I met my soulmate on July 17th, 2017. He wasn’t my typical type, but the way his ice blue eyes cut through me and his deep honeyed voice warmed me back up made him something new entirely; they were two of the million little things that seemed to make him mine.Except…I met my fiancé December 22nd, 2012.I didn’t plan for any of this to happen. Not to meet James Larrabee or to fall in love. Not to … fall in love. Not to hurt the people closest to me. And definitely, definitely not to write the letters that would be both my salvation and my damnation.
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Wow what an explosive 1st book of a duet that will leave you with such heartache wondering if these 2 character’s will ever find their way to each other. You can’t help falling in love with Mina and James.
Part 1 Mina is putting her thoughts and feelings in letters to James who she believes is her soulmate.You can just feel the emotions pouring out of these letters and you have to wonder why didn’t she just tell him how she felt, but in life it’s not so easy when your engaged to someone else while being in love with somebody else, so what better way to express yourself than in letters.
Part 2 Mina has slowly put her life back together 3 years later and things are good until James comes back in her life again telling her thing’s she knows she can’t trust him with her heart, but she also knows James and how hard it is for him to tell her how he feels and all she knows she won’t survive this time around.
Will they get thing’s worked out or will her insecurities win out and push him away even if he says he’s staying can Mina trust him?
This is definitely one to read this year.
My heart was literally touched from the very first page! Mina’s letters, oh my, those heartfelt deeply emotional words on the pages were so utterly fascinating and captivating! Heartfelt and true, my heart was palpitating at times and tears sprang from my eyes and I could feel what Mina was conveying. It built my intrigue and curiosity to learn more about Mina her insecurities and raw emotions and her feelings for James. James was an enigma until he appears three years later. We then learn more of what transpired. It ends with us wondering what happens next. I await All The Letters I’ve Ever Read with great anticipation!
Ace Gray is a new to me author and I can’t believe I’ve waited this long. This story is unique and realistic so very different from the “norm” in its uniqueness and impact. I can’t recommend this enough!
This is book 1 in the Handwritten & Heartbroken duet
This is my first book by Ace, and will definitely not be my last. I read the paperback and the cover is just gorgeous.
This is a story full of angst and heartbreak. Mina starts out by writing letters to James so she can get her feelings out that she can never tell him since she is engaged. She does not want to ruin their friendship, and does not think that he could ever feel that way about her. She has very low self confidence. Plus she would never leave her fiance Tanner.
Three years later after she finally let’s go of all the hurt he has caused and let him go, he comes back into her life.
This book is definitely a roller-coaster of emotions. Mina is a complicated character.
Ends on a cliffhanger, but book 2 All The Letters I’ll Ever Read is out now!!!
I definitely recommend this book!!!
This is the first book by this author for me and I’ve to say that I really enjoyed this emotional, dramatic and gripping story.
At first I was a bit surprised, because the first part of this book is a handwritten journal. Unbelievable chaotic and mysterious, because you don’t know the writer and who is the person to whom it’s written.
But the longer you read the more familiar the entries become.
I really really enjoyed this emotional roller-coaster.
The heartbreaking story about a girl that can’t forget her first and only but unfortunately unrequited love.
This story is not sweet and swoony, but raw and real.
It’s a journey through pain and heartbreak, but also a way to find yourself and self-love.
When you want a light and funny read it’s definitely not for you.
This story is real, emotional and nerve-wracking and I loved it because of it.
This is the first book in a duet and HER story, her feelings and her thoughts about love and life, but also so damn much more.
I can’t spoil it so I’ll stop just by this short review.
Read it! It’s really good
*Sigh*, I just loved James.
Wow, there is so many pent-up feelings, so much personal heartbreak, and for the first part, I thought they were only one-sided. Author Ace Gray’s approach to the first part of the books was written as the series of letters Mina wrote to someone she’d met and grown to love as her soul mate, but had never sent to him. I’ve never seen this story set up before, and I was intrigued from the start. It was only in Part Two that the relationship behind the letters was rounded out and things became self-explanatory.
