Kat with a K

Review: Love Walked In

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos
Genre: Literature
Pages: 307
Rating: 4.9

I was skeptical about this book at first - a former coworker at the bookstore told me I had to read it, but we tend to have different taste. I expected generic chick lit, and was extremely surprised: it wasn't that at all. It was amazing. I adored it. I carried it around for days so I could read every chance I got. I loved it so much that I'm having a hard time articulating why, exactly. The writing was captivating, and I identified with both of the main characters in various ways. The chapters alternate between a young woman managing a coffee bar and a 12-year-old who has just been abandoned by her psychologically unstable mother*. In the 12-year-old's first chapter, she's making a list of her favorite literary orphans on the back of a worksheet at school. I knew at that moment that I would love this book.

Love Walked In starts out like a fairy tale: Cornelia's life changes forever when a Cary Grant lookalike walks into her cafe. But it doesn't go the obvious places where a fairy tale would go. It's more complex and therefore more likable. The ending does perhaps wrap up a bit too neatly, but it's way less fakely perfect than it could have been, so I forgave it. This is one that I'll be reading again and again, I'm sure.

* That circumstance has nothing to do with why I identified with the character. Just to clarify. :)