I love stories that take me back to the late 1890s where towns were popping up and people were helping each each other out. Jessa is the type of character you can’t help but like. She has a sweet heart and is always there to help friends and family out. I was sad to read about the losses she suffered at a young age. I think Ada should feel blessed to have Jessa as a friend. Ada was deceitful, rude, selfish and the one I wanted to kick in the shins. Oh she made me mad but I have to say well done to the author for making Ada so realistic that I felt sorry for her. There must be a reason she is so spiteful. Maybe she is insecure or jealous?

I knew right away when Ada convinces Jessa to write to a young man so Ada wouldn’t have to, there was going to be problems. Who would guess that the man , Rodney comes to their town to work. Jessa knew she needed to tell him the truth about the letters. I loved how they first met at a place where Jessa finds comfort. Their conversation is fun and lighthearted. Poor Jessa I think she may be infatuated with Rodney. What is she going to do?

I have always heard that lies catch up with you. This story is a good example of what happens when lies and truth clash as the author takes us on a journey that tugs at your heart. Will Jessa do the right thing and let God guide her to tell the truth? What will happen if Rodney finds out he has been deceived? The story is good and I enjoyed the struggle within the characters as they must make a choice that could change their future.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit, The review is my own opinion. ( )

The second book in the Willow Woods Brides series by Teresa Slack, “A Love Letter for Jessa” can be read as a standalone. The heroine from the first book is mentioned briefly in what is a spoiler for the ending of that book, but the rest of the story is independent. This is a sweet series in which those who eventually become couples are identified from the beginning, leaving little room for mystery but instead ushering in a hefty dose of wholesome romance. These are the clean, Western-style tales that one would expect to find adapted for television on INSP or the Hallmark Drama channel, and their core of faith sets them apart from other such stories.

“A Love Letter for Jessa” opens in Willow Wood, Idaho in autumn 1890. Using third-person omniscient narration, Slack introduces readers to twenty-year-old Jessa Endicott, who appeases her ailing friend Ada List by taking over her correspondence with Rodney Hammersmith. No harm, no foul. Until Ada recovers and Rodney comes to work in Willow Wood, eager to meet the woman whom he has fallen in love with through the letters. What might be a humorous incident builds into a true conundrum, layered with deceit, guilt, and misunderstanding. This story is an excellent example of how one lie always leads to another, eventually resulting in heartsickness, no matter how trivial it may seem at the time: “A lie was a lie, regardless of who told it or the logic behind it.”

Sometimes characterization becomes evident from the very first chapter, and such is the case with this novel. To the reader, none of the figures in the story come as much of a surprise, but the excitement lies in how they interact with and react to each other, learning more about each other and themselves in the process. As Jessa frets over not telling Rodney the truth, she laments that “Anything she said would make her look like a petty, jealous, conniving hypocrite trying to come between him and Ada.” Furthermore, there is the discernible Christian viewpoint that shines forth within the pages of this story. Some of the characters exemplify it, while others shun it in favor of their own gratification. I appreciate that Slack creates both, because it adds a realistic level of conflict, and while I feel that everything ties up a bit too neatly in the end, I still enjoyed this story and believe that by following the example of Jesus, we can love each other more and better. After all, God wrote the greatest love letter of them all.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own. ( )