Childhood pen pals turn up the heat as adults in this fun and flirty contemporary romance. Keep reading to get a tempting taste of Dirty Letters by Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward, along with my impressions of it, then add it to your bookshelf. In honor of this sizzling tale make sure to fill out the form below for the chance to win a $100 Amazon GC along with a copy of this book too!
She had yet to meet him but had never forgotten the British boy who’d warmed her heart.
As childhood pen pals, Griffin Quinn and Luca Vinetti couldn’t have been more different. Over the years, through hundreds of letters, they became best friends, sharing their deepest, darkest secrets.
Until one day it ended.
Griffin never understood why Luca disappeared. She was special. She knew the real him like no one else. He writes her a drunken letter, an angry one, never expecting her to write back.
Before they know it, they’re right where they left off. This time with heat!
But as playing catch-up goes from fun to flirty to downright dirty, Luca wants more. She wants Griffin in the flesh. That’s where it gets risky. Because when they meet, the mystery will be over. And once they really get to know each other, there’ll be no going back.
EXCERPT:
The small dining room table had a pile of mail. I’d had Dad’s mail forwarded to my house, so mostly it was just catalogs and junk. Once a month, Mrs. Cascio sent me everything that arrived, even though I’d told her it wasn’t necessary. I mindlessly fingered through the pile, not expecting to see anything worth keeping. But I stopped at an envelope addressed to me—well, not me, but Luca Ryan. That was a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. In second grade, my teacher, Mrs. Ryan, started a pen pal writing program with a small town in England. We weren’t allowed to use our real last names for safety reasons, so the entire class used her last name—hence I was Luca Ryan. I checked out the return address for the sender’s name.
G. Quinn.
Wow, really? It couldn’t be.
I squinted at the postmark. It was from a PO box in California, not England, but I didn’t know any other Quinn other than Griffin. And the handwriting did look pretty familiar. But it had been close to eight years since we’d exchanged letters. Why would he write now? Curious, I ripped it open and scanned right to the bottom of the letter for the name. Sure enough, it was from Griffin. I started at the beginning.
Dear Luca,
Do you like scotch? I remember you said you didn’t like the taste of beer. But we never did get around to comparing our taste in hard liquor. Why is that, you might ask? Let me remind you—because you stopped answering my letters eight damn years ago. I wanted to let you know, I’m still pissed off about that. My mum used to say I hold grudges. But I prefer to think of it as I remember the facts. And the fact of the matter is, you suck. There, I’ve said it. I’ve been holding that shit in for a long time. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not obsessive or anything. I don’t sit in my house thinking about you all day long. In fact, there have been months that go by when thoughts of you don’t even enter my brain. But then some random thing will pop into my head out of the blue. Like I’ll see some kid in a pram eating black licorice, and I’ll think of you. Side note—I’ve tried it again as an adult, and I still think it tastes like the bottom of my shoe, so perhaps it’s that you just have no taste. You probably don’t even like scotch. Anyway, I’m sure this letter won’t find its way to you. Or if by some miracle it does, you won’t answer. But if you’re reading this, you should know two things.
1. The Macallan 1926 is worth the extra cash. Goes down smooth.
2. You SUCK.
Later, traitor, Griffin.
What in the hell?
BUY AT AMAZON here.
MY IMPRESSIONS OF THIS BOOK:
Readers looking for a unique romance full of decadently delightful banter, and a main couple whose interactions are fun and flirty, will find this a thoroughly entertaining read that will leave them with a smile on their face. Pen pals since they were children, Luca and Griffin forged an intense connection that had them sharing deep dark secrets while supporting each other through their letter writing. When they needed each other most though the silence from Luca was deafening and led to disappointment from Griffin. Even though they shared a lot they kept their identities a secret through the years. For Luca she was ready for more, while for Griffin he was content with the way things were as he feared how things would change if his real identity was known. The moment Luca quit writing though is the moment when their relationship took a frustrating turn, a turn that might have kept them apart forever if fate hadn’t intervened....
Much of this book is written in letter format and with each letter being opened I felt like I was a recipient too. I adored the early letters full of child-like thoughts and sweet words. As the book progressed the letters took a more sensual turn until they became scorching. Luca and Griffin started out as friends but it’s clear how close they got as later letters made me blush while keeping me on edge waiting for them to finally come face to face. It was a wait full of sexual tension, along with a bit of frustration thrown in, which ultimately led to a memorable meeting.
Luca’s an appealing heroine full of quirks. One of those quirks is being agoraphobic, an illness that came about after the death of a friend. Her illness sometimes overcame her, but she still fought the demons that kept her a prisoner which made me admire her all the more. As to Griffin, he’s a near-perfect hero. He’s strong and supportive, a master with words, who would do anything for Luca. He wanted to be wanted for himself instead of who the world saw him as which broke my heart a bit. On a whole I found this a very satisfying romance of second chances with a unique narrative that made me smile as well as swoon. By the turn of the final page this literary duo has crafted yet another winner that I definitely recommend!
My rating for this is an A.
*I got this book from NetGalley for review in exchange for my honest opinion.
AUTHOR’S INFO:
Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared on more than one hundred bestseller lists and are currently translated into twenty-six languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children, where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.
Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than twenty novels. A former television news anchor, Penelope has sold more than two million books and has appeared on the New York Times bestseller list twenty-one times. She resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism.
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