I love Sarah's previous books so I was excited to read this latest novel and I loved it too! I like the crossover between current Pandemic times with historical war times and it was a very clever plot. The ending felt rushed (I really wanted to know what happened next) but I would still recommend it.

I thought the blurb sounds interesting but unfortunately, I couldn't initially connect with the characters. When I started reading, I thought this could be interesting - World War II combined with the pandemic and it was too a certain extent. The story is told through letters, texts, emails and diary entries which I found hard to follow. I found Cassie to be very needy and whiney; I thought Austin had lots of patience with her but Stuart wanted more than she could offer. Ruby became her penpal through her son, Noah's school. The relationship that builds between the two women is wonderful and I was surprised by the unexpected twist towards the end. A lovely story

This novel is written purely in letter/text/email/diary format. The communication is told from multiple points of view and it is a bit difficult to follow at first. I admit I was not a fan of the short texts and prefer longer methods of communication, but I realize it is there to be more realistic for this day and time. Once the story is set and you get accustomed to the writing style, an interesting plot unfolds.

Mostly following Ruby and Cassie, we uncover a decades-long story that intertwines with the present day. The historical fiction aspect was very captivating right from the prologue and on. The contemporary side of it was not as intriguing and I found it difficult to become invested in it. Either way, the historical dual-timeline makes for a very unique type of novel that readers may be interested to try. It also involves a twist that is heart touching! If you give this book a chance, be ready to stick through a very different writing style but a nice story overall.

I requested this book because the premise of it sounded really great! Honestly I just couldn’t get swept away. To be fair, I’m not a huge historic fiction reader but I just couldn’t get into it. If historical fiction is your thing, do it! It is slow in the beginning but once you gets out halfway it picks up.

This book was different to what I have read before , it’s about two characters writing to each other about their lives, struggled with the first few chapters but did enjoy the book which had a good story.
My thanks as always to Netgalley, and the publisher Bookouture for the early read for an honest review

As an avid reader of WWII books, I can honestly say I have never read a book like this one. The book is told through a series of letters, texts, emails and diary entries. Ruby is the connection between the WWII era storyline and the modern day storyline, where COVID has begun to creep in on everyday life. She writes a series of letters to Cassie, a mom who is hiding out in a caravan with her ill son during the early days of the pandemic. Admittedly, I wanted to close the book after the first section. Cassie was such an irritating character in my opinion, constantly whining and fretting (and this is coming from someone who was panicky, to say the least, at this stage of the pandemic.) I'm glad I stuck it out though because by the end, I really loved this book and Cassie grew on me as well.

Letters To a Stranger is a very enjoyable read. I must say it was a bit slow at the beginning and I didn't connect with the main characters immediately, but it picks up halfway through and I was very glad I stayed with Ruby and Cassie. I didn't read the full blurb before requesting the book, so I didn't expect the twist toward the end.

I recommend Letters To a Stranger to readers who enjoy historical fiction and writings about ordinary people who achieve something extraordinary.

Thank you to Sarah Mitchell for an enjoyable story, and to Bookouture and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Wow, what a wonderful book!
Set over a dual timeline - WW2 and the Covid pandemic, the book centres around Ruby and Cassie.
Brought together via a school letter writing initiative, they both open up to each other about their lives.
Cleverly told via diary entries, letters, texts and emails, I couldn’t put this book down and just wanted to know how both ladies were connected.
And the ending - just beautiful, it brought me to tears.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a creative historical fiction story. The formats the author used were through letters, texts and emails. The timeline was between the covid time, which was 2020 and back to the WW2 time in 1939.

Cassie and her son Noah moved from London to stay in a caravan. Remote area as to avoid from catching covid. Her son was ill and her partner in London, Stuart, was a dentist which had higher risk to catch covid.

Among the emails between caravan’s owner, Austin and Cassie, the relationship and atmosphere were created very well. From strangers to friends, to someone you expected to see.

The letters between Cassie and a new pen pal called Ruby, which was accidentally linked up by Noah’a school. Once they shared more, it disclosed the war time in England and about Italian in England during ww2.

I enjoyed reading the present and the past, which gave me a full story about the characters involved. The uniqueness and creativity here in the book were wonderful and fascinating.

Wonderful!

This was a beautiful story, mostly written in the form of correspondences between the main characters. Some texts, some emails but mostly handwritten letters, a forgotten art. Reading the missives and diary entries made me feel like I was part of the story. I got to know the characters inner thoughts and turmoil. I felt their happiness and their pain.

