The Love Letter: Sweeping, Split-Time Romance that blends Hollywood Glamor with Revolutionary War Intrigue

Chloe Daschle’s life is in a downward spiral. Her past relationships have not been emotionally satisfying; and her acting career has her being typecast in roles where her character always dies. At the age of 29 she’s given up on finding true love and sets herself on becoming a grand dame of the acting world. When her friend Smitty sneaks her a copy of a script called Bound by Love, Chloe knows that the part of Esther Longfellow is perfect for her. Fortunately, the producer is a family friend and she begs to read for the part; of course her reading is spot-on and she waits to hear from her agent. She longs for the perfect role and the perfect real-life romance. Does happily ever after only exist in the movies? Meanwhile at her friend’s wedding she meets Jesse Gates. There’s an instant attraction between them which is only strengthened by the fact that he is a friend of Smitty’s as well. After a life-changing tragedy, MIT graduate Jesse Gates decides to leave his life in Boston behind and move to LA to try his hand at acting and screenwriting. When he finds a one-page letter from one of his ancestors, he becomes consumed with the love he finds there. Determined to help his grandfather find the happiness that for so long eluded him, Jesse writes and sells a screenplay based on the events surrounding the lost love of previous generations. His screenplay is based on a letter written by his 6x-great-grandfather (Hamilton Lightfoot) to his longtime love, Esther Longfellow during the American Revolutionary War. These two have grown up together and Hamilton has long harbored a deep love for Esther. The same is true for Esther although she can scarcely utter her feelings aloud because her father is a Loyalist supporting Britain in the war. In fact, Esther has recently returned from London where she made her debut into society. But her heart and soul are firmly entrenched in upcountry South Carolina. When the Revolutionary War comes to her doorstep she is forced to choose between devotion to her father and her love for Hamilton. More than anything, Esther longs for a love letter from Hamilton and she tells him this on the eve of his departure to join the Patriot troops. Jesse identifies with his ancestor in that he, too, is trying to find peace after a tragic ending to his last relationship. When Jesse meets the woman 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. As the movie shoot progresses, so does the relationship between Chloe and Jesse. There is a lot of coming together and drifting apart as each of them tries to come to grips with the past events of their lives. Their relationship has strong parallels to the relationship of Hamilton and Esther. And when each couple finally comes together, it is all thanks to the mysterious man in the brown suit who tells each of them simply, “Come, follow me”. When I began reading this story I thought I was going to get another Hollywood style boy-gets-girl romance. But The Love Letter is so much more. The character of Chloe has lived the past two years in the love of God, thanks to her friend Smitty. And while Jesse has lost his way since a tragedy eight years earlier for which he blames himself, his core faith, once buried, bubbles to the surface once more. I loved the dual love stories that were set centuries apart yet expertly intertwined. The pacing of the story was steady and kept me wanting to know more about Hamilton and Esther. The characters were wonderfully flawed, showing the many facets of humanity. This was one book I couldn’t put down. Too bad I let it languish on my bookshelf for 3.5 years.

Love how the history is interwoven in the present. Like the surprise at the end to bring true love together.

Rachel Hauck does it again, penning a contemporary/historical novel with two well-drawn couples worth rooting for. As is often the case, one story drew me more than the other--in this case, Chloe and Jesse's story. However, both halves together make an intriguing novel. The characters sometimes come off as a little two-dimensional, especially Jesse and Chloe, but perhaps that's because of the Hollywood environment where they find themselves. I personally loved the idea of one couple being the screenwriter and star for a film about the other. This only lends extra flavor to Esther and Hamilton's romance. While tragic in some ways, Esther and Hamilton's love story manages to be beautiful and raw at the same time. I particularly enjoyed their sparring as Esther determined which side of the Revolutionary War was hers. I wanted to see more of that. Chloe's arc is another one of the best parts of The Love Letter. It shows how well she and Jesse work as a couple, since his black moment feeds directly into her epiphany and triumph, and vice versa. You don't often see that kind of thing, even in the best romances, and I applaud Rachel for pulling it off. Some things in The Love Letter get too much or too little attention, or come off as confusing. For instance, there's a scene where Chloe and Jesse tell about their heartbreaks at the same time, and it's sometimes hard to keep up with whose story is whose, or who is talking at any given moment. There are also some fairly slow sections. However, The Love Letter is an enjoyable read and I look forward to more like it from Rachel Hauck.

