The Love Letter

Chloe Daschle is the daughter of Hollywood royalty, and her acting career has stalled. Romance has never been her strength on screen or off, and she is best known as the actress casting directors call for a convincing death scene. When she gets a look at the script for an epic love story, she asks to audition for the female lead, Esther.

The script comes from screenwriter Jesse Gates. He based it on his family's lore and on a one-page letter written by his colonial ancestor. Jesse would rather write about love than live it, since his last relationship ended badly. Once he and Chloe are working on the same set, the pull between them is hard to ignore.

The novel runs on two timelines. In the Revolutionary War, Hamilton Lightfoot and Esther Longfellow are in love, but Esther's Loyalist father opposes the match. She has to stand up to him and to the dangers of war to persuade Hamilton they belong together. Hamilton, who has loved her for years, writes her the letter she has always wanted on the eve of battle.

The story unfolds in upcountry South Carolina. It is a sweet romance, contemporary and historical, with discussion questions included for book clubs. The question running through both eras is whether a few lines written before a battle can still shape what two people do centuries later.