Jessica Brockmole

A sweeping love story told in letters spans two world wars and follows the correspondence between a water-phobic poet on the Scottish Isle of Skye and an American volunteer ambulance driver for the French Army, an affair that is discovered years later when the poet disappears.

Letters from Skye

Melissa Palmer

Book #79 Read in 2013
Letters from Skye by Jessica Brockmole

This book is told entirely in letters and spans two world war. It details a love story that survives incredible odds. Elspeth is a poet and receives a sort of fan letter from Davey. She is from Scotland and he from America; the two begin a pen pal relationship. Gradually, through their letters, they fall in love. Love is never simple and factoring in Elspeth's husband and the physical distance, their love story is no different. World War 1 begins and Davey enlists. Years later, when World War 2 is going on, Elspeth is launched back in memories of the first war, and the war-time romance her adult daughter is having with a soldier reminds Elspeth vividly of Davey. Can these two people ever get together?

I loved this book. The writing was wonderful and the characters were ones that I cared about immediately. This book had historical elements to it, great romance and the hook of hoping for a happily ever after ending. I highly recommend it.

I received a copy of this book from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for a review.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Kayla Walters

“We can’t help who we love.”

I feel truly privileged to have been given the opportunity to read Jessica Brockmole’s novel Letters from Skye in advance. This novel had me in its grasp for days as I read Elspeth and David’s story and often had me up until the wee hours of the morning trying to take in just one more letter.

But I’m sad to say I finished the book last night and I’m feeling a bit of separation anxiety today. There will be no more letters when I go to bed tonight… but I’ll just have to reread it from the start. Yes, it’s that good. Letter from Skye will be placed on my “Best books I’ve ever read” shelf when I’m able to buy a physical copy of the novel. 

The story is one of Elspeth Dunn, a young poet from the Isle of Skye and her fan, David Graham, a university student from Chicago, Illinois. It is told through letters that the two send back and forth and sweeps from David’s first letter in 1912 to the tumultuous reality of the first World War. The two develop a connection that the Atlantic Ocean, nor the war can disrupt and Brockmole will have you pining for the next response to see how their relationship evolves. 

And then there is the ending, which I won’t speak of here (I’m not that cruel). My god, I devoured the last 50 some-odd-pages of the novel because they were that good. This section of the novel alone would put the book on my Top Book’s shelf, but having it accompany the beautiful and passionate connection between two strangers from different continents, really sealed the deal for me on this.

I can’t wait to own a copy so I can mark off my favourite passages and reread David’s letters as if they were meant for my eyes and not Elspeth. Letters from Skye is a book that has, quite gallantly, earned it’s place on my night stand. 

Letters from Skye will be published July 2013 by Ballantine Books.

A sweeping love story told through letters, spanning two continents and two world wars. For fans of My Dear, I wanted to tell you, The Postmistress and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. UNITED BY LETTERS. SEPARATED BY AN OCEAN. DEVASTATED BY WAR. A letter isn’t always just a letter. Words on the page can drench the soul. Elspeth Dunn, a published poet living on the Isle of Skye, answers her first fan letter from Davey Graham, an impetuous young man in Illinois. Without having to worry about appearances or expectations, Elspeth and Davey confess their hopes, dreams and fears, things they’ve never told another soul. Even without meeting, they know one another. But as World War I engulfs Europe and Davey volunteers as an ambulance driver on the Western front, Elspeth can only wait on Skye, anxious for his return; wondering if they’ll ever get a chance to meet.

ame 

i remember this being very good and i still think of it to this day sometimes :)

Shawna Gavas

What begins as a letter from a fan, turns to a love story spanning decades.

Beginning during WWI, Elspeth Dunn, a reclusive poet receives fan mail from a Mr. David Graham. One response turns into a steady correspondence between the two sight unseen.

Over time, we find out Elspeth is in fact married, David becomes engaged, but through it all they continue to write. Slowly, they realize they have in fact fallen in love. But with Elspeth's husband Iain away at war, and David volunteering to drive ambulances behind the front lines, it is hard to imagine what the future may hold.

The story is told completely through the writing of letters written between WWI and WWII, and gives us a glimpse of the untold stories of those left behind to continue to live, while those on the frontlines fight.

If you enjoy reading this period in history, you will not be disappointed. It is a sweet story from an uncertain era. Happy Reading!

"18 June, 1940 h, my Margaret, i>You have no secrets from me, but I've kept a part of myself locked away, always. A part of me that started scratching at the wall the day this other war started, that started howling to get out right now, the day you ran off to meet your soldier. i>I should have told you, should've taught you to steel your heart. Taught you that a letter isn't always just a letter. Words on the page can drench the sould. If only you knew. i>Mother i> lspeth is fond of saying to her daughter that 'the first volume of my life is out of print'. But when a bomb hits an Edinburgh street and Margaret finds her mother crouched in the ruins of her bedroom pulling armfuls of yellowed letters onto her lap, the past Elspeth has kept so carefully locked away is out in the open. The next day, Elspeth disappears. Left alone with the letters, Margaret discovers a mother she never knew existed: a poet living on the Isle of Skye who in 1912 answered a fan letter from an impetuous young man in Illinois. Without having to worry about appearances or expectations, Elspeth and Davey confess their dreams and their worries, things they've never told another

Elize van Heerden

I loved this book. It is a different style of writing with the letters. But I thought it worked great. This is a wonderful love story. Will recommend it to anyone

Sunky

Pierke Bosschieter

Bunnhi

Kathy Rodger 

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Alayna

A love story told in letters spans two world wars and follows the correspondence between a poet on the Scottish Isle of Skye and an American volunteer ambulance driver for the French Army, an affair that is discovered years later when the poet disappears.

Letters from Skye

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