This was an enjoyable and easy to read book that kept me interested until the end. Even though the ending was predictable, I still wanted to see how the author was going to tell the story and let the events play out.

An Inconvenient Letter was fine, if filled with a number of problematic plot points. (See below under the spoiler heading.) This is my third Julie Wright book and I’m guessing she is just not the author for me. I need to remember that the next time an advance reader copy with an intriguing plot description tempts me. I read an advance reader copy from Netgalley.

*spoilers*
Both the hero and his cousin Frederick are complete jerks; Gerard at least shows some growth, but plotting to marry an old friend for money and blackmailing her sister by holding on to the inconvenient letter aren’t very nice things to do. Why does Etta’s mother dislike her so? Why was Frederick so angry when he received the letter? When did Anne meet Mr. Seagram who so conveniently turned up in love with her and got her out of the picture with Gerard? And Miss Bates seemed to be playing multiple roles in the plot and not very consistently.

I am so thankful for Netgalley and allowing me to read this book. This book definitely had me up and down. I loved following Etta and seeing what had gone on with her secret letters. This was such a misfortune that her sister mailed them out, but why would Miss Etta address them to Fredrick in the first place?

Trying to go retrieve them had her running into an old friend from childhood that she did not expect to see again. But Gerald had other plans up his sleeve. Striking a bargain with Etta to pretend and court her but in the end Gerald wanted to court her sister while trying to help Etta catch Fredrick’s eye was the best plan in his mind.

In the midst of their pretending courting. Gerald started to catch feelings for Etta. But how would this story end?


This was such a cute book. I love the development that is shown between Etta and Gerald. The love, the heartache, the courting. It was perfect.

Must Read. Definitely makes me want to watch Bridgeton.

This was an enjoyable enough Regency-era romance. Will I sing its praises from the rooftops? Probably not. There were some pretty big plot holes, but I enjoyed reading the characters and their fake-dating trope. I liked the intrigue of the blackmailing, the slow burn between love interests, and the setting.

To be quite honest, I did enjoy this book. It was a relatively quick read that featured a trope that I love. The two main characters were a bit slow on the uptake, but it works out in the end. There’s no spice, but the back and forth is enough to make you okay with them just ending up together.

The weird thing about reading ARCs months before the book is supposed to be published is that you have to wonder what really stops an author from fixing the plot holes in the story and effectively nullifying your review, especially in this digital age. Because there were somethings that the author probably has enough time to fix.

I will give the author that she made the attempt to resolve all of her plot points, but a few of them needed to be better expounded upon. The issue with Mrs. Stone being so harsh with Etta was not resolved in a satisfying fashion for the amount of weight it was given in the story. I got the feeling Mrs. Stone hated Etta. I legitimately kept waiting for someone to say that Etta was adopted or her father’s love child.

Mrs. Stone seemed to know Etta and Mr. Hartwell would fall out, and that’s also never explained. It makes Mrs. Stone’s paltry explanation as to why she treated Etta the way she did even worse.

Miss Bates also seemed to know about the letter, but it’s not explained why, so we’re supposed to assume that Freddie told her everything. And that’s an okay conclusion, but their relationship is left unresolved, so the idea that Freddie told Miss Bates about Gerard’s situation makes Freddie look extra childish.

As I said before, I enjoyed this book for what it was. Plot holes aside, I think it’s a good addition to the Fake Romance trope, if not the Regency Romance subgenre.

I’m more of a regency tv show/movie fan than books, but I liked the plot of this book and decided to give it a shot. Marietta aka Etta is dismayed to see that letters she addressed but didn’t intend to send to a childhood friend named Frederick have been delivered to his house. In her attempt to get them back, she is blackmailed by his cousin Gerard to help him win over her older sister, Anne.

Gerard and Etta have a fun and easy banter with each other, and you can see them slowly falling in love and abandoning any previous hopes of being with another. It was a nice read that didn’t take long for me to finish.

