An Amazon Charts and Washington Post bestseller.From New York Times bestselling authors Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward comes an unexpected love story that started with a boy and girl and heats up when the man and woman reconnect.I’d never forgotten him—a man I’d yet to meet.Griffin Quinn was my childhood pen pal, the British boy who couldn’t have been more different from me. Over the years, through … been more different from me. Over the years, through hundreds of letters, we became best friends, sharing our deepest, darkest secrets and forming a connection I never thought could break.
Until one day it did.
Then, out of the blue, a new letter arrived. A scathing one—one with eight years of pent-up anger. I had no choice but to finally come clean as to why I stopped writing.
Griffin forgave me, and somehow we were able to rekindle our childhood connection. Only now we were adults, and that connection had grown to a spark. Our letters quickly went from fun to flirty to downright dirty, revealing our wildest fantasies. So it only made sense that we would take our relationship to the next level and see each other in person.
Only Griff didn’t want to meet. He asked that I trust him and said it was for the best. But I wanted more—more Griff, in the flesh—so I took a big chance and went looking for him. People have done crazier things for love.
But what I found could change everything.
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Thinking about writing this review I don’t think that there are any words that I write that will do this book justice. Dirty Letters is the latest co-write of Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward and it is original and incredible!
Griff and Luca were childhood pen pals until something happened in Luca life that suddenly had her no longer sending letters to him. Fast forward a few years and out of the blue she receives a letter from Griffin telling her that she sucked for stopping to write to him years ago. This is a story that will be best if I don’t tell you how this plays out. I will tell you your emotions will be on a constant roller coaster!!
It is told in dual POV, it touched my heart so much, I loved it from start to finish!!
This dynamic duo continues to deliver #1 hits!!!!
Dirty Letters is one of my favorite books this year! I loved Luca from the very beginning and Griffin stole my heart as well. This book became a personal favorite because Luca reminds me of a dear friend that has a milder form of this phobia. Griffin is so patient and thoughtful with Luca and I gained a lot of insight and empathy towards those living with this condition. I highlighted many notes in this story and it is beautifully written. Excellent story!
This book!! Full of heart, healing, and love, Dirty Letters was EVERYTHING I never knew I needed in my life.
Luca and Griffin were two amazing characters that captured my heart. Their friendship goes back to a more innocent time of their lives and when everything finally comes together for the two of them, sparks fly! I love Griffin’s attention to Luca’s needs and the length in which he goes to for her. Luca, wow, she undoubtedly is one of my most favorite heroines ever. I enjoyed that this story was low on drama but big in heart! Truly, a story that made me laugh, cry and love.
Overall Grade:
“But the weird thing is, while he didn’t know my identity and vice versa, he probably knew the real me better than anyone at that time.”
Some of my favorite books in literature have been what we call epistolary novels. An epistolary novel or story is one that is created through letters between the hero and heroine of a story. There something interesting to me about people writing letters back-and-forth to each other, using their emotions and inner thoughts to drive the story forward. Letters are personal artifacts of a person’s inner self. Most of the time, they come closest to the true essence of a person because their anonymity gives you the ability to pour your soul on the page. It’s why books like The Coquette engaged me during my literature studies. Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward’s newest book, Dirty Letters, illustrates this power of the written word to bear one’s soul and heart.
Dirty Letters tells the story of Griffin and Luca. Griffin and Luca become pen pals as children. Their pen-pal relationship continues well into their teens/young adulthood (18) when tragedy strikes in Luca’s life and ends their relationship. Struggling through life with agoraphobia, Luca comes upon a letter one day, many years later, from Griffin. This letter becomes the impetus for their reconciliation as pen pals. Through this reconciliation, Luca and Griffin fall deeper into like, and one day, Luca is challenged to seek out the mystery of Griffin. She travels to California, where Griffin lives, to discover that he isn’t who she believes him to be. Will the love they began to grow in their letters find purchase in real life, or will Griffin’s secret life complicate their future?
