WW2 historical fiction is one of my favorite genres. This was an excellent story and I was pulled in from the beginning!

The Book of Last Letters by Kerry Barrett is a delightful book about nursing in the Second World War and being a care in a nursing a home in 2022.
Elsie is the young nurse in the 1940’s, when she starts to record patients messages, drawings and farewell. messages to family and friends. Which is appreciated by the soldiers and other families left behind. Then one of the patients who has been severely burned asks Elsie to end her suffering,, when Elsie does she is being watched by someone else. What happens to Elsie and her boyfriend Harry, do they live after the war?
Stephanie reads the book that Elsie started and uses that idea to kickstart her set career.in the process she paints a mural and starts an up to date book signed by the residents of the Care Home.
An interesting idea and an enjoyable read.
Highly recommended

An incredibly beautiful and moving book from this talented author! Thoroughly enjoyed.! Would definitely recommend The Book of Last Letters! 5 stars from me.

This is one of those stories you can't put down. Nurse Else's story was so interesting. Both her life at the hospital where she worked helping tend hurt soldiers, and also glimpses of her home life during the war. Rushing to bomb shelters almost every night, death and destruction part of daily life, and trying to make the most of every day, as they knew first hand how easily it can come to an end. I found her to be a warm, caring person. I also appreciated Stephanie's story in modern times. Also a kind, caring young woman. I loved the premise of her community art project, and it tied in seamlessly with WWII era.
Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC. This is a must read for lovers of historical fiction!!

A wonderful story of WW2 nurse Elsie who works in a London hospital during the dark days of the Blitz. She starts a book for the patients to write last messages to loved ones in case the worst happens. The book comes to light again in the present time and inspires Stevie, who is dealing with anxiety and family issues, to take up her art again. She is inspired also by the patients at the Home where her grandmother lives. Great characters, a few twists and turns for Elsie, such as who are Mr and Mrs Gold, and what to do when her best friend asks for the impossible. Could not put it down!

A lovely book set in two different time periods. The story set in WW2 was heartbreaking at times and the modern day character was facing difficulties but you found yourself rooting for them both. Another book that shows the compassion and feeling we can have for each other.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Loved it!! Duel timeline between 1941 and present day with WW2 nurse Elsie and aged care worker Stevie. The idea of the book was brilliant and love the idea of Stevie's to include it in her project. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house and the author for the opportunity to read an AR copy of this book in return for a review based upon my honest opinion.

I have loved every book I’ve read by this author. This book is no exception, while I may not have loved it as much as her other works, it is simply because I had a disconnect with the character in the current timeline.
This is a dual timeline story; set in London in the present day and in 1941. After a dramatic prologue, we meet Elsie in 1941 and her best friend, Nelly. Elsie and Nelly are nurses in the South London hospital, although this area doesn’t see a lot of bombing at this point, there are still casualties brought in from other areas. Elsie, is on shift when a bunch of injured airman are taken in one night. One of the men, named Harry, has lost short term use of both of his arms, asks Elsie to help him write a letter home to tell his mother that he is in hospital but will be okay, Elsie agrees and complete the task with Nelly assisting.
Elsie is eventually convinced by her neighbour Mrs. Gold that this would be a wonderful idea and Mrs. Gold buys her a book as an early Christmas present for her to bring it to the hospital for the patients to write whatever they wanted, so that later they could be used as comfort for the families and as comfort for others.

Meanwhile, in the current day Stephanie who has had a lot of hard blows lately is working part time at Tall Trees, a nursing home that her grandmother resides in, and part-time at a nearby bar owned by her best friend Tara. Stephanie hears of a book that was found a few years ago in the basement of the Tall Trees nursing home that used to be the South London hospital. It was found in an area that had been bombed, and it turns out it was a book that had been used by patients to write whatever they wanted in it (Elsie’s book).” Stephanie becomes obsessed with Elsie, where did she go where is she now and did she ever meet up with the man in the book that she was writing to; how did their story end.

