Author: Jodi Perry
SBN: 978-0-7336-3589-2
RRP: $32.99
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Nineteen Letters is the debut novel of Jodi Perry, but the tenth novel by the author who has written bestsellers as J.L. Perry. This is my introduction to the author under either name. It has been said that the book has echoes of Nicholas Sparks, The Notebook in particular. Well, I can’t comment on that because I haven’t read it, or watched the movie so that was not one of the reasons that I picked it up.
Stories of high school sweethearts and childhood sweethearts make for such beautiful love stories, Perry takes this one a step further. Braxton Spencer meets Jemma Robinson when she moves in next door to him, when he is 7 and she is 6. They become friends on the very first day and that relationship grows and stays with them through the years.
For much of the book Braxton is referred to by his full name and I found that to be quite a mouthful because he only ever would have been Brax to me. I think in the years leading up to the book he may have been a Brax but life has been thrown into chaos by the time we are brought into the picture and everything is a little more distanced.
Jodi Perry has written an absolutely gorgeous friends to lovers story that we don’t follow from start to finish, instead we learn about it all from Braxton’s letters.
In a heartbreaking twist of fate Jemma is in a serious car accident on the way to her first day back at work after her honeymoon, nineteen days after marrying the love of her life. She is critical but after a heartbreaking wait she awakes, with total amnesia.
Nineteen is a significant number for Braxton and Jemma, it has been present in all the biggest moments of their lives. The way it is woven into even the most heartbreaking moments is extremely well done.
Jemma’s amnesia is something they can’t fix, there isn’t a rehab for the mind. There is an intensive physical rehab program that Jemma undertakes but only time will answer the questions of whether her memories will return.
Nineteen Letters is told from the dual perspectives of Braxton and Jemma so we get to see how this situation is affecting each of them. Braxton is devastated that the love of his life has absolutely no memory of him, all he wants is to wrap her in his arms and take her home but he is a complete stranger to her.
Jemma struggles with these people who tell her they were once so close and she can see the pain in them at ever step but she just can’t remember. There is just nothing there and she’s not sure how to move forward. The whole amnesia storyline is totally horrific to comprehend and I guess not something I have ever given significant thought too, like what would you remember in terms of just living and that was something sensitively explored by Perry. Jemma doesn’t know what she liked or didn’t, no places are familiar and to present her with a menu was terrifiying.
Those closest to her stand by and help through Jemma’s recovery in the hospital and rehab facility; and though she doesn’t remember them she is thankful they are so good to her. On release from rehab she decides to return to her mother’s house, devastating Braxton who couldn’t comprehend the idea of returning home without her.
Unwilling and unable to give up on this once in a lifetime love Braxton writes letters to Jemma detailing events from their shared past. Through his letters he offers an insight into their lives through the years, along with a memory bracelet he builds by sending charms relevant to the letters.
Braxton’s letters encompass their shared history, and that of their families, so we get an intimate look at the relationships that surround them. We learn the stories of both sets of parents and also Jemma’s grandparents as they unfold in Braxton’s letters; each of them signed “What we had is far too beautiful to be forgotten”.
I managed to get through the book without tissues but it is certainly one to tug on the heartstrings. The beauty of their love story, through nineteen years of friendship into lovers; the heartbreak of the accident and a love cut short; the lengths Brax will go to for the love of his life and the loneliness of Jemma’s amnesia.
Perry takes us through Jemma’s recovery and how she needs to learn to live again, she has to come to terms with the fact that she may never regain her past but that just means she needs to make the most of her future.
She may not remember the people surrounding her and the relationships she had with them but over time she forges new relationships, they may never share the same memories but they will create a host of new ones.
Nineteen Letters is a beautiful love story of never giving up. It is first and foremost the story of Brax and Jemma but it’s also the story of everyone around them. I’m not going to tell you what happens, you really need to read it for yourself. I will tell you that you can’t help but hope Braxton gets his happily ever after.
The characters are well developed and I was invested in the secondary characters, and Jemma’s relationships with them, as much as I was with Brax and Jemma. I think the amnesia was the most intriguing element, knowing the memories are gone but the feelings of familiarity and the always wondering why you are drawn to certain things remains.
Nineteen Letters is book #34 for the Australian Women Writer’s Challenge 2017.
Jodi Perry loves to hear from her readers and you can find her on Facebook, and .
We also have Jodi Perry on call from August 28-September 1 in our Ask An Author segment so if you have a question for her head over and ask in our Ask An Author post.