One of the things I appreciate about dual timeline stories is how the format gives added weight & meaning to all that happens in the ‘present day’ life of the modern characters. A connection to historical folks can help us understand where we have come from, who we are, and even where we should go from here. All that is true in a very personal way for the present day leads in this charming love story. For me this story celebrates how the people we love—whether they become part of a happy ever after or not—can help us grow and become better. I enjoyed how the author made these characters came to life for me. By the story’s end, I just wanted to stay in their world a little big longer. My students are going to love this one! A must-read for all history/romance story lovers!

I love Rachel Hauck's books. I follow her to make sure I know when she writes a new book. The Love Letter did not disappoint. Sometimes I get confused when I read books where two different stories are mingling. In the Love Letter, the transition between the stories of Esther and Hamilton and Chloe and Jesse was always seamless. I was so interested in knowing what would happen next, I looked forward to the chapters where the book jumped to the other story. The characters always are so well portrayed in Rachel's books. I could just see the embarrassment and condemnation when Chole finally told of what happened to her last love affair and horrified when I learned about Jesse's. The way she and Jesse intermingled their stories of him and Loxley and Chole and her guy in the setting of dinner sitting on the floor in her parents lanai was so comfortable. War does terrible things to people and it came between Esther and Hamilton. Esther's father swindling his employer and then trying to make Hamilton and his mother pay for it was set just where it needed to be. The man appearing and saying Follow me to all of them did not seem strange at all if you are a christian and a believer. That is how God works sometimes. I loved the book. I didn't want it to end. I will look forward to the next book Rachel writes.

Wow. Just…wow. This is the first Rachel Hauck book I have read. It honestly took me more time than is usual for me to get through…and I am SO GLAD I kept reading. This one hits a more personal chord with me for a few reasons, but without getting into those details I will say: this story is beautiful. The dual timelines, though part of my struggle at first, became one of the most beautiful aspects. Reading through Hamilton and Esther’s story was heartbreaking and yet had redemption woven through in a really beautiful, soul-gripping thread. Chloe and Jesse were easier to connect with, but in truth the parallel story from 200+ years prior only added to the weight, and grit, of their own separate journeys. I had to stop reading more than a couple times because of weeping over the beauty, the pain, the redemption, the ache of the story. (Yes, I recognize that I probably connect more emotionally to stories than the general population, however this admission is in-keeping with an authentic review from yours truly). All in all — Beautifully written. Now off to procure other Rachel Hauck works…

Rachel Hauck does it again!! This combines one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas Movies, Angel of Christmas, and the movie, The Patriot (one of my favorite movies) . . . love the arch of all the characters and the pacing is just addictive. Couldn't put this book down!!

Rachel Hauck does not disappoint in her latest time slip novel "The Love Letter." She created an intriguing story filled with rich history, love, and heartbreak. In the contemporary portion of the story, actress Chloe Daschle and scriptwriter Jesse Gates take part in the creation of a movie based on a love letter written during colonial times, which belonged to an ancestor of Jesse's. The historical portion of the story takes place during the Revolutionary War and tells the story of the relationship between Hamilton Lightfoot (the writer of the love letter from the contemporary portion) and Esther Longfellow as their families support opposite sides during the war. A very well written story with a pleasingly surprising ending in the contemporary portion of the story. The historical portion was as equally intriguing. However, I would have preferred a happier ending between Hamilton and Esther. I know that does not always happen in real life, but I felt like the readers invested so much in their relationship throughout the book and was a bit disappointed by the historical ending. I would recommend this book.

I really did enjoy the plot, I loved the characters but the ending was terrible!!! We follow Hamilton and Esther on quite a journey but never find out the story around the first letter... what happened to them in the end?! Why was the letter unsent?? It is a cruel trick for an author to have you invest deeply in characters but then leaving their ending to our imaginations, I really really hate that. It ruined the story for me. Instead of being happily content at the various endings for each storyline, the utter failure to satisfactorily complete the most important one was unfair. I really loved the book until the last page when I realised that was it...