Set during Covid but spanning back to Germany’s fight with the UK and at Dunkirk, Ruby, Edmonds, Cassie, Austin and their families come alive in the pages. If you enjoy historical fiction this book is a must read!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

A beautiful book where the content consisting of emails, texts and letters.
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A unique way to tell a story with a dual timeline. I found this enjoyable.
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One story is set during Covid and deals with a mom who has a son that needs to be secluded from the virus. She leaves her boyfriend and ventures to a Caravan on the beach. Her boyfriend is not happy. Hard for a city girl, but it turns out to be the best thing for her and her son. She begins a unique texting relationship with the owner of the caravan.
💬✉️
The other storyline has the mother writing an elderly lady and they exchange letters and start sharing their lives. I don’t want to spoil has this came about, but loved this part of the story.
💬✉️
Towards the end you realize how these ladies are connected.

This book is out March 9, 2023. Thank you @Bookouture, @netgalley and author Sarah Mitchell for this advanced copy.

#netgalley, #letterstoastranger, #sarahmitchell, #bookouture, #bookreview, #bookstagram, #booksconnectus, #stamperlady50

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an e-ARC of this book.
This book tells the story of two women, Cassie and Ruby, during two time periods, the 2020 pandemic and World War II and it is entirely told in letters, emails, diary entries, and text messages.

As the whole world goes into lockdown in March 2020, Cassie fears for the health of her six-year-old son, Noah, who was recently ill and may be unable to withstand another bout of illness. She decides to spend lockdown in a small caravan in Norfolk, away from everyone she knows in London. When Noah’s school starts a pen pal program, where the children get to communicate with an elderly person in a nursing home, through letters, Cassie realizes that her son may be too young and too behind on his reading to take part in this program, and fearing that the woman assigned to him would be left out, she decides to write to her herself.

Ruby, the ninety-six-year-old woman, on the receiving end of Cassie’s letters, starts slowly opening up and sharing her life story, through letters and diary entries she has kept from the time of the war when she was just seventeen years old. Both women open up about their regrets about certain mistakes in their past, and through their communication, both their lives are forever changed.

This book took me by surprise. I thought the premise sounded interesting, but when I started it, it was a solid 4 stars throughout the first half. However, things really picked up in the second half and I was met with twist after twist that I just never saw coming. Everything fell into place and I was left in awe.

I love the idea of letters in books. I’ve always thought it to be a very creative way of telling a story. It’s been a while since I’ve read a whole book entirely in letter format, but this book is honestly a very good example of an excellent execution of this idea.

Another thing of note for this book is that, of course, it tackles the time of the pandemic and lockdown. I’ve been a bit hesitant to pick up books about that topic because the last one I read was really triggering for me. However, this book focuses on lockdown as being a blessing in disguise and despite the hardships of that time in all our lives, there were actually some life changing good things that came out of it.

A lovely, emotional story in letters. Set both in the depths of COVID and during WWII, it's the story of Ruby, Cassie. and the people they love. Cassie's young son Noah has just recovered from leukemia and she take him away from London to live in a caravan to protect him. A school letter writing campaign assigns Noah to write to the elderly Ruby but Cassie takes it on herself and Ruby, in response, opens up about her relationship with Edmundo, an Italian in the UK, While some novels in letters (and emails) are hard to follow this one is not- you will find yourself swept up. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A very good read.

Wow, what an incredible find.

As an avid letter reader – and writer – I knew this dual timeline epistolary tale would be perfect for me. What I did not fully realize when I picked up this book was that the modern timeline is set in the COVID era. As someone who lived in a crazy, authoritarian lockdown policy country at that time, I was not certain I was ready to revisit this period of collective insanity. If your views are similar, do not let that stop you – I’m so pleased I read this wonderful novel.

Cassie is in her twenties and mother to Noah. Terrified of the potential effects of COVID on her young, immunocompromised son, she flees London to a caravan rental along the sea. There, in her isolation with Noah during the early days of COVID, she begins correspondence with the boyfriend from whom she fled, the best friend who is avoiding her, her prickly mother, the gentle farmer-owner of the caravan, and, most importantly, Ruby, a ninety-six-year-old inhabitant of a nursing home.

This is a beautifully told tale that unfolds entirely in letters and journals, shedding light on both modern-day Cassie and a young Ruby, a brilliant and talented student who is in love with a fellow student of Italian origins during the lead-up to WWII - at a time when Italians are considered the enemy.

