Seven Letters: A Novel

J. P. Monninger

Oct 2019 · Sold by St. Martin's Griffin

About this ebook

J. P. Monninger, author of the international bestseller The Map That Leads to You, the novel Nicholas Sparks called “romantic and unforgettable", tells a poignant love story of the ways the world divides two souls—and the way that love brings them together.

Kate Moreton is in Ireland on sabbatical from her teaching position at Dartmouth College when she meets Ozzie Ferriter, a fisherman and a veteran of the American war in Afghanistan. The Ferriter family history dates back centuries on the remote Blasket Islands, and Ozzie – a dual citizen of Ireland and the United States – has retreated to the one place that might offer him peace from a war he cannot seem to leave behind.

Beside the sea, with Ireland’s beauty as a backdrop, the two fall deeply in love and attempt to live on an island of their own making, away from the pressures of the outside world. Ireland writes its own love stories, the legends claim, and the limits of Kate and Ozzie’s love and faith in each other will be tested. When his demons lead Ozzie to become reckless with his life—and Kate’s—she flees for America rather than watch the man she loves self-destruct. But soon a letter arrives informing Kate that her heroic husband has been lost at sea, and Kate must decide whether it is an act of love to follow him or an act of mercy to forget.

Ratings and reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Seven Letters by J.P. Monninger and found it an emotional and amazing book. Kate Moreton take a sabbatical from her teaching so to research in Ireland the women of Blasket Island. In Dingle she meets Ozzie Ferriter, a fisherman and veteran of the American war on Afghanistan. The Ferriter family history is tied to the remote Blasket Islands and Ozzie, a citizen of both the US and Ireland, returned to the one place that might offer him peace from a war he is unable to forget and leave behind. Kate and Ozzie fit together like yin and yang, or two puzzle pieces. They each have so much love for the other, which brings them together; leaving their life in a world of their creation. When Ozzie’s demons drive him to become reckless with his life, and Kate’s, she makes the hardest decision ever; leave Ozzie and return to America instead of watching him self-destruct. When Kate receives word that Ozzie has been lost at sea she reacts as a woman still in love with her husband; searching for clues, evidence, answers to the truth of who Ozzie was. Warning: keep tissues nearby while reading this book. Mr. Monninger wrote an amazing tale, using words to visualize the beauty of the location and history of the land. Kate and Ozzie were life-like character, sharing a love so strong, that their souls are joined. I highly recommend Seven Letters to other readers. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

I received a free electronic copy of this novel On August 4, 2019, from Netgalley, J. P. Monninger, and St. Martins Press - Griffin. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest personal opinion of this work. This is a book I will want to read again, by an author I will follow. Kate Moreton is a member of the teaching staff at Dartmouth working on her dissertation, a close family history of the settlement of the Blasket Islands off the south and west coasts of Ireland, and then the removal of those settlers by the Irish Land Commission in 1953. She has received a scholarship that will allow her to spend a semester in that area, doing research and taking oral histories to add those stories of her father, deceased these last 4 years, and the memories and histories of the enclave of Blasket Islanders who immigrated and settled, along with her family, in the Springfield/Chicopee areas of Massachusetts. She has already a lot of information and feels that a few months on the site will finish her work, and she can move on. J. P. Monninger takes us to those isles, that isolated part of Ireland, her words providing a clear picture of that area, making real the heartbreak being removed from those islands and that way of life was for her family and others. Kate meets many interesting people on her travels to Dingle Peninsula, the dropping off place for the Islands. Most notably she is touched by ancient Nora Crean and her sidekick Shamus. Not to mention Nora's grandson Ozzie Ferriter, a fellow American and military veteran who recently served in Afghanistan. Already she is feeling immersed in the lore that is Ireland. From Dingle, she makes her way to the University of Limerick, where she will live in a small apartment and have a free hand at the associated library to work on her research. It is summer, so many of the carrels at the library are not being used, but Kate gets along well with the occasional drop-in and finds herself with growing friendships among the staff at the university. And then she meets again Ozzie and finds herself falling hard, almost against her will, for this troubled man. And as are most who love those deeply damaged by war, she cannot find a way to reach him, help him, even understand him. But once back home, neither can she forget him. This is an excellent novel with much information and interaction with the refugee problems in Europe and Africa, an exceptional look at what can and cannot be done to help those refugees find asylum, all tied up in an interesting tour of New England Winter and Italy's involvement in the Syrian crisis. It sounds complicated, but it all folds together through seven letters, to and from various protagonists. This is a special read.

3.5 stars Seven Letters is beautifully written, and Monninger certainly knows how to paint a scene. It actually felt like more time was spent on the setting than on the love story, or maybe it was that those were some of my favorite parts. The romance was good, not great, but good, but that could be due to a lack of connection with Kate. I just never quite warmed up to her. I've seen that this one is headed for the silver screen, so I'm anxious to see how it all translates to film. I'm hoping to find Kate a little easier to like, and I can't wait for the terrific scenery described. In the end, Seven Letters fell just short of a really good story and landed somewhere in the mid-range for me.

About the author

J.P. MONNINGER, author of The Map That Leads to You, is an award-winning writer in New England and Professor of English at Plymouth State University.