Due to their circumstances changing the Arthur family leave city life in Des Moines in Iowa and move to the prairie in the Dakota Territory. Nothing could prepare Jeanie for how far they are from civilization and the dirt floor Soddy that her lazy husband Frank expects her and the children to live in.

The closest neighbors visit, Howard Templeton, the Zurchenko family, the Hunt’s and sisters Ruthie and Lutie Moore. To survive on the prairie you need to help each other and the group of settlers decide to form a cooperative and share the work load.

It’s an extremely harsh place and life, natural disasters strike, wild-fires, a grasshopper plague, dust and ice storms and the winters are long and freezing. I have heard about people going crazy living on the prairie, I can now understand why and each family loses someone to sickness and accidents. Morale is very low, this causes members of the cooperative to make bad decisions, have mental health issues and leave.

Jeanie Arthur was forced to make a difficult choice in 1888, to save her eleven year old twins Katherine and Tommy. Young Katherine didn’t understand, she’s spent seventeen years being mad at her mother, she vows to never forgive her, now her mother is dying, she needs her, and her younger sister Yale will be on her own.

Katherine saved some slightly burnt letter of her mothers, they have been sitting in a trunk in her attic for years, she reads about her parent’s courtship, time they spent living on the prairie and the last letter contains a shocking secret.

I received a copy of The Last Letter by Kathleen Shoop from NetGalley CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform in exchange for an honest review. It’s a story about hardship, hatred, greed, isolation, loss, death, depression, infidelity and the consequences, misunderstanding and forgiveness. I look forward to reading the next book in the series to see what happens to the Arthur family, three stars and a half stars from me and the book was originally released in 2011.

this was a great start to a series, the characters were great and it made me want to read the rest of the series.

Overall I enjoyed reading this Historical Novel. This is the first book in a series and is told in two time frames. The book begins with Katherine's dying mother returning to her house. Katherine and her mother do not get along and there a lot of family secrets. When Katherine finds a letter she realizes there is more to her mother than she knows. The story then flashbacks to family's homesteading life on the plains. The author has done a good job with the historical setting. I liked the story but I did find way too long. There is some repetition and long drawn out conversations and descriptions. I found myself skimming some parts. I will probably read the next book in the series to see how the author continues the story.

"The Last Letter" is an well done story with interesting characters. I enjoyed the authors' writing style more than I thought I would. It was an entertaining and good read.

The Last Letter was an enjoyable historical fiction, family drama. The beginning was dull, but I am glad I stuck with it. the ending had a lot of unexpected twists and turns. Overall it was a sad story.
I am not sure I liked it enough to read the other two books in the series. If you liked Glass Castle you will like this book.

I received this galley from NetGalley.

This is one of my favorite books, I truly enjoyed reading this. The characters were rich with detail and the story line moved through each page. I was captured from the first page all the way to the last word. The main character Jeanie has so many qualities I could relate to. This book covers the good and bad of relationships, from husband and wife, mother and daughter to best friends. I think most married women at some point can relate to a different piece of Jeanie's life. The trials she faces, the husband she loves and hates, the children she would die for to protect. Her inner strength is brought out over and over as she faces different trials that pushes her past her breaking limit and then another step further. It's a love story, a story of redemption, faith, strength and humility. The twists in the end kept me glued to the pages until the very last word. I loved it!

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.