Jessica Brockmole manages through letters to not only create believable characters, but she also paints a beautiful picture of the landscape of Skye and evokes the worry and desperation that become so commonplace during wartime. I loved the characters, from the conflicted and passionate Elspeth and the fearless and sweet Davey to the curious and feisty Margaret. Margaret begins a correspondence with her long lost uncle, Finlay, in order to learn the truth about her mother.ĭespite being overly sentimental at times, I couldn’t help but love this book. Elspeth knows the dangers of giving your heart away during the chaos of war, and the memories of the first war come flooding back. Her mother has always been tight-lipped about her past, but Margaret didn’t realize the extent of her secrets until Elspeth disappears following a bombing raid on their Edinburgh home and Margaret’s announcement that she is engaged to an RAF pilot. The novel alternates between Elspeth and David’s letters and those sent by Elspeth’s daughter, Margaret, in 1940. A fan letter from David sparks a friendship that blossoms into love, but there are roadblocks to their happiness, including David’s decision to serve as an ambulance driver in France during World War I. The book centers on the correspondence between Elspeth Dunn, a poet who has never ventured beyond her home on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, and David Graham, a college student from Illinois. Letters From Skye is a sweet love story set during both the First and Second World Wars and told entirely through letters. Emotions are as fleeting as a quiet night.

You can’t believe anything said in wartime. Source: Review copy from Ballantine Books

Letters to skye