Note: Clicking on colored titles links to my reviews on Goodreads.

I recently finished one of my top books of 2025, The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Taking place from 2012 to 2022, this novel is in the format of letters and emails exchanged between the main character, Sylvia Van Antwerp, a retired lawyer, and various family members, friends, business acquaintances, and even famous authors, including Larry McMurtry, Ann Patchett, and Joan Didion. These letters reveal a broad overview of Sylvia’s life, with a few revelations emerging near the end, which made me reach for a tissue. At times, it was a little confusing due to not knowing who the letter was from or to whom it was written, but it sorted itself out.

Another epistolary novel I recently read was Kate & Frida by Kim Fay. I had read Fay’s previous book, Love & Saffron, also told in letters, so I eagerly latched onto the sequel. I didn’t love it quite as much, but it was worth reading.

Readers of other epistolary novels such as The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and 84, Charing Cross Road may wish to try any of these. It’s also a good choice for readers who loved one of my recent favorites, The Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall.