The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti Review

Author: Jennifer Probst

Genre: Women's Fiction

Publisher: Berkley Publ.

Release Date: Feb. 22, 2022

Order Link: Amazon

5 Heart Breaking Hearts

Special thanks to Berkley Publ. for an arc of this book.

A secret romance pushes three estranged sisters to the Amalfi Coast to follow clues about their mother's past, and challenges them to a whole new future, from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst.

Review:

Oh, what a heart breaker this one is!  It's been a while since a book pushed all my buttons as this one did.  I read the final pages wiping tears and wondering "what if".  Needless to say, The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti is an emotional, heart touching read that deals with events from both the past and present.  I love the way Probst pulls readers in by allowing them to read the love letters from "R" as Olivia reads them in the past and the sisters read them in the present.  I'm going to be vague about most of this, because the beauty of the story for me was the unknown . . . the promise hanging in the air that love will prevail in spite of all.  And in many ways, I guess it does.

The Secret Love Letters of Oliva Moretti is a beautifully rendered story of three estranged sisters discovering decade-old love letters written to their mother when they gather at the house to clean out their mother's possessions after her sudden passing.  Old wounds, hurt feelings and grudges among the sisters are still raw, causing tempers to flare and nit-picky arguments to fester.  When they discover the love letters hidden in a trunk in the attic, they also find a deed in their mother's name for a home on the coast of Italy.  They're stunned.  No one had a clue their mother owned a home in Italy.  The sisters realize they'll have to smooth hurt feelings between them and band together to uncover the secret their mother kept hidden her whole life.  Each sister is carrying secrets of their own, but each one slaps on a smiley face, buries her feelings and anger - yet again - and off to Italy they go.  Their mission is to find the house . . . and reveal the identity of the mysterious man who signed longing, highly emotional love letters to their mother with a "R".

The Secret Love Letters of Oliva Moretti is a highly emotional, gut-wrenching story of love and what happens when fate steps in to send soul mates on different paths in life.  It touches on different types of love and the roles they play over one's lifetime.  It speaks of love and loss, hard decisions and sacrifice.  It speaks of truth and trust and learning when to hold on and when to let go.  Three sisters travel to Italy in search of the truth of who their mother really was - the "woman" vs. the "mother" they grew up loving.  During their time spent there, hard truths spill out causing each sister to take a long, hard look at their own life and relationship with their siblings.  Readers are privy to each sister's thoughts and feelings which makes this story extremely intimate and personal.  And the heart wrenching love letters take it all to another level.  From the characters to the plot line to the setting to the pace, The Secret Love Letters of Oliva Moretti is first class all the way.  The highs, lows and overwhelming emotion of this thing called love . . . and what one will sacrifice for it is front and center in this book.  I couldn't put it down and highly recommend it to readers everywhere.

Synopsis:

Sisters Priscilla, Devon, and Bailey haven't been close in years, but when they're forced to come together to settle their mother's estate, they discover a secret none of them knew. In an old trunk, they happen upon ownership papers for a house on the Amalfi Coast, along with a love letter from their mother to an anonymous man, promising to meet him in Italy during the summer of her seventieth year.

Now they're questioning everything they knew about her history. In order to get answers about the woman they thought they knew, they'll have to go back to where it all started. The sisters embark on a trip to the stunning cliffside village of Positano, Italy, to track down the mysterious ex-lover, and figure out who their mother really was.

As Priscilla, Devon, and Bailey unearth the truth, they also experience the magic of Italy, the power of sisterly love, a little unexpected romance, and newfound hope for the future.