It Started With A Note by Victoria Cooke

☆☆☆☆
ebook, 305 pages
Published December 2nd 2018 by HQ Digital
About the Book:
One lost letter. A chance to change her life! Superhero single mum Cath always puts other people first. But now that she’s seen her son safely off to university (phew!), life seems a little, well…empty. So when Cath unexpectedly discovers some letters written by her great-grandfather during the First World War, she decides to take herself on an adventure to France to retrace his footsteps. Cath expects to spend her holiday visiting famous battlefields and testing out her French phrase book. What she doesn’t anticipate is that her tour guide, the handsome Olivier, will be quite so charming! Soon Cath isn’t simply unearthing the stories of the past – she’s writing a brand new one of her own, which might end up taking her in a very unexpected direction.

I'm not a big fan of chick lit, but I don't dislike it either - there are just other genres that I prefer. When I read the description for this book, it sounded like your standard tale of love, tough decisions, and the main character figuring out who they really are. Granted, it was all of these things - but also so much more. The story was very well written and had an easy, natural flow - which made it a quick read for me. I easily slipped into Cath's world at the very beginning of the novel and I didn't come back to reality until I had finished it.

Every aspect about the book was well done, and I ended up liking this novel so much more than I would have thought before reading it. Cath's a great leading lady - she's incredibly realistic, with faults and strengths, just like everyone. She's down to earth, smart, and determined to find a life where she is happy and her best. She doesn't get it right the first couple tries, but refuses to give up - even when things aren't going very well. I loved her tenacity and strength - I think all of us could learn something from Cath throughout the book. I thoroughly enjoyed watching her figure out what she really wanted in life, especially when it came down to her happiness.

I loved watching Cath and Oliver get to know each other and seeing their relationship blossom was heartwarming. Oliver is a lot more realistic than most men in books with romance, and I loved that the author wrote his character this way. I liked this books characters they were well written and likable but had their flaws too. The author draws vivid pictures of the people and surroundings and I loved learning about WWI.

Thank you NetGalley, HQ Digital and Victoria Cooke for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.

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