A great story, well written. Lots of emotions within the pages. Although I did work out how it would all end it didn't take away how good the book was

I really enjoyed this book, and could t it it down. A real tearjerker, family secrets, friendship, and dementia, all rolled into one. You need t9 read this, and not worry about tears or laughter as you read.

A really engaging story following the lives of two women., primarily. I found it totally absorbing.
The story follows Tess as she discovers she is pregnant, followed quickly by the separation from her boyfriend. Tess has to deal with the deteriorating health of her beloved grandmother as well as her own progressing pregnancy whilst unexpectedly single and homeless. From her point of view, I thought her relationship with her mother Donna, could have been explored much more. They really only once refer to their poor relationship, it is never discussed and developed.
Gigi leaves her husband after experiencing years of neglect and loneliness. However this side of the story doesn't really get resolved as Gigi is still drawn to Richard, whilst embarking on a new relationship with Adam. Towards the end we see Gigi contact Richard but then, when the story jumps a couple of weeks, we don't know what happened or how she feels now.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book, despite feeling I was missing out on some of the background and development, the characters were engaging. And I wish they would stop winking at each other - who does that?!

Another fantastic book from Elizabeth Noble. The storyline is excellent and is a page turner would recommend

This was an enjoyable read with engaging characters. I found it gripping and devoured it in one sitting.

I felt that the secret from Iris’s past was less significant than the story of new beginnings.

This is an engrossing, highly engaging book about 3 women whose lives meet at random. I read it in a couple of sessions and thoroughly enjoyed the characters and plot. However, it doesn't fully live up to its hype as there are a few niggling issues. The main problem I had was Tess's new relationship with a man who falls in love with her instantly, despite the depressing nature of their first meetings, and decides on almost a whim to live together despite her being heavily pregnant with another man's child. Secondly there is the issue of Gigi walking out on her 40 year marriage because it is stale without attempting a single conversation with her husband about it. I appreciate that this is fiction, but this genre of book relies on believability and it was lacking here. With a little more plot integrity this would have got 5 stars from me.

This was a lovely read, and one I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for that snuggly couch read, or a book you could bring on holidays and get stuck into on the plane, or by a pool. I immediately felt warm to Tess and Gigi - the both of them were lovely characters, and I really enjoyed the different family dynamics they had from Tess’s relationship to her mother and grandmother to Gigi’s strained marriage and her close relationship to her sons. I also loved a healthy, close bond being represented between a mother and daughter-in-law as sometimes this is a relationship that tends to get a reputation as always being strained and rival-like. Gigi is definitely the kind of person I’d want as a mother-in-law, I definitely wanted a Gigi hug and pep talk throughout this book.

Tess’s story was lovely, despite the occasional dips of sadness with Iris’s illness and then her tragic backstory with her brother. I thought the romance with Ollie was predictable but perfectly lovely and I couldn’t help myself but root for it (while finding it completely unbelievable seeing as Tess was heavily pregnant with another man’s child). I had some problems with some of the language used in Tess’s passages to her unborn child, more so just the earlier ones when she was only about four weeks pregnant and there seemed to be this huge emphasis on the foetus being a person rather than just a foetus, and I feel like this could be damaging to women reading who could be pregnant and may have to choose a termination for reasons personal to them. I am overly sensitive to this kind of thing at the moment thought because of current political climate in Ireland, so this is something others probably wouldn’t pick up on.

The ending was nice and safe and warm. It more or less all came together exactly how I thought it would be. This book is nothing grand or spectacular, just an enjoyable read.

This is about 3 women. Tess who has split with her boyfriend Sean. Iris Tess' beloved grandmother who mostly brought her up and Gigi who meets Tess at the home where her grandmother has to go into. Gigi goes to see her father-in-law James. The story revolves around all three women. Tess finds letters of Iris' that have been hidden for a long time and conceal a secret that no one knew about even her daughter Donna Tess' mother. Tess has had a difficult relationship with Donna and is just now beginning to come together. Wonderful story

Letters to Iris is a well written book of secrets.
It focuses on four female characters being Tess, her grandmother Iris, Tress’s mum Donna and Gigi whose father in law is in the same care home as Iris.
A lovely book that I struggled to put down.

Thanks to Netgalley for the chance to review this book.

