Hey readers!
Today is a special day on It’s a Booksession because the next instalment of “Surfing Stories” is being added. If you’ve never heard of this series let me explain it. I love reading. This should come to no surprise as I run a blog dedicated to talking about books. However, since the time I was in high school (a long time ago), I don’t read just traditionally published and self-published books. I now read books and stories (mostly One Direction fanfiction) uploaded onto the Internet on websites such as Wattpad.com and Booksie.com. To be honest, some of these books are my favourite books that I’ve ever read and their stories stay with me sometimes longer than traditional books. As a result, I created “Surfing Stories” to provide a platform to showcase these e-stories because they deserve to be read by a larger audience. As well as to open the eyes of people who’ve never heard of these websites and books.
Therefore, 199 Letters by larrystylinson (Ashley Price) will be the book showcased today.
Synopsis:
What would you do if your best friend committed suicide? What would you do if there was no way you could help them? All there is left, 199 letters. The only thing they left behind for you.
Review:
Before starting the review, I wanted to say that read this story at your own discretion. There is a trigger warning for suicide. Also, in the original fanfic, the primary relationship talked about in this fanfic is between Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson. So if you’re not into slash fiction or boyxboy you may not like 199 Letters.
I first read this book when I was in high school, in the beginning stages of reading all of the One Direction fanfics. I had just finished reading another popular slash fanfic Room 319, and that had shattered my heart into a million pieces. Naturally, I wanted to read another book that would break my heart once more. So I searched Wattpad and eventually found 199 Letters.
At the time, and there still are, a lot of stories on that website that deal with a similar subject matter. However, 199 Letters was different. Right from the synopsis I could tell that the story was well-written. I mean, if you can’t write a good synopsis that doesn’t give everything away, can you write a good story? Once I started reading I knew that thought was true, because my heart was not only shattered but ripped apart as well. The story did havoc on my feelings. Feelings that had never been so strongly felt towards characters at the time. Tears were streaming streaming down my face, to the point that they could have formed rivers and probably solve the current California drought.
In addition to excellent writing, the story felt real. The plot felt real enough to me that it could have happened. Maybe not in this universe but an alternate universe. AND THAT ONE PLOT TWIST! It felt like a huge slap in the face! (If you read it or have read it then you’ll understand what I’m talking about).
In March 2015, Ashley published 199 Letters. I only discovered this recently, but once I did, I immediately ordered myself a copy of the book and re-read it. The characters names have changed for legal reasons and a couple of things here and there were changed but only had more cohesion to the story. The published story is just as good as the original. I’m happy for Ashley.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Places to read 199 Letters:
Wattpad (the first 2 chapters): https://goo.gl/wnVqOa
Amazon (the physical book): http://goo.gl/mmPfnb
Amazon (the Kindle version): http://goo.gl/e3LYYQ
Have you read any good fanfics or online stories recently? Or even write your own and would like me review it? Let me know in the comments below or on one of my many social medias:
Wattpad: @samanthad3
Twitter: @itsabooksession
Instagram: @itsabooksession
Pinterest: @SDP30
It's a booksession 