Thanks as always to NetGalley for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. This book was such a fun read. A historical romance where the two main characters pretend to court in order to catch the eye of others, but end up falling in love. A great quick and easy read. If you enjoy historical romances, you will enjoy this book.

"An Inconvenient Letter" by Julie Wright is a lighthearted read, even though blackmail drives much of the plot. With mothers behaving badly after what is now called "The Great Catastrophe", best friends Marietta Stone and Lucy Finch are forbidden to associate.

Lovely heroine Marietta learns the hard way that some thoughts should NEVER be committed to paper. Predictably, her words fall into the wrong hands, childhood friend Gerard Hartwell's, in fact. Using this as an opportunity to further his own goals, he chooses to manipulate the 17-year-old girl. As a reader, I generally enjoy a fake courting to true love plot device. However, what is essentially blackmail I found distasteful. The characters are young, though, and their behavior proves it. Gerard displays great character growth, a welcome, if rather late, development.

Anne and Etta Stone, along with Lucy Finch are charming young ladies, who are oddly more mature than their mothers. Along with Gerard, a mean girl (this mature reader actually likes them), and the shallow Frederick Finch complete the young group. Moments of levity are interspersed throughout this short novel.

Wright has a lovely way with words. I've read two of her previous works, "A Captain for Caroline Gray" and "Windsong Manor", and they were both delightful stories. This particular book will appeal more strongly to the young adult audience. It is clean and easy to follow.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC of this pleasing tale.

2.5 ⭐️

Let me preface this by saying this story wasn’t bad or terrible or anything of the sort. It merely wasn’t my cup of tea, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. 🙂

What will you find?
•scandal
•drama
•fake dating (regency style)
•a love triangle
•a family feud worthy of the Capulets & Montagues
•childhood friends
•sweet sister relationships

While I never felt truly invested in the story or in the characters, there were some comedic & some sweet moments. And if you like Marianne Dashwood type female main characters, you’ll enjoy Etta’s story.


*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book. I was not required to write a positive review. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC of An Inconvenient Letter. What a great read and enjoyable book.

I highly recommend the story for a great beach read or to decompress. Cute story about a young lady who puts her words on paper and now she needs to make sure no one sees them.

I will plan on looking for more stories by Julie Wright.

I just reviewed An Inconvenient Letter by Julie Wright. #AnInconvenientLetter #NetGalley

An Inconvenient Letter is an easy to read and enjoy Regency romance, set in the English countryside.

Marietta Stone, Etta to her friends, has an unrequited infatuation with neighbor, Frederick Finch, and she pours out her feeling in three letters to him, that are intended to remain with her. Accidentally, the letters are sent and Etta is able to retrieve all but one. One letter is retrieved by Frederick’s broke cousin, Gerard. From this one inconvenient letter, the story evolves into deception, courtship, family dilemmas and ultimately romance.

The main characters, Etta and Gerard are well developed and likable. You can’t help rooting for them to get together. Frederick is shown as a bully and opportunist. Central to the story is Etta’s sister, Anne, quiet, unassuming and reserved. The complete opposite of Etta. Other supporting character are mostly unlikeable, with the exception of Gerard’s mother, whose strength and common sense is slowly unveiled.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the complimentary ARC, opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Rating: 3,5 stars

Generally talking, this was a fairly good read.

The plot is pretty simple: Marietta (Etta) Stone, a seventeen-year-old girl, has been infatuated with her neighbor and best friend’s brother, Frederick Finch, for the longest time. To express all her repressed feeling, she decides to write about them in love letters she never means to send to him.
Suddenly, one of them ends up in the hands of Freddie’s cousin, Gerard Hartwell, twenty years old, the boy she played with when they were children, and who is now on the brink of poverty because of his deceased father. Mr. Hartwell makes her a deal: if she assists him with getting the attention and affection of her sister, Anna Stone, he’ll help her be noticed by his cousin. Only after their deal is closed, whether the result is the one they wish or not, he will render her letter.
They wind up fake dating, but it all becomes more complicated once they both realize their friendship is slowly turning into something more.