I actually did not think I'd like this book as I'm more into my psychological thrillers but I loved it. I think the overall story including that of Dementia and Breast cancer are both things that are very close to home so I could identify easily with the characters and that in turn made me want to read on.

Tess' life drastically changes when she discovers that she is pregnant. Her boyfriend has recently asked her to move to New York with him and lead an extravagant lifestyle. But that is a lifestyle that does not include a baby. Tess decides to end the relationship and try to make a life of her own. But for now that means moving back home to a mother who has always stayed in the foreground, living her own hedonistic life. It is only when Iris, Tess' gran, starts to succumb to Dementia that the mother and daughter relationship starts to get on track. However, along the way Tess meets an confidante in Gigi, a nurse, who also is living a life that has also been effected by a relative with Dementia.

Gigi herself is fighting her own battle. She is in an unhappy marriage, her son Oliver is engaged to an unsuitable girl and she is still living with the after effects of Breast Cancer. Her friendship with Tess comes at the right time and gives her hope.

What I loved about the book is that the characters were so likeable. I loved the relationship between Gigi and Tess and I think I might have been ever so slightly in love with Oliver myself. It was also filled with so much emotion as everyone tried to deal with the impact that Dementia and Alzheimers Disease has on the family. As Iris' health deteriorated I felt that I too was also mourning for her.

I was truly surprised by how invested I was in this book and would definitely read more books by Elizabeth Noble.

Letters to Iris by Elizabeth Noble
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked up this book, not having read much of the promotional material. I was soon drawn in by the two main characters, Tess and Gigi. Finding out that she’s pregnant throws Tess’s life into an upheaval as she grieves the slow leaving of her grandmother through dementia. Gigi seems to have life sorted – at least from the outside – as a mother, wife, and midwife in her fifties. But holes appear as her children leave the nest.
What I liked about this book was the interaction of the female characters, the grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and friends. Some relationships were hard, and changed through the book, and some were life-giving.
What I didn’t like about the book was how I figured out the main denouement partway through. It felt a bit inevitable and planned. It was good how everything wasn't tied up neatly for one of the main characters though.
Still, I enjoyed reading it as I became emotionally involved with the characters.

What's it about?

Tess has a secret, a baby-shaped secret that will be making its entrance in nine short months. But that isn't the only thing keeping her awake at night; her beloved grandmother Iris is slipping away just when Tess needs her most. Unexpectedly alone, Tess strikes up a friendship with Gigi, a friendly face from Iris's nursing home. 

Then Tess discovers Iris had a secret of her own. Did she really know her grandmother at all?

My thoughts

If there was a phrase to sum up this book, it would be 'Live, Laugh, Love'. In fact, I'd be very surprised if the author did not have that phrase framed above her writing desk. They closely relate to each other, in that that phrase doesn't really mean anything; this book doesn't really say anything. 

The blurb promised more than this novel gave. I thought that the letters to Iris of titling fame would be more of a feature, but they barely feature. They are a decorative sunset behind the 'Live, Laugh, Love'. I really feel like this story could have been so much more; for example, it could've jumped between Iris's past and Tess's present. It could've explored the reasons behind Iris's silence, and why what happened happened. To be honest, the title hardly relates to the story within.

I did like how the novel put the female characters front and centre, and how they weren't (exclusively) young bouncy types with great hair. On a side note, why do women in these kinds of novels always seem to work in HR or PR or media? Why can't they be scientists or bankers or analysts? If there are any examples of women's literature (for want of a better phrase) with these kinds of characters, send them my way. I could do with them. Anyway, I did like how the story explored how life doesn't end for women after kids, and we have feelings too, dammit. But it kind of skimmed the surface, and there seemed to be little depth of feeling involved. For example, when Tess's boyfriend leaves her (spoiler alert: he's a shit, but a well-meaning one), the heartache is of the pin-prick variety. I don't care how little she's in love with him, the end of a relationship hurts more than a paper cut. 

So there. I read it all, but it was like reading pink wafers; insubstantial. The Amazon tag line calls it "the most uplifting book you will read this year" and that isn't really accurate. 

Would I recommend it? 

No, I wouldn't. Jojo Moyes does this stuff better, and she doesn't shy away from the gory details.