An emotional tale that touches upon family, love, loyalty, duty, uncertainty, betrayal and, ultimately, forgiveness. An absolute must-read novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

Dear Goodreads,

What a wonderfully unexpected gem! A book made up entirely of letters (and emails and texts, and diary entries)? I was doubtful at the start, particularly as much of the book is set during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is still a little fresh and feels odd to read about in a book. However, I shouldn’t have worries. This was a beautiful work of historical fiction, featuring a dual timeline in 1939/1940 and 2020.

Our main character is Cassie, who escapes London to the countryside with her young son Noah, who recently recovered from leukaemia. Her partner Stuart is a dentist and still has to see emergency patients, so she moves out of their house to reduce the risk of Noah catching COVID. The book alternates between the present and the past, once Cassie starts writing to a pen pal through a scheme set up by Noah’s school. Her nonagenarian pen pal, Ruby, sends Cassie her letters and diary entries from 1939 and 1940, which make up the ‘past’ chapters.

I learnt a lot about the treatment of Italians in the UK during WWII, and it’s truly shocking to know how Britain treated them solely because of their nationality. The ‘past’ follows Ruby through her diary entries and letters written to her from various others people, including her Italian boyfriend Edmondo.

All in all, this was an excellent work of historical fiction and the unusual format was unexpectedly enjoyable. It has now made me want to write letters to people rather than texting them, which is unfortunate since I’m also rather impatient.

Love,
Penelope

What a beautiful story about how a letter writing scheme turns into an unexpected and beautiful friendship.
“As letters fly between them, truths will be revealed. Truths with the power to either destroy their new friendship, or give both women the chance to change their lives forever.”
It took me a little while to get into the style of writing in the book. You will see that the whole book is in a letter only style.
Overall, a interesting and delightful read.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I enjoyed the memories of WWII but it was difficult to read exchanges about Covid. It is still very raw to me about how horribly Covid was handled. Government caused most of the negative effects from isolation and worthless rules. War was unavoidable for England.
Turning in your neighbor, whether for war or Covid rules goes contrary to how I operate. I want to have faith in people and sympathize with Ruby put in a place of betrayal.
Not knowing what people are doing in secret is unnerving especially in war time.
This book is set up with letters, texts, and email so there is a lot of back and forth.

Now this was such a uniquely written book that really charmed me, its sat in my head for days!

Told in dual timelines by two women who have been matched to start a New Best Friend letter scheme by chance, or is it?

Ever since I ever read my first ever diary formed book as a child (I'm sure we've all read it 😉) I've adored this writing format but this one took my breathe away!
I loved the fact that the past was all in letter form and the present was mainly texts and emails, just showing how life has changed in a relatively short amount of time.

It starts with Cassie and Noah in lockdown 2020, it glazes over the fact that Moah has been poorly and as his mum, Cassie will do anything and everything to keep him safe, even if that means leaving her home and boyfriend in London in the dead of night and travelling to Norfolk to stay in a caravan, breaking all lockdown rules.

Cassie recieves a letter for Noah from his Headmistress stating that as a Year 6 pupil he has been chosen to write to a resident of a care home but Noah is in Year 2, this must be a mistake.

Cassie takes it upon herself to write to the resident to explain but in doing so an unlikely friendship ensues. Ruby is 96 and has a lifetime of stories to tell... one in particular.

Ruby's story is based around World War II in 1940/41, whilst very different to the modern life we lead now it had similarities to Lockdown.

I won't go into any detail as it will definitely spoil the story BUT I will see this was so heartbreakingly beautiful to read with an amazing twist at the end that pulled at the heartstrings.

The characters are relatable, likeable in the most sense and fascinating, everything needed to grab hold of you from the very start.

Huge thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC.

"Letters to a Stranger" is an irresistible story of wartime love and heartbreak told thru two time periods, two women, letters received, diary entries, texts and email. 96-year-old Ruby shares her experience growing up during WWII while 28-year-old Cassie shares her fears and experiences of isolation during the 2020 pandemic.

A unique format, I found it initially hard to relate but then got drawn into the stories. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC.

This book was different, unique. Two characters writing to each other about their lives, or writing in a diary. I had a hard time getting too involved, especially with the style as it was only written letters or diary-style. But it's a good story, good writing, and I appreciate Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for allowing me to read and review.