The Importance of Timing Part I

"I had felt out of place for so long...and then Anthony was there.
And I had this feeling.
That I was home.
That it was him."

--Jojo Moyes, The Last Letter From Your Lover

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction and Contemporary

Publisher: Penguin Books

Pages: 416

Publication Date: June 26th, 2014

Source: Bought

Find on Goodreads

Other Books By This Author: Me Before You & One Plus One & The Girl You Left Behind

Goodreads Description

A heartbreaking, stay-up-all-night novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Me Before You and One Plus One

A Brief Encounter for our time, The Last Letter from Your Lover is a sophisticated, spellbinding double love story that spans decades and thrillingly evokes a bygone era. In 1960, Jennifer Stirling wakes in the hospital and remembers nothing—not the car accident that put her there, not her wealthy husband, not even her own name. Searching for clues, she finds an impassioned letter, signed simply "B," from a man for whom she seemed willing to risk everything. In 2003, journalist Ellie Haworth stumbles upon the letter and becomes obsessed with learning the unknown lovers’ fate—hoping it will inspire her own happy ending. Remarkably moving, this is a novel for romantics of every age.

The Feels 

Jojo Moyes has yet to disappoint in the realm of emotional attachment to her characters. I know I say this with every book I read of hers but I'm not lying when I say the feelings I had for Jennifer and 'B' were palpable. I could feel it in my chest and it ached so badly for things to work out in the way I knew they wouldn't. I mean, the book opens up with her car crash and I'm still wishing, hoping, and praying that it doesn't happen later on in the book. Pathetic much? NO! I just have a lot of feelings! The sense of longing and desperation and hope are visceral in this novel and I cannot verbalize how emotional I was for them. I was rooting so hard I earned my own VIP suite in the stadium.

The Characters

Like I said above, the characters suck you in. Make you care about them. Make you look past the objectively black and white situation of cheating on your spouse and open up your eyes to the gray area. Jennifer is just a typical woman of the 1960's and a victim of circumstance of the time. She is not extraordinary. She is not unique. But she is loved. She is loved in the sense of extraordinary measure that defies all things ordinary and THAT is what I will always find and love in Jojo Moyes' stories. The love that occurs between two normal human beings is what turns their story from ordinary to extraordinary. It gives the reader a sense that your own amazing and extraordinary story is right around the corner. You just have to be open to it.

The Growth 

What I loved about the two main heroines were the revelations and growth they both go through. Jennifer especially because I hated that she saw so little value in herself based on society's expectations of women at the time. It was the norm for the time but I still loved seeing her go through a metamorphosis after meeting B. I loved that he was able to show her how much more she can be and all that comes after...no spoilers :) Ellie, too, starts to see herself as more than what she originally thought because of somebody she meets. I think it is a beautiful type of story when love helps to transform people into who they are capable to being. I love the situation where another person comes along and shows the other person how amazing they can be but the lack the kind of self-reflection of being able to see it themselves...does that make sense? It does in my head I just don't know if I'm saying it right.

The Angst 

OH MY GOSH THE ANGST! My review of Silver Bay will be up shortly and in it I say that SB has the most angst of any Jojo book yet...lies. All lies. Ignore that sentence because THIS book has so many feels and it is not a bad thing at all. I love how the story plays out and everything is necessary...but it still hurt my freakin' heart. So much. The pain was palpable at points and overwhelming because I was internally fighting so hard for these characters. How does it all turn out? Read the freakin' book already. 

VIP

Jojo Moyes has yet to disappoint me in any way, shape, or form. Add to that I finally (OH MY GOSH I CAN'T BELIEVE IT) got to meet her in real life and let me tell you, she is just as lovely as her writing...see tomorrow's post for all the dirty details.