HI there!
Welcome back to Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers.
Today, we're ALL about the LOVE! Love for books, love for reading, love for the latest work that I literally JUST finished reading not only because of a lack of time off (work...*grumble grumble*), but also because I couldn't bring myself to speed through the passages just to cover ground. I wanted to savor every moment, every experience, every...SPARKLE! So without further ado, let's give a warm bookish welcome to today's book of choice via TLC Book Tours and Lake Union Publishing...
by
Maddie Dawson
9781503900684
Lake Union Publishing
About the book...
Marnie MacGraw wants an ordinary life—a husband, kids, and a minivan in the suburbs. Now that she’s marrying the man of her dreams, she’s sure this is the life she’ll get. Then Marnie meets Blix Holliday, her fiancé’s irascible matchmaking great-aunt who’s dying, and everything changes—just as Blix told her it would.
When her marriage ends after two miserable weeks, Marnie is understandably shocked. She’s even more astonished to find that she’s inherited Blix’s Brooklyn brownstone along with all of Blix’s unfinished “projects”: the heartbroken, oddball friends and neighbors running from happiness. Marnie doesn’t believe she’s anything special, but Blix somehow knew she was the perfect person to follow in her matchmaker footsteps.
And Blix was also right about some things Marnie must learn the hard way: love is hard to recognize, and the ones who push love away often are the ones who need it most.
A tale as old as time...was never nearly as charming!
Aunt Blix was a DOLL! Unusual, creative, an old soul to be sure, and definitely not what you'd expect in an older family relation, but SO AMAZING! She had a unique way of looking at life and a gift for simply knowing who belongs with whom. Wouldn't that be lovely? Just KNOWING who our other half may be? Is it that guy over there? Is it the one we're currently clocking hours with? Is it a random stranger we meet by happenstance on a rainy afternoon? Too bad for Blix, it didn't exactly work on herself...but thanks to her open heart and open view on life, she was able to live by a mantra that was true to her soul and served her heart rather well...Whatever life brings, LOVE IT! Sounds easy enough, but what happens when what it brings you is that proverbial basket of lemons, time and time again? Are truly up for making lemonade...lemon bars...lemon muffins?
Enter one, Marnie MacGraw. Her life has definitely been nothing short of a lemon fest, especially in the love department. From a boyfriend that forgot her come prom time to a friend who expressed interest too late to a fiance that should have never been (times two!), she's batting a thousand. It's during one of the upswings in her love life that Aunt Blix enters her world and from the moment they recognize the magic in one another, neither will ever be the same. That great big life Aunt Blix was talking about for Marnie...it's coming whether she likes it or not...and the only thing she can truly do is let go and see where love might take her.
I loved the concept of this book and how the author wrote in just enough magic to keep us guessing, but not so much that those leery of the topic would feel hocus pocused out. It made you want to believe that there is someone out there for everyone...even those of us that feel most damaged...and the way those connections developed felt real. It wasn't all TADA...we're a match made in heaven...it was more hey, we're gonna struggle, we're gonna fight, but IT'S WORTH FIGHTING FOR...with the locked gate swinging open on hearts long left in the dust and lost souls reaching towards the light. There isn't a soul in that charming Brownstone that wasn't worth the effort, that didn't deserve to love and be loved...and the sum of their struggles, the story they shared, made them a family in every sense of the word.
In the end, I was so swept up in the magic of it all, I didn't even remember to add it to my CURRENT reading list...if that tells you anything. The characters are memorable (Patrick! Houndy! Sammy!), the story quite charming, and the obstacles faced (Noah...*grr*), overcome with flair and sparkles to spare. You'll have your favorites and some of the bumps in the road will stick more than others, but that's simply part of the story's magic...its ability to make each reader's journey personal, while reminding us that life brings many things, but how we choose to react to it makes our life path uniquely our own.
About the author...
Maddie Dawson grew up in the South, born into a family of outrageous storytellers. Her various careers as a substitute English teacher, department-store clerk, medical-records typist, waitress, cat sitter, wedding-invitation-company receptionist, nanny, day care worker, electrocardiogram technician, and Taco Bell taco maker were made bearable by thinking up stories as she worked. Today she lives in Guilford, Connecticut, with her husband. She’s the bestselling author of five previous novels: The Survivor’s Guide to Family Happiness, The Opposite of Maybe, The Stuff That Never Happened, Kissing Games of the World, and A Piece of Normal.
Special thanks to Lisa at TLC Book Tours for the chance to bring this tour to you, and to Lake Union Publishing for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, THIS TOUR, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title celebrated its book birthday earlier this month via Lake Union Publishing, so be on the lookout for it on a bookstore shelf or virtual retailer of your choosing. Be sure to check out the other stops on this leg of the tour as well as those on Instagram!
Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!
What sounds like great characters. Definitely one I'll keep a look out for.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful review for a wonderful read! I'm so glad you loved it. Thanks for being a part of the tour!
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