Love Letter received generally positive reviews from
music critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an
average score of 77, based on 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".
Los Angeles Times writer August Brown complimented its "slow-simmered, grown-man emoting" and Kelly's "melodicism and vocal powers". Jon Caramanica of
The New York Times commended the album's "gentle adult-contemporary R&B" and Kelly for "singing as vigorously as ever, on songs that are some of the most elegant of his career", commenting that its songs are "in essence, secular spirituals, bombastic and warm, meant not to raise an eyebrow".
Chicago Tribune writer
Greg Kot noted its classicist musical sources and viewed it as a departure from Kelly's previous work, stating "for the most part Kelly forgoes the sing-songy minimalism that made him rich in favor of more developed melodies, fully orchestrated arrangements and lyrics that are as much spiritual as sexual". Mikael Wood of
The Village Voice called it a "commitment-pimping [...] classically minded r&b album" and commented that "much of which plays like a modest about-face from
Untitleds unabashed raunch".
Maura Johnston of
Spin praised Kelly's "exquisite
phrasing and unparalleled ability to
belt", commenting that "his decision to ditch the club and retreat to a more conventionally romantic setting allows him to let his voice take center stage". Ken Capobianco of
The Boston Globe called the album "a back-to-basics collection of beautifully sung and arranged tracks emphasizing romance and devotion", writing that its music "complements Kelly’s vocal flights and impeccable, expressive phrasing".
The A.V. Clubs
Nathan Rabin described it as "proudly old-fashioned soul [...] warm, reassuringly familiar" and called Kelly "a consummate showman". In a mixed review,
Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson found Kelly's sentiments "generic" and described its music as "vanilla-smooth, grown-folks grooves that hearken not just to stepping in the name of love, but also some of the faux-Motown simulations from that most mechanical of recent musicals,
Dreamgirls".
New York writer Nitsuh Abebe called its songs "the audio equivalent of buying flowers" and interpreted its theme of forgiveness to be directed at "the alleged capacity of women to forgive men for all failures, so long as a little knee-bending and charm is involved".
Rolling Stone observed a "relatively novel concept", but commented that "it's a testament to Kelly's ingenuity as a singer and songwriter that
Love Letter doesn't fizzle — even with the fly zipped up on his wildest eccentricities". Hugh Montgomery of
The Observer wrote that "It's pastiche, certainly, but Kelly's expressive croon carries the day: equal parts honeyed and rasping, and bristling with a sincerity that reaches its zenith on the spine-tingling, a cappella finale of 'When a Woman Loves'".
Accolades Jon Caramanica of
The New York Times ranked the album number nine on his year-end top albums list for 2010.
Love Letter was nominated for a
Grammy Award for
Best R&B Album, set to be presented at the
54th Grammy Awards in 2012. The song "Radio Message" was nominated for a Grammy Award for
Best Traditional R&B Performance. == Commercial performance ==