I found some parts of this book absolutely charming. I thought of it as a book of three parts, two of which were great, but one I did not enjoy as much. Unfortunately that was the part with the letters to Iris which I felt was under developed

DO NOT READ THIS REVIEW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK - it;s 100% spoilers!

I was disappointed with this overall because when I got started it seemed as though this might be one of those rare, brave novels which dare to suggest a woman can be fine on her own - single mum, happy divorcee etc. Instead it seemed like yet another Woman's Own recommended read, where the single mum is already engaged to a devoted lover before she even gives birth and the happy divorcee scuttles back to the husband who ignored her for decades, after having a fling with the first man who glances her way. The only woman who stays single is the mother, and that's done deliberately, to punish her for not being emotionally incontinent, I think! She's the one with the actual career she is passionate about, and yet she is clearly the villain for half the novel. The message is so cliched; find a man and you'll be fine and never have to work in HR again.

I also firmly disliked Tess the heroine, who dro0ped around in a state of permanent misery despite the fact that every human being who ever met her immediately declared her 'perfect' or 'enchanting' or 'beautiful'. And why was she so sad? Because her 96 year old granny was going to die at some point? Some people lose children or relatively young parents. Tess hadn't even lost her gran yet and even when she did she was positively ancient - sure she would miss her but it's hardly a tragedy. Same with Gigi: she had a 40 yr old marriage which she never once tried to course-correct in order to improve things. Three successful, loving children and a job she loved. Why on earth was I meant to root for her when she left Richard, uprooted everyone for five minutes and just when she had her ego stroked, went back to the status quo? Infuriating!

I enjoyed this book, it was gentle and absorbing and the characters were likeable enough to keep you reading. The most engrossing parts of the book were definitely Tess's delving into aspects of Iris' past that she had not been aware of. I also liked the way that her relationship with her mother evolved over the course of the story. I was les interested in the thread regarding Gigi and her marital problems. Somehow they didn't seem quite as relatable. However, this is a thoroughly enjoyable book and an interesting take on dementia and grief.

This is a wonderful novel, full of real-life characters, and with an ultimately uplifting story, after some sadness.
The story draws you into the lives of Tess and Gigi and all their families, and friends.How as one relationship breaks up, another one starts, and as one life ends, another new one comes to life.
Towards the end of this lovey story, I found my self rationing myself with the remaining pages, as I did not want to say goodbye to the characters.
Thank you to the publisher, and Net Galley for allowing me to read this lovely book.

When I started this book, I really wasn’t sure about it. I just couldn’t get into it. But then I happened to see a book blogger recommend it to my bookclub and I was intrigued. She always has good taste and hasn’t let me down before. She encouraged me to give it a go and she was right...

Once I got past the initial melancholy for both Tess and Iris, and discovered the other key characters (especially Gigi) I loved it. I have always enjoyed Elizabeth Noble’s ability to write realistic and likeable characters and Letters to Iris is no exception.

this book should come with a tissue/mascara warning ⚠️😢

An enjoyable read with some interesting characters. The book contains some situations that may challenge your perspective and make you wonder how you would react in those circumstances

4*

I enjoyed this book. The Iris in the title is the 95 year old grandmother of Tess, and suffers from dementia. The story is not really about Iris. I expected her story to be an important part of the book, but it wasn't. The letters are the only clues we get to Iris' past, which I found to be rather disappointing. The bulk of the story is about 2 women - Tess, and Gigi, who Tess gets to know at Iris' care home. Tess is pregnant and single, and Gigi is contemplating leaving her husband after many years of marriage. The narrative gets bogged down with unnecessary detail, making it very long, but I liked the characters and wanted to know what happened to them. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

What a lovely book, really enjoyed reading it.
The main characters are Tess and Gigi but Iris almost steals the show. Iris is in the last year's of her life and secrets she has lived with for years are revealed.
Family dynamics and relationships are also explored.
Would definitely look out for more books by this author

Firstly thank you to Net Galley & the publishers for an ARC in exchange for a fair review.
I just adored this story.
Beautifully written. Funny, sad, but most of all, realistic.
The characters are fabulous. I want to know them all! They all felt so genuine and alive on the page, like I was reading about an old friend or family member.
The storyline itself was realistic, no silly, unfeasible themes here! It is about people making real, life changing decisions. Be it having a baby, leaving a partner, staying or moving on, these are all relatable issues and were very well narrated.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something well written and fabulous to read.