It took me so long to get through this book. I considered DNF'ing multiple times but pushed through. I found Joan to be one of the most unlikeable characters that I have ever read. She was so incredibly manipulative. The author did a great job of writing her character though. I just could not stand the way she treated the people around her. The storyline didn't hold my interest very well. I think it could have been trimmed down and might have been more entertaining then.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and really loved the main character, Joan. She was very complex, real, and served as a reinder that our decisions have far reaching impacts. I really enjoy stories where the main character is flawed and layered.

Overall I enjoyed this book. The story was based on a real letter discovered by the author. It was well written and if you enjoy historical fiction, I recommend adding this to your tbr.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

After having read the book, I understand the title, but I also don’t feel like it fits with everything else going on in the story. It almost feels like a working title that just stayed because there was not a better idea pitched.

Otherwise, it was an interesting story to read.

I read this book as a bookclub pick for the @getredbookclub and it was a fabulous book to discuss and here the author’s inspiration straight from the source.
This novel is a riveting work of historical fiction spanning from 1918 through the 1970s. The main character, Joan Dumann is complicated, life throws challenges her way but she is not the heroine to meet them all graciously - at times I did not find her very likable. But I found her compelling nonetheless. For my taste she did not reflect on the impact her actions had on others enough but she was a well built character whose backstory and timeline made her actions quite understandable. Eileen Brill’s portrayal of her striving for a self determined life in light of society's restrictions on women at the time was very engagingly done. Look into this one if you enjoy historical fiction with an eye on women’s history ! With it being set Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Arkansas and Oklahoma it may even have parts in your neck of the woods …

A Letter in the Wall by Eileen Brill

"Author Eileen Brill has created a character who you will like, question, not like, want to yell at, and finally feel bad for. Joan is like a friend that seems to keep making bad choices. Well-written, interesting, and a story about choices."-Books and Pens on Green Gables

Do you ever look back at your life and wonder if you had taken a different path, where you would be today? That's what A Letter in the Wall is all about.

If Joan had mailed the letter after summer camp.
If she hadn't been in a rush to get married.
If she had not invited a guest into their home.
If she had paid more attention.
If she had listened more.

How could Joan's life have been different? It seems she was always searching to be happy. Did she ever find happiness?

A great book. You'll have LOTS of feelings about the main character, Joan, and the choices she makes!
Available now!

I love that A Letter in the Wall was inspired by a real event in the author’s life. This book details the life of Joan, from her childhood to the end of his life.

Joan is not a very likable or sympathetic character. While reading, felt a lot of secondhand embarrassment for her. She is not someone that learns from her mistakes and she never redeems herself.

I think I would have enjoyed this one more if there was a primary part of her life that the story focused on. I never felt truly invested in the book.

Thank you Spark Press and Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Letter in the Wall by Eileen Brill is a captivating story that left me wanting to find a letter in my wall!

The main character in this book is Joan and the book has a timeline from 1918 to the 1970's. This is a historical fiction based on the real events of the author Eileen who does indeed find a letter in her wall. I appreciated the author note that stated this was the inspiration for Joan's story.

Joan is a complicated, complex and flawed character who seemed to want more from her life. I would describe her as manipulative and always plotting her next move.

The history spanned so many different events in the US it was very interesting. The 1918 Flu pandemic, the Great Depression, and Vietnam it was exciting to read these events through Joan's perspective.

There is a bit of a mystery here as Joan thinks that someone wants her dead. I won't give away too many details about that though. I enjoyed this book; it was a very unique premise. I look forward to more books by this author.

I liked the concept and plot of the book and the author’s note about the inspiration for the novel. However, I found it difficult to relate to the writing. I finished the book, but I really couldn’t engage with any of the characters.

I loved that this book was inspired by an actual letter found in a wall and how the author brought Joan to life. I didn’t always find Joan to be a likable person, a lot of the decisions she made I didn’t agree with, so it was hard to connect with her at times for the way she treated people. However, I still could not put this book down. It was very well written and enough happened that I never knew what Joan would do next. I was expecting a little more about the letter found but I loved how the ending was all wrapped up. Can’t wait to see what’s next for this author.

Thank you @eileengracebrill @getredprbooks and @suzyapprovedbooktours @netgalley for the gifted copy and my spot on the tour!

𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴!

What a great story, if you like Historical Fiction, Coming-of-age stories, strong female characters and mystery this book is for you. I loved that the story was inspired on a real character, it made the story fascinating.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours and Get Red PR for this gifted copy.

A Letter in the Wall by Eileen Grace Brill releases May 24, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴!

What a great story, if you like Historical Fiction, Coming-of-age stories, strong female characters and mystery this book is for you. I loved that the story was inspired on a real character, it made the story fascinating.

Thank you Suzy Approved Book Tours and Get Red PR for this gifted copy.

A Letter in the Wall by Eileen Grace Brill releases May 24, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

𝘈 𝘓𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘭𝘭 releasing on May 24, 2022 is the the Debut novel of Eileen Brill.
⠀
The author was inspired in writing this book in 2007, when she found a letter in the wall written in another time and the story of Joan begins. Written throughout most of the 20th century, Joan was the misunderstood “hysterical” woman at that time when emotions were never to be shown.
⠀
It’s 1971, and Joan fears her former business partner wants her dead—but she’s more upset about being disrespected than scared of dying. Joan, who was born
into a wealthy Philadelphia Quaker family in 1915,reflects on the circumstances that led to her predicament in this fascinating novel that spans from the 1918 influenza pandemic to Prohibition to Vietnam.
⠀
Throughout the book, Joan challenges the norms of women at the time, often resulting in self-destructive tendencies. Ultimately, she must face her past and the decisions she has made to become the woman she wants to be.
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A great historical fiction debut with a side of murder that kept me turning the pages!
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Thank you @suzyapprovedbooktours @eileengracebrill for the gifted book.

