Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - Letters to the Lost

"I don’t know what the point of this story is, except maybe to say that sometimes you get to a point where it hurts too much, and you’ll do anything to get rid of the pain. Even if it means doing something that hurts someone else."

First Read- January 2021
Second read- August 2021

First Rating- 5 stars
Second rating- 5 stars

Content/ Trigger Warnings- school shooting joke, grief, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, car accident, cheating, the death of a sibling, the death of a parent, alcoholism

-Mention of some of these in the review-

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Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer is a Young Adult Contemporary romance, but I would say it’s much more than just a romance. It is a story about grief and guilt and anger. It's a story written with passion. It's a story which will make you feel .

The Plot

There’s a definition for insanity that talks about doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

Juliet Young, our main character has only one way to cope with her mother's death, writing her letters. Declan Murphy works at a community service at the local cemetery and he's trying to escape the demons of his past. When Declan reads Juliet’s letter, he writes back two simple words- 'Me Too' . This book is about Juliet and Declan's letters.

The writing

Sometimes I think fate conspires against us. Or maybe fate conspires with us.

The letters between Juliet and Declan were absolutely beautiful. They talked about intense topics in a touching way and it made me think over a lot of things.

You want to know what I believe? I believe in fate, but I also believe in free will. Meaning, there’s a path, but we’re free to veer away from it. The only problem is that there’s no way to know whose path we’re following at any given moment. Our own? Or fate’s? Other people are on their own paths, too. What happens when we intersect? What happens when someone else wipes our path clean, and we’re left with no road to follow? Is that fate? Is that when free will kicks in? Is the path there, but invisible?

Who the hell knows?

The whole book was full of such great quotes and honestly I have no words to describe this. Even writing this review makes me want to reread the book.

The characters

“One day isn’t your whole life, Murph.” He waits until I look at him. “A day is just a day.”

This is the first contemporary I've read in a while where all the characters are flawed, yet extremely likable people. All of the characters seemed genuine. What more could you ask for?

The side characters in this book are also complex and fleshed out.

Rev is one of my favourites! He has my heart. I know book 2 is on him and I'm a bit scared to read it.

The main characters Juliet and Declan are also very interesting. I will not talk about them more to avoid spoilers.

“We’re all united by grief, and somehow divided by the same thing.”

Final thoughts
This book doesn't have any sort of petty drama like most contemporary books do. This deals with grief through thought-provoking letters and that's what I loved about it the most.

I wasn't very happy with the ending though, which is why it's not a 5 star. (bumped it to 5 stars as I was thinking about it even after half a year) I think there should have been one more chapter to conclude it.

So overall, Letters to the Lost was an extremely fun read and definitely makes my list of top books of 2021. I would highly recommend it!

“There’s not a joy the world can give like that it takes away, when the glow of early thought declines in feeling’s dull decay.”

DISCLAIMER - All opinions on the books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite

Content Warnings

anaya_reads's review

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked this book. The flaws of the characters are really out there and some may say that that makes the characters unlikeable bug u just think it made the real. I’d check content warnings.

Content Warnings

spearly's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Note to self: don't wait to long to wrote a review because your MEMORY IS AWFUL.

_________

You can see it on her face. Her reality is being ripped away, and she knows it.
Her mother is gone, and she knows it.
There is agony in that picture.
Every time I look at it, I think, “I know exactly how she feels.”

TW: Cheating, Grief, Drunk Driving, Death of Parent, Death, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt

The book has been on my tar for a while. I was even recommended it by some friends on here a few times. And still, I hesitated. maybe it was the cover (it's very 2010, you gotta admit). Maybe I didn't think it would be anything special.

But I was wrong.

I was gripped from Juliet's first letter. She has an incredible way with words, and her grief was palpable in every word. Declan's too, when he wrote back. I loved their correspondence, then their friendship. I think I also have a major soft spot for secret pen-pals. There's something so romantic about connecting with someone's words, their inner most thoughts and worries and insecurities, about the magic of anonymity. A girl can dream, I guess.

The story itself was tragic and riveting and heart-wrenching. I wanted to badly for these characters to find each other, but I too was drawn in by these anonymous letters. I didn't want to lose that connection too soon, either. I wanted to see our MCs figure it out for themselves. It definitely helped that as the two grew closer in their letters, fate brought them together time and time again in real life.

I also have a secret soft spot for

Spoiler

pen-pal situation where the guy finds out the other's identity first. Seeing Declan grapple with whether or not he should tell Juliet who he is, seeing him still want that connection with her even after he discovered her identity, gives me butterflies.

.

Thank you to everyone who recommended this to me. I'm sorry it took me so long. You were right.

Content Warnings

atalea's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

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