Love Letters from Heaven was from my first book by this author. Enjoyed the storyline of ghostly visits, the characters and just good old fashioned romance.

E-book from net galley. Opinions are entirely my own.

How do you describe, in just a few words, one of the best books you have ever read? Here, I'll try: LOVE LETTERS FROM HEAVEN. A beautifully written story that will hit every emotion you could possibly have and leave you craving more of the story. So, so good.

After reading this book, I am unsure whether I liked it or not. After deciding once and for all that her marriage is over, Katie Adelton goes to her parents’ home to tell them her decision and discuss her reasons for ending it, when she is struck by lightning. Katie spends some time in a coma, with all her immediate family and relatives visiting her hoping she will and encouraging her to wake up. During this time and immediately after, Katie meets William, who turns out to be her soulmate. Katie has always sensed his presence, but never saw him before this. William explains that he has been with her a lot throughout the years, but never showed himself. They have one big problem with the relationship: William is the ghost of a young soldier who died on D-Day, in Normandy. What follows is a sweet romance between this unlikely pair, as Katie and William assist other ghosts transitioning into their new “life” and finding their own soulmates.

This is an interesting book. However, it is not all that realistic, in my opinion. I have read many books and articles about life after death but have not come across one like this one. As I read the story (which, by the way, is a good romance), I became more and more skeptical at how the author portrayed ghosts and their activities in the afterlife. However, though she did a good job in these descriptions, a lot of the regular, worldly events, scenes, actions, which helped set the book, did not ring true and could have used a bit more research to get them at least sort of right. For example, she has Katie and her mother visit Katie’s brother, a chaplain in the Army at some military post close to Verdun. Not sure if there is one as close as was depicted in the book. Next, she visits the military cemetery in Normandy—and the author makes it seem like this is just a hop, skip and a jump away. Having been there many times, I know it is hours away, on the Western Coast of France, and is quite huge. Additionally, the author does not really present a good or, complete, in my opinion, picture of the cemetery. It is huge and going through it, as Katie is supposed to have done, would take far, far longer than depicted. Later, after Katie returns to her brother’s house (again just a short distance away), Katie’s mother is startled when she finds Katie up in the middle of the night working on something. Her mother is worried strangers had broken into the house, when she heard the noise Katie made. Katie now states her brother (remember the chaplain?) is an excellent marksman and heavily armed and could easily fend off any would-be intruders. Having been in the military, the idea of a chaplain described this way is totally off the wall for me. I think the story would have come across as more believable and interesting, if the author had taken some time to do some research about things she wanted to include in her book setting. It seems as if she was so caught up in her paranormal aspects that she did not spend enough time making the setting and parts other than the romance realistic. If you enjoy a romance, this may appeal to you, as the romance is the part of the book that is done well. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

received a copy of Love Letters from Heaven by Debbie Peterson from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this novel, but it was a chore at times to keep reading because I just did not connect with the main characters,

I received a copy of Love Letters from Heaven by Debbie Peterson from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by the summary and really wanted to like this novel, but it was a chore at times to keep reading because I just did not connect with the main characters, Katie or William. The storyline could have been pulled together better and the characters developed better. There were flashes of real goodness, but then the story would get bogged down or off track a little.

I would try reading another book by Debbie Peterson to see if the series would improve with different lead characters, but I wouldn't recommend this novel.