I enjoyed the journey by the women in the story. Although, one of the women experienced a more drastic change in her life then the other, the changes catapulted both women in a new direction that was both new and challenging. I loved how I could feel the texture and flavor of each of the countries the characters traveled through the description of scenery, food and people and how each experience made the characters both mesmerized and awaken from each encounter to the new experience. The story reminded me of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," in terms of sights and flavor and the experiences the characters were having. I loved the description of Marrakech, it sounded so exotic and beautiful and it made me feel happy to know there are places in the world that feel like your best day ever.
I loved the adult romance between Veronica and Henry and how caring and wonderful it was and respectful, and it didn't need to be a tell all in order to feel the intensity of the union. I loved the respect between all of the characters, even when it was hard not to step in to help. I loved that the characters learned that you can't control everything and sometimes you have to wait and see what your next step is, for instance Veronica living situation in Denver, and for some reason it all works out. I loved that the story has a wonderful ending and that closes all the question I was having with the story and I always like how she talks the supernatural world and maybe there is more than meet the eye.
I've been reading O'Neal's stories for a long time and I am always surprise and happy after I read one of her stories. they always have a journey where family, food and love are involved and changes everyone.

I want to thank Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an advance copy of a story about dealing with challenges in life with new places and experiences.

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When we believed in Mermaids will still remain my favorite novel written by Barbara O'Neal.
LLRE is a lovely book of healing in many different capacities - physical and mental.
I really felt a tug at the heartstrings for all of the loss that the characters shared.
Lovely scenery and international food galore.
Thank you Net Galley for the ARC.
Highly recommend!

I adored how the novel honors the past while embracing the possibility of new beginnings. It’s a soulful, heartfelt read.

Thank you to NetGalley and @LakeUnionPub for this ARC. Veronica is trying to make ends meet when she answers an ad on Linkedin for a travel companion and researcher. Mariah is willing to hire someone to help her travel and finish the book her late mother started. Both trying to heal from major life changes, they try to also heal each other. Sweet read! #TheLastLetterofRachelEllsworth #BarbaraONeal #LakeUnionPub #July2025

4.75 HUGE STARS!!

I cannot say enough incredible things about this book! Huge thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the EARC because this has EASILY come in under my top 5 favourite books I’ve ever read. WOWOWOWIWOWOW!! I will be recommending this one for a long time!!

HOW IS THIS MY FIRST EVER BARBARA O’NEAL BOOK?!?!

*PERHAPS SLIGHT SPOILERS IN A GENERALIZED RECAP OF A FEW MAJOR PLOT POINTS .. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK?*

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The way Barbara is describing these fascinating places whether it be through Rachel’s letters or just the current moments events it has you LONGING to be there experiencing it too. But yet it paints the most vivid imagine for you as if perhaps in another life you have in fact been there. This book hit SO many marks for me, especially in terms of the dynamic and circumstances of Mariah and Victoria. For me this, this struck a very close emotional cord. The relatability was near fatal. The deep character and trauma work that Victoria is unknowingly doing throughout this book adds so much depth and love and hope and unflinchingly brutal honesty.

The way she ties it altogether so satisfyingly gut wrenchingly perfectly is just …*chefs kiss*

O'Neal never fails to impress with her ability to write so many different stories that are unlike the others. I appreciated that we took a step back from the romance themes and focused instead on women finding each other and finding lasting friendships.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an advance ebook of The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara O’Neal. I loved, loved, loved this book. The story was beautifully written. The characters are well developed and I had so many emotions about each one. The three main characters I grew to really like as I read further into the book. You learn quickly that sometimes your family are people you choose rather than the people you’re related to. The ending was spot on! I must say, I’m sad I finished it.
I am recommending this book to everyone I know that reads!

I really enjoyed the book. It had a lot of History reference and am glad the author provided explanation. It also involved different cultures which I also enjoyed reading. The plot and the building of it was really good plus the exploration of mental health and traumatic events. For me it was a little hard to keep up with the writing due to constantly getting confused of the narrator was talking about. Also got confused when certain thing were a phone call or a text message, at times there was no division of what was the narration and what was a dialogue. Overall it was a nice read.

I hadn’t intended on reading The Last Letter in more-or-less one sitting; it just happened.

The title is a bit misleading. While the letter certainly exists, the focus of the story is more on grief, found family, and new beginnings.

Before Veronica and Mariah can face the future, they need to face the past. They’ve both hit rock-bottom. Veronica is divorced, jobless, missing her dog and her home, and facing her first Thanksgiving without her kids and beloved traditions. Worse, she’s struggling to pay her rent. Mariah has lost her mother and her athletic career in one violent moment. She’s planned a pilgrimage to finish a book her mom started and needs a companion to help with research and some of the physical aspects of traveling she can’t handle on her own since her physical injury.

I loved the juxtaposition of the younger woman with an older woman entering the next phase of her life. Veronica discovered that her story wasn’t over, and she still had so much to offer. It’s not often that a book highlights an inter-generational friendship, despite how amazing they can be in real life. Mariah learns to face her PTSD and grief, to see her mom as a real person, and to allow other people into her tightly guarded life. They both balance each other. Henry is a nice addition with overwhelming the growing friendship between Veronica and Mariah.

On a side note, I love the way that karma comes for Veronica’s ex.