Nineteen Letters is published by Hachette Australia and is available now from Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia, Amazon AU, iBooks, , and where all good books are sold.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
What an amazing book, I wish I could give it more than 5 Stars. Despite the tears leaking down my face for most of the book I couldn’t put it down until I had it finished (which meant I received it yesterday afternoon and had finished it by last night). Jodi Perry has managed to capture perfectly the experience of sudden total memory loss, it’s effect on the person who has lost their memory, and on their loved ones struggling to deal with a person who now sees them as total strangers.
Braxton and Jemma met when Jemma moved in next door when he was 7 and she was 6. From that time forward they were inseparable as their friendship develops into a deep love.
The book opens 19 days after Braxton and Jemma have married, their honeymoon is over and she is due to return to her work as an interior designer, and he to his newly set up architect business with his best friend Lucas. The newly weds are having difficulty tearing themselves apart from each other and as Jemma drives away on the wet morning she is already running 15 minutes late and worrying about how her less than pleasant boss Andrew will respond.
As the intensity of the rain increases, her mobile phone rings, she looks down at her phone for a split second, sees it is her boss and goes to answer the call. That spit second distraction is all it takes to turn the world upside down as she drives through a stop sign and a car plows into her drivers side door.
Jemma’s injuries are so severe that she is placed into an induced coma, Braxton refuses to leave her side in the hospital, but when her condition stabilises and the doctor’s bring her out of the coma she has no memories of anything or anyone.
Braxton is understandably devastated as the woman he adores looks at him with fear and no knowledge of who he is.
To try and regain what they had before Braxton begins to write Jemma letters, nineteen, the magic number, in all. In those letters he details how they met, the things they did, their experiences etc. In doing so we learn about their relationship, events over their lives that have impacted them to make them who they are (were) today, their parents and grandparents, friends, how their relationship developed from childhood friendship to love and marriage and at the end of each letter he signs it “What we had was far too beautiful to be forgotten.”
This is a beautifully written book of love, compassion and loss, of the realities of dealing with brain injury trauma, and a lesson on how easily what we take for granted can be taken away from us. We should all be so lucky as to have a man like Braxton in our lives. I highly recommend reading this book in the privacy of your own home, and with a box of tissues close by.
Thank you so much to Beauty and Lace Book Club and Hachette for the opportunity to read and review this uncorrected proof copy of Jodi Perry’s book Nineteen Letters.
I love this! Thank you so much. I appreciate you taking the time to read and review Nineteen Letters.
There is nothing more beautiful than love being reciprocated by both parties and endure that love from an early stage. 19 letters is truely a beautiful read that will touch your heart.
Jemma & Braxton are your usual best friends at a young age of 7 and 6 and later blossom into real life love where they have the most amazing wedding and can continue their fabulous life together as husband and wife. The number 19 carries on throughout the book.
In a terrible moment, a horrific tragedy will occur which will turn their world as they know it, upside down.
The book follows the story of Braxton writing letters to Jemma. This is when you will absolutely fall in love with reading this book. Braxton is one of those guys that you fall in love with straight away. Can a man really be this loving, well as you read, you will see that Braxton is that man. As I read and turned the pages, I couldn’t wait to read Braxton’s letters to Jemma.
Drama in family is hard when there is only one to contend with but having their own parents with problems makes life that little bit tougher. Braxton’s dad has Alzheimers and it has been brilliantly written by Jodi describing what happens within the disease. Jemma’s parents who are also loving have their own story amongst the storyline to follow between them. Al these memorable characters become your family too as you read because Jodi has made them warm and believable.
I was thoroughly absorbed in every page and it definitely is a page turner because you want to know the outcome from the tragedy and dramas unfolding as you read.
19 letters is a compelling, memorable and emotional read where I did shed tears (needed a tissue or two) but also felt happiness. There are parts in the book where I giggled to. This is a beautiful love story in that you think how lucky Jemma is to have such a beautiful man as a husband. This book has left a huge impression on my heart and all the characters will stay with me for quite a while.
For anyone that reads this book you won’t be disappointed, it is very hard to put the book down. Even now as I am typing this, my eyes are tearing up with just remembering what I read.
Thank you Beauty & Lace, Hachette for this beautiful uncorrected proof copy to read. Thank you also to Jodi Perry for this amazing memorable story and love that you have signed this book which I will certainly treasure forever. I am glad to read that you will be using your real name on books from now on too. The number 19 also means a lot to me also as my son was born on that date.
This book is definitely a 5/5 stars.
Thank you so much. Such a fantastic review. I appreciate you taking the time to write this.
