What I'm Reading Wednesday: Love Walked In

Happy Wednesday, My Lovelies! After a rainy and cold weekend, it's been a beautiful sunny week (although unseasonably cold). Today I'm sharing the first book in a series by one of my favorite writers Marisa de los Santos: Love Walked In. I've already shared book two (Belong to Me) and book three (I'll Be Your Blue Sky) here on the blog, so I thought I should probably share the first book, too.

According to Goodreads:

When Martin Grace enters the hip Philadelphia coffee shop Cornelia Brown manages, her life changes forever. But little does she know that her newfound love is only the harbinger of greater changes to come. Meanwhile, across town, Clare Hobbs--eleven years old and abandoned by her erratic mother--goes looking for her lost father. She crosses paths with Cornelia while meeting with him at the café, and the two women form an improbable friendship that carries them through the unpredictable currents of love and life.

My Review:

Cornelia Brown is a thirty-one year old underachiever. She's wicked smart, yet she quit graduate school before she'd completed a semester. She's dreamy, a romantic, and has a great big heart. Cornelia also loves classic movies, and when Cary Grant lookalike Martin Grace walks into her coffee shop she's immediately smitten. But Martin's introduction into her life isn't the big story in this novel. This story is more concerned with eleven year old Clare (whose mentally unstable mother is missing at Christmas) and Cornelia's friendship with Clare at the most vulnerable time in her young life.

In spite of Cornelia's slacker lifestyle, I love her character. Sometimes she feels a wee bit overshadowed by her geneticist sister who happened to marry Teo, Cornelia's best childhood friend. Teo travels to Philadelphia for a conference during Christmas while Cornelia is trying to help Clare find her way (and her mother). They decide to spend Christmas with Cornelia's family in Delaware, and Clare is happy and content spending time with the Brown family. Reality sets in as the holiday comes to a close and school is set to begin. How can Cornelia continue to care for Clare without the school becoming suspicious, and should she or should she not contact the police?

Although this is a sweet story, Marisa de los Santos does an admirable job depicting the devastating affects of bipolar disorder on individuals who suffer from the mental illness and their family members. Santos sugarcoats nothing, yet she's also respectful and handles the plot point with dignity. If you enjoy family drama with lovable, quirky characters, an interesting plot, and plenty of references to classic films, then you should enjoy Love Walked In.

Below is an affiliate link to IndieBound for purchasing Love Walked In.