The Valentine Writer: Helping Others Find Love (3.5 Stars)

I recently finished reading The Valentine Writer by Iris Lim. It’s a novella about a lady, Mary Danforth, who has helped her siblings write love poems for their future spouses. Yet, she’s never found love herself. Periodwise, I would consider it a Regency story, but it doesn’t have many of the elements of a traditional Regency novel. I read an ARC, but you can get a regular copy on August 12th.

Intro to the Story

At 68 pages, this is a cute, quick read. Mary is that person who’s so focused on other people’s happiness that she sometimes forgets that it’s okay to be happy herself. She has been sickly since childhood, although her actual ailments are never fully explained. It sounds like she has stomach issues if she eats certain foods and that she gets tired easily. It also sounds like as a kid, she got sick a lot.

I wish her actual sickness had been explained a little better. Mary thinks it will prevent her from falling in love and getting married. She’s convinced she’ll die a spinster, so at the time, it must have been something pretty serious. My guess is that her ailment wouldn’t be viewed nearly as seriously now as it was at this time.

My Wish For This Love Story

I wish that we’d gotten the chance to know Mary and Captain William Hayes. I don’t feel like either character was fully developed. This story deserved more than just the 68 pages it was given. It would have been a 5-star novella if we’d had more time to get to know our two main characters better and if I’d understood better why Mary was so convinced her sickness would prevent her from ever marrying. Once she meets Captain Hayes, their whole love story happens pretty quickly. While Mary seems convinced she can never find love, there doesn’t seem to be any hesitation on Captain Hayes’ part. At the very least, if her physical issues were even half as bad as she seems to believe they are, I feel like he’d question if a life with her was something he could handle.

What I Liked

Even though I wanted more out of this story, I did enjoy that it felt different from other stories taking place during this time period. Mary is an unusual protagonist. If you’re someone who likes Regency novels but you have limited time to read, this is a good option. I think I read the whole book in just a little over an hour.

This is a clean novella. There’s no swearing, sexual content, or violence. It’s the sort of story I’d feel comfortable recommending to someone who only reads really clean books.