All Booked Up

Thanks to the Publisher for my review copy.

Another great Melody Carlson book. The starts with Riva and her daughter talking about her large library of books. Kenzie would like her to get rid of the books even burning them and Riva can’t she loves