Alas, another book set in Greece that didn’t take my fancy. Not that I have got anything at all against this amazing country, I just find it bizarre that the couple of books I have read with this location, I haven’t particularly enjoyed. A weird coincidence, I’m sure!

This story has a lot of grief as we are introduced to Sophie very much raw from the sudden passing of her mother. The relationship she had with her mother was incredibly close and this made the opening of the chapters quite hard to read: the writer really captured the suffocating sadness and isolation that Sophie feels and it is only when she decides to head to Greece to locate her mother’s missing painting, does this claustrophobic mood start to lift.

In Greece, I loved the portrayal of the setting and the sunnier climes – I definitely felt on holiday! However, this fell flat as I found the story to be quite predictable pretty quickly. A meet-cute on a glorious beach sees Sophie lose her head to the gorgeous Greek God, Theo, and within a couple of days she finds she is in love with him. Personally, I was never convinced by their relationship and questioned whether Sophie was on the rebound and reacting to the loss of her mother. Even by the end of the story, I never warmed to her coupling and couldn’t shake my dubious feelings.

Falling in love so rapidly, Sophie does take time to find this missing painting of her mother. I was expecting the story to be a bit of a dual timeline, revealing episodes when her mother was in Greece and the history behind her visits. Yet, it is over halfway through the story do any letters get a mention and even these are quite sparse. Based on this, I thought the title of the book quite misleading and set me up for expectations that were never met.

Cowell does sprinkle a bit of the paranormal in this book with references to the ghost of Sophie’s mother. Sophie is convinced her spirit is guiding her during her stay in Greece and, coupled with a local’s predictions, Sophie relies on this to help make decisions. In some way I liked this because it moved the story away from such an overbearing and fast-moving love interest. On the other hand, I thought this theme could have been developed more to add to the unique tale of Sophie’s adventure.

I don’t think it helped that I ultimately disliked Theo. I thought that he asked a lot of Sophie without ever sacrificing anything of himself. I was surprised that Sophie doesn’t ever question this – instead blindly following her deep love and remaining besotted with him. Furthermore, the scenes detailing the subplot of Sophie’s best friend never really interested me, adding to the perception that this book was too long with quite a few dull scenes.

I’m quite sad that I didn’t enjoy this book because I had such high expectations. Setting off for Greece was a massive bonus and I think the key part that saved this story because the location was so vividly described. Yet, I did not like the love interest, was frustrated by Sophie’s whimsy nature towards him and thought the actual searching of the missing painting was underwhelming.

With thanks to Avon books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sophie travels to Methoni in Greece following the death of her mum. She is in search of a missing painting and the secret of why her mum disappeared there on holiday every year.

The setting in Greece is portraied beautifully by the author and makes you feel like you are there yourself.

Whilst searching for the paining Sophie befriends a local called Theo who soon becomes a love interest.

The author sensitively touches on some not so nice subjects of abuse and miscarriage which if like myself you have encountered either can make for a difficult read but the way they have been written really is sensitive to the situations.

Its a really lovely read

The Plot:
Sophie is barely managing to keep it together after her mother’s untimely demise. As she comes to terms with this unfathomable loss, she stumbles upon a replica of one of her mother’s paintings, a renowned piece of work she painted when she went to Methoni, which is believed to be lost. As she gets an opportunity to track down this painting, she finds a new purpose in life and embarks on a journey to Methoni. On her arrival, she crosses paths with Theo, and soon romance blossoms between the two. As she finally begins to trace the location of the lost painting, secrets of the past are unveiled. Will Sophie be able to embrace the future that lies ahead of her after learning the truth?

Review:
One Last Letter from Greece is the story of a young woman, Sophie Kinlock. The book explores the loving bond the protagonist shares with her mother and how her life is affected when she passes away. When I read about Sophie’s pain and her struggles to deal with demons from her past, I found myself getting a bit emotional. But even though her life seemed to be falling apart, her best friend, Tasha, has been a constant support for her.

While reading this book, I was so captivated by the vivid descriptions of the food, culture, people, and amazing locations of Methoni that I could almost picture it in my mind, making it a nice escape read. As far as romance is concerned, it initially seemed promising, and I was intrigued when Theo’s character was introduced. But as the story progressed, I felt I didn’t get him well enough to care much about his relationship with Sophie. However, I was invested in learning how everything will pan out once Sophie figures out what’s best for her.