One thing you ought to know about me with respect to Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward is I ADORE their heroes. Don’t get me wrong. Their heroines are well-crafted and interesting, but there is something special about the craftsmanship of their heroes. And Griffin is no different. Griffin has a secret (I won’t tell you that because I don’t want to spoil anything), and it complicates his relationship with Luca. But here’s the thing, here’s what’s usually dreamy about Keeland and Ward’s heroes, they adore their heroine. Like from day one. They fall fast for them, and there is something sexy and attractive about it. Rarely do their heads turn for anyone else once the heroine enters their life, and this is Griffin’s truth. It is also what generally causes the emotional crescendo of their romances, which is pronounced in this story. Griffin wants everything with Luca the minute she lands in California, and he is willing to move heaven and earth to make her his, even given her condition. It’s that type of hero that makes you believe that someone can love you like that. Even when the strife seeks to wreck their relationship, it’s your heart for Griffin that tears at your soul. That happens because Keeland and Ward create the heck out of their heroes. I challenge you to dislike Griff. You won’t be able to do it.
Additionally, Luca’s character is so complicated that it’s glorious to read. Honestly, besides their relationship strife, her characterization wrought the most emotional impact for me. She is complex and even, at times, difficult to like. In the eyes of Griffin, she’s glorious; she’s strength personified. Yet, to build that strength, she puts her readers through emotional turmoil, namely frustration. But I think that’s Keeland and Ward’s way of teaching us patience and empathy. It’s easy to be frustrated with Luca because we can’t understand her anxieties fully, which acts as an admonishment of sorts from our authors that showing empathy is necessary. Griffin and Doc (Dr. Maxwell) show us how to love Luca, how to love others like her. That’s an important lesson in this romance.
Lastly, Doc, Dr. Maxwell, is a treasure in this book. Oh my goodness. His character placed a smile on my face, and I can’t help but think that he’s the jester of this tale. In medieval tales, the jester exacts the comedy, but his words ring truth through the story. And that is Doc. He speaks wisdom to both Griffin and Luca, challenging them to love each other better while making us laugh with his love for birds and his eccentricity. I was thankful time and time again for him in this story as he balanced Griffin and Luca’s story well.
Finally, the epilogue to this story is one of my favorites of this year, if not ever. Once Griffin and Luca find their HEA, I love how Keeland and Ward present the sweet rewards of their trials. It’s loaded with so many special moments that I hated when it ended because there was a nostalgic melancholy entwined in it. Can I be honest? I hated finishing Dirty Letters because I simply loved Luca and Griffin’s story. This is how I feel when I finish a Keeland and Ward story, though. Their stories capture little pieces of my soul and fill the holes left behind with an understanding of the powerful nature of love to overcome life. The words of Griffin and Luca in this epistolary novel of sorts help us realize the power of words to build love. Ultimately, Dirty Letters is such a moving read for this year.
Oh I wasn’t prepared for the tears with this one! I think this has become my favorite Vi and Penelope book. I couldn’t put it down once I started. Luca and Griffin have been pen pals since they were 8 years old. They lost touch for 8 years and then Griffin reaches out but time and distance have not been in their favor. There are pasts to overcome, stories to tell and identities to define. Can these two find a way to navigate their forever together or is too little too late?
Love, love, LOVE THIS BOOK!
Ok seriously, this duo has once again written a fabulous story with some amazing characters. They have a way of making you fall in love with their leading man and sainting to be nest friends with their main female character.
In this case, Griffin n “Cole” is Luca’s British, long lost pen pal. They’d begun writing back when they were twelve and eventually lost touch. Griffin is also known as Cole Archer, lead singer of the hugely successful band Archer
Luca is our protagonist and she has some issues. Having suffered a past trauma, Luca is now agoraphobic and panics when faced with tight, cramped spaces and crowds. Her lifestyle is the opposite of Griffin’s.
Toss in a cross-country road trip and a pet pig, and you have all the ingredients for a wonderful romance story.
