The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O'Neal ~ A Review

by Susan Roberts

Two women overcoming past traumas embark on a healing journey across continents in a novel about friendship, family, and rediscovery 

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

July 2025; Lake Union; 978-1662514944
audio, ebook, print (395 pages); women's fiction

This beautifully written book is about healing and friendship.  The two main characters are completely different from each other, and the author shows their transformation from strangers to friends.  Along with a great plot and great characters, this book is also about travel and food.  Plus, there's a bit of romance and a bit of a mystery that made this one of my favorite books so far this year.

Veronica is a fiftyish-year-old mother of three college-age kids who has just gone through a difficult divorce.  She is struggling with money and with adapting to the changes in her life.  Christmas is coming up, and she knows that her children will be with their father and is really dreading the holidays.  When looking for a job, she sees an ad from someone who is looking for a travel companion.  Mariah is a young Olympian who is trying to adjust to the horrific injury that ended her Olympic dreams.  She is also dealing with the loss of her mother.  Her mother was a well-known food critic who had started to do research for her next book about Parsi cafes when she died.  Mariah decides to try to finish her mother's last project, but knows that she needs help.  Veronica is thrilled at the chance to get away from her family issues over the holidays.  Despite the differences between the two women, they decide that it will be beneficial to both of them to travel together, with Veronica being the paid companion.  At first, it looks like it's going to be a rough trip because the two women are so different from each other, but very gradually, they begin to rely on each other and become friends.  They both have to learn to free themselves from the past and look for happiness and fulfillment in their futures. Together, far from home, they can find the light.

The author does such a fantastic job of describing the various places that the characters travel to - London, Paris, Marrakech, and India - that it's easy to feel like you are traveling with them.  There are lots of fantastic descriptions about the food in each location that made me want to book a trip. If you enjoy travel and foodie fiction, this is a novel that you don't want to miss.

Buy The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.   

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