Book Review: The House of Hidden Letters
The House of Hidden Letters by Izzy Broom will be released in the United States on Mar 17, 2026.
The House of Hidden Letters is a passionate and life-affirming book that will take you away to what seems like a dream life: winning a house by lottery, for less than 2 dollars or 1 pound on a beautiful Greek Isle. I loved the vivid descriptions of the setting and Skye’s character development. You will be transported to a sunny, wind-swept Greek island with views of the sea!
Skye is ready for a fresh start on the island of Folegandros, but reality will soon follow her. She is a teacher who is recovering from a relationship. When she arrives on the island, she meets kind and handsome Andreas, a local contractor who is helping to renovate all of the cottages. Not only Skye, but several other ex-pats have won homes, with the promise of renovation, and they soon form a warm community and friendships blossom. I really loved this part of the story, because it seemed Skye was lonely and needed true friends.
A special bond forms between Skye and Andreas, yet this is a slow-burn romance with more of a friends to lovers vibe, because Skye needs time to be able to trust again. Oen thing that bonds these two is that they find old letters from the era of World War II. Andreas translates the letters from the original Greek, and together, they read letters between Katerina and Stefanos. The book also flashes back in time to the love and war story of Katerina, a young woman who lived there in 1940s.
My Thoughts
This book had so much more depth than I knew. Just by reading the description, I thought maybe I would read a light vacation romance, and I was happy with that. However, I enjoyed the book even more than I anticipated.
The book is dual timeline, flashing back to the island of Folegandros, Greece during WWII. I have read a lot of WWII books over the years, but none set in Greece. This thread of the novel follows Katerina who is a strong, brave hero who plays her part in the resistance. She is also a young woman falling in love with Stefanos, a freedom fighter. At times, I was reminded of The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah due to the strong bond between Katerina and her sister Leni. The 1940s part of the book does not shy away from tragedies of the war, but it is also a powerful and deeply romantic love story.
I am excited to read the next book, which I think might be set on the same island?
The UK cover is so pretty too!
The book cover for The House of Hidden Letters shows a blue ocean and white houses on a Greek island
Thank you to Berkley and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
TW: domestic abuse, coercive control, verbal abuse, rape and sexual assault
