Bethanne Strasser

Elena (Lena) Rodriguez, an Army doctor, has been deployed for a year and is about to come home for the holidays. She has received an anonymous love letter every month, plus one for her birthday. Through these letters, the secret admirer has stolen her heart, and she’s anxious to finally meet him face to face on Christmas morning. Because of the small town gossip included in the letters, Lena is pretty sure the letter writer is someone that she already knows--she just can’t figure out show more who! I liked reading the little snippets from the letters, but I wish some longer parts had been included too so that we could see why Lena was so touched by them.

Zack Benson is best friends with Lena’s brother Mike and has grown up alongside the Rodriguez family. Zack and Lena have a close friendship and have always treated each other like brother and sister. Neither knows the other’s true feelings. Lena has had a secret crush on Zack since her early teens. Zack also has feelings for Lena that he has kept hidden all this time. He regrets waiting so long to pursue a romantic relationship. Zack hopes that Lena will give him a chance once she realizes it was him writing those love letters all along.

Letters from Home is a sweet story of a friendship that blossoms into something more. It’s a novella around 100 pages long, but despite the short length the characters were well-developed. Lena is a hard-working, motivated person who has never given herself the time to date or have a relationship. Zack, a former soldier himself, admires her dedication and understands her sacrifices.

Zack is definitely my type--a tall, handsome, military man with blue eyes and curly brown hair. Oh, and he’s also thoughtful and romantic, let’s not forget that! I love the way he treats Lena. Lena tries to fight her growing feelings for him as she waits for her Christmas surprise from the letter writer, not knowing it is actually Zack.

Just when I thought I had the ending all figured out, the Christmas morning scene surprised me with a dramatic twist. I was a little annoyed at that, but only because I’ve read a handful of books lately that used a similar plot twist.

Overall, I enjoyed this quick and satisfying novella. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for an uplifting holiday romance. show less

I’m a big fan of unrequited love and when I came across the synopsis to Bethany Strasser’s LETTERS FROM HOME, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to review it.

Character development is difficult in a novella because you’re limited with what you can do and Stasser gives us strong characters. Lena is a doctor in the United States Army and likes to keep busy. She can come off a little too strong and at times I didn’t like her, but it’s easy to understand why she acts the way she does. show more Then we have Zack who missed his opportunity to tell Lena how feels! I liked Zack and he’s honorable. He’s had to make some tough decisions, but he’s made them and is ready to move on with his life. We have a variety of secondary characters who play a role include Lena’s family. I liked her family and I really enjoyed how Strasser incorporated them into the narrative.

While I liked Strasser’s LETTERS FROM HOME, I was never shown why Lena was special. Why did Zack carry a torch for her all these years? We’re told they’ve been friends since Zack moved into the area and grew up with her brother, but we aren’t given any details regarding their friendship growing up other than Lena’s family accepted him. I would have liked that because it would have added a little more depth to their relationship. Also, we’re told they couldn’t be together because Zack is considered family. I can understand the hesitation especially since everyone knows Zack, but if he was okay to hang out with then surely he’d be okay for Lena to date? As for the premise, it’s cute and old fashioned regarding courting someone via letters. I just have to wonder how Zack really went about it. I mean Strasser does explain how the letters were set up, etc, but how much did Zack disguise of their history in those letters to Lena? Could she not have recognized the handwriting? These questions kept popping up and wouldn’t let go. Maybe in the end, Lena did know it was Zack, but didn’t want to believe it was him.

I don’t want to give spoilers, but my favorite two scenes involved both Zack and Lena. I loved the homecoming party her family gives her. Lena zeros in on a possible suspect for the letters and really liked Zack’s reaction when he realizes who it is. Then of course, the scene when Lena realizes who sent her the letters had me cheering.

Overall, LETTERS FROM HOME is a cute novella. I can easily see this being adapted for TV and maybe shown during the holidays. If you’re looking for a heartfelt romance, then Bethanne Strasser’s LETTERS FROM HOME is something you’ll want to look at. show less