Dirty Letters takes a soulful look at love. It’s raw. It’s tempting. It’s haunting. Yet somehow Keeland and Ward manages to keep the heart invested and the hormones on full alert. Luca and Griffin have a love song unlike any other. From young pen pals to adult romance. The potholes seem endless, but so is the heart’s determination to survive. What begins in innocence becomes a gritty dance that will take on unforgettable and insurmountable odds to get to irresistible love. The love they have stays on the mind while take up residence within the heart.
Could I BE any happier
I’m still a huge Friends fan so love the Chandler references.
I say this each book but it’s always true, this book is awesome and this is my new favorite.
First of all, I love the lost art of letter writing. That certainly got my attention, then you throw in Griffin who is a great dirty letter writer, seriously some great imagery. Luca is a brave soul, imagining her anxiety made me anxious. I love every single thing these two wonderful ladies write, their words jump off the page and wring all the emotion out of you. I couldn’t love it more, another fantastic book by the dynamic duo!
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this book! It was amazing! Luca and Griffin story was beautifully written! You could feel everything they were feeling! I couldn’t put it down! You will not regret reading this story!!
I cannot gush enough about how much I loved Dirty Letters! The premise was unique and so the romance was so full of emotion. Both Luca and Griffin were suffering- Luca dealing with her crippling anxiety and Griffin with the consequences of his celebrity. What a beautiful journey from pen pals to when they first meet in person. Every single word of this amazing co-write was perfection- absolutely one of my favorites of 2019.
This writing duo has served us up a really special story.
Luca and Griffin had been pen-pals from a very young age. Though they never met, the two developed a sweet friendship.
Over the years of corresponding,their friendship only grew deeper.
But suddenly the letters just stopped and Griffin was left extremely hurt and confused. Eight years later, Luca is surprised to receive an anger fueled letter from Griffin.
She decides to come clean and explain to him what happened all those years ago and what had caused her to cut off all connection with him.
As we learn, along with Griffin, she’s been through quite a lot. The effects she’s still working on till this day.
The two basically pick up right where they left off.
It’s safe to say, as they continued to reconnect, the letters became increasingly steamy and more passionate.
Luca also opens up to him about her extreme anxiety issues and how it’s affected her every day life.
I think the fact that the only communication they had was through hand written letters made there connection extra special and undeniable.
Luca is dying to see and meet Griffin or at least have a more recent picture of him sent to her. And he kinda just tells her, he likes what they have. It’s special, why change it?
Truth is, they both want nothing more to meet but what is holding Griffin back?
Well, Luca is about to find out.
This book was so very well written, and I think, quite different than anything this duo has written before.
They tackled some sensitive issues with care but didn’t shy away from exploring the reality that a person with anxiety feels like on a daily basis.
Sure, there was some not so believable aspects, which I won’t spoil, but I was so wrapped up in the story that it didn’t affect the overall experience.
After such a difficult struggle for these two during the events in this book, it was wrapped up pretty abruptly. I would’ve liked to see more of that.
Luca and Griffin went through so much to get their happily ever after, but I promise you, it’s one worth reading. Beautiful!
I might finnished Dirty Letters … with “reading” but definetly, I’m not over this book. My mind and heart are still with Griffin and Luca…. Oh wow what a beautiful and heartwarming love story ! I don’t want to do anything more besides rereading Dirty Letters over and over again !!!!
Vi and Penelope steal my heart another, propably molionth time !!!!! Since first word, first sentence and first paige I was sure – this book will suck me in compeletely, and I will miss Griffin and Luca after this adventure. Today I’m sure – Dirty Letters will be my favorite book from this authors.
Griffin and Luca… their story made me literally swoon. Okay… they have some turbulences during this adventure, but they owned my EVERYTHING . They are sweet, they are sexy…. and little dirty obviously BUT I loved to see that they could be funny too. I was laughing with them, crying for them…. and loving them hard. I can’t find words, which are good enough to describe how they are petfect for each other in readers eyes….. and how amazing Vi and Penelope wrote about them ! Dirty Letters is for sure must read story for anyone who loves this authors and good romances !