This book will resonate with everyone whose continual thoughts of self-doubt and unworthiness have circulated into an ever-decreasing circle of self-hate in their heads. It colours every interaction that is had with someone whose opinions matter. When feelings aren’t or can’t be communicated due to circumstance, they become tarnished under the weight of mis-communication and mis-understanding. Mina was engaged to someone she’d thought she’d loved, but the relationship was already struggling, when she discovered the other half of her soul, but she never crossed the line of unfaithfulness. The emotional affair was strong, unbidden and one sided, and it broke her heart.
Mina’s letters were discovered by the man she was engaged to. He accused her of betrayal and crushed what was left of heart before he left. She shut down, moved back to her childhood town, and rebuilt her life. On the day she finally decided to put the past to rest, and burnt the letters to ash, Jamie arrived in her childhood town. He’d come for a prime job interview as an opportunity to be close to the place that he knew she’d grown up in.
What happens when three years, distance and circumstances change, and Mina discovered that James, the other half of her soul, had loved just as strong, but also wouldn’t and couldn’t cross the line because she belonged to another man……
Ace Gray has written a love story with an entirely new-to-me approach. Part one had the letters that Mina never sent to James and we saw the developing friendship between two workmates as only her feelings, penned on paper, one sided and coloured with self-doubt, weighted under a failing relationship where feelings of guilt and misguided loyalty further damaged an already battered soul.
I struggled with, but understood how the years had locked her heart down under the weight of heart-break and guilt. Why could she not let the past go and realise that her love HAD returned just as fiercely, but that James had been honourable in not giving away his own feelings. If she could only get rid of the extra baggage she insisted on dragging into the relationship – ‘self-doubt’, ‘un worthiness’.
This book was a delicious slow burn, quite sweet, and the angsty feelings between these two hurt my own heart, especially when James said this to Mina, “You question me, what I say to you, how I act around you, … it’s something in you. Which means not only is the woman I love hurting but also, I can’t fix it.”
I really wanted to slap Mina and say, just get in there, but her feelings were articulated so well, that I saw how delicate her mental health was, and just hoped she hadn’t broken herself beyond repair. The book ended with a mild cliffhanger that has me waiting with hopeful anticipation for the second book due out soon. I highly recommend this one to all angsty romance lovers for sure. 4.5 stars
This is a unique book, it seems you’re either going to love it or hate it. Ms Gray has stepped outside of the usual book for this author. It’s an angsty, emotional story of two friends who find themselves walking a fine line. Honestly there are times I really liked the characters and others I wanted to shake some sense into them. As you’d expect the first book in the duet finishes with a cliffhanger.
Part one of All the Letters I’ll Never Send You is written as love letters. Mina pours her heart and soul onto the pages. She declares her love, frustration, the heartbreak and tears when James turns her away because Mina has a fiancé and James has a girlfriend. Whilst she finds writing her innermost thoughts down on paper to be cathartic, the letters become the bane of her existence.
Part two picks up three years later, she’s trying to dust herself off and move past the pain. However James has moved into the small town where she has always been able to feel at peace. Mina isn’t ready to face him but he wants his friend back. She has deep seated insecurities and doesn’t trust herself to not be hurt. It’s going to take a huge leap of faith and you’d be forgiven for thinking she is sabotaging the relationship with James before it gets started. Let’s not dismiss how James has coped, too lightly though because his own path hasn’t been an easy one.
I was stoked to start reading this. I was excited! So I’m at 8% and I’m like “Oookay” At 14% more of the same I think I’m missing something yet I can’t pull away. At 18% I’m so invested. Intrigued. Consumed. I couldn’t turn pages fast enough. And I was feeling the character as if I was standing right next to her.
My 1st book by this author and I’m seriously amazed by her words. Her storytelling.
I cannot remember reading another book like this. And I don’t mean the trope. I mean the way it’s told. The way it read.
Oh my goodness. When I say all the feels with this read I don’t say that lightly.
