Book Review and GIVEAWAY: Letters for Scarlet, by Julie C. Gardner {ends 4/11}

Growing up I heard all the cliches about marriage being hard, a give and take forged by sacrifice and compromise. Not ever day will be champagne and roses, Ma would say. You have to work at it, like a job. At the time I believed her. But after years of being a wife, I am starting to believe marriage is not about work, compromise or even champagne. Staying married is a decision. I only wish I knew what to decide.

So I was (and still am) in the middle of reading another book when I started this one - I was waiting in line for a movie screening, with a bad internet connection, and therefore I could only read a book on the Kindle app on my phone that I had already downloaded. This happened to be that book, and I was pleasantly surprised; I'll be honest and admit that when authors pitch me themselves (instead of through a PR company), their novels aren't always the best - but this one was very good.

Official synopsis:

Corie Harper is 28 years old when she is first visited by a ghost – in the form of a graduation letter she forgot she wrote. Although she spent a decade burying that desperate girl and her regrets, each page resurrects the past, dragging Corie back to a time when all she craved was Scarlet Hinden’s friendship and Tuck Slater’s heart. But she couldn’t keep them both and keep her word.

Scarlet is haunted in her own way, by memories of Corie and of a night that left her wishing she were dead. But Scarlet is not only alive, she’s carrying new life: a baby she never wanted and is terrified to have. Convinced she would be a disastrous mother, she questions whether or not she deserves the love of any man. Especially the father of her child.

Letters for Scarlet traces one friendship from deep roots to branches torn by broken promises and loss. An educator from a sleepy suburb of Los Angeles, Corie works through heartbreak writing letters she’ll never send. Scarlet, an attorney in San Francisco, turns to lies, betraying everyone who dares to breach her sturdy walls.

Their relationships teeter on the edge of dissolution: Mother and daughter. Teacher and student. Family. Lovers. Soul mates. But after a harrowing confrontation in a hometown cemetery, Corie and Scarlet resolve to face uncertain futures, armed not with easy resolutions but instead one simple truth: pain can take a lifetime to heal, but hope lasts even longer.

This novel was interesting because we didn't find out all of Corie and Scarlet's secrets until close to the end of the book. The two of them were best friends from when they were young throughout high school, until a boy got in the way - Tuck, who Corie later marries - and then something else happened as well, so Scarlet and Corie are now estranged.

Corie has also been wanting to have a baby for a long time, but she and Tuck have been having fertility problems; and now, Scarlet, who is unmarried, is pregnant.

This was a great read, and like I mentioned before, I was surprised by how good it was. I became invested in the story and the characters early on in the novel, and I wanted to read more to figure out how the book would end, and also how Scarlet and Corie, former best friends, became so distant from each other. All of the characters were well-fleshed out here too, and each of them were integral to the story.

4 stars out of 5.
{Click here to purchase - and it's free on Kindle Unlimited!}

*Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for reviewing purposes. The opinions expressed here, however, are my own.

GIVEAWAY:

One of my lucky readers will win a copy of Letters for Scarlet!

Giveaway will end Monday, April 11th, at 11:59pm EST, and winner will be notified via email the next day and have 24 hours to respond, or an alternate winner will be chosen.

This giveaway is open to U.S. AND international - a U.S. winner has a choice of a paperback or e-book copy, and an international winner would receive an e-book copy.

Good luck!

Letters for Scarlet