Overall, this book was a heart-touching tale that focuses on themes of love, loss, family, and friendship. It reminded me of The Seven Sisters series by Lucinda Riley. However, I felt the twists in this book were easily predictable, and in certain parts, I felt the plot got dragged out, especially towards the end. But it is the protagonist’s journey of self-discovery and healing that makes the story fulfilling to read.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon Books, for sending me the ebook of One Last Letter from Greece.

What a beautiful story. Wonderfully written, a story of love in many different forms, family, friends, lovers, very well thought out and I will be recommending to everyone.

This story touches on grief, loss and how things come from that.
Ŕeally thoroughly enjoyed

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest opinion

A book addressing grief, it doesn't shy away from it. A woman finds answerers after she begins a search for clues to unanswered questions. An emotional but uplifting book.


I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

The cover of this book drew me in and quite quickly I was invested in the storyline.
I throughly the authors writing was very engaging and the setting was very strong. Totally enjoyed this novel and would recommend it.

What an excellent debut novel.
A true love letter to Greece in a heart breaking story that's is also heart warming. The perfect beach read.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

A lovely story that I took to my heart from the beginning, It was lovely to read and a complete change from my usual crime thrillers.

Love books set in Greece. I didn't want to leave Greece when it was over. As Sophie started uncovering her mother's secrets, I found myself flipping faster through the pages and loved the sub plot of her journey in the special seaside town of Methonis. Very easy to read and I look forward to more by this author.

A really nice story perfect for the summer holidays abd full of nice characters abd scenery mtge perfect vacation read.

Engaging and beautifully written full of love and emotion.

This one is sure to take you on a journey in more ways than one. Sophie is looking for her late mothers last painting and finds herself a little Greek romance along the way.

Just wonderful.

This book makes you feel as if you are there in Greece. I could almost smell the food , wine and sea. Really makes me want to go to Greece. I really enjoyed it and will look for this author again.

I wish I hadn't taken so long to get round to reading this book. It was an emotional roller coaster and I loved every second of it. The location is just perfect but then again I loved all things Greek. I enjoyed most of the characters although I do feel a few were a little 2 dimensional to allow more page space for character development of the main characters. I would love for a prequel or perhaps a story for one of the other town's people. A great read. Really enjoyed it.

Sophie is looking for an escape from her grief. Her Mam died leaving Sophie behind, all alone in the world.

Lyndsey Kinlock was a very famous artist. having an extensive catalogue over the years. A lot of which are in various galleries and some are even done on commission for private collectors. While going through her mothers things Sophie discovers a copy of a painting called ‘Methoni V’. Having recently heard from an art critic about the Methoni series with the fifth instalment missing and presumed lost.

Sophie embarks on a journey to discover what has happened helped along with a letter from her mother. She visits the village of Methoni in Greece. Once there she meets such wonderful people including Christina. The head of a Greek family that takes Sophie under her wing with offers to feed her regularly and Theo a local fisherman.

I really enjoyed this book from start to finish. I loved the setting the scenery the descriptive language used about Greece and Greek food. A truly heartwarming debut novel from Cowell.

Having lost her own Mam, I felt that the author wrote from the heart and wrote a very moving tribute.

A great summer read but don’t let that put you off now that the seasons are changing.

This is a super summer holiday read, so romantic!!
It doesn't start that way, as Sophie's mother has died, and Sophie sets out to find a painting that her mum painted, but only has a photocopy of it, and nothing else!!
So whilst she mourns her mum, she makes the decision, to set off on her journey, to find the painting!!
But of course, it wouldn't be a story without the 'in between' bits that happens to Sophie during her quest!!
Such a lovely book to read!!
Brilliantly heartwarming!!

This book was a beautiful read! Perfect for summer.

I loved the Greek setting and the descriptions of the food and scenery have definitely encouraged me to add Greece to my travel list. I loved the writing style, though in some places the plot did become a bit slow.

This book touches on some very sensitive subjects but I didn't feel that this was overbearing and it still made for a great summer read.

Lovely feel good book to read. It was a joy to read. Lovely characters. Great plot. The book was charming. Very well written. I’d definitely recommend this book. There were also parts of the book that some might find difficult to read about Domestic abuse. Pregnancy loss, and infertility

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. This was a lovely quick read. A great holiday book and pure escapism. Well written and with good characters I’d recommend as a good read!

An enchanting Book !
Sophia is looking for a lost painting of her mums who has passed away. The search takes her to Greece . This book is well written, a compelling story which this reader didn’t want to put down. Many twists and turns to the plot with beautiful descriptions of places and events .
I would love to read more by Emma. Highly recommended I didn’t want the book to end.
Thank you to Netgalley, Avon Books and Emma Cowell for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review