Grief is a striking thing and it takes on different forms. We can not only grief a person, but also a life we’ve had as well. Barbara O’Neals newest book about just that – grief.

We have 2 main characters – Veronica and Mariah (and Henry, who goes with them on the journey, but whose POV we never get). Veronica is a middle age woman, who just got divorced and is struggling to make a living, since she used to be a stay at home mum. And little work she did, was for a non-profit. Mariah was an Olympic snowboarder, who got shot in a mall in her leg. She’s still 25 and has just lost her mother, along with her life and career. Together, they go on a journey, trying to finish the book Mariah’s mother, Rachel, was trying to write before her death. Veronica joins Mariah as a companion, helping her on the journey. Henry joins them in London – he’s an old friend of Rachel, her ex-boyfriend, an a photograph for the book.

Now. The book tells the story of them both, trying to find a new life. And, to be honest, in a way running away from their problems (I don’t blame them, I would love to do the same).

You know, I, personally, think that the whole premise of the book was great. And while not everyone has felt the grief of losing their loved one, and I hope if they didn’t that they won’t for many, many years to come, all of us can, in some sense, understand the grief of losing the life we had or even the grief not being able to live the life we wanted for ourselves. And that’s fine. The important thing is not to get stuck in that feeling. Grief is natural, but staying in grief for too long will stop us from living today. Living for ourselves. Living another day. And upmost, this book is really about the process of moving on with your life.

Normally I'd give this book a 4/5 but there's still a few things they have to work on before the book is published. I can't wait for the finished thing to come out tho! It wasn't something I'm used to reading, so I was a bit nervous when picking it up – I'm more of a fantasy/mistery with a murder girl. I did enjoy it very much though.

I'd like to send my thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is soooo good!
Mariah wants to finish her late Mom's story.
However, she must have help.
A companion to assist with traveling to all her Mother's favorite places she planned to include in her novel is just the answer she needs.
Mariah hires Veronica and though they are as different as night and day; but are they really?

This is a wonderfully, detailed journey about two women who take on a challenge together as work partners and become family.
I loved the different places, the foods and the cities they visit. I felt as if I was actually with them!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Lake Union Publishing for this ARC and allowing me to provide my own review. Well done as always!

I have just finished reading the last page of this warm, beautifully descriptive, perfect novel and my eyes are full of tears. But they are happy tears because I feel like I have just taken the round-the-world journey with Veronica and Mariah and Henry, and now I'm back in my home in Maine but part of my heart is still with them.

The story of why Mariah's mother left India and never returned is woven lightly throughout the characters' journey, but never overtakes the emotional journeys of Veronica and Mariah. Each woman is dealing with trauma from their past and this is also woven deftly throughout, so that their traumas are not the central part of the novel, but simply a part of it.

I loved watching both women as they began to carve new lives for themselves after such a difficult past. Each woman is so different, but their relationship was also beautiful watch as it flowered.

I also loved the romance that blossomed between middle-aged Veronica and Henry. Also deftly woven artfully among the many beautiful pieces of the story.

And dare I mention the sensual aspects of the descriptions of the sights, sounds, and tastes (OMG, the FOOD!!!) that tie the characters' journeys together with pleasure and vivid details.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and publisher, for an advanced ready copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth is a heart-warming story of loss and love. Veronica and Mariah seem like opposites in every way, but their shared journey through grief brings them together as they search for answers. Mariah's late mother started a novel that needs to be completed. Unfortunately, Mariah is suffering from an injury and so she hires a traveling companion, Veronica, to help assist her whilst she finishes writing the book. This story brings together all the best parts of travel and light-hearted mystery that keeps your interest until the very end. Thank you Lake Union and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advance copy of this book!

Veronica is coming out of a nasty, and unexpected divorce, when she finds an ad for a travel companion for a multi-country journey. She meets up with Mariah, our other narrator who is recovering from a traumatic injury and the death of her mom, and they agree to travel together to finish Rachel, Mariah’s mom, final book about cafes around the world.

It was very clear the author did a lot of research on the different cities Veronica & Mariah visited, especially around the cuisine featured in this book. The descriptions of the cities were immersive, and made me feel like I was there enjoying their meal with them.

Where this book fell a little flat for me was with its repetitiveness in the writing. After nearly every meal, we had to hear how Veronica felt like she was gaining weight from meals, or eating unhealthy. Some of the dialogue also felt a little stiff and awkward, like having a hashtag randomly placed after a paragraph.