I kept reading and thinking there’s no way this kind of emotion can keep UP throughout the entire book but it did!!
Quote “Mina, can I kiss you?” he asks, his words dark but breathless. “You already have,” I barely manage. “Then can I keep you?”
Every other phrase is packed with so much passion. Every other page is a punch right in the chest. It’s that kind of pain that while it’s hurting it feels good and you want to keep feeling good
This is definitely a different kind of book. It’s special. I loved it.
Quote I want to know that my heart was the only thing she ever took.
I’m still crying! This is one heck of a roller coaster ride. Being privy to Mina’s thoughts is crushing and I loved every minute of it!
This duet was even better than I imagined!
I noticed that are not many books we all love and treasure are realistic, plain and simple. Now hear me out, you love a book, you adore it, it has a place deep in your heart… BUT let me ask you this: how often do you read a book that does all of those things but actually feels real? A book that makes you say, “Oh shit, this is real, this could happen. Fuck I’ve lived some of this shit”
That’s what this book does. This book shows you real shit. It opens up the characters soul to you and bares it all for you to see. This duet has blown me away completely and I have no words to truly do it the justice it deserves. Not only is this a duet that will have you all up in your feels but it will bring you to your knees and make you fall head over heels for this couple.
This shit right here, this is real, raw and the fucking truth. This duet is something you read and feel entirely because well… you can resonate with these perfectly flawed and real characters and their messy but real love story- you resonate with it all because this is REAL.
This book is just amazing and has a special place in my soul, truly. And add onto all of that that this book is entirely in a male POV which few authors do, and are able to do well. Girl, this duet is a must read. James and Mina are EVERYTHING AND MORE. They are REAL. Their love, their story- it’s real shit. And REAL IS THE BEST.
Don’t go into this thinking that this is just another love story, because it isn’t. This is all the messiness, hurt and heartache that sometimes can be associated with love and relationships. It is a turbulent and tumultuous love story that is all kinds of complicated, and is powered by genuine vulnerability, apprehension and mistrust.
This book is about a woman who writes letters to her love, her soulmate, while she is struggling through the personal drama of doubt and uncertainty within their relationship. The intent is to pour all her feelings into words on a piece of paper to survive her fear and lack of confidence of herself and their happiness.
These characters are so multilayered and I think that is why Ms. Gray has me flipping all over the place like a fish about these characters. One minute I’m hating on James and feeling sorry for Mina, and the next I want to cuff Mina upside the head. I am sure my emotions haven’t had that kind of whiplash in quite some time.
To adequately describe these character’s dynamic and allure is not an easy feat as both are well beyond flawed. James is very unique, his lack of empathy almost comes across as narcissistic sometimes. He is the type of character that you love to hate and hate to love. Mina on the other hand is a river full of emotions and self doubt. Her emotional rollercoaster had me wanting to pop a handful of xanax to just deal with her uncertainty and insecurity. I honestly can say that neither character had a redeeming quality about them, but then something happened. Ace Gray, the talented author that she is, made me fall in love with both characters. I honestly didn’t think it was possible, but upon reading the last few chapters my heart went out to both James and Mina’s plight and I was rooting for them both.
In my opinion this is Ace Gray’s most significant and best piece of work, and I am ecstatic at having had the opportunity to read it!.
This is my first time reading anything from this author, and I found this to be an enjoyable read, that kept me entertained, and Intrigued. This is the first book in the Handwritten & Heartbroken Duet, and the story of James and Mina. Mina has feelings for James, feelings he doesn’t share, and so she writes him letters, that she never plans to give. Years later, when Mina moves on with her life, James re-enters, and stirs up her emotions. This was an emotional, raw, and gripping read, the characters are well written, and the story kept me intrigued. I look forward to the second book.
Amazingly beautiful and soulful letters introduce us to this story. It’s one of love that is both heartfelt and gut wrenching. In the beginning and periodically throughout this story, it’s told through poetic letters. I was captivated with the diary style story telling as I tried to figure out what was happening. Even though I became fond of the characters, I soon became frustrated with them. The self-doubt and lack of self-confidence caused a constant back and forth, together, not together story line.
