Love & Letters by L.B. Carol

The boundaries of friendship and the challenges of personal mental battles are laid bare in Love & Letters, a novella about falling in love and finding a way to speak your personal truth by L.B. Carol.

When Ryan falls hard to Elizabeth – one of his best friend’s girlfriends – he is torn between an undeniable attraction and an unspoken bond of brotherhood. However, that is only the first struggle in Ryan’s stumbles toward connection, as he must overcome the insecurities of his situation, as well as the unique pain of long-distance romance.

Despite the brevity of the story, there are plenty of ups and downs packed into these pages, as well as nuanced explorations of emotion, connection, communication, and honesty. This snapshot of vignettes from a burgeoning romance is both heartwarming and straightforward, encouraging readers to study their own heart and embrace the differences in themselves and others.

While the novella has a strong, positive message and an uplifting, relatable story, the language is simplistic and sometimes difficult to follow. There are tangential sections that feel distracting from the main flow of the plot, and the formatting of the dialogue and cut scenes make it difficult for readers to be steadily placed in a context of time. Additionally, many important moments, such as Tom’s acceptance of Ryan’s betrayal, are rushed through and given far less time than they deserve.

Overall, Love & Letters addresses important themes in a gentle, easy-to-access way, and with a bit more polishing, it could deliver those messages with even more of an impact.