At its core, this book was a healing journey and is about how different generations interact with the world. Veronica is Gen X, and Mariah is a Gen Z, and we get to see how they handle life’s challenges in different ways, especially when our life is at a crossroads. I really loved the ending of this book, and thought it was very heartwarming.

An enjoyable well-paced novel that is centred around Veronica, who is suffering financially following a divorce, Mariah who is recovering physically after a super-market shooting and the glorious Henry, a photographer who is integral to their triangle.

The three travel to London, Paris, Marrakech and India, as research trip and in honour of Mariah's mum who died in the shooting.

It is an enjoyable novel with a neat ending.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Part travelogue, part food history, part friendship and found family.

Two women - Mariah and Veronica - are thrown together travelling through Parsi food culture when Veronica agrees to work as Mariah’s travelling companion, as they finish Rachel’s (Mariah’s mum) unfinished food book.

Mariah and Veronica are both grieving the lives they’ve lost and people they’ve lost and follow Rachel’s letters to her sister from the 1990’s which, letter by letter, unfold the mystery as to why her unfinished book is about Parsi food and cafe’s. We follow their journey through England, Paris, Morocco and finally India.

This was my first read of Barbara O’Neal - and it definitely won't be my last. A very very solid 4 star read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Lake Union Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Barbara O"Neal writes like nobodies business. I don't know how she puts them out so quickly.

That said, this one, The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth is at the top of my favorites by the author.

Two women, so different in most ways, travel to finish a book that Mariah's mom started to write, but died before she could do so. Mariah is recovering from a severe injury, and she hired a companion, around her mom's age, to help her maneuver the travel.

Veronica is facing all the life changes: a crappy and selfish ex husband, grown kids, trying to figure out her new life, and more.

Mariah is prickly, but understandably so. The two forge a path that could leave them both in a better place than they started.

Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

#TheLastLetterOfRachelEllsworth #LakeUnionPublishing #BarbaraONeal #NetGalley

Barbara O’Neal never disappoints!
Her characters and settings are always richly layered and complicated.
An excellent storyline about two women beginning their lives again after unexpected circumstances derail them. One clearly needs nurturing after losing her mother and enduring a tragic accident, the other needs purpose after her marriage dissolves and her children seem to be in their own self-centered worlds.
Add in exotic travel, great food, and some romance and you have a novel to lose yourself in while you soak up all the experiences the characters have along the way.
Great read!

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth is Barbara O’Neal’s best book since When We Were Mermaids.
Spanning four continents, it follows the journey of two women, both grieving a loss, as they seek answers to a mystery through old letters and a writer’s notes.

Mariah Ellsworth, a former athlete whose career was unexpectedly cut short, still suffers emotional and physical damage. To honor her deceased mother, Rachel, a food writer, she decides to finish her mother’s last book, about Parsi cafes. To help her, Mariah hires as a travel companion, Veronica, a middle aged woman, who is unmoored after the abrupt and unwanted end of her long term marriage. Utilizing Rachel’s notes, they plan to visit cafes in Europe, Morocco, and India, but along the way a mystery involving Rachel develops. This fuels the women’s desire to complete the quest, despite their physical and emotional setbacks along the way.
Accompanying them on the odyssey is Henry, a retired war photographer, with his own history.

O’Neal’s descriptions of the food and of the sights, sounds and scents of each city immerses the reader with a strong sense of place.
Filled with rich and complex characters, The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth is part travelogue, part mystery, part romance and completely a great read.

The newest great read by Barbara O’Neal! I always love how she can suck me into the story with characters, plot, food, and travel. I learned alot in this book, too- referencing culture and dishes. I love the idea of overseas destinations woven throughout the book. So many things I want to explore a bit more after this read. The relationships between parents and adult children hit home for me too. Really enjoyed this early release edition of the Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth. Thank you to the publishing company for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I always enjoy books from this author and this one is no exception. We have two female characters, not mother and daughter, although they are from different generations. There is travel to some fabulous and exotic places I had never considered that I'd like to visit and now I am rethinking that, if for no other reason than the food descriptions are out of this world. There is a mystery to solve and perhaps a romance, but there is definitely love. Of all kinds.

Thank you to the author and to NetGalley for my advance copy.