“That is what love does. It turns my brain to mush and makes my heart hammer against my bones.”
Their love was a love so deep it overtook all their emotions and brain power. That played a huge part in the decisions the characters made as well as their lack of communication. We all know love can just as easily lift you up or rip you down, and that is exactly what these two experienced. The characters absolutely love each other and their love has potential to grow into something truly beautiful, but their issues and insecurities run so deep it’s a constant one step forward, eight steps back. It tore the characters up as much as it did me.
I appreciate the unique way the author had of presenting this story as wells as the beautiful poetic writing.
“You don’t know the new shape of my tears. The ones that happen to be the shape of you.”
Gah! What will it do with these two? Are they better apart or together? Warning, this story ends in a cliff hanger.
I read an ARC of book. My fair and honest review is voluntary.
This is the first time I’ve read a book by this author and I wasn’t disappointed it was absolutely fabulous. This book deserves all it’s five stars including many more. This is book #1.
Mina is in love with one man and engaged to another. Dilemma yep!
She didn’t plan this.
Mina wrote letters to James that actually helped her deal with everything in her mind and heart, but he’s not meant to ever physically see them.
When James turns up years later Mina can’t believe it she’s just got her life into some kind of order and he blows it in the air all apart.
The love between them both is very complicated and at times very raw, very deep and also beautiful.
I was hooked on this book from page one and I was really rooting for them to make it happen.
There journey is very relatable and personal. It’s real, hard and raw and this couple will stay with me a while.
They go through alot, alot of pain, heartbreak and this book is quite emotional.
The first part of this book is about the letters that she has written.
The story line was fantastic. It was emotional at times and just WOW.
This book could be made into it’s own film.
This book shows that sometimes love is not all smooth sailing and that sometimes it’s hard and you do have to work at it.
This book is a complete page turner and I just couldn’t put it down it keeps you completely hooked and I read it so fast. I really liked this authors writing style and this book is beautifully written, you could feel it the emotion through the pages.
I absolutely loved this book and I cannot wait to read more from this author in the future.
I will be highly recommending this book to everyone when it gets released.
Thank you to the author and publishers for allowing me to read an early copy of this book.
ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
This book is expected to be released on 23rd January 2020.
I don’t know what I was expecting with this book but I was intrigued from the blurb and boy, was I blown away! It started off with all the letters Mina wrote to James that she had no plans of him ever seeing. Through the letters we get to know her true feelings and also see how vulnerable and insecure she was. It’s heartbreaking. As the story progresses we get more of their story together and the fall out from those letters. I was rooting for them but the story is so emotional and gut wrenching because it’s real. This author has a way of writing this story that you can’t help but feel everything. I was left a little broken. Now I can’t wait for the second book to see how James and Mina make their relationship work.
All The Letters I’II Never Send You was an emotional read and will pull you into Mina and James angsty journey! The story was filled with love, loss, hurting, sadness and tears! Can Mina and James make it or will it break them??? Look forward to part two!
Ace Gray didn’t give us a fairytale. She gave us a lesson in real, pure & infatuated love. The kind that doesn’t come around often & you don’t get the choice of when it’s going to hit.
Imagine watching the love of your life; your soulmate being part of your life but not the way he should be. Instead your committed to someone else; someone who isn’t good for you but you made a commitment so you stay with them. Instead, you break your own heart each day. You listen to your own heart tear apart a little more each day and be okay with it because the pain of being watching them live their life is worth the joy that they bring to yours!
This story follows Mina as she puts pen to paper and allows her heart to bleed onto those pages. Not with the actual intention of giving them to that DEAR person they are addressed to but to expose her heart and what or who it beats for.
Mina’s story is full of every single thing that accompanies those real and true first loves!
EVERY LITTLE THING!
The way your soul feels when you’re close to them and the pain that follows losing that love.
I cried with Mina and then I cried for her when she didn’t have any tears left to cry.
