The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti by Jennifer Probst finds three estranged sisters traveling to Italy after their 
mother’s death to uncover her secret romance, which they discovered upon finding letters the mystery man, who goes by R, had sent her. The journey is not only to uncover the mystery that their mother hid from them their whole lives, but for the sisters to also find themselves and find their way back to each other.
Each sister is dealing with her own issues. Pris, the oldest, is having difficulties in her marriage and is struggling to find what is making herself so unhappy. Dev, the middle sister and workaholic, just lost out on a position she was up for. She also has unresolved issues with Bailey. Bailey is the youngest sister that projects the image of being a free spirit. Underneath it all though, she’s afraid to form connections with people, and the tension between her and Dev really bothers her.
As the sisters learn to reconnect and figure out their lives, readers get to uncover Olivia’s great love story with R through a series of flashback chapters. It was hard not to feel for Olivia, especially when she proves her love for her daughters by putting them first when she had to make a choice between her first love and her unfaithful husband.
I found myself more engaged with Olivia’s story than that of the sisters. It was hard to like the sisters, especially Dev and Bailey. Dev treats Bailey terribly, and Bailey isn’t really any better, as when she notices Dev’s interest in their neighbor, Hawke, she attempts to make a move on him. Both of them acted petty for a large portion of the book. Pris was definitely the more likeable of the trio.
The Secret Love Letters of Olivia Moretti is a story about the complexity of family relationships and the hard choices that sometimes need to be made when it comes to love. It’s a journey to discovery that’s filled with anger, angst, humor, and love. This book would be for readers who enjoy women’s fiction.
Book Info:
Publication: February 22, 2022 | Berkley Books |
Priscilla, Devon, and Bailey haven’t been close in years, but when the sisters are forced to come together to settle their mother’s estate, they discover a secret. In an old trunk, they happen upon ownership papers for a house on the Amalfi Coast, along with a love letter to their mother from an anonymous man, promising to meet her in Italy during the summer of her sixty-fifth birthday.
Now they’re questioning everything they knew about her history. In order to get answers about the woman they thought they knew, they’ll have to go back to where it all started. The sisters embark on a trip to the stunning cliffside village of Positano, Italy, to track down the mysterious ex-lover, and figure out who their mother really was.
As Priscilla, Devon, and Bailey unearth the truth, they also experience the magic of Italy, the power of sisterly love, a little unexpected romance, and newfound hope for the future.
