Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books UK, & Avon for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.

B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 ✨ B̷Y̷P̷A̷S̷S̷

I've now read 4 of Lorna Cook's books and Hidden Letters, similar to the others that I have read, was a quick & enjoyable read. There's a bit more of the mundane in the story than I was expecting, but not necessarily in a bad way - over 50% of the book is dedicated to the years prior to WWI and the beginning of the relationship between Cordelia & Isaac, and I ended up liking that bit a lot.

You really get to see them fall for one another, both of them having to reevaluate how they see themselves and those around them, and I thought the strongest parts of the book lay in this section. (I also loved all of the gardening bits!) 

For me, the pacing was the big thing that I wanted more from - as the first half of the book covers about 3 months, and the second half about 5 years, it felt a bit like I was SUPER shown the first half, and mostly told the second half (although there were some very lovely parts throughout the second half of the book that I enjoyed quite a bit.)

There's also a thing that I didn't want to have happen, because it's a particular plot device in WWI / WWII books that I don't particularly like, and I didn't think it was going to happen, and then I realized it was going to happen ... and although it bothered me just as much as I thought it was going to, I also didn't mind it as much as I could have. If that doesn't make sense, you're right. But I'm trying to keep this spoiler free and my feelings are still muddled, so this is what I've got.

Overall, if you're looking for a quick WWI historical fiction that's easy to read and keeps you invested throughout, I would definitely recommend this one. (And out of the 4 of hers that I've now read, I would recommend The Forbidden Promise highest, and then this one!)