The Last Letter from Juliet

The Last letter by Melanie Hudson is a beautifully written novel of Love, Loss and friendship.
Uncle Gerald writes a letter to Katherine to invite her to come and stay at Angels Cove in Cornwall instead of being on her own at Christmas. They arranged for her to stay at a cottage once owned by an elderly woman called Juliet who had left the cottage in a time capsule of the 1940’s now owned by her son Sam Lanyon. Who is currently a pilot and away.
Katherine looks around the cottage and sees photos and other things belonging to Juliet that lived there. One of which showing Juliet in a black and white photo as a pilot working for the Airport Transport Auxiliary during the war. They used to deliver the aircraft from the factories to the RAF She also finds the memoirs of Juliet and she starts reading of the amazing life she led with the ATA girls and the secrets missions she flew during the war and the love of her life Edward. The story tells us of Katherine, after discovering the town and the place Juliet visited. It tells of the people she meets and the friends she makes.
I loved every minute of this book I couldn’t put it down. Set in two timelines, this is a moving tale of everlasting love and a few jokes along the way. I highly recommend.

An emotional and bitter-sweet dual time-line novel about two women and their adventures in Angels Cove, Cornwall.

With an offer of gin, Katherine decides to accept her Uncle Gerald's invitation to spend Christmas with him in Cornwall rather than be home alone during the festive period. On arrival, all the best-laid plans go pear-shaped but she finds comfort within her surrounds; a cottage which once belonged to an old lady. Whilst settling in she finds a journal written by the once owner and begins to read about her life and escapades before and during WWII.

The residents of Angels Cove quickly embrace their new temporary resident during the run-up to Christmas as Katherine finds both purpose and comfort as she befriends and helps out the colourful characters who live within this small coastal village. Yet, it's the thrill of getting to know who Juliet was which drives her enthusiasm during what is ordinarily a difficult time of year for her.

The writing smoothly alternates between the past and the present timelines as we re-live Juliet's life as a pilot through her journals and learn about the struggles Katherine is dealing with. Finding out the exploits and bravery of the A.T.A. girls (Air Transport Auxiliary) is thrilling in its own right but I like how Katherine embraces Juliet's handling of situations to give her a new perspective on life and how she can move forward with a new sense of optimism and purpose. 

Not everything within this enticing narrative is about these women, there's a dashing hero who stole Juliet's heart and an equally handsome gentleman who is Juliet's nephew. His zest for life equals his aunt's although we learn his background isn't what Katherine expected.

For me, the highlight is Katharine's realisation the woman she has come to admire is still alive and has an opportunity to meet her. It's a poignant and uplifting moment to give pause for thought and shed a few tears.

To sum up, if you enjoy uplifting novel laced with fascinating historical facts, heart-warming characters with a Christmassy Cornish backdrop, You'll love The Last Letter From Juliet.

4.5 stars

***arc generously received courtesy of the publisher One More Chapter via NetGalley***

So Melanie Hudson was a new author to me but given how much I love historical fiction with dual timeline storyline involved, it was a no brainer that I had to read this.

This was a truly magnificent and emotional read from start to finish. I was completely captivated and engrossed throughout, really enjoyed getting to know all of the characters and to discovering their stories. I loved the mentions of Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster planes, really added something special to the story.

If you love books that tell a story in the present and in the past then I can highly recommend this beautiful tale of love, sacrifice, friendship, courage and so much more.

Detailed book blurb:- A daring WWII pilot who grew up among the clouds, Juliet Caron’s life was one of courage, adventure – and a love torn apart by war. Every nook of her Cornish cottage is alive with memories just waiting to be discovered.

Katherine Henderson has escaped to Cornwall for Christmas but she soon finds there is more to her holiday cottage than meets the eye. And on the eve of Juliet’s 100th birthday, Katherine is enlisted to make an old lady’s final Christmas wish come true…

Inspired by the brave women of the Air Transport Auxiliary service during the Second World War, this is a moving and powerful novel of friendship, love and resilience.

What a wonderful book, it was gonna be tough to follow Dear Rosie Hughes, one of the best books I’ve read, but I needn’t of worried. The last letter from Juliet is an awe inspiring, heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

Juliet is my hero, a tough, independent women, who never let a small issue of being female stop her from doing what she wanted. The love story between her and Edward was beautifully written, and the tragedy she faced was heartbreaking. I was in tears, for most of this book, happy and sad tears. Watching Kathleen face her grief through reading Juliet’s story was so powerful, you could sense she was beginning to move on and look forward.

I don’t want to spoil anything but the ending was so powerful...sad but also very fitting. A wonderful read that will stay with me for a long time

An amazing story that kept me hooked till the last page. It makes you feel a lot of emotions and you cannot put it down.
I liked the style of writing, the amazing characters and the setting.
I look forward to reading other books by this author.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this arc, all opinions are mine.

