This is an extremely sentimental, angsty self-growth, and self-explanatory story of Constance Sparks, who finally finds the sparkling magic of love in the least expected place. It's a compelling, inspirational women's fiction that teaches one to love oneself and stop weightlifting the tragic burdens of the past. However, I honestly didn't find it as magical as the author's first novel, even though there's a hint that Constance corresponds with a war hero's spirit, which helps her confront her predicaments, but you can sense the identity of the person who's writing back to her from the beginning.

Constance gave up pursuing her dream of becoming a veterinarian after her father's conviction for second-degree murder. To help her father's case, she becomes a paralegal, just like her best friend Mars, who also comes from a tragic family background and procrastinates her own dreams to get rooted in an office job.

To compensate, Constance spends her spare time at an animal shelter supporting devoted animal lover Trudy while listening to snarky comments from Trudy's handsome doctor son, Ellis. She seems to have found happiness with her boyfriend, Hayden, whom she's been dating for eight months. He asks her to marry him, but there are red flags since Constance hasn't met his family yet, and Hayden refuses to talk about the death of his sister. Constance decides not to push further because she also hides that her father is alive and in jail.

But when she learns more about the value of the engagement ring, and Mars uncovers more secrets about Hayden, she weighs the pros and cons and confronts him. She's also intrigued by the history of her engagement ring, which leads her to the library to research the ring's first owner, World War I hero James V. Edwards, and his letters written to his sister, Olivia. Constance is deeply touched by his words and decides to write a note containing her doubts about her relationship with Hayden and the burdens of her past. The second time she returns to the library to continue her reading, she realizes there's a letter written to her, answering her questions and advising her on a path she can follow. Did the spirit of James already hear her and write back to her? Their vivid, emotional correspondences help Constance be brave, fight against her insecurities, and open her heart to true love.

Overall, in the beginning, I wanted to scream at Constance's face to stop thinking very little of herself! She kept doing what she was told, forgetting the meaning of the word "no," and always putting others first. In the second half of the book, she finally learns to stand up for herself, but it took me some time to connect with her. I found her love story too angsty for my taste, and her trust issues turned into a repetitive cycle, which irritated me a lot. Nevertheless, I took a deep breath after reading the satisfying conclusion.

I'm rounding up my 3.5 stars to 4 stars! It's a poignant, inspiring, self-exploratory, and honest romance.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing for sharing this heartfelt book's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.