The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

The Love Letter by Rachel Hauck

Rachel is one of my favorite authors. I enjoy reading her work and following her writing career.

Let’s begin with the summary:

Romance has never been actress Chloe Daschle’s forte—in life or on screen. But everyone knows whom to call for a convincing death scene . . . and it might be killing her career.

When Chloe is given a peek at the script for an epic love story, she decides to take her destiny into her own hands and request an audition for the lead female role, Esther Kingsley. The compelling tale, inspired by family lore and a one-page letter from the colonial ancestor of scriptwriter Jesse Gates, just might break her out of this career-crippling rut. Jesse would rather write about romance than live through it after his past relationship ended in disaster. 

But once on set together, the chemistry between Jesse and his leading lady is hard to deny.
Centuries earlier, in the heart of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow wrote their saga off the silver screen. Esther’s Loyalist father opposes any relationship with Hamilton, but Esther must face her beloved father’s disapproval and the dangers of war in order to convince Hamilton of their future together. Hamilton has loved Esther for years, and on the eve of battle pens the love letter she’s always wanted—something straight from the heart.
  
Set in stunning upcountry South Carolina, The Love Letter is a beautifully-crafted story of the courage it takes to face down fear and chase after love, even in the darkest of times. And just maybe, all these generations later, love can come home in a way not even Hollywood could imagine.

And now, my review:

As with Rachel’s other time-slip (genre) novels, this one gives us both an historical romance and a modern-day romance. This novel contains intricate details, and is at times, difficult to follow. (The author’s note mentions she had some trouble with this too and that her editor had to read it several times.) I feel I could benefit from reading this a second time. Still, the story lines kept me hooked. I cared about these characters.

There were some secular elements in the novel that sometimes made it feel a bit raw. When I read Rachel’s work, I watch for inclusion of people in her life, like band members. The narrative included a Chip Mac, a Tony, and a Rachel Hayes. Those were fun names to find.

I loved the Hollywood elements, especially since Rachel’s Once Upon a Prince was just released as a Hallmark movie and Rachel traveled to Vancouver (Hallmark’s Hollywood, at least as far as where they film many of their movies) to visit the set and make a cameo in the film with her husband. 

There were strong spiritual elements. I enjoy watching for Jesus to appear in her novels, and she didn’t disappoint. 

The historical story line centers on the Revolutionary War and includes mention of genealogy, a fun element that readers who are doing their own family research will enjoy. I highlighted a few lines full of wisdom in the advanced reader copy (ARC) that I read. 

Highly recommended! 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.