Review: Letters to Lincoln

Letters to Lincoln by Tracie Podger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Letters to Lincoln is such an emotional read. It’s a wonderful read, filled with emotions from both ends of the spectrum and everywhere in-between. It will break your heart and leave you smiling. It is one of those books that manages to feed you so many different things.

Truthfully, I’m tempted to push aside the ‘contemporary romance’ label this book has been given. Whilst it does fall into that category, to label it in such a way minimises what people can expect from it. The story is so much more than your standard contemporary romance. In fact, the romantic elements take a bit of a backseat. It is a story of life. Of living. Of moving forward. Of acceptance. Of recognition. It is one of those stories that contains so many different elements. It is deep and passionate, forcing you to experience more than you could ever imagine. It deals with family, friendship, heartache, pain, and so much more. Each time you think you’ve reached all the hard-hitting elements, something more hits you. Blow after blow is made, leaving you an emotional wreck throughout.

From the very first page, the emotions hit you, breaking your heart. You feel so many emotions for the main character even before you know her. The mere knowledge of what has happened – of the loss she experiences, of losing both her husband and unborn child – rips you apart and leaves you connected to her in ways you could never imagine. Then, as the story starts to move, you connect with her in many other ways. You feel for her, not only because of what she went through – and because of what she is still going through – but because she is a character, you can come to love. She is real, she is flawed, and she wiggles into your heart.

However, one blow is not enough. Life has a way of kicking you when you’re down. As the story progresses more and more elements are introduced. Some are predictable, yet such does not lessen the impact. You become truly invested in the story, and each new aspect leaves you wanting more. You’re left curious as to how everything comes together, you’re left wanting to know all the details. It sucks you in and refuses to let go, the good and bad (there’s a lot of the latter, be warned) leaving you unwilling to put the story down.

Throughout the drama that is our main character’s life, we have the reason for the title – letters written to Lincoln. We come to love Lincoln in the same way we love our main characters, connecting due to the intense emotions involved. There’s the continuous underlying element of who Lincoln is (although I will admit it was rather clear), and we’re constantly left loving him more and more as he grows as a person.

In the background is that love story I spoke of, hence the contemporary romance label. It is never at the forefront of the story. It is not the focus of the story. It happens, it is a message of hope, but it is not what the story is about. In fact, it was my least favourite element of the story. I enjoyed it, yet it felt a bit cheap when compared to the rest of the story. The romance elements happened very quickly towards the end of the story, never feeling quite as intense as the elements at the start of the book.

Overall, however, this was a wonderful read. A truly emotional read, a truly enjoyable read, which I cannot recommend enough. Read it – you won’t regret the decision.

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