If you love emotional books or even books that have a non traditional type of second chance romance…this book is perfect for you.
This was my very first Ace Gray book and considering this is a duet, I can assure you I’ll be back for book 2 of this amazing duet. I also can’t wait to see what else this author has up her sleeves. Her writing is very unique and beautiful.
This is the first book of the series. I absolutely fell in love and could not wait get my hands on the second book. In this book mina is engaged to someone she doesn’t truly feel is her soulmate. Mina met James at her work and they instantly clicked as good friends. Mina started to get real feelings for James, and since she couldn’t tell them, she would write him letters that she was never go to send to get her feelings out. Her soon to be husband found the letters and called off the wedding. James started to distance himself when he started to have feelings for mina, and mina feels betrayed. When mina finally gets her life back on track, well for the most part, james comes popping into town and when they see each other again, the chemistry is still strong but they both try to fight it. This book is very angsty, and will give you all the feels.
All The Letters I’ll Never Send You… is like Jenny Han’s To All The Boys I Loved before but for adults, and if Laura Jean’s letter had never been sent, and amped up about 1000 on the steamy scale. I really did enjoy reading part 1 of this duet and eagerly looking forward to reading part 2. There is a lot to love about these characters and their journey, Angst is a common theme I’ve found in books written by Ace Gray and it is part of why I go back again and again. If you enjoy an angsty read, then I’d give this a shot. Because you will get that in loads!
I have to knock it down a star though because the on again off again, while understandable with both Mina and James’ pasts, got a bit too much. There was a point that I almost agreed that they two were not meant to be together. And if it wasn’t for the fact that each, mostly Mina, took to the time to really think about her feelings for James and if it was enough, I would have stayed in that mindset. In the end though I do think that these two are evenly matched and show what real like love can be. Its not easy or always pretty and sometimes you have to fight for it, fight everyone to show it is real. Mina and James are an interesting couple and their story deserves a read 100%
-Mackenzie
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This is the first book by Ace Gray I’ve read but it certainly wont be my last. Beautifully written. Utterly consumed.
The story is a mix between Mina’s past and present life, and partly written through theraphetic letters to James, that were never sent.
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The characters were very relatable. Through the writing I was able to feel what the main characters felt. Feelings of helplessness, frustration and hopefulness. Realistic characters with real wants and faults.
My emotions were all over the place reading about Mina’s heartbreak and insecurities and the decisions they made. It made me think about different types of bonds. Lots of little factors which make or break a relationship. And what really matters.
“ , . ’ .”
The story questions how much you put into a relationship, and whether real love is supposed to be easy or worth the fight.
The end left my heart uncertain. Eagerly anticipating its counter part. All The Letters I’ve Ever Read, Handwritten & Heartbreak Book 2 comes out Feb 27th.
The book can slightly be compared to the book To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han, but with adult characters, and more real life version. Recommended to anyone who wants to read a realistic journey to finding love. May prefer to wait until both books are available.
Wow, what an emotional rollercoaster! Ace Gray is currently holding my heart in her hands until I get All The Letters I’ve Ever Read…the conclusion to this duet. In the meantime, I can tell you that this story is full of devastating emotions that held me to the edge of my seat and kept me reading until 3am. If you’ve never read Ace’s stories before, what a great time to pick up a new author. This forbidden, Best Friends/Enemies to lovers romance is angsty in the extreme and sexy with beautiful writing that will reel you into the story in short order. The author begins the book with page after page of notes…letters from Mina to her best friend, James. These tragic and emotionally wrenching letters told you so much about their characters and Mina’s emotional state and was truly a fabulous way of drawing in the reader. Their evidence of everything falling apart. Of just how catastrophic the emotional devastation was/is for Mina. And honestly, I think they were a stroke of genius on behalf of the brilliant Ace Gray. Also, I was enthralled by the covers for this duet the moment I saw them and as a fan of Ace’s writing in general, I requested a chance to review this for my blog. I would definitely recommend this story if you like to read angsty romances. I can’t wait for the conclusion of this duet!