The Last Letter from your Lover by Jojo Moyes

I continue to love the way Jojo Moyes tells a story. In this novel she spends a long time developing the original story of Jennifer and Anthony, which was a nice change of pace. It seems like so many authors jump back and forth between two stories, which is fine, but I liked how we know one story (mostly) before we jump into the other one in this book.

I thought that Jennifer was incredibly brave for several reasons. First of all, she leaves her husband - and loses all of her friends - even though she doesn't end up with the love of her life. Wives just didn't do things like that back then. Fortunately, she had some juicy information in which to blackmail Larry! It was interesting that he made a fortune by selling asbestos. Secondly, she, a wealthy "trophy wife", actually flies to the Congo to find Anthony, at a time when the Congo was incredibly dangerous!  Third, she raises her daughter on her own and never even tries to find another partner in life, even though she believes that Anthony is dead.

Then there is Ellie, who drove me nuts. Honestly, I could not believe that she put her life on hold - and almost trashed her career - for John. He was never going to leave his wife, and she intentionally turned a blind eye (and deaf ear) on the what was really going on. I was so happy that she started developing a friendship/relationship with Rory, and then couldn't believe that she let John get in the way of that. Thank goodness for John's wife, who finally made an impact on Ellie.

I was nervous that this book was not going to end the way I wanted it to! It made me read much faster as the story moved along because I was so worried that Anthony was actually dead and Rory would leave without knowing how Ellie really felt about him. (Since I read Me Before You, I know that Jojo Moyes doesn't necessarily tie up loose ends with neat little bows!) I was most definitely shocked by what Anthony ended up doing after Jennifer left him that last day in the hotel! Small world kind of thing. ;)

I was still sad that they lost 40 years, but I was relieved that they found each other again. Whew!

Wendy's Rating: ****