I LOVED O’Neal’s last novel, Memories of the Lost, so I had high hopes for this book.
Unfortunately, this one just wasn’t for me. I can see how others will enjoy the story, it’s about finding yourself and there’s a really beautiful message there that’s very well done. Our two FMC’s are battling with the unexpected changes that have upended their lives, their journey together is so well written and I truly can see how many people will love this story.
It just felt like it dragged too much and was difficult to keep my attention.
O’Neal really does have such beautiful prose and her writing is so fluid and immersive.
Thank you NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

After reading a few other books by Barbara O'Neal, I was excited to try her 2025 release, The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth. This is a dual timeline book that tells the story of a daughter, who recently experienced a significant trauma, fulfilling her mother's journey across the world. Additionally, it tells the story of a recently divorced woman trying to find her identity and manage her newly single life. The two women meet and journey around the world together, along with a male photographer, who quickly becomes a love interest. Alternating chapters reveal letters the girl's mother sent, which reveal what was happening in her life at that time. Overall the story was good, though predictable at times. I enjoyed the different perspectives from the different characters. Three and a half stars rounded up to 4.
Thank you to NetGalley, Barbara O'Neal, and Lake Union Publishing for allowing me to read the advance reader copy.

A set of unlikely travel companions - each undertaking the journey for their own complicated reasons - find that the experience yields far more than they expected.

An athlete whose career is brought to a premature end, a woman whose marriage suffers a similar fate, and a photographer who appear to have little in common discover unexpected layers to each other, and their lives.

O'Neal's trademark skill of crafting memorable characters and providing insights into human existence and relationships are very much on display here. Well worth your time, this one gets 3.5 stars.

Barbara O'Neal does it again in this emotional story about two very different women coping with loss and recovery. Their sweeping journey - and their nuanced relationships - are beautifully developed and delicately described.
She's just that good.

Three people brought together to complete a mother's last dream. A daughter wanting answers, a newly divorced woman needing a new path and an old friend helping helping both. I loved the pace of the book, the future and the past combing into an ending that just fits. No fairy tale, happily ever after, just life being shown as real. A solid read.

I'm a big fan of Barbara O'Neal books, so I was very excited to read this one. While I enjoyed the premise, some of the plot lines were not well-developed, and overall, there just seemed to be some pieces missing. A lot of parts were enjoyable, but if you aren't a big reader, you can skip this one.

This was an emotional journey for Mariah and Veronica, who travel from Colorado to Europe and then to India, trying to unravel the clues for a last book from Mariah’s mom Rachel. This last year has been a nightmare for Veronica and Mariah. Veronica’s long-time husband dumps her for another woman- his younger pregnant mistress- and kicks her out of her home and her lovely gardens that she created. And Mariah was in a violent mass shooting where she was almost killed and her mother died beside her. Her leg was shattered along with her career as an Olympic snowboarder. When Mariah decides to follow clues from her mother for her last book, she hires Veronica to help her travel and unravel the story of her mother’s past life and love in India. Mariah’s ‘stepfather’ Henry goes along too as a photographer and helps them figure out what really happened to Rachel so long ago. The trio travel from place to place sampling so much food and tracing Rachel’s footsteps as Veronica tries to figure out how to write Rachel’s last book while she unravels the mystery of a long ago tragedy. During the trip the two women face their pain and learn to trust each other and themselves. This is the story of loss and of growth and of love. I loved the vivid descriptions of the cafés They went to and the exotic foods they sampled. It was amazing watching these two shattered women find themselves and learn to rely on each other and their inner strengths. I loved the ending when Veronica‘s found family gets to meet her friends and children. Throughout the book, it was heartwarming to watch Maria learn to rely on Henry and Veronica… And I loved watching the women grow. This was a thoroughly enchanting novel. Thank you, NetGalley for the digital copy. All opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book right from the beginning! Several interesting relationships to follow, a mystery to figure out and travel from the US to London, Paris, Morocco and India. I really liked the author’s writing style and look forward to reading more of her books!

Barbara O’Neal is one of my favorite authors – I can always count on her novels to be thoughtful explorations of the complexities of human life. This latest offering is no exception. I was engaged with the storyline and the characters from the first page to the last.

The overarching theme of this novel is the response to trauma – either physical and or emotional. Three people have all suffered a significant loss with varying degrees of healing. Miriah Ellsworth was a world-class snowboarder when she was severely injured and lost her mother in a tragic event. Veronica Barrington, a middle-aged homemaker, is stunned when her professor husband of two decades announces he has fallen in love and abruptly packs his bags. Lastly, Henry, a war photographer, withdrew from conflict zones after seeing too much suffering and receiving a wound himself.

All three embark on a journey to London, Paris, Marrakesh, and India to complete a project begun by Rachel Ellsworth, Mariah’s mother, a renowned food writer. The trip is fraught with challenges primarily arising from Mariah’s unresolved grief and fragile health. Things are further complicated by Veronica’s ex-husband who has unceremoniously stopped her alimony payments and cancelled her access to credit cards. Due to her precarious financial state, she is forced to deal with an eviction back in Colorado with little or no support from her adult children.

Despite all the drama, the character development is solid and realistic as the three forge ahead on their quest. Greater insight is gained by the receipt of Rachel’s letters to her sister Jill – letters that reflect Rachel’s enchantment with India as a college student during a study year abroad. The last letter, as indicated by the book’s title, ties together all the pieces of information gathered through their travels.

While I appreciated the nuances in the developing relationship between Mariah and Veronica, the organic evolution of the bond between Veronica and Henry was the most enjoyable. Another positive aspect of the book was the evocative and colorful descriptions of the cities on their journey. These added a dimension to the storyline that enhanced the overall enjoyment.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

This book was an enjoyable and thought-provoking read that offered a rich blend of storytelling, character development, and thematic depth. The author’s writing style is engaging without being overly complicated, striking a good balance between detail . A worthwhile read.

This is my first Barbara O'Neal book but I don't think it'll be my last. Her writing is beautiful and poetic. She covers relationships, trauma, and healing in a way that's relatable and thoughtfully done. I found The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth to be one of those books that weighed heavy on my heart, but I did finished it feeling full of warmth and appreciation for the relationships in my own life.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the arc in exchange for an honest review.