Tuesday, June 12, 2018

The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck - Review

I haven't used one of my rating meme's in a long time but I just had to pull one out for this book. I need to make a Ten star review meme for books now because this is a definite TEN in my book. You can see my rating meme guidelines here.


About the book:

 With the colonies at war and his country divided, Hamilton Lightfoot must choose sides:
Fight for the British Crown or for the Independence of America. But after witnessing the death of his family at the hands of redcoats, he fears he’ll fight for revenge instead of honor. On the verge of a great battle, he pens a letter to Esther, the woman he loves.
Esther Longfellow is in love with Hamilton, but her father is a loyalist, living in upcountry South Carolina and working for a wealthy British lord. When the Revolutionary War comes to her doorstep she is forced to choose between devotion to her father and her love for Hamilton.
Chloe Daschle is the daughter of Hollywood royalty—a great director and an Oscar-winning actress. Yet her career has taken an unexpected turn: She’s the queen of death scenes. Trying to break out, she accepts a supporting role in a revolutionary war film. But she longs for the perfect role and the perfect real-life romance. Does happily ever after only exist in the movies?
After a life-changing tragedy, MIT graduate Jesse Gates decides to leave his life behind and move to LA to try his hand at acting and screenwriting. When he finds a page from one of his ancestor’s letters, he becomes consumed with the love he finds there. Determined to help his grandfather find happiness at the end of his life, Jesse writes and sells a screenplay based on the events surrounding the lost love of previous generations.
When Jesse meets the woman he has cast to play Esther Longfellow—his grandfather’s one true love—the stories of all four collide across time and space. The love letter from the past might have more power to affect the future than any of them could have imagined.


About Rachel Hauck

What's Your Dream:
Dreams are tough. Hard to define. Hard to achieve. Costly. Time consuming.

Yet dreams are worth our time and our effort.

I had several dreams growing up. But the one that surfaced the most and stuck around the longest was to write novels.

In ’93, as I approached my first wedding anniversary, the Lord tugged on my heart to quit my day job. My well paying day job, mind you, with benefits. Little did I know the Lord was whispering the same thing to my husband.

I thought I’d quit and work with him in ministry. Maybe have a baby or two. Instead, I stepped up my reading of the exploding Christian Fiction Market and in ’94, I started my first novel, a WW 2 epic set on the Aleutian Islands.

The book was never published in complete form, though aspects of it showed up in my book, Love Starts With Elle.

See, my whole life I’d been telling stories. Playing make believe with my friends. Creating 4,254 diary entries, pouring out my heart, detailing my life.
Thinking and imagining on the long drives from Tallahassee to Ohio State University where I studied Journalism.

I wrote stories in my heart while traveling all over America as well as Australia, Spain, Venezuela, Mexico, Ireland and Canada in my post college job as a software trainer.

Growing up Ohio, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Florida and being the second oldest girl of five children, stories formed in my heart. Next came my married life, decades of youth ministry, leading worship and helping other writers as a writing coach…  Every aspect of my life is the underlying tapestry of my novels.

You see, everything is… story.

Yet, what really moves my heart is the pure power of story itself. One reader wrote to me and said, “I work at a bridal boutique and after reading The Wedding Dress, I’m going to change the way I do my job. I’m going to see each bride as beautiful and unique.”


So what’s your dream? Whatever it is, partner with the living Lord.

My first novel was published in 2004, and since then my books have won awards, hit bestseller lists and hopefully helped readers escape into worlds where they can breathe in the fragrance of Jesus’s love. My hope is my novels take what is true in heaven and imitate it here on earth, in the form of story.

My prayer is that you will know true JOY and the pleasure of your dreams coming to life! And if my stories can ease your heart for just a moment from what ever load life is laying on you, then I am honored and blessed.

Rachel's Favorite Things:

• Exercise.
• Watching the Buckeyes and college football. It’s a “season” in our house.
• Worship/Singing (I’m the worship leader at our church)
• Movies (like Remember The Titans, The Proposal, Notting Hill, It’s a Wonderful Life)
• Love stories (real and made up!)
• Photography
• A good prayer meeting!
• Family and friends – the spice of life.

My Thoughts:

Now that I've finished ugly crying after finishing this book I think I can write a review.

The Love Letter takes us from the battlefields of the Revolutionary War to stage of the Hollywood of today. 

As with previous historical time slip novels by Rachel Hauck her research is impeccable and her timing in switching from past to present day is done smoothly. I was so completely engaged in the story that I only noticed the time change because the characters changed.

I thoroughly enjoy time slip novels, especially historical ones and Rachel Hauck does them so well. This is now my favorite novel of Ms. Hauck's and I will most likely be cuddling up with it again sometime this summer.

My Bottom Line:

The Love Letter is a deeply moving story with themes that focuses on guilt, the power of love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. You will want to stock up on tissues because you will need them. 




Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book via the publisher. I was not required to write a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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