4.5 Love Is Everything stars!
Luca is a 25 yr. old woman living in Vermont who loves her job. She lives a small town life without much excitement. Then she receives a blast from the past, when a letter arrives from her childhood pen pal. Griffin was the British boy whose words she’d fallen in love with. He was her best friend, and she’d lived for his letters. They meant everything to her, but a misunderstanding had left them estranged since they were teenagers. Stopping their communication had always been one of her biggest regrets in life.
Luca and Griffin hadn’t exchanged letters in almost eight years, but their connection was still just as strong. Their letters quickly go from platonic to playful and flirty as they begin reconnecting. The boy who’d once been so dear to her was now a man, and she wanted to finally take the next step, and meet in person, but he didn’t. They cared deeply about one another, and Luca decides it’s time to finally take a chance on love.
Dirty Letters by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward is a beautiful friends to lovers romance about two pen pals who formed an unbreakable bond as children, and as adults fate brings them back to one another. It’s a story about love, trust, and taking chances. I really loved this one!
To be honest this book was much more different than I expected. The whole storyline was just so much deeper and more meaningful than I could have ever imagined. I fell totally in love with Luca and Griffin. Their love story is just so heartbreaking and beautiful!
The blurb doesn’t reveal much of the story and so I was positively surprised how the story developed. I fell in love with Luca and her insecurities, and I fell in love with Griffin and his passion for his job and their friendship. The whole story is just thrilling and exciting. It’s something new and everything that happenes made me fall even more in love with them.
It was a sweet, fun and deep story with a lot of passion. Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward definitely outdid themselfes with this story. It is by far one of the most meaningful and heartfelt stories they wrote. Definitely a must read.
Vi Keeland once again led me on an emotional journey that swept me up and held me captive. This is a story of Luca and Griffin who became pen pals in second grade. An ocean separates them, but that doesn’t quail their deep connection or strong friendship until the letters quit coming without explanation. An emotional tale of a strong bond that can’t be reciprocated, but a deep longing for more.
A 5 Star Must Read *****
When Luca receives an angry letter from her former pen pal, Griffin, years after they stopped corresponding, she’s floored. She never thought she’d hear from him again after she had ghosted him, and she definitely never thought that if he did send another letter, it would be so ANGRY. But she knows inside that he has every right to be so mad, after all, they had become something like best friends through the years, then she just stopped writing back, shut down and shut everyone out. So she will explain and hopefully Griffin will understand and they can go back to exchanging the heartfelt, funny letters they used to.
Luckily for her, he more than understands, he empathizes, and keeps sending her letters. Except now they’re not just heartfelt, they’re all kinds of intimate and DIRTY, and the two fall back into their old roles, with the added benefit of a layer of sexy in the mix. But Griffin’s keeping a secret and it just may be the one obstacle they cannot get past, even more of an obstacle than Luca’s anxiety and fears.
“Even though you’ve left scars . . . You’re still my sun, moon, and stars.”
Damn…Dirty Letters was not what I was expecting. Well, it was, but it was also MORE, so much more. I still get tears in my eyes when I think of this story, and it’s still in my heart where the best stories remain. What Luca went through, was still experiencing even at the end of the epilogue, was just so freaking heart tugging that I’m welling up as I write this review. And Griffin? That man is pure gold right there. Absolute gold, the very best kind of man – sweet and compassionate and so loving and PATIENT. That’s why I’d say he is Vi and Penelope’s most swoony hero to date. I absolutely 200% loved Dirty Letters and will never, ever forget it. Griffin and Luca and Doc and Hortencia (and Furbys!) are in my heart and they’re going to stay there forever!
5 ‘My sun, moon and stars’ Stars!
ARC provided by the the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward just keep getting better. This incredible duo have written another unique love story that is now surely one of my top favorites by them. Their stories have just the right amount of everything I love in a romance novel and Dirty Letters is no exception. Get your grabby hands ready because you don’t want to miss this release coming November 5th!
