a friendship that develops out of chance, heartbreak, and the inevitable growing pains of learning to find a place in the world. When Laura's mother dies in a tragic accident, she finds herself hiding poetry in a tree in the park. When she goes to retrieve her hidden writings, she finds a letter waiting for her, from a young man who sought refuge in the tree. So begins years worth of anonymous, back and forth letters.
Circumstances change, as they are wont to do, and Laura finds herself considering marriage as an escape from her unhappy home. Will her pen pal best friend be able to overcome the reality of their situation and find a way for them to be together in person instead of just in letters? And what happens when Laura discovers her best friend is the son of her father's greatest enemy?
This book kept me engaged and delighted me the whole way through, with just enough twists and turns I didn't see coming.
A huge thank you to NetGalley, Rachel Fordham, and the publisher for an advanced copy to review. All opinions are my own!
The letter tree was a clever combination of “You’ve got Mail “ and “Romeo and Juliet” . I enjoyed the concept of the book. It is a great tale of long held grudges and consequences. This will be enjoyed by those who love a good contemporary novel. It was well written.
I received a copy from NetGalley with no obligations. All opinions expressed are my own.
****Posted in goodreads and will be posted other websites once book is released.
Another great one from Rachel. I couldn’t put it down. The characters were so relatable and they pulled double time at your heart strings. This is definitely a must read and a reread over and over.
This was such a cute historical romance. I love the idea of a Letter Tree and the whole storyline was so well written. I have only read a couple of books by this author but this is my favorite so far! I loved this book.
Set in New York in the 1920's, this story is about two people writing letters using a tree located in the Zoo as their swapping place.
If you are looking for a sweet historical romance that you cannot put down, look no further!
The Bradshaws and the Campbells have been feuding for years, though no one else has ever known why. Isaac Campbell and Laura Bradshaw, though childhood friends, were forced to share the hatred and (at least for Laura) the loneliness that entailed. But by chance she found a secret, anonymous pen friend at much the same time as the feud started, and they've been passing notes via a maple tree in the zoo ever since. When her father pushes her to date a business associate, she reluctantly decides the letters must stop. Then chance brings Isaac back into her life - and he seems reluctant to leave and convinced that there's more behind the feud than they realise. He's eager to uncover it - and hopefully end the feud. Can they somehow bring peace to two broken families - and perhaps find happiness themselves?
This didn't grab me quite as much as some of the author's other books have, but I still enjoyed it and was happy to see the feud finally resolved and Isaac and Laura able to be together. It was fairly clear from fairly early on that they were writing to each other, but waiting for each to realise it and decided how to respond was interesting. And watching them each work to escape from their bondage to a feud they never really wanted to be part of was great. The thread of mystery as to what started it all was done beautifully, keeping me guessing and intrigued. All in all, a good read.
Note that I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and this is my considered opinion of the book.
I loved this book! It’s 1920s historical fiction but also had some romance and mystery elements present as well. I loved the letters between the main characters and the fact that they came from rival families. If you love Romeo & Juliet and the movie You’ve Got Mail, you’ll love this book! Highly recommend picking this one up!
The Letter Tree is a lovely 1920s era clean historical romance. There are themes of friendship, forgiveness, empowerment of women, and personal freedom in decision making. For those expecting Christian fiction since the book is published by Thomas Nelson, you unfortunately won’t find any faith content here, but if you enjoy romance novels, you will enjoy this book.
Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
Set in 1924, Laura Bradshaw, the heiress to the Bradshaw Shoe Company, feels trapped in her life by an overbearing father. Since the death of her mother seven years ago, her father has done all that he can to takedown the Campbells and their shoe company. Once friends, the Bradshaw’s and Campbell’s are bitter enemies. However, Laura’s only peace has been found in exchanging letters through a tree in the local zoo, with a man she has never met. As heir to the Campbell Shoe Company, Isaac Campbell is a sought-after bachelor who has never felt an inkling of desire for the women who constantly bat their eyes at him. His thoughts are consumed by an oak tree in zoo and the woman who writes him letters that fill him with hope. When Laura decides to stop writing in the hope that a relationship with a business colleague of her father will take her away from her stifling existence, Issac is devastated. However, Issac begins to wonder if there is more to the Bradshaw-Campbell feud than meets the eye. He does all that he can to uncover the truth so that a future with Laura is possible.
I so enjoyed reading of a relationship that develops before the couple actually meet. Despite the obstacles faced by them, they are determined to overcome the feud that has kept them apart. Issac is a determined young man who, in his love for Laura, will stand up to his parents, knowing what he wants his future to look like. A sweet, clean romance.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
A tender love story mostly told through letters.
I loved reading the letters in the book. Letters are a lost form of communication. I loved that Wishing Girl and Pinecone Throwing Boy, AKA Laura and Isaac have been leaving letters in a hollowed trees for years but not knowing the is with of the other.