Unfortunately I put this one down halfway through. I felt the story was a bit repetitive of the mains characters moves and I got bored of reading about it as well as a bit turned off by it .

Based on a real letter discovered in a wall in a Pennsylvania home, Eileen Brill creates a back story for Joan, the author of the letter.

1971: Joan fears for her life. Her shady business partner does not look kindly to what he deems as Joan’s meddling. He sees her purely as a revenue source, a silent partner. Joan on the other hand is tired of hiding behind a man, and is ready to make decisions financial and otherwise without approval first. This forward thinking does not sit well with her partner. As she hears a pounding at her door she frantically writes about the trouble she seems to have gotten herself into in case she turns up dead. She wants everyone to know it was murder.

Raised in an affluent Quaker household, Joan never quite fit in. She had a strained relationship with her father, constantly striving for his approval, which dictated several decisions she made throughout her life. She married the man her father would approve of, and found life as a stay at home mother lacking. Extra marital affairs seemed to be a problem, again seeking some sort of satisfaction she could never quite find from the current life she lived. Finally she found some stability in Kyle Dunmann, but when he passes she is back to her self destructive ways.

I had trouble staying interested in this novel, as Joan was not a particularly likable character. The way she treated her children made me cringe. She obviously struggled with postpartum depression, which I was sympathetic to, but her inability to respect the sanctity of marriage frustrated me. She was impulsive and reactive to every problem in her path regardless of how it affected others, but she wasn’t so awful as to be villainous. She was a complex character for sure, but I struggled to care when she made so many poor choices that didn’t just affect her, but also her children.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sparkpress, and of course Eileen Brill for the advanced copy. A Letter in the Wall comes out on May 24th. All opinions are my own.

I enjoy stories where finding a letter leads to the unraveling of an entire story. This book was good, but it didn’t catch my attention like some others. Maybe the times felt a little too familiar (the letter writer was alive during the 1918 pandemic). It was well written and I would recommend someone who likes historical fiction pick it up and see if the story is the right one for them! Thanks NetGalley for letting me review!

The concept of this book is very intriguing. Eileen Brill found a letter in her wall and proceeded to research to find out who Joan was, what led to the letter she found, and what her life was like.

Although Ms. Brill was unable to find out many details about Joan, she created a fictional story about what could have been based on the small details she was able to unearth.

I felt that the story was intriguing, but was distracted by many errors in regards to the timing of the story. These were minor (such as going to an IHOP before IHOP was founded, using 'jerk' as a description before it's time and so forth), but I did find myself questioning items going forward and looking things up for validity while reading.

The characters are interesting, but at times descriptions or details feel pushed in order to make a point.

I did feel for Joan and her family, so the author did her job in pulling me into the story.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for a copy of the ebook in exchange for an honest review.
#aletterinthewalleileenbrillbooks #NetGalley

I received this an ARC through Netgalley. A Letter in the Wall is a work of fiction inspired by the real life of Joan Dumann. The author Eileen Brill, really did find a letter in her wall addressed to Norman from Joan. Joan does not have the easiest start to her life. Her mother dies of the Spanish Flu and her father moves them into a house with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Joan never feels like she fits in and is accepted for who she is, always living in the shadow of her cousin Mary and never really getting her father's approval. This all starts the path that Joan finds her life on for the rest of her life.

Joan's life as a younger mother I believe reflects more women out there than many would think. Trying to find yourself, trying to win approval from parental figures, being the "good girl" but never really feeling like it. Getting into a marriage believing it is what will save you from your current circumstances only to put you in different ones, not always better. A Letter in the Wall does an excellent job exploring the limited opportunities available to women in the early to mid 1900's.

What I find so fascinating about this book is that the author, Eileen Brill, by simply finding a letter in a wall, with a little research and a lot of imagination, has woven a tale for us about this complex but not only always likable woman.

Joan is a young Quaker that belongs to a rather prominent family in 1920s Pennsylvania. She is a frustrated and intelligent girl that has been greatly affected by her mother’s death during the 1918 Influenza pandemic. It is during a stay at summer camp that Joan meets a boy from New Jersey that she feels a connection with. When these feelings are not quite reciprocated, she writes a letter that she stashes away and never mails. Time passes and Joan meets and marries a kind man that has inherited his family’s furniture business. Their relationship is built on husband and wife working that family business together; where Joan feels a sense of value. When Joan gives birth to their daughter Barbara, she no longer remains part of the business and begins to feel isolated and under-valued as a stay at home mother. She yearns for a career and separate identity outside of the home. It is from this isolation and frustration that many self-destructive choices are made. Much of Joan’s story is in the consequences of those choices and their affect on her relationships.

I enjoyed the author’s creativity. A Letter in the Wall is a historical fiction novel that was inspired by a letter found by the author in the walls of her home. Eileen Brill weaves the few pieces of fact we know about Joan’s life with her imagination to create a novel about a woman’s life that spans from 1915 to the 1970s. Through Joan, the reader experiences the effect of many moments from history such as the Flu Pandemic of 1918, the Great Depression, and the Vietnam War. We also see a woman that feels frustrated and trapped in the social position of her gender. I was able to sympathize with Joan when she felt the weight of postpartum depression. But it was also difficult to invest in a character that was constantly making decisions that greatly affected others as well as herself. Joan may have been a complicated woman, but she was not likable. It was particularly frustrating to watch her parent her children. I can understand and remain sympathetic to depression, but it’s hard to experience so much resentment towards her children. For readers that enjoy attachment to their characters this may be difficult. But Brill’s writing, creativity, and character development should not be overlooked.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this novel. I greatly appreciate the author, publisher and NetGalley allowing me to do so.