The Letter: Kitty's Story (Life on the Moors, #1)

by Eliza J. Scott

[Lynn]

With a verbally abusive, philandering husband, Kitty has put up with Dan Bennett, the father of her children for their sake; to keep the family together. After years of putting up with his intimidating and controlling behaviour and with the encouragement of those closest to her, she begins to stand up for herself and in doing so realises she still has feelings for someone which have been locked away for too long...until now.

Single father, Ollie Cartwright has always loved Kitty Fairfax and regretted not fighting for her when barrister Dan Bennett sank his possessive claws into the woman he loved. Now, he's determined to win her back as the old Kitty regains her strength and confidence to re-build her life after her husband leaves. Will there be a 'happy ever after' for them after all these years or is it too late?

First things first...I love that not only is this novel written in British English, it's full of Yorkshire references and dialect I'm familiar with. For me, reading The Letter-Kitty's Story brought me back to my roots with the language I grew up speaking and hearing. Therefore I was instantly captivated by not only the mostly likeable ensemble characters but by the wonderful backdrop of the North Yorkshire Moors and York itself; areas I'm familiar with.

With the laugh out loud humour, Ms Scott kept me highly entertained as Kitty finally finds the courage to walk away from her toxic marriage. With more shocking revelations exposed, the light-hearted narrative still manages to deal with the seriousness of other social issues exposed in a timely manner. With entertaining banter flying between the characters, many of the secondary ones are exaggerated caricatures, yet this only adds to their overall charm. There's a lot happening in and around the chocolate box pretty Lytell Stangdale and sometimes I felt too many secondary plot threads were introduced which didn't add anything significant to the overall narrative. I kept up with them all but felt some could be used in future books.

To sum up, a delightful début novel. I had absolutely no idea what to expect when I began reading this story which far exceeds my expectation. I've read similar small town/community series based mostly in the US. So, for me, this first book in the "Life on the Moors" series is a welcome breath of fresh air because I can easily relate to the wonderful cast of characters. So whether you are curled up beside a warm fire drinking Kitty's favourite hot chocolate or basking in the sunshine with her other favourite; a glass of Prosecco. The Letter-Kitty's Story is the perfect novel for any time of the year.

***arc received courtesy of the publisher***