***SPOILER ALERT***
Nineteen Letters – Jodi Perry
Readers are quickly swept into the delightful story of the nineteen years Braxton & Jemma have shared. It is difficult to put down the book as we glimpse the joy this young couple share. Nineteen days after their wedding, married life begins as they settle into the future they dream of sharing. But disaster strikes. Jemma is seriously injured on her first day back to work. Braxton dashes to the hospital where their loved ones gather fearing the worst.
At first it seems Jemma will recover but then more devastation – her whole past is gone. While her family still have their memories and feelings Jemma’s mind is a black void.
Eventually Braxton has the idea of a memory bracelet and he will write their memories because he cannot share his thoughts in words.
Jemma slowly learns the other members of her family do not have the loving lives Braxton tries to evoke in her. Her parents are bitterly separated and Braxton feels he is guilty of his mother’s death. His father has subdued to Alzheimers and there are only brief glimpses of his true father.
The enchanting letters and charms slowly fill Jemma’s mind but they are only second hand memories and her true love & feelings are not there.
Slowly the other characters resolve their problems entwined in Jemma and Braxton’s story. Her mother and father are reunited and in a brief window of clarity in Braxton’s father’s mind his father is able is able to convince his son that he, Braxton, is not the cause of his mother’s death.
As the letters and charms fill Jemma’s mind again she has a brief recollection of the past. Her feelings for her mother and Braxton finally bring her the personal love that has been buried in her damaged mind. Life is restored as along the way we have enjoyed dismay, sadness, laughter, enduring love and hope.
Thank you for taking the time to read Nineteen Letters.
Ninteen letters was my undoing! I stopped when I started crying, page 20. ( not 19, I was disappointed)From then on I was so immersed in the book and it only got better and better.
I think everyone of us would love to have a husband like Braxton and be the girl that has his unconditional love! It made me stop and think, if I was in this situation how would my family react. They would be there for me of course, not for one second do I doubt that. But what a romantic way to show how much you love someone. Its always the case, actions speak louder than words. But in this case, the words speak very loudly in the form of letters. And beautifully written, not once did I have to go back and reread anything. It was set out picture perfect, the flow was seemless throughout the book.
Along the way there are the other dramas that plague family life, having to deal with declining parents, fighting amongst parents, each family has these issues to deal with. 19 Letters shows that sometimes as life is so short that sometimes we need to interfere, take steps to hopefully improve situations even while dealing with problems of your own. And really I think this book was all about how short life is. We need to focus on what is really important.
Thank you for the opportunity to read 19 letters and to Jodi Perry, I look forward to reading your previous novels and to seeing more work from you.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read Nineteen Letters and write this beautiful review.
Jodi Perry’s 19 Letters is an absolutely beautiful book. The story is, at the one time, heart wrenching, uplifting, incredibly sad but inspiring.
As usual, Michelle’s review is brilliant and there is no need to add to that apart from the way the book made me feel and left me with lasting memories. It is totally believable with characters who were real. It’s been a few weeks since I finished reading 19 Letters but it is still sitting in my mind – something not all books do.
I was delighted that we receive a SIGNED, uncorrected book proof and thank Beauty and Lace and Hachette Australia for this beautiful book. I was unaware of Jodi Perry and found it incredibly interesting that she has other novels published as J.L Perry – books I will now seek out. Having enjoyed 19 Letters so much, it was lovely to “meet” Jodi Perry through Michelle’s “Meet The Author” initiative.
Someone so obviously “down to earth” as Jodi is who is able to involve her readers totally in a beautifully written and memorable love story, that is in no way soppy, is a true gem. It is wonderful having Australian Women authors with so much to value. I’m looking forward to Jodi’s other works and the next novel.
Thanks Trish,
Ask An Author was Anna’s brainchild, I’m just doing the footwork. 🙂
You’re both brilliant, Michelle – thanks Anna.
Thank you so much Trish for your kind words. I have 9 other titles published under J. L. Perry. I will warn you that they are a lot spicier than Nineteen Letters and do contain coarse language, but I still love the love story within them. In saying that, I found Nineteen Letters such a refreshing story to write.
Nineteen Letters was such a beautiful book. If you’re after a tear jerking love story this is the one for you!
I’m finding it super hard to write my review without putting any spoilers in so I’ll just write my feelings on this story.
Firstly upon receiving this novel I was super excited to find it is an unedited copy with a special cover and signed!!!! Yes signed by the author! How special do I feel
From start to finish I enjoyed this book it is one I simply couldn’t put down. Each chapter got better and better and I was willing Jemma the whole time to remember something, anything! My heart broke for Brax through the whole book too. Braxton wow what a man… I find it hard to beleive any man is as mushy as he is but he sounds divine.
