Review: Love Lettering – Kate Clayborn

Synopsis

Meg Mackworth’s hand-lettering skill has made her famous as the Planner of Park Slope, designing beautiful custom journals for New York City’s elite. She has another skill too: reading signs that other people miss. Like the time she sat across from Reid Sutherland and his gorgeous fiancée, and knew their upcoming marriage was doomed to fail. Weaving a secret word into their wedding program was a little unprofessional, but she was sure no one else would spot it. She hadn’t counted on sharp-eyed, pattern-obsessed Reid . . .

A year later, Reid has tracked Meg down to find out—before he leaves New York for good—how she knew that his meticulously planned future was about to implode. But with a looming deadline, a fractured friendship, and a bad case of creative block, Meg doesn’t have time for Reid’s questions—unless he can help her find her missing inspiration. As they gradually open up to each other about their lives, work, and regrets, both try to ignore the fact that their unlikely connection is growing deeper. But the signs are there—irresistible, indisputable, urging Meg to heed the messages Reid is sending her, before it’s too late . . .

Review

Kate Clayborn is a new-to-me author that I recently discovered on bookstagram. It started with an incredible piece of fanart created by @eklixio (check out her other artwork!) that I fell head over heels for, followed by a Goodreads blurb search that intrigued me. I immediately downloaded a free sample of Love Lettering on Amazon which I devoured, then purchased a physical copy through an online retailer where I eagerly awaited its delivery.

Finally… finally… it arrived in my mailbox yesterday and I stayed up way too late into the night because I just could not put this book down. Early morning start at work today, be damned. I wanted to crawl into this story and never leave. Of course, I did have to eventually put the book down to go to said work shift, but as soon as I finished, I picked the book back up to finish the rest.

This story was SUCH A JOY to read. Meg and Reid (individually) were amazing, Meg and Reid (as a couple) were amazing, the whole story was – of course – amazing. Love Lettering begins with Meg, an artist with a specialty in letter design, who occasionally hides messages in her artwork. A compulsion she can’t help as the letters and their meaning speak to her. However, Meg’s hidden messages aren’t the only ones in the book. The whole story is hidden with little hints throughout that I didn’t really pick up on until the final reveal of the subplot at the end. Innocuous words spoken in conversation between many of the characters reveal entirely new meanings by the end, and it was so well done.

Outside of the hidden messages and the incredible insight into the art of lettering/typography/fonts, is a well developed romance between two completely opposite characters who are absolutely perfect for each other. Meg is easygoing, whimsical, hopeful and a little lost. Reid, on the other hand, is serious, logical, numbers-driven, and quite an intriguing character. He, too, is a little lost. But together, they find each other and themselves in a city that can otherwise be incredibly stark and lonely.

As previously mentioned, Kate Clayborn is a new-to-me author but I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and storytelling ability. This book was everything I needed and more; it’s since become a favourite of mine and I cannot wait to read more of Clayborn’s works in the future.

Purchase your copy now!
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