Happy Friday! For today’s First Line Friday linkup, hosted by Hoarding Books, I’m featuring a book that just came out last week – The Love Note by Joanna Davidson Politano. This is a beautiful story that’s perfect for curling up with on a cool fall day!

“There are two ways to truly know a person – one is to begin a friendship with them. The other is to end it.

– A scientist’s observations on love.”

The Love Note by Joanna Davidson Politano

The Basics

Title: The Love Note

Author: Joanna Davidson Politano

Genre: Christian historical romance

My Rating: 4 Stars

From the Back Cover: Focused on a career in medicine and not on romance, Willa Duvall is thrown slightly off course during the summer of 1865 when she discovers a never-opened love letter in a crack of her old writing desk. Compelled to find the passionate soul who penned it and the person who never received it, she takes a job as a nurse at the seaside estate of Crestwicke Manor.

Everyone at Crestwicke has feelings–mostly negative ones–about the man who wrote the letter, but he seems to have disappeared. With plenty of enticing clues but few answers, Willa’s search becomes even more complicated when she misplaces the letter and it passes from person to person in the house, each finding a thrilling or disheartening message in its words. 

Laced with mysteries large and small, this romantic Victorian-era tale of love lost, love deferred, and love found is sure to delight.

My Thoughts

Joanna Davidson Politano has written an enchanting story about the power of words and the way they can touch our hearts. The story centers around Willa Duval, a nurse who wants to become a doctor in a time when that’s not a woman’s profession, and an anonymous love letter she finds in her desk. As the letter makes its way through the manor, touching each person in a different way, it sets changes in motion that alter the lives of its readers forever.

I absolutely loved the author’s writing style and the beautiful way she crafted this deeply layered story. Willa is a bold and confident heroine, determined to reach her goals and still longing for a love that will give her the freedom to pursue her dreams. Gabe Gresham is a delightful hero, understated but charming in his own way. His tender heart allows him to see beyond the surface of everyone around him. The final chapters brought an unexpected yet satisfying conclusion – I never guessed the true author of the letter until it was revealed! This was the first of Joanna Davidson Politano’s books I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be the last.

Now it’s your turn! Please share the first line of the book you’re reading in the comments below. Don’t forget to head to Hoarding Books to see what first lines other bloggers are sharing, or to share your own!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.