So, Dirty Letters is this duo’s upcoming novel and it’s a standalone contemporary romance. It’s focused in two childhood pen-pals that lost touch years ago and reconnect after Luca (the heroine) finds a new letter from Griffin while in a trip to New York. Actually, it was Luca who decided to cut that relationship short and now, feeling guilty over everything that made her stop writing in the past, she finally writes back to her angered friend. That is the start of a series of letters that become dirty, honest and sentimental and it also starts this beautiful love story.
Sometimes when you follow your dreams, you realize they aren’t free, and the cost is far greater than you’d ever anticipated.
Wow, that was such a fresh read! I knew when it comes to Vi and Penelope that it will not be a typical romance and that is what makes their stories so wonderful to read. Luca suffers from agoraphobia (consequence of a heartbreaking event in her past) and her rekindled connection with Griffin starts her slowly coming out of her shell. It was so touching to see the development of this love story, especially with the difficulties of Griffin being a famous musician and how that affects them both in different ways.
As if his gorgeous face, flawless body, and sexy voice weren’t enough—God seriously pulled out all His tricks when He made this man.
I just loved this couple so much, from beginning to end. I loved the start of their relationship with the letters, how those feelings and sexual tension exploded when they finally meet in person and how emotional everything became for them. Of course, Griffin was so swoony and, obviously, he is very talented with his mouth (and not only to sing!). The sexy scenes were amazing and the chemistry and connection between Luca and Griffin was to die for. It was a long and interesting journey for these characters but I am so glad they found their HEA.
Love is everything. It matters more than fear, more than death. It transcends time.
Therefore, I am rating Dirty Letters with 5 STARS because I always enjoy a unique romance novel and Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward definitely did not disappoint with this one. We even get a wonderful surprise in the end and, trust me, you don’t want to miss it. I loved Griffin and Luca, how they took their relationship to the next level and the special connection they share. I just love these two authors working together and I cannot wait for whatever is coming next!
I love the direction this fabulous duo went with their newest tease of Dirty Letters. From beginning to end this was an absolutely entertaining read. There’s secrets, adventure, insane chemistry and even a quirky doc and pig thrown in the mix. I know right?! You don’t want to miss Luca and Griffin’s journey from pen to person!
I read an early copy for review purposes
Griffin and Luca,
You deserve the world and more
To think that tragedy can spark such beauty
In our lives, when least expected
Despite the fear, the loss
You refuse to hide, you rise, and you thrive
Such words can uplift you, music can understand you
If you let it seep into your soul and light a fire
You both can make it through and back to each other
No matter the obstacle, no matter the fall
You’ll breathe life into one another
All will be well
Yours,
A girl who needed a happily ever after
I thought I would write back to these characters because both Griffin and Luca made me feel every possible feeling, both dark and light. It’s refreshing to read a story where the characters embody such realism. Particularly, when that realism can be found inside so many people in this world. Dealing with personal issues that can derail them on their best days.
Furthermore, these two had the best love story. A fairytale despite all of the harsh reality and tragedy intertwined. I absolutely love how these authors can make me burn, cry, seethe, and swoon throughout the entirety of a story.
I love the unique way this story is told and I love all of the characters. I love the concept behind how Griffin and Luca come together and how they fight for one another. Giving up is easy, sticking it out and fighting? That’s heart and strength. I’m so glad Griffin and Luca has both, without even realizing how much.
Vi & Penelope have done it YET AGAIN! Dirty Letters is just brilliant. I absolutely fell in love with Luca and Griffin and how they went from pen pals to friends to lovers! Get ready to be hooked from the beginning all the way to the end.
Luca and Griffin have both went through a lot in their lives. Unfortunately something tragic happens to Luca and she is unable to get past it and pulls away from everyone including Griffin and stops writing him. Then one day Griffin gets drunk and writes Luca another letter and boy oh boy does an amazing story unfold.
I absolutely love the letters and the dual POV!! You get an amazing insight into how they are both thinking and feeling. You get the funny laugh out loud, the crying, the serious and all. I also love the songs that Griffin wrote to express his feelings about Luca after she stopped writing and once they reconnected. WOW! Music has always spoke to my heart and I just loved that presence in this book!
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. You literally can’t go wrong with this book and this amazing couple! Great job yet again ladies!