I really enjoyed following Elsie’s story, it was heart rending, full of intrigue, it was everything that it needed to be perfect. Stephanie’s story was good, I loved all the characters in the nursing home. I figured the story out pretty early but still enjoyed it. I found Stephanie was obsessive over things that really didn’t matter as much she made them out to be. I just didn’t care for her, I guess..

This book was wonderful though it is definitely worth reading, maybe laying on the beach or curled up with a good drink.

Mi è piaciuto tanto questo romanzo storico. Le due protagoniste delle due linee temporali sono molto simili, grandi lavoratrici, con traumi famigliari e che trovano nel loro progetto uno scopo. Ci sono tanti comprimari che fanno da cornice alle due protagoniste, anche se non mi è piaciuto per niente la vicenda con Jackson, l'ho trovata brutta, di cattivo gusto e anche superflua, visto che non ha apportato modifiche alla storia.
Mi è piaciuto addentrarmi nella storia con Stevie, perché lei come il lettore scopre la vita di Elsie poco per volta, facendosi inevitabilmente coinvolgere. L'ambientazione storica è accurata e si incastra bene con la storia ambientata nel presente (e poi io ho un debole per le love stories tra soldati/aviatori e infermiere).
Consiglio tanto questo romanzo perché riesce a coinvolgere e a trasportare in un altro tempo.

A split-time WWII/modern era story that had nurses, historians, nursing home carers, and all kinds of interesting characters - I enjoyed both time periods of the story equally and did not want to put the book down so that I could get back to whichever I wasn't currently reading.

This is a lovely heartwarming story. Set in a modern day care home that was previously a hospital during the Second World War, The Book of Lost letters is a gem. The main characters are two strong women who though, separated by 80 odd years are very similar. Elsie is a nurse in WWII with an idea to help her patients share their love and keep their memories for their families should they not return from active service. Told through a dual time, Stephanie is a care assistant in the care home who comes across the memory book.
This is a touching story which deals with some quite sensitive issues. Many thanks to #NetGalley for my copy of this book. I would give it 3⭐️

The cover of the book reminded me of the book " The Book of Lost Names" and I was thinking it going to be another quite similar to that book. But although it was set in the war time, the story was completely different. I really enjoyed reading. I really loved that the book was set in dual time.

Very interesting split timeline book that was done very well. Beautiful book that will tug at the heart strings and I felt bereft when it ended

Based on a true story, you get dual-timelines of Elsie in the 1940’s and Stevie in the present day. In this novel we jump between modern-day London with Stevie, an artist working as a care aid at her Nan’s home, and 1940s London with Elsie, a young nurse in the early days of the Blitz. When Stevie meets historian Finn at Tall Trees, her grandmother’s care home, she becomes invested in uncovering a story from the past with ties to the present. Barrett’s novel switches between the story of Nurse Elsie Watson, who created a scrapbook to help capture the last messages of those in her care during the Blitz, and Stevie.

The characters really come alive in this book and though it was hard to imagine such a time, it had me sucked right in. I loved the idea behind the “book” of last letters that Elsie came up with in hopes to give others an outlet to write their thoughts down or messages to loved ones in their time of uncertainty and emotion.

I particularly love the authors style of writing. She is able to swap from different eras with fluid writing. I love the characters, the friendships and how different characters are able to support each other but not in a predictable way.

I was ever so slightly disappointed, as I would have loved the end of Elsie’s story to play out in the 1940’s, rather than the reader be told what happened from a modern day perspective.

Poignant and full of heart, this is a beautiful read about love, kindness and impossible choices.

LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!