The language used is thought to be like the XIX century one, but the book is easy to read, which makes me believe the author meant for it to be read by a younger audience (+12). The complete lack of more mature and problematic content confirms my belief.

The story is narrated by a third person narrator, whose point of view alternates between Etta’s and Gerald’s.

The characters are well defined: Etta’s courage and compassion is clearly recognized by other characters, just like her later developed tendency to defiance. On the other hand, Anna’s kind and more introverted nature is exposed by Etta since the beginning of the narration.

The duality of Frederick’s perception is plainly shown thanks to the two different POVs: Etta, at least at the early chapters of the novel, sees him as flawless, her prince in shining armor who could save her from her severe mother, while Gerard offers a more objective description of him. Freddie, despite his energetic and well-behaved personality, is self-centered and always looking for a new source of amusement, and he doesn’t really wonder whether his actions can hurt someone’s feelings. He is, undoubtedly, the most complex character of the novel.

Gerald’s well-meaning disposition, instead, is openly put on display for the reader to notice. His lack of judgment can be considered his weak point: he doesn’t consider his mother strong enough to tell her about their new financial situation and he doesn’t consider how the deal he proposed to Etta is actually a form of blackmail.

All taken into consideration, the novel strong points are its MFC and that it is well organized, enough to keep the reader entertained and curious about what is going to happen next. Although it is not extremely emotionally engaging, it does not greatly impact the quality of the book, since it is thought as more of a formation novel.

On the other hand, what I didn’t enjoy the most was the complete ingenuity attributed to Gerald about the whole blackmail ordeal: since he is described as a very attentive man, it comes a bit unrealistic to me that he doesn’t realize the profound injustice of his proposition towards Etta, who is inevitably forced into a state of perpetual anxiety and alert.

I also didn’t appreciate how the evolution of the main characters’ feelings towards each other is described. There is no gradual progression to it: when the moment of realization comes, it provokes a radical change of feelings for them.

To sum up, the novel is good: Etta’s incredible personality is the main reason behind it, but also the funny plot and basic language (which makes the story fast and easy to read) contributes to it.
Recommended read for a younger audience!

the way i can describe ‘an inconvenient letter’ is ‘to all the boys i loved before’ meets ‘pride and prejudice’ — love letters sent to crushes that aren’t meant to be sent, a period romance, a strong sisterly bond at the forefront.

the lead character, etta, is incredibly likeable. she’s headstrong and determined, with a fierce protective streak. and while i enjoyed reading her fall in love with gerard, her love for her sister is just as key a storyline and just as important.

it’s a cozy, quick read with a fast paced romance and likeable surrounding characters. (some are unlikeable too — but they are meant to be! it’s okay!) i recommend this one a lot.

Overall, I liked this book. There are several tropes that have been done before, (accidentally sent letter, fake courting, lying to everyone), but they were still done pretty well and had a fresh story. I think the overall tone was NICE, but not overall swoony or romantic. It was fairly predictable but that didn't stop me from enjoying the story. The friendship between Etta and Gerard developed nicely but it seemed more just that- just a friendship. It seemed kind of like a sudden leap to love and a fairly quick ending. Also, as it always does, truth has a way of coming out and I felt like Gerard got the brunt of the blame for blackmailing Etta and trying to get something from her, even though she was supposed to get something out of the bargain as well. I like that Gerard can see Etta's value even when others dismiss her and see her for who she truly is.

I absolutely loved this gem by Julie Wright! I was rooting for the main characters the entire time and willing them to stop being so obtuse! I loved the way the conflict was resolved and I loved the ending. It was the just right book for me!

I enjoyed this historical romance book set in 1828 a lot! It was definitely predictable, but I flew though it even though I am in an annoying reading slump. Overall, it was a fun and fast, even if predictable, historical romance book that I think many would enjoy.

