Happy Tuesday, My Lovelies!
So how is your week going so far? Mine has been busy and productive. :D
Today I'm sharing a women's fiction selection: The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O'Neal. It is out today, so Happy Pub Day! I have reviewed her books here on the blog before, and I really like her books. Use the search engine at the top of the page if you're interested in reading more reviews of her work.
Not only was I gifted the book, but I was also given the cute bookmark and the sticker.
About the Book:
- Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (July 29, 2025)
- Paperback: 397 pages
About the Author:
Barbara O’Neal is the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of nearly twenty novels of women’s fiction, including the #1 Amazon Charts bestseller When We Believed in Mermaids, as well as Memories of the Lost, This Place of Wonder, and The Starfish Sisters. Her award-winning books have been published in over two dozen countries. She lives on the wild Oregon Coast with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent.
According to Goodreads:
Two women overcoming past traumas embark on a healing journey across continents in a novel about friendship, family, and rediscovery by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.
Recently and abruptly divorced Veronica Barrington is anxious for a new direction when she answers a listing for a travel companion. It’s from Mariah Ellsworth, a young woman adjusting to an injury that ended her Olympic career. She’s also grieving her mother, Rachel, a lauded food writer, and Mariah aims to trace the steps of her mother’s final, unfinished project so she can heal and also honor the woman she misses.
Veronica seizes on the opportunity to experience with Mariah the culture, traditions, and intoxicating aromas of Parsi cafés throughout London, Paris, Morocco, and India. Accompanied by a former war photographer who has a wounded history of his own, and with just Rachel’s letters to guide them, the quest is a chance to not only close a chapter in life but also begin a new one.
Following the letters one by one—each a clue to an illuminating mystery—Veronica and Mariah must face the painful and beautiful challenges of freeing themselves from the dark shadows of the past. Together, far from home, they can find the light.
My Review:
The first thing I want to share with you about this book is that the characters are very well-drawn and complex. Both women are flawed and make very poor choices, yet I still found myself rooting for them. Veronica's divorce left her destitute, which I find unlikely given her social class and education. This was one plot point I couldn't quite understand. Mariah is suffering from trauma, yet she is determined to travel the world to investigate her late mother's past and unfinished foodie travel book project about Parsi cafés, all linked to a specific Indian family.
There is a third traveler in their little group: Henry, a photographer and one of Rachel's former boyfriends (Rachel is Mariah's mother). Mariah hired him to document the trip and foodie adventures in the hopes of selling the project to her mother's publisher. That's where Veronica comes into the picture: She can speak French, she's a good researcher, and Mariah wants her to finish writing the book. Henry is a sort of foil to Mariah and Veronica's angst: He is confident, calm, and as a former war correspondent, very helpful as a traveling companion.
I got great satisfaction that Veronica was traveling to London, Paris. Marrakesh, and India during Christmas while her not so delightful family are miserable in Breckenridge. Her grown children are a disappointment, and there is a found family element to this story as Mariah and Veronica become true friends by the end of the book. As the mystery of Rachel's past is slowly revealed through her letters she wrote to her sister, Jill, it becomes less important to the overall story arc. Jill sends them to Veronica via email in small batches throughout their trip, and she wants to withhold the last one because it's disturbing. There is also a magical realism element to the story that I wish had been more fully developed. There seems to be much more to this story than meets the eye, and I can only hope that there might be a sequel in the works.
This book is about how two women are struggling to recover from heartbreak and disappointment. It isn't an easy read, but if you like family drama, travel, foodie writing, magical realism, and found family, then you should enjoy reading The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth.
Disclosure: I'd like to thank TLC Book Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour. They sent me a paperback copy of the book and other swag via the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
What have you read this summer? Are there any books you'd like to recommend to us?
Until next time...
Happy reading!
Ricki Jill
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