Elsie is a nurse in London during WWII. As she is caring for injured and dying patients, she decides to create a book for soldiers to write memories and messages to loved ones in case they don't return.  While creating this book, she falls in love with an airman, while simultaneously trying to evade a stalker, and come to terms with her mercy killing of her best friend.  After the bombing of the hospital, Elsie disappears, and it's unclear what happened to her.
Present Day, after her brother steals from her and ends up in jail, Stephanie is defeated. She gives up her passion for art and takes a job as a caregiver at a nursing home. While there, she meets Finn, a professor, who is there to discover the history of the nursing home which was formerly a hospital during the war.  Stephanie begins working on a mural for the city and due to its historical nature, she finds herself being drawn into Elsie's story and working closely with Finn to discover the truth of what happened, at the same time that someone else seems to want to keep the truth hidden.

I absolutely adore books with interwoven timelines.  This was absolute perfection.  As Elsie's story slowly unfolds, we simultaneously see the similarities between her life and Stephanie's, and the truth behind Elsie's disappearance.

I would give this book 1,000 stars if I could.  Kerry Barrett is a genius!

A brilliant book spanning the war years and present day. When a book of memories, notes, messages and pictures are gathered during WW2 from the patients and staff in a hospital little did they know that a secret it holds will have and effect on those in the present day. An art history project unearths stories from the past that need to be put to bed in the present.

A fantastically crafted story which I had trouble putting down. I love these time slip novels and this one did not disappoint. You need to read it as I am not letting on any secrets about this book. You need to read it for yourself.

This was a lovely read. It was an Interesting snapshot of the blitz and what it was like working in those conditions, coupled a modern story and the interplay between these timelines was well handled. I enjoyed it a lot.

Amazing read!!! I could not put it down. Such a wonderful story with really likable characters. A story of love, pain, companionship and hope that came from the tragedy of the Blitz. I will recommend this to everyone as a story of real warmth and intrigue.

I have been a fan of Kerry’s work for a while now. I love the way in which she writes such emotional and memorable historical fiction. I read the synopsis for ‘The Book Of Last Letters’ and it certainly appealed to me. So without further ado, I grabbed a cup of tea, grabbed my Kindle and settled down for what proved to be an emotional afternoon of reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Book Of Last Letters’ but more about that in a bit.
It took me no time at all to get into ‘The Book Of Last Letters’. In fact by the time I got to the end of the first page I knew that I was reading something special and that I would find it difficult to switch off from the story. I was right on both counts. To say that reading ‘The Book Of Last Letters’ became addictive is a bit of an understatement. I would pick the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters but I would become so wrapped up in the lives and loves of the characters and the story that I would still be sat there reading half a dozen chapters or so later. This book stayed in my mind whether I had my Kindle in my hand or not. If I wasn’t reading the book, I was thinking about the story. If I had to put the book down for any reason then I would immediately look forward to being able to pick the book up again. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘The Book Of Last Letters’ and I had to say goodbye to the characters. I found ‘The Book Of Last Letters’ to be an emotional but beautiful story, which held my interest throughout and which certainly kept me guessing.
‘The Book Of Last Letters’ is brilliantly written and the story is beautifully told but then I have come to expect nothing less from Kerry Barrett. Kerry has a writing style that is easy to get used to and easy to get along with. She grabs the reader’s attention from the start and draws them into what proves to be one hell of a story. The story is written using a dual timeline – the first timeline deals with events as they happened at a certain hospital during the fairly early days of the Second World War and the second timeline focusses on events as they happen in the present day. The two timelines interlink really well and the story flows seamlessly as a result. Kerry clearly cares about her characters and this shines through in the very vivid and realistic way in which she describes them. She makes her characters seem just as real as you and I. I did feel as though I was on a bit of an emotional rollercoaster ride whilst reading this story with all the ups and downs, twists and turns and so on.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Book Of Last Letters’ and I would recommend this book to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Kerry’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

Omg finally a historical fiction book with alternating timelines, where both stories are excellent. Chefs kiss. We follow elsie in the Early 1940s during the height of the blitz. And in present day we follow Stevie.
I love this book, it was both heartwrenching but at the same time uplifting. You Will fall in love with the characters. You Will laugh with them, you Will cry with them... i highly recommend this book.
Thank you to netgalley for letting me read this e arc in exchange for an honest opinion