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A Review of "Letters to Helen"




Introduction

Letters to Helen is a historical fiction romantic drama written by author Kayt Roth, who was kind enough to send me a free .mobi file of the novel in exchange for an honest review. I love, love, love historical fiction, and I was SO excited when I accepted to review Letters to Helen because I knew from the synopsis that it would be good--and, thankfully, I was right!

My Rating: ★★★★★

Synopsis: "Engaged to a handsome doctor and content with her future, Mattie's life seems to have fallen neatly into place. The only thing that's missing is her best friend Helen, who is away at college. Despite her plans, fate has other ideas, and Mattie's happy ending is suddenly ripped away by a letter from her fiancé's mistress. Reeling with hurt and unexpectedly single, Mattie must start anew, with Helen there to pick up the pieces. But an incident with Helen's fiancé drives a wedge in between them, forcing Mattie to make one of the hardest decisions of her life. Struggling for closure, Mattie meets Mark, who is also rebuilding his life. Two broken, kindred spirits find solace in one another, until one innocent afternoon reveals a shocking connection." (via Goodreads)


Thoughts and Comments

Pros

  • The novel is very well-written, especially for being historical fiction. The narrative was never in-your-face in the past, but it did exceedingly well with not relating itself to the present either.
  • The multi-POV third person omniscient perspective can be hard to pull off successfully, but the author did a wonderful job at managing it. I never felt confused when a new chapter started with someone else's point of view.
  • It takes a moment to remember which characters belong to what storyline after revisiting them in the beginning, but the more of the novel is read, the stronger the reader's bonds to each of the characters become.
  • The intertwining storylines are a well-balanced mix of love, tragedy, anger, and joy. There was never too much of one emotion for an extended period of time, which made for a satisfying roller-coaster experience.
  • I never felt that two characters were too similar--each of the characters had their own vibrant personalities, and it made it fun to differentiate between the subplots and observe how each person in the novel reacts to the different situations the plot presents.
  • The writing was beautiful and easy to read, with a flow that carried the reader on gently and eagerly. The pacing was also neat and never too rushed or too dragging.


Cons

  • The novel could possibly benefit from another round of proofreading, as there were some minor mistakes that I caught, but it wasn't nearly enough to distract from the story.
  • Occasionally, I found the main character Mattie to be unlikeable, but she would redeem herself a bit later with a witty phrase or an admirable action, so I still enjoyed seeing things from her perspective most of the time.


Conclusion

All in all, Letters to Helen is a beautiful story that shows us that the trials and tribulations of life never really change, no matter what sort of life you live or what time you live in. I would certainly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys contemporary romance, historical romance, and novels with multiple interacting points of view. Ms. Roth, thank you for the opportunity to review your work. I look forward to seeing more from you in the future!


Amazon Link: See here
Goodreads Link: See here
Riffle Link: See here


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