'The only thing left for me to say is that I hope you'll live a life where you want nothing more than to wake up every day with an overpowering urge to have a wonderful day'

Since the death of her young husband, Katherine is struggling, and with Christmas approaching, life is seeming more challenging than ever. That is, until a well-time trip to Cornwall is thrown her way, and Attagirl Juliet flies into her life. But Juliet has a secret, one last adventure that she's saved for this Christmas, her 100th birthday. Can Katherine find some of that spitfire spirit, and help her make her wish come true?

I have to start my saying, this is honestly one of my favourite books of the year. It ticked all of the boxes for me from the start - I love historical fiction, I love dual time-lines, and I love Christmas novels! But while I knew it would be one I would enjoy, I had absolutely no idea how wonderful it would be.

Katherine is such a wonderful character, she's someone you really feel for, but without being whiny and self-pitying. And Juliet is just an absolute marvel. When I got to the end and found out she was inspired by a real person, I just felt completely in awe of what an incredible life she'd had. I also loved seeing how the two narratives tied together, and seeing how reading about Juliet and her incredible life slowly helped Katherine to be more sure of herself, and how the time they spent together helped her to gain a more positive outlook on her own situation.

I will admit, this is not the most polished book I've ever read, but to me, that was part of its charm. It gave a real sense of, well, reality to the sections in the past, as they weren't overly stylised as some historical fiction can be. It felt like exactly what it was meant to - the memories of a woman who has lived an incredible life, that she had written herself. The tone did meander a bit too - at the start, there was a lot more of a serious tone to both sections, which gradually gained more of a humorous approach at times as you got to know all of the characters.

Now, for what in my opinion is the best part of it all - the ending. My god, where do I even start. It was perfect. Moving, devastating, but so so beautiful and poignant. As soon as I had about 20% left, I knew I would be staying up all night to finish, and that's exactly what happened, with tears pouring down my face! It was just one of the most well-written and well executed endings to a historical fiction novel I have ever read in my whole life.

I absolutely adored everything about 'The Last Letter from Juliet', and I will be recommending it to everyone I know. The plot is beautiful and completely unique, the characters are ones you will fall totally in love with, and the message is just completely heartwarming and moving - perfect for a christmas book. Do yourself a favour and read it immediately. You won't regret it.

Where to start. This was a bit of a departure from the previous two novels I've read by Melanie Hudson in that it falls into the historical fiction genre. I have read a few books set in wartime and always seem to really enjoy them. Even so when I first saw the book cover and read the blurb I was taken a little by surprise, and dare I say a teeny bit doubtful as to whether I'd like it quite as much as the other two books.

This is Melanie Hudson though, how could I have doubted that it wouldn't be quite my kind of book.

It was absolutely bloody brilliant, outstripping all expectations.

It's set in two time periods and based in Cornwall. I never realised that Cornwall had any kind of role during WWII, but with its close proximity to Europe, it certainly played its part.

In the present, it starts out with Katherine, a widow still trying to come to terms with the loss of her husband. She's invited to Cornwall to spend Christmas in the company of her uncle and as she's an academic to help settle a village dispute as to whether the village name should be apostrophised. Apostrophe's - it would appear they cause headaches for everyone and I thought it was just me.

She goes to stay in the cottage belonging to their oldest villager Juliet. Fast approaching her 100th birthday Juliet now lives in a care home much to her disapproval, but needs must.

Whilst Katherine is staying at Juliet's cottage she stumbles across the memoirs of Juliet and once she starts reading becomes engrossed in this lady's story. The memoirs form the bulk of this book; a story of love, bravery, loss, friendship and camaraderie and above all, a great zest for life - to never waste a single moment and to always have faith that things will turn out right.

The writing and dialogue is very evocative of 1940's Britain. It was sometimes so real it was like watching an old black and white war film and I'd find myself reading the dialogue in the voices of those old movie actors speaking with their cut glass accents.

I could almost smell the aviation fuel as Juliet and her friends of the Air Transport Auxiliary prepared for flying their planes and took to the skies, often in poor weather conditions and always with an eye out for the enemy planes that could take them out at any moment.

I'd often find myself singing "We'll Meet Again" at random moments through the day, it's just one of those books that you become a part of whilst you're reading it.

There's so much in there. Action, heartache, tears, laughter and a big helping of romance. A stunning read that will stay with me for quite some time.

To be honest I would not normally read a book of this genre, contemporary but with a link to a WW2 through letters from the Juliet of the title.
Katherine visits Cornwall at the invitation of her uncle to help settle a discussion by the local villagers on the spelling of the village, to be exact the use of an apostrophe in "Angels Cove". Staying in a cottage owned by Juliet's grandson Sam, who is away, she finds the letters and starts to read them.
I found myself drawn into the story which was very moving, full of life and death, but also love, until I couldn't put it down.

I read the first chapter and I. Was. HOOKED!
I loved the style of writing, the story, the raw emotions felt throughout the book, the characters! Everything about this book was just so good.
LOVED IT. I am exhausted now.

If you only read one book this year make it The Last Letter from Juliet. It is a beautifully told story, which I found hard to put down, it’s one of those books you wish would go on forever. The characters are lovable and it skips from present day to the past very smoothly. Melanie Hudson’s best book yet.