A bitter quarrel cost both families dearly and it was interesting to delve into the truth behind the feud. Ultimately, the valuable lesson is learned that life is too short to waste time on grudges.
I loved the zoo setting and all the animals but especially Big Frank the elephant.
My favorite character was Mrs. Guskin. She was the sole of discretion and the voice of reason while being a friend and mother figure for Laura.
Read this gentle romance of the 1920s before the world changed into more harsher times.
. I really liked this book. In fact, I read it in less than a day. Being an avid letter writer, the whole concept of the letter tree just appealed to me. There were a few spots that I found a little predictable, but they didn't bother me. This seems like it was just the right book for the right time for me.
** “God gave you good desires. Aim for them.” **
Rachel Fordham brings us a delightful “Romeo and Juliet” meets “You’ve Got Mail” tale with “The Letter Tree.”
It’s 1924 in Buffalo, N.Y., and Laura Bradshaw has very little to look forward to. With an overbearing father and a mother who passed away seven years ago, she feels trapped. Forced to hate her shoe factory owning father’s competition, the Campbell family, she has few friends and is allowed to participate in few activities.
The one thing she has come to rely upon — the Letter Tree located inside the Buffalo Zoo and the letters she finds hidden inside it. For the past seven years, she has been placing letters to an unknown person inside a hole in the special tree. She has no idea who the identity of her special pen pal is, but it fills her world with a special glimmer (“Like her very own fairy tale, this secret exchange felt magical, whimsical — and hopeful”).
Isaac Campbell seeks to get away from his father’s strict ways. He wants more for himself than just occasionally working at their family’s shoe factory. But as circumstances suddenly are placed in his life, he begins to find a better purpose and a hope.
Fordham does an incredible job of developing a plot filled with real places and based-on-true-life people and experiences, including a giant elephant named Big Frank. She develops a story filled with tension, drama, romance and mystery. And she creates intriguing and enigmatic characters, some you will definitely want to root for and some not so much.
She also fills “The Letter Tree,” which is due out Oct. 31, with some great themes, like God gives us desires and will help us achieve them; the desire for freedom and to be rescued; choosing bravery; hate can become habitual; and finding our meaning and purpose.
Fans of historical fiction will love this story.
Five stars out of five.
Thomas Nelson provided this complimentary copy through NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.
The Letter Tree wasn't for me. I liked the idea of the book and the setting. Unfortunately, I just couldn't get past the pacing. I also did not feel a connection to the main characters. Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas Nelson for the ARC.
The Letter Tree by Rachel Fordham. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
When a book captures your entire being, you know it is an inspired work from the very heart of Rachel Fordham. Such was the case with The Letter Tree, emotion after emotion engulfed my soul, my spirit. Long for a happy ending but not wanting it to end.
Pre-order your copy today, it releases Oct 31st.
I hope you will follow this gifted novelist just as I have.
I. Received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley for my honest review
A cross between Romeo and Juliet and You’ve Got Mail, this historical Christian romance, The Letter Tree, is Rachel Fordham’s best thus far drawing the reader into the story from beginning to end. All of the twists and turns that happen along the way were so intriguing they kept me engrossed in the story.
This well written character-driven historical story by Fordham is told from two points of view, Laura Bradshaw and Isaac Campbell, the children of feuding fathers/owners of opposing shoe companies. Her character development is superb and with her outstanding scenic descriptions she allowed me to fully enjoy the picturesque visits to the zoo and letter tree in this sweet romance well deserving of five stars.
I requested and received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review and all opinions I have expressed are my own.
Rachel Fordham gets me every single time! Even when I think the setting or timeline isn’t really going to be my thing, she draws me in like few authors can and I’m hooked and satisfied by the end. In fact, I’ve never read just one of her books and always end up getting more! The Letter Tree was absolutely no exception and may be my favorite of hers so far!
This book was a true delight! The novel explores the depths and complexities of family bonds and broken relationships. I loved the reader’s perspective of knowing some of the bigger picture that the two main characters, Laura and Isaac, don’t yet know. This created suspense and anticipation as I continued to read.
It was also intriguing to wonder along with Laura and Isaac about the initial rift between the Bradshaw and the Campbells. What could possibly have torn these two families asunder? Speculation abounds, but in the end Laura and Isaac discover the reason their families split while experiencing some adventure and suspense along the way. The book wraps up with a most satisfying conclusion.
Fun fact- I also learned something I’ve never heard before- sitting on top of flagpoles was a thing in the 1920s and people tried to break records for sitting atop a flagpole the longest. Who knew?!
Many thanks to Uplit Reads, Rachel Fordham, and Thomas Nelson for the gifted copy of the book. All opinions expressed are my own.
Only two stars. The story was just too predictable and lovey dovey for me. I appreciate the opportunity to read this prior to publication. Thank you Net Galley!