Blog Tour: Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer Review + Giveaway

Tour organized by Hannah @ The Iris Banana Review

See the full schedule below

I feel incredibly honored to be able to review Letters to the Lost as part of the blog tour. This book is amazing. Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of this post for a giveaway too!

Letters to the Lost

by Brigid Kemmerer 

Read: March 18 - 20, 2017

Published: April 4, 2017 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Source: NetGalley (TY!)

Category: YA, Contemporary, Letter Writing, Loss, Photography, Cemeteries 

Find: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Indiebound

Book Description: Juliet Young always writes letters to her mother, a world-traveling photojournalist. Even after her mother's death, she leaves letters at her grave. It's the only way Juliet can cope.

Declan Murphy isn't the sort of guy you want to cross. In the midst of his court-ordered community service at thelocal cemetery, he's trying to escape the demons of his past.

When Declan reads a haunting letter left beside a grave, he can't resist writing back. Soon, he's opening up to a perfect stranger, and their connection is immediate. But neither Declan nor Juliet knows that they're not actually strangers. When life at school interferes with their secret life of letters, sparks will fly as Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.

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My Thoughts 

Even though she can't read them anymore, Juliet Young still writes her mother letters by hand. But instead of mailing them to wherever her mom is currently on photography assignment, Juliet leaves the letters by her grave. Declan Murphy mows the grass in the cemetery as part of a court-ordered community service. When he comes across one of Juliet's letters he reads it...and writes back.  Neither knows who the other is, and they don't expect the strength of connection they find in each other's words. But while they feel free to express their hearts under the anonymity of their letters, things become a lot more complicated when they realize they aren't actually the strangers they think they are. 

I loved this book so much! The You've Got Mail trope is popular right now, and I've read a bunch of books with this set up. But Letters to the Lost is definitely a favorite. In many ways that's because of the depth of emotion in these page - how raw story is, and the way the dual narrative allows us to get inside of both Juliet and Declan's heads. It's not as much waiting for the big reveal - when will they realize who the other is? - though I couldn't wait for that. It's aching for the pain and loss both characters are carrying, and wanting so much for them to be okay. It's seeing how much they crave connection, and watching how the letters gave them something to hold onto in a time that was dark for both of them. 

Both Juliet and Declan are/have dealt with some really tough stuff in their lives, and this book does not shy away from any of it. This book gutted me, but it's also uplifting amidst everything these two are facing. I love that Juliet and Declan find each other amidst all of that, even though for a while, they don't know it's each other they've found. And boy do they spark against the other at first. The chemistry is strong with these two, even when they're yelling at each other. 

Another thing I loved about this story is that Juliet and Declan each has a supportive friend who sticks with them through it all. Declan's friend Rev is my favorite, and I'm thrilled he's getting his own book next year. Though they feel nothing but alone and misunderstood at first, Juliet and Declan also both find other supportive people in their lives - teachers, family members, coworkers. To that end, both of their relationships with their parents go through an evolution in this book, and I wasn't prepared for how affected was by those relationships. 

I truly don't have anything negative to say about this book. Highly Recommended.

Love Triangle Factor: None

Cliffhanger Scale: Standalone - Next year there is to be a companion book from Declan's friend Rev's POV called More Than We Can Tell. 

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About the Author

BRIGID KEMMERER is author of Letters to the Lost (Bloomsbury; April 4, 2017), a dark, contemporary Young Adult romance; Thicker than Water (Kensington, December 29, 2015), a New Adult paranormal mystery with elements of romance; and the YALSA-nominated Elemental series of five Young Adult novels and three e-novellas which Kirkus Reviews calls “refreshingly human paranormal romance” and School Library Journal describes as “a new take on thesupernatural genre.” She lives in the Baltimore area with her husband and four sons.

Find: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | Instagram

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Follow the Tour

Week 1:

3/27: Reading Teen - Review

3/28: Teen Lit Rocks - You've Got Mail Feature

3/29: Love Is Not a Triangle - Review

3/30: Lost In Lit - Bookish Inspirations

3/31: The Irish Banana Review - Review

Week 2:

4/3: Addicted 2 Novels - Guest Post

4/4: Alexa Loves Books - Review

4/5: Novel Novice - Top 10

4/6: Bookhounds YA - Review

4/7: Pure Imagination - Review

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Giveaway

3 Finished Copies of Letters to the Lost (US Only)

Or go HERE for the giveaway

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