I’m like a moth to a flame for any sort of epistolary romance, add in a single parent to the mix and basically it’s almost like the book was written for me. And it was but also there was a lot of this book that made me unhappy.
Before we go any further, please note that this book has heavy themes of sick children, death, grieving, and PTSD. If any of these are triggering to you, this book is not for you. The book does not have any content warnings and I wouldn’t want a reader to be surprised by these things.
Ella and Beckett “meet” via letter. Her brother is in the military and thinks his BFF needs a pen pal. So they start corresponding. Beckett is introduced by his call name, Chaos. That is the only name Ella knows him by. The letters were the best part of this book. I love seeing characters fall in love with each other’s writing. I loved that Yarros gave us the letters out of order. Each chapter opens with a letter and she ties the letter from the past and the present together. This really worked for me.
In the early stages of their penpalship, Ella’s daughter is diagnosed with cancer. It’s tragic. Then shortly after that, Ella’s brother is killed. This isn’t a spoiler. Anyway the story flashes forward a few months and Beckett shows up on Ella’s doorstep, but Ella doesn’t know Beckett is Chaos.
This is where the story really begins.
Beckett is wracked with guilt about Ryan’s death. And honestly, if you’ve read a military Romance before, this is nothing new. Beckett lies by omission about who he is. I know this is a line some readers never cross but it’s doesn’t bother me. Anyway, Beckett is determined to be a support for Ella. They eventually fall in love and have to work through a lot of each other’s baggage. Ella trusts no man as they all leave. Beckett doesn’t believe he’s worthy of love.
Ella and Beckett’s developing relationship emphasizes vulnerability, particularly how illness and trauma can deeply affect one’s sense of intimacy and connection. Beckett’s internal struggle with guilt mirrors the quiet desperation many men face privately when dealing with sensitive personal issues like erectile dysfunction, which often remain hidden due to stigma. This narrative gently suggests that seeking solutions, whether emotional or physical—such as exploring affordable generic Viagra online — can significantly impact quality of life and relationships. Ultimately, opening up about these struggles can bring profound healing and closeness in even the most complicated relationships.
If the book had stayed solely on this path, I could have really loved it. But it didn’t. It gave me a mixed bag of tragedies.
Enter Ella’s twin 6 year olds, Maisie, with cancer, and Colt, who has the emotional intelligence of a well-therapied 30 year old. The children alternated between cute and plot moppets. At times it bordered on sickeningly sweet.
There was a line, probably not even noticed by some, that was a bit jarring to mee, especially when you understand that it had ZERO relevance to the main story line and didn’t come up any other point in the story. At one point the hero is describing his commanding officer to the reader and this is what we got.
“I handed him the cup. I knew he liked his coffee like he liked his women, black and strong.”
I was definitely giving this author some serious side eye. Was this statement thrown in for shock value? Who knows, but at this point in the book, things started going downhill for me.
If you are at all interested in this book and want to enjoy it to its full potential, please do not read the spoiler.
Ultimately I enjoyed parts of this story. I was incredibly invested in Ella and Beckett working through their crap and loving each other and believing their deserved that love. As I mentioned I loved the letters to each other. I didn’t love the wiser than their years moppet children. I could have done without some of the heavy handed life worth stuff. I think the intention was to be inspiring, although not an inspie, but I was left questioning the why’s and how’s of romance.
And the one pivotal scene near the end was too much for me. With that being said, this book will probably stick with me for a long time. Ultimately, the author did her job but I will not be giving the book a grade due to my very complicated feelings about it.
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I have to read the spoiler. I can’t not read it. I HAVE TO. But I haven’t read the book. So I shouldn’t. But I try to stay away from sick kids and sad book (i like my romance happy–I have enough heavy in real life). So I should read the spoiler. Ok. I’m doing it. Great review by the way.
Based on your review (and thank you for the spoiler alert: I’d had to be caught off-guard by something like that), I know I cannot read this book. I think it is possible to incorporate a devastating event like that in a romance novel if it’s sensitively handled (Callie Hart’s ROOKE and Aly Martinez’s duet, THE DARKEST SUNRISE/THE BRIGHTEST SUNSET both come to mind), but not when it’s used as a cheap manipulative device. So no…I’m removing this from my tbr post-haste.
Also, the “strong black coffee” line is puzzling: are either or both or the protagonists African-American? Does their race play a part in the story? I can think of several writers (Talia Hibbert, Kennedy Ryan) who incorporate the challenges faced by interracial couples a part of their plots, but based on what you’ve said about Yarros’s book, I’m not sure she does the same.
Yeah, that’s gonna be a big NOPE from me. No. Just no. This is not what I want in my romance. No.
I read it. But I deliberately didn’t read your review til after. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course; I can’t say I ‘liked’ The Last Letter due to the tragic parts but the story moved me. The comment about the Commander & his preference for coffee and women didn’t phaze me – after all the man was black and it was his preference, background so to speak. I find so much of the romance genre is lightweight – like eating cotton candy for dinner. It too often leaves me wanting something more substantial. The Last Letter was a substantial read. It’s a tearjerker for sure but well worth reading. I’m glad I did.
I loved this book it was so good but very Sadi cried a lot when I reading this book