This is a poignant story of new friends who end up feeling like family. When Virginia’s husband leaves her for a younger woman, she loses her home as well as her beloved garden. Her three children are grown, and she finds herself barely surviving financially. She responds to a job posting for a travel companion. Mariah Ellsworth, a former Olympian, having won two silver, and one bronze medal in snowboarding is now recovering, slowing, from a trauma that took place in a grocery story with her mother. A shooter in the store began shooting randomly, killing her mother and wounding Mariah with three bullets; one that shattered her leg, ending her Olympian career and left her suffering from PTSD.
Mariah’s mother, Rachel had been a popular food writer, and Mariah sets out to finish her mother’s final project. Knowing she needs help with such an extensive travel schedule; to include London, Paris, Morocco and India, she hires Veronica to accompany her and to actually also do the writing. The only clue they have regarding visiting and writing about the culture and history of Parsi cafes, and food, are letters Rachel wrote to her sister.
As Veronica and Mariah embark on this fascinating journey around the world, following Rachel’s letters, they encounter many new experiences with food and people, however, there are just as many ups and downs.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O’Neal is a beautifully written novel that explores themes of love, loss, and personal transformation. O’Neal’s prose is both lyrical and poignant, capturing the emotional depth of her characters and their journeys. The narrative unfolds in a way that keeps readers invested, with a slow burn of revelation and self-discovery. Overall, it’s a heartfelt, emotional read for anyone who enjoys character-driven stories.

Special thanks to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book. Barbara O'Neal is a favorite author of mine; I love the characters and emotions that she creates within her books. This book was no different; her characters are honest, real and relatable and the stories are heart wrenching and heroic. While this was not my favorite book of hers, I do love her writing and will certainly read her next book.

3 stars

I usually like Barbara O'Neal's books. I appreciate that her main female characters are older and have had some life experience. However this one fell flat for me. Veronica was a sponge. She went from absorbing her ex-husband's life to absorbing Rachel Ellsworth's. What I found especially appalling was the way she let her ex-husband use and manipulate her and then financially ruin her. She was also a doormat in regards to her children.

Mariah was just a lot. As a mom, my heart ached for her - for all she lost, for how much she hurt. Sometimes, though, she was so hard to like. I also would have liked to have seen more of her story, more attention paid to the trauma she experienced and the epidemic our country is facing.

The writing itself was good. I love books with interesting scenery and this one certainly has that - London, Paris, Marrakesh, Mumbai, Bombay. Oh, and the food! I was googling all the exotic foods! My friends and I have recently started a blog/social media account called Read, Eat, Travel, Repeat and this book would hit all the marks. I just wish Veronica would have stood up for herself more and asserted what SHE wanted instead of settling for what others wanted. I also would have liked more resolution of Veronica's backstory.

Nonetheless, I appreciate the opportunity to read this digital ARC and look forward to reading more books by Ms. O'Neal in the future. Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the digital ARC in return for an honest review.

The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O’Neal was a real treat to read. The premise for the novel was original. The writing smooth flowing. The characters were each their own self with no apologies. The multiple locations added a lot of depth to this book. Read and enjoy it will not disappoint. Thank you NetGalley.

I'm sorry to say this is my least favorite of Barbara O'Neal's books. It is a beautifully written book and has great descriptions of places they visited and the food they ate along the way. I didn't really connect with either of the female main characters and I felt like the story was lacking for me. I didn't find there to be much of a story other than traveling around and going to cafe's. It would've been better if we had more of a dual timeline with Moriah's mother's story and then the present day story. Overall it was just okay for me. I do love the author's writing and will certainly read her next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.

This new offering from Barbara O’’Neal is a revelation. Still filled with the food descriptions and the memories and emotions that can be attached to food, and featuring something O’Neal does well - family, biological and created - I still had to keep reminding myself who the author was because it was also a travelogue of sorts, Swept through Paris, Marrakech, and India, the reader experiences the sights and sounds of each location, as the main characters visit Parsi cafes.. Though the coziness I often feel through O’Neal’s books was missing, the foodie experiences and the sensitive handling of how women deal with loss and trauma were right there. This may become my favorite by O’Neal - it feels like a growth experience.

Rounding up to a five; actual rating 4.5

What a beautiful story told through the eyes of two strong women with two different stories. Mariah who went through a mass shooting and lost her mom and Veronica who lost her marriage and life as she knew it. Both huge losses in such different ways . While both struggled the bond that formed between them was beautiful. I long to visit Morocco and India! I felt every emotion in this novel . Life isn’t always fair but it is what you make of it and while you are here you must live!