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There are currently 31 member reviews
for The House of Hidden Letters
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Sheila the Reader
An Emotional Story That Stayed on the Surface
I went into this expecting more of a mystery with a touch of romance, but for me neither element really pulled me into the story. I especially struggled to connect with Katerina's timeline from the 1940s, and overall I had a hard time feeling invested in the characters.
The attraction between Skye and Andreas never fully developed in a believable way, which made some of the emotional moments feel unconvincing. There were also storylines that seemed important early on but didn't reach a satisfying resolution. Skye's relationship with her mother is one example that felt abrupt and hard to believe by the end.
The overall tone often reminded me of a Lifetime movie of the week, with emotional moments that stayed mostly on the surface. I also ran into a few scenes that were unexpectedly difficult for me to read, which caught me off guard.
For my taste, I was hoping for deeper character development and a stronger emotional connection to the story.
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Patricia S
Friendship, Fresh Starts, and Romance
The premise of The House of Hidden Letters intrigued me when I read the description. Skye, the main character, wins a lottery to purchase a neglected home on a Greek island for one euro. During the renovation, a bundle World War II-era letters written by the previous resident are discovered. The story then proceeds with two timelines, that of Skye in the present and of Katerina during World War II. It is an interesting story, and the characters are likeable but I did not find them to be well-developed. While the author provides a wonderful vision of the island's beauty and the warmth of its community. I found the first half slow and struggled to maintain interest. I found the second half of the book to more engaging, overall delivering a pleasant story of friendship, fresh starts, and romance. Please note that the novel does touch on themes of mental abuse and the tragedy of war.
My thanks to BookBrowse, NetGalley, and the publisher for providing this ARC in return for an honest review.
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Charity M. (Herndon, VA)
Mystery and history
The House of Hidden Letters has two stories that run side by side through the book, one a modern tale with the protagonist working on her own issues while also trying to solve a mystery of years long past.
While the story itself was intriguing and often emotionally wrenching, the characters are challenging to relate. The ending was a little too neat for my taste and seemed forced.
