*I received a free copy of Someone Else's Love Letter from Diversion Books via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *
Someone Else's Love Letter by Deborah Blumenthal Published by Diversion Books on 1 March 2016
Genres: Adult, Chick-lit, Contemporary
Pages: 216
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
Fixing your wardrobe is a dream job. Fixing your life is a work of art.
Sage Parker has the perfect occupation for a Manhattanite―she helps the rich and powerful keep their wardrobes current and suitable for every need. Her sense of fashion is impeccable, her connections are unsurpassed, and her eye misses not a single well-made stitch.
So when she discovers a love note left in the back of a cab, Sage admires the card stock and the ink, but also the heartfelt words. She sets out on a mission to find out who the love note was intended for―and who wrote it.
What Sage discovers will broaden her horizons and change her life, introducing her to an extraordinary woman who is revamping her entire world midway through life, a dashing Brit with a hive of secrets, and a free-spirited painter, whose brush captures the light in everything he paints, including Sage.
Someone Else’s Love Letter had a great premise, but I never felt like I became a part of the story of fully invested in the characters.
I fell in love with the premise of Someone Else’s Love Letter as soon as I read the summary, and at the very beginning of the story I was a happy reader indeed! Sage seemed to have everything going for her, and she was determined to figure out who had written the love letter she found in the back of a cab. The story quickly turned into a sort of puzzle where there seems to be either some pieces too many, or a few pieces short in some ways. There are a lot of characters to follow, and this made it difficult for me to get attached to Sage as she went on her wild chase for a person she built up in her head to be fantastic – based on the words written for someone else.
Sage started out as a character that seemed strong and competent, but little by little, she showed that she had no self-confidence, was riddled with self-doubt that bordered on self-loathing. I found her obsession with the letter, and her search for its author quirkily funny at first, but that kind of wore off, especially as she found herself with different people who might be the actual writer. Then, there were her friends Jennelle with her boyfriend, a client who became a friend, a young girl she met when she volunteered at the children’s hospital, her neighbor and friend, Arnie, and three other characters that both confused and intrigued her.
In the end, I became frustrated with all those characters and loose ends for such a short story, and I was a bit disappointed because the plot didn’t deliver what I expected based on the summary. The writing is good, though, written in first person point of view, past tense, but I never got invested in Sage nor did I understand her attraction to the person who had written the letter in the first place.
I tugged at the corner and it slid free. The paper was thick, luxurious, and addressed in amethyst ink. I lifted the flap, tracing my finger over the midnight-blue lining embedded with whispery white threads. I held it to my nose. A faint perfume. Two sheets were neatly folded inside.
I was a peeping tom, peering into someone else’s emotional life. Still, he was a kindred spirit. He knew the importance of putting things in the proper wrapping, too.
Like the letter? My mind kept circling back to it. He might live in a house like this. He’d sit by a window staring at the ocean, or run o the beach for miles trying to get Caroline out of his head.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms
Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.
Twitter: xxertz
Sorry to hear the story didn’t flow so smoothly. It’d hard to have someone chase down a mystery without getting mixed into a whirlwind of different people. Hope your next read treats you better!
Normally, different characters showing up to muddy the waters don’t really bother me, but this many characters in only 216 pages made it really difficult to me, Xxertz.
Ah yeah I can understand the problem it’s already complicated when you can’t connect that much and if you have many characters it’s even more complicated. Sorry girl.
It’s happens every now and then, doesn’t it, Melliane?
It is so disappointing when a book doesn´t meet your expectations. Håper du har fine dager, kanskje dere til og med har fått litt vår? Her er det regn i dag, men det gjør ikke noe, for da forsvinner kanskje snøen sånn at hestehoven kan komme frem 🙂 Ha en super torsdag, klem til deg fra meg 🙂
Vi begynner endelig å få litt vår, blomster som kommer fram overalt er herlig. Men det er fremdeles veldig kaldt om natten 🙂 Ha en herlig helg, Anette 🙂 Klemmer
Sorry to hear you didn’t like this one, but I totally understand why. I wouldn’t like so many characters either, nor the loose ends especially not in a short book.
It would have worked much better if the story was longer, that’s for sure.
Rats! I was excited to see your review of this one, Lex, as I was really intrigued by it as well. It stinks that it didn’t deliver what you were expecting – even more that you couldn’t connect with Sage. 🙁 I’m glad the writing was good – maybe you’ll give Blumenthal another shot sometime? I think I’ll pass on Someone Else’s Love Letter though.
I hope you’re having a great week, my dear!! **BIG HUGS**
I’ll definitely give Blumenthal another try one day, but I was quite disappointed with this one 🙁
*BIG HUGS*
I haven’t heard of this book before now. I am sorry to hear that this one didn’t work for you. I am not usually a fan of this kind of story. I like for characters to focus on their own life instead of searching for someone that they don’t even know. Hopefully your next read will be better. Great review!
I was so excited about this, Carole, so it was very sad that the story didn’t deliver what I expected 🙁
Twitter: kbaby81
Aww, sorry this one didn’t work. I don’t enjoy characters who always self doubt themselves.
True, self-doubt all the time becomes very tiring!
The plot of this one does sound fun and cute with the howl puzzle and mystery of who left that letter. I am sorry this one didn’t work for you. Too many characters is one the things I often have trouble with as well, it get’s difficult to keep them apart in my head and remember who is who. And I can imagine how the search for who wrote the letter can be fun at first, but get’s a little too much like an obsession eventually. I am glad to hear at least the writing was good even though you couldn’t connect to the characters. Great review! I hope your next book is a better one.
I enjoy reading about many characters if there are enough pages to actually get to know them. Here, I felt like a character was kind of thrown in just as a red herring to Sage and the readers, and that really didn’t work for me.
Twitter: kimbacaffeinate
Darn. The premise and synopsis had me excited..but nope I think she would grate on my nerves. Great review Lexxie.
I know, I was so excited about it as well, Kim, which is why Sage being so down and not as adventurous as the summary made me think was a disappointment.