LOVE LETTERS – Debbie Macomber
Rose Harbor Inn Series , Book 3
Ballantine
ISBN-13: 978-0-553-39113-8
e-ISBN: 978-0-553-39114-5
August 2014
Women's Fiction

Cedar Cove, Washington – Present Day

The story so far:  Jo Marie Rose left her lucrative banking job in Seattle following the death of her husband, Paul, in Afghanistan.  Now, she owns The Rose Harbor Inn in Cedar Cove, where she welcomes guests in the hopes that the small town and her cozy bed and breakfast establishment will provide a place of refuge and healing for all those who come to stay.

Local handyman Mark Taylor has helped Jo Marie around the inn, taking care of the maintenance, planting her rose garden, and hopefully, finishing the gazebo in the very near future.  But Mark takes his own sweet time working on the projects on Jo Marie's list, which is a huge bone of contention for Jo Marie.  Mark is a puzzle to her, and she realizes that he knows much more about her and her life than she knows about his.  She has no idea where he comes from, about his family, or his past.  A man who seems to work only when he is in the mood surely has some other means of support, but Jo Marie is clueless.  She wonders if he is hiding something sinister.  Just who is this mysterious man?  Even though Jo Marie reaches out to Mark and tries to coax him into telling her about himself, he blatantly refuses.  His only fondness seems to be her peanut butter cookies.

Meanwhile, Jo Marie is preparing to welcome new guests.  Ellie Reynolds is staying at The Rose Harbor Inn, preparing to meet a man she met on line.  It's a big leap for Ellie, whose nay saying mother is totally against her traveling from Oregon to Washington just to take up a relationship with a stranger.  Also registered at the inn are Maggie and Roy Porter, a married couple who are finally taking a long deserved vacation, the first since their children were young.

And as Jo Marie prepares for a visit from her family, she seeks to learn more about Mark, even resorting to asking about him when she visits with friends, who are quick to notice that Jo Marie is quite preoccupied with Mark.  Perhaps she likes him more than she admits?  Jo Marie nixes that particular suggestion; she's still hurting over Paul's death, reading and re-reading his old love letters.  All except that one last envelope she hasn't opened:  the one marked for her to read if he didn't come home from the war.  And, as always, her little adopted dog Rover is at her side, giving comfort when she needs a warm hug.

The third novel in the Rose Harbor Inn series , LOVE LETTERS is a warm and poignant story that leads us into the lives of Jo Marie, Mark, the residents of Cedar Cove, along with the guests staying at the Rose Harbor Inn.   The delightful story of LOVE LETTERS follows THE INN AT ROSE HARBOR (September 2012), and ROSE HARBOR IN BLOOM (August 2013), but it stands alone on its own merits.  These novels are heartwarming glimpses into the lives of special characters.

LOVE LETTERS is and will be a treasured edition to any reader's collection.

Diana Risso