Lovely period story about young love and hate. Feuding families expect their children to continue on spewing hate towards a family they were once in business with. Refusing to follow along a friendship develops between the youngest members of the families. Drama, mystery, Love, and adventure are all key parts of this Romeo and Juliet-ish tale. Very early this book had me hooked. The “Letter Tree” has a mysterious way of bringing people together.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. It was a solid performance. I did not like the narrators voice. It seemed forced and fake. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone into historical fiction.

This was my first Rachel Fordham novel and I loved it! Plenty of vivid imagery and a flowing story line. A great spin off Romeo & Juliet.

Mere words can’t end their families’ feud, but the Campbell heir and the Bradshaw heiress plan to write a future together. Buffalo, NY, 1924 Laura Bradshaw adores stories with happily ever afters. But since her mother died seven years ago, the Bradshaw Shoe Company heiress has been as good as locked away in a tower. Her overbearing father cares little for her dreams, throwing himself instead into his tireless takedown of his competitor, the Campbell Shoe Company. However, Laura has been gifted with a a mysterious friend with whom she’s been exchanging letters. As heir to the Campbell Shoe Company, Isaac Campbell is a sought-after bachelor who has never felt an inkling of desire for the women who constantly bat their eyes at him. His thoughts are consumed by an oak tree in the Buffalo Zoo—or rather, the mystery woman he exchanges letters with courtesy of the tree. She’s been one of Isaac’s only joys in a life consumed by his father’s tireless hatred of Bradshaw. A hatred that, Isaac is coming to realize, may affect him more personally than he ever imagined. When Laura’s father orchestrates a match between her and an important business owner, she resolves to pursue her only chance at freedom. But Isaac believes their story isn’t bound for a tragic ending. He’s certain there’s more to the Bradshaw-Campbell feud than meets the eye. And he won’t stop digging until he uncovers the truth that might bridge the divide between him and the woman whose words have captured his heart.

I adored this book with it’s Romeo and Juliet meets You’ve Got Mail vibes.

After the death of her mother, Laura writes a poem expressing her feelings and places it in the nook of a tree. However, when she goes back a few days later to retrieve the paper, she finds a reply letter instead. Laura and her mysterious pen pal keep exchanging letters for the next seven years forming a close friendship. But there’s one rule: they must not share their names.

This is a story of a secret friendship turned into forbidden love. I loved the 1920s New York setting and all the descriptions of the decade including fringe dresses, prohibition and the Brooklyn Zoo. This is a slower paced story but it flowed effortlessly. The letter writing was my favorite part of this story! I love the concept of two people falling in love over letters. With so many obstacles in their way, I loved how both main characters came together to solve the mystery over their feuding families.

This was such a tender and sweet story and one that I definitely recommend.
I also enjoyed the audiobook. The narrator did an excellent job portraying both main characters.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for both eARC and ALC. All opinions are my own.

A family feud between the Campbell and Bradshaw families, is tested when the son and daughter from opposing families want to have a future. Laura is the daughter of the owner of the Bradshaw Shoe Company and after her mother died she has been kept out of the public. She has other ideas and sneaks out to the Buffalo Zoo and works with the animals.

Issac whose family is the competitor with the Campbell Shoe Company is wanted to carve his own path and not follow in his the footsteps of his family. He finds letters at the oak tree of the zoo and starts exchanging letters with a mysterious woman and he is enchanted.

Laura’s father is having her courted and she is not thrilled. She is much more interested in the gentleman she shares letters with.

I absolutely loved this novel. Full of hope, love and creating your own path in life. Do these two find their way and stop the feud between the families? Do they know they whom they are actually writing letters too?

This was a very sweet & wholesome book! I liked the setting and time period of this book. Very timeless storyline (a la romeo and juliet), whilst being original and unique.

This was the perfect stroll through 1920s history, with characters and situations I will long remember. Isaac and Laura are star crossed due to a feud between their families, so must find their friendships elsewhere. But a tree in the zoo (which I LOVED reading about) served as the perfect place to stash her hopes and fears…until it began a years long correspondence with a unknown person. The mystery about the true reason for the split between the two families, the advent and intention of Abel, the travels they take…all served as the best backdrop for Laura and Isaac’s true love story to begin. The cast of supporting characters helped move the story forward and seasoned it to perfection. I was privileged enough to receive an advance copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley and listened to the audiobook as well, and was under no obligation to provide a positive review.

4.0

Let’s get this out-of-the-way right now. “The Letter Tree” uses the stories of the “Shop Around the Corner” or then “She Loves Me” or later “You’ve Got Mail”, mixed with the feuding families of “Romeo and Juliet”. Fortunately, without the tragedy. Yes, that may be a spoiler, but you’ll survive (pun intended).

This is a sweet story taking place in the early-to-mid-20s, between the horrific periods of the world at war and the financial crisis leading to the Great Depression. It doesn’t however escape Prohibition, which creates its own minor character a dichotomy against naïve Laura who is Rapunzel, basically trapped in her ivory tower.