In a bid to get over her love for her neighbour Frederick Finch, Marietta Stone writes him three letters. Letters which are never intended to be sent - but, of course, her sister accidentally puts them with the other items for posting...This triggers a series of events that entertains through to the end and this is certainly a page-turner. The strength of this book lies in its cast of well-drawn and engaging characters, primarily Marietta (or Etta as she likes to be called) and Frederick's cousin, Gerard Hartwell, who are both very likeable and it is nice to see them both mature and gain in self-assurance as the story develops. Several of the secondary characters, like Marietta's sister, Anne, are also nicely drawn.

First off, thank you for allowing me to be one of the first readers of this adorable new story! This is my first book review, so please take it with a grain of salt.

Pros:
Although the plot was predictable, I always enjoy a fake dating > true love trope. I thought it was especially interesting that Etta and Gerard were childhood friends and got to reconnect through this unusual situation. One thing that really endeared Gerard to me was the fact that he remembered so many details of Etta as a child (her favorite soup, the time she saved a bird, her courage and compassion). I think the only thing I would have enjoyed more is if he had been secretly in love with her as a child and resigned himself to never have her because she was in love with Frederick.

I also loved that Etta was “not like other girls” in the way that she had a mind for business and running an estate. The relationship between Etta and her father helped the reader to understand that she was raised almost as a tomboy and could speak her mind and stand her ground better than other women of the time. But that didn’t detract from her maintaining her compassion and charm.

My favorite character was Gerard’s mother. She was so understanding and level-headed. She was a great foil for the other mothers in the story and her characterization helped the reader better understand how Gerard got his usually even temperament.

Cons:
I might market this book as a “cozy” historical romance because the plot was so predictable and the stakes were so low that readers who might want a little action would be disappointed. I thought for sure there was going to be an injury while horse racing that would require Etta or Gerard to take care of the other (thus bringing them closer romantically). Or maybe the mothers would scheme a little harder to try to break up the couple and match them with their intended targets. But other than Frederick receiving the letter, there were very few dramatic points in the story and it came off a little boring.

I know that this is a clean/sweet romance, but I didn’t really feel the chemistry between Etta and Gerard. They truly seemed like good friends, but I would have loved a few more almost kisses, longing stares, or hand brushes to help solidify the romance.

My least favorite character was Frederick, but not for the reason you might suspect. I think Frederick could have been more heavily vilified. His character was just a bit confused and I wasn’t sure how the reader was supposed to view him. I think he would have been more compelling if he was the outright villain from Gerard’s perspective (always taking Gerard’s things as a child and being a bit more of a rake as an adult). I did like how he and Gerard had a brotherly relationship and reunited before the wedding, but I felt that his motivations were never clear enough.

Overall, I thought this was a pleasant and well-written book. I think Julie Wright’s readers and fans of this genre will enjoy the story. I gave the book three stars because, while it didn’t stand out to me, I was entertained while reading and would recommend it to someone who likes a sweet, low stakes historical romance.

I loved this book. I loved Etta. She was a girl who had the innocence of youth and the brightness of hope in her strong character. This is what I call a strong female character. Not someone who feels like they know it all or has to abase others. But someone who has fire and passion and who doesn’t hurt others to show it. But showers others with that love through her passion. She loved her sister and she saw value and wisdom in Gerard.

I loved seeing Gerard grow in this book. He was Etta’s match. He had to come to a lot of understandings and realizations to finally get his HEA. But I would say I liked him just as fiercely as Etta.

I would have liked to have more background with Etta’s parents. Her mother seemed like a shrew but yet she said she married for love but her father was hiding or handling her mother with kid gloves more often than not. That confused me. I would have liked to have known what started as love and then ended at cringing at each other.

However, this book was wonderful. I read it in one night so it’s a book I couldn’t put down. Highly recommend reading,

A great story with strong characters. Etta, a non conformist female for the era was delightful. And the MMC that can embroider better than she? Fantastic! All were strongly developed, and I felt myself booing and hissing in my mind as if I were watching a melodrama.
This had some fun tropes- fake relationship, 3rd act breakup, rich/poor, and HEA, which are made even more delightful since it's a regency.
I enjoyed it as a light and quick read - nothing better than finishing a book with a smile on your face.
Thank you Shadow Mountain for a copy of the book for my opinion.