The ending made me so happy too.
Nineteen Letters is a book I’ll be telling all my romance loving friends to purchase.
Thank you Beauty & Lace + Jodi Perry for this fab read
Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed Braxton and Jemma’s story.
Wow…. I loved this book. It me smile, laugh and cry and sometimes all at the same time.
To start with I wasnt to sure how this story would go as the concept is one thats been done before in a couple of movies and other books but even so i was willing to give it a go. It was not long before I discovered that even though the general concept is something ive heard of before this book was different and Author Jodie Perry has handled it all so wonderfully and taken the story in a different direction to the movies and other stories.
This story is set around Jemma and her husband Braxton. Jemma is involved in a car accident only 19 days after their wedding and although lucky to survive she suffers with memory loss and has no memory at all of her past life which also includes no memory of her family or her husband. Braxton is heartbroken and comes up with an idea to write Jemma letters filled with the details of their past in the hopes that they might help her to remember and in the process he would get his wife back. His first letter is about how they met when they were children and through all the letters he sends her we learn about their relationship history and how wonderfully happy they were.
Imagine waking one day and not being able to remember your family or loved ones and how hard it would be for all involved. Your loved ones would want to embrace you and yet to you they are strangers and it would be very hard to have them acting so familiar towards you.
I love this book and how it dealt with this scenario without becoming over the top dramatic.
This is a wonderful read and one im sure anyone will enjoy. Take care reading it in public locations though especially if you are not wearing water proof mascara 😀
Thank you for taking the time to read Nineteen Letters and for writing this wonderful review.
Nineteen Letters is one of my favourite reads this year! Wow! What can I say that no one else has said!
I loved that this story Ian about love….love that lasts forever! Childhood friends to sweethearts to love to married for true love. Life stalls this to a halt when Jemma suffers as a result of a major accident and doesn’t remember anything let alone that Braxton is her husband.
After an initial tense few weeks of recovery for Jemma, Braxton starts writing her letters detailing key events and times they shared from childhood onwards. Theses letters were also a way for him to heal his loss and Jemma to understand him and fall in love all over again.
Parents are suffering and you see their personal recovery, close friends form a main support while going through their own struggles. This all forms part of a hear wrenching but beautiful love story.
Tears and joy…..that was only me while reading this story. A must read for anyone especially if you are a romantic. Love, love, love this story.
Thank you so much. I’ve loved reading everyone’s thoughts on Nineteen Letters. For me, reviews are an authors reward for all the hard work that went into writing the story. I appreciate your kind words, and I’m so glad you enjoyed their story.,
This book was really beautiful and very enjoyable to read!
Jodi Perry has written a really amazing book that reminds us all that its possible to lose what we hold closest in a moment, and the fragility of life. The main character of Braxton, fights to get back Jemma, the love of his life when she is involved in a car accident and loses all memory of their relationship.
I won’t go into a larger synopsis of the story as others already have as I don’t want to give anything away but I will say that it is a story that resonated with me and I was very motivated to read it – at every opportunity. It made me sad, happy, concerned and definitely made me cry.
A great story for anyone with a heart beat to read. Thank you for the opportunity to read Nineteen Letters.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review Nineteen Letters. I appreciate your kind words and I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it.
I really enjoyed reading Nineteen Letters, it was a sweet yet tragic love story that drew me in fairly quickly. The chapters were the perfect length and I found myself craving more of the story whenever I wasn’t reading it.
Nineteen letters is the type of love story you feel jealous of yet it’s built on the back of a terrible tragedy. Jemma and Braxton are childhood sweethearts with the perfect relationship of nineteen years and a lucky (or unlucky) number of nineteen. Nineteen days after they are married Jemma is in a car accident that she luckily wakes up from but she has lost her entire memory. Braxton is devastated as he thought there could be nothing worse than losing Jemma if she passed away but now she has survived but he has lost her anyway.
The chapters are told from the perspective of Braxton or Jemma, and throughout the book we get to read the nineteen letters that Braxton writes Jemma to try help her remember her life and give her stories of their love for each other for the past nineteen years. The letters tell events in chronological order and are so well written that like Jemma, we can imagine we were there. The book captures the feelings of both Jemma and Braxton as time passes after the accident and their life progresses but not necessarily always forward.
It is hard to write too much more without giving away too much of what happens, but I will say I enjoyed the whole story and liked the ending but how we got to there with the nineteen heartfelt letters was the sweetest bit. I highly recommend this book!
Thank you for taking the time to read and review Nineteen Letters. I appreciate it and I’m glad you enjoyed their story.