For years after the death of her mother and the contentious and unexplained split of a multi-family shoe business, which led to her father's removal from everything not directly related to making money. It is only when she can be a potential pawn in a lucrative business deal, that he pays her any attention.

Simultaneously, for seven years, she has been exchanging letters with, oh my God who can believe it, but Isaac, the son of the other family of the now-rival shoe company, but without knowing it. Starting when she was an early teenager until 21, with neither making any attempts to learn specifics, let alone meet, they have traded letters via a hollow in a majestic maple tree once part of a public park but later within the expanded walls of the Buffalo Zoo, also an important character. It of course follows the storylines of its letter-writing predecessors, whichever one you choose. I am a “She Loves Me” fan personally.

Laura is practically pimped off to a man who seems like her way to some freedom but later becomes skeezy. As the story goes along, the two young people go from hating each other, writing each other with affection, and then the affection in person that supersedes the letters. Basically, it’s a cute story and one that pulls you in. I was playing it when my mother was in the car and she wanted to carry on listening from a speaker back at home instead of watching TV or doing anything else. That almost never happens. That’s about as good and endorsement as you can get. Don’t expect Pulitzer-Prize-winning material, but it really makes you wish you knew the Buffalo, New York at that time. Of course, I was off searching for historic photos of the city. The author does cover all of the similarities and differences in reality versus fiction in her author’s note afterwards. Verdict: Enjoyable!

The narrator also did a good job. She reached the bar of my mothers who said the male voices were well done, which is about as high a praise as one can get without being one of those British thespians creating a full cast of characters. Nobody can compete with those.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from NetGalley in exchange for providing an unbiased review.

The Letter Tree by Rachel Fordham - 5 Stars - AMAZING!

The Letter Tree by Rachel Fordham is a delightful and captivating story that effortlessly weaves together elements of a classic 1920s romance with a storyline that is perfect for lovers of You've Got Mail and Romeo and Juliet. At the heart of this book lies two characters - torn apart by their family feud many years ago. Laura Bradshaw and Isaac Campbell. They were childhood friends at one point but they were torn apart by circumstances unknown to them many years ago. All they know is the Bradshaws and the Campbells hate each other and are to not be seen together.

The twist of this tale comes when Laura and Isaac have been secretly exchanging letters together in the big tree in the Buffalo Zoo in New York for years. The one rule? Never to reveal each other's name to one another. It all started when Isaac found one of Laura's poems she wrote and put in the tree - so he wrote her back many years ago.

So, they have grown to care for one another through these letters, yet neither one know they are writing to the other. Perfect story for lovers of You've Got Mail! There's more then meets the eye to this old family feud....as things would have it, circumstances push them together, things start to be revealed and BOY do we have a GOOD story on our hands!

We have so much more to the story too as we see close friends and business partners that can't be trusted get involved in many business dealings with others and they try to figure that out as well with the help of a private investigator.

I absolutely ADORED this book. The audiobook narrator did a fabulous job and she really kept me immersed in the story. She does great male and female voices in my opinion. Mrs. Gaskin was such a mother figure to Laura - she needed that since she lost her mother when she was very young. I loved her so much and how she truly cared about her happiness as a mother would. I also loved how Isaac truly cared for Laura, he wanted to protect her and the letters were THE SWEETEST.

I think if you are someone who loves a good zoo setting in a book, stories with letter exchanges, the 1920s, Romeo and Juliet references, and just a beautiful clean romance - this is for you! I love Rachel's writing and can't wait to read more of her books. I am SO glad I preordered this because I will be recommending this for a long time.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an audiobook copy to honestly read and review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Have you ever wanted a book to end so that you could know what happens and yet at the same time don't want to finish it because you love being with the characters? That's how I felt with The Letter Tree by Rachel Fordham.

Rachel has long been a favorite author. Her writing style draws the reader into her finely crafted world. This book is told in the third person point of view and has a wonderful romance at its heart. There are other storylines that compliment the romance that have a bit of mystery to them. Overall, it is a well rounded book.

I am a fan of stories told through letters. This book uses that element of some storytelling well, but it includes some Romeo and Juliet vibes as well. One of my new favorites from Ms. Fordham. There are numerous appearances by animals that I throughly enjoyed as well!

I listened to the audiobook and really enjoyed it. The narrator has a soft tone to her voice and a slight lilt. It took me a bit to adjust to that mostly because I've been listening to Regency Era books and romcoms lately. My ears had to adjust to the non English accent and romcom narrators tend to have a different feel to their reading. She does character voices, both male and female, very well. Each of them had their own voice, even though there were many of both genders throughout the story.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson, Zondervan Audio and Netgalley for the copy. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

For readers who enjoy; women’s fiction historical fiction, romance, and rival families this is the book for you!
Set in 1920’s New York and featuring rival shoe companies, a zoo, and a love story. Rachel Fordhams writing and Kira Fixxs narration had me completely engrossed and I could not stop listening.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins Christian Publishing for an advance copy.