The beginning of this book instantly draws you in. As you can read in the book blurb above, Maggie is struggling to deal with her husband’s affair and their failed attempt at reconciliation. She is looking for some guidance, and her grandmother’s letters offer much needed inspiration. Maggie, and her relationship with her estranged husband, is remarkably relatable. Honestly, I sometimes have trouble caring about the relationship of a cheating spouse, but here, I was rooting for a happy outcome, however that is best achieved. I wanted to believe he had changed, which I normally couldn’t care less about. I love reading about strong women and seeing them overcome huge obstacles. It’s even more enjoyable knowing that Ruth and Cecile’s story is based on actual events. As a woman, it’s hard not to draw courage and optimism from two such compelling women.

With Kisses From Cécile follows two young women, Ruth and her French pen pal, Cécile. Through their letters we get a glimpse of their lives and the beautiful bond that is shared between two friends. Authors Anne Armistead and Jan Agnello have written a historical novel of friendship, loss, and forgiveness. This book is a delightfully sweet historical fiction novel. The story between Ruth and Cecile is wonderful to follow. The book follows two timelines, one in the present and one in the past. The authors did a fantastic job distinguishing the two timelines. The characters are skillfully crafted and well developed. You admire both women and their strength and admire their friendship. The history in the book does not take away from the story, if anything it adds to it. Reading the historical events that each character witnessed you begin to understand and appreciate them. I would’ve liked to have read more about Clinton and Ruth. Ruth had so much more going on in her life that I would have liked to see loose ends tied up. I came to care for Ruth and the trials she faced, her emotions, and the way she lived life. While I enjoyed the emotional depth of the book, I felt that the pacing of the story was slow when it came to Gran and Maggie but I pushed on because I wanted to read more about Ruth. The authors included pictures at the end of the book which was an added bonus. With Kisses From Cécile is a heart warming read that explores a beautiful friendship of two women who live worlds apart.

I loved this sensitive story from Anne Armistead and how it was based on the true story of her great-grandmother. It was written in letter format that covered two timelines from the life of Ruth along with her pen pal Cécile. Maggie is undergoing some serious trials in her life and marriage and she received the lovely gift of a trip to Paris from her grandmother. Her grandmother hopes that this trip will help Maggie to deal with her feelings of sadness, pain and regret. During the long flight, her grandmother gives her a box of letters that was given to her from her mother, and Maggie begins to read them. The first letter in this story is from Ruth to Cécile and was written in 1919. Maggie reads the letters as they were written, going back between her great-grandmother's and Cécile's. I loved how Maggie was able to discuss certain points with her grandmother as she pondered each letter. The letters touched on both warm and tragic experiences that the women experienced over the years and how they came to become pen pals. Although I never had a pen pal, I know some that do, and they have often spoke of the wonderful experiences, including very honest feelings, sadness and life's failures as time wears on. In most cases, I review digital ARCs, but in this case the author provided me a print ARC. This was a true bonus due to the wonderful black and white photos that I have gazed at more than once. Thank you to Anne Armistead for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.