BOOK REVIEW : SEVEN LETTERS BY J.P.MONNINGER

A Blasket Islander lived on top of the sea, beside the sea, inside the sea. I felt its overwhelming presence before I had walked a quarter mile.

– SEVEN LETTERS (J.P.MONNINGER)

TITLE : Seven Letters

AUTHOR : J.P.Monninger

GENRE : Women’s Fiction, Contemporary Fiction, Romance

FBRC RATING : 4 stars

BLURB:

J. P. Monninger, author of the international bestseller The Map That Leads to You, the novel Nicholas Sparks called “romantic and unforgettable”, tells a poignant love story of the ways the world divides two souls—and the way that love brings them together.

Kate Moreton is in Ireland on sabbatical from her teaching position at Dartmouth College when she meets Ozzie Ferriter, a fisherman and a veteran of the American war in Afghanistan. The Ferriter family history dates back centuries on the remote Blasket Islands, and Ozzie – a dual citizen of Ireland and the United States – has retreated to the one place that might offer him peace from a war he cannot seem to leave behind.

Beside the sea, with Ireland’s beauty as a backdrop, the two fall deeply in love and attempt to live on an island of their own making, away from the pressures of the outside world. Ireland writes its own love stories, the legends claim, and the limits of Kate and Ozzie’s love and faith in each other will be tested. When his demons lead Ozzie to become reckless with his life—and Kate’s—she flees for America rather than watch the man she loves self-destruct. But soon a letter arrives informing Kate that her heroic husband has been lost at sea, and Kate must decide whether it is an act of love to follow him or an act of mercy to forget. 

FBRC REVIEW :

DISCLAIMER : Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for proving me with an ARC of this book. I received an advanced review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The story of Ozzie and Kate is a beautiful, poignant tale of two people who fall too hard too fast in love and finding out for themselves that they are at odds with one another when reality intrudes on them. Their story is of love, passion, hope, forgiveness, and mercy. The story is set mostly in Ireland with the sea and the Islands giving it a romantic atmosphere and evoking warm feelings while reading the book. The setting and the story with an interesting group of characters makes the story move forward at a good pace.

I loved this book. I loved the pacing of it and the way the characters were portrayed. Kate appeared to me as a really smart woman who is passionate about her research and a strong desire to find out and learn more about her Irish roots. She is determined, passionate and seems to have a good head on her shoulders. When it comes to Ozzie she is either fully in or fully out in almost every situation. She is confused and indecisive of her feelings. We see her struggle with her physical attraction to Ozzie and how she doesn’t want to be a fling and someone unforgettable. Their relationship was doomed from the beginning in my opinion. I liked how they bickered with one another, they had good interactions, similar passion, and love for Ireland and The Islands. They bonded over these but failed to build a strong foundation before they dived ahead into their relationship. They relied on their lust and physical part of their relationship to help them through their journey. They find that while Ozzie is in love with Kate, he cannot be the kind of husband Kate wants unless he can get rid of his demons that haunted him from his Army days.

Ozzie is wild, has sea inside of him that leaves him restless if he is too much on the land. He is chases danger, loves adventure, is rough around the edges, outdoorsy and, too much of a sea-man. He is set in his ways, drinks too much, and fights demons that no one knows about. His lack of direction, stability, and need for some sense of a family setting upsets Kate and she decides to take a break from him. The break doesn’t quite the uncertainty but leaves more questions than answers for her predicament. Eventually, they separate and decide to move on with their separate lives.

Living apart is not what Kate envisioned and things get complicated real fast. News of Ozzie getting lost in the sea off the coast of Italy comes as a shock to her. He was involved in rescuing people from war and other difficult life circumstances and dropping them off to Italy. Kate finds out about a lot of Ozzie’s work and his kindness after he is believed to be dead. She goes on a journey to trace the paths Ozzie might have traversed hoping to find some closure. She regrets being separated from him and becomes more and more confused about her feelings for Ozzie.

The story is set for the better part in Ireland. The way the author sets the plot is really amazing and beautiful. The way Ireland and the Island are described in so much detail and vivid imagery that it will transport you to that place. The picturesque quality of her writing and the atmospheric setting of Ireland is the perfect backdrop for Ozzie and Kate and their love. The story weaves a poignant tale of two young souls who found each other too fast and too soon that they failed to establish a sturdy foundation for their love to flourish and grow. The yurt, the cottage, the cabin and every other detail that made this story and it’s setting so beautiful and almost haunting in its nature gives you all the feels and warm fuzzy emotions. I loved this book and I rated it 4 stars.

The book overall will give you a romantic story set in Ireland with vivid imagery and history that will make you want to fly to Ireland. Definitely check this book out. Let me know in the comment section the books that made you want to go to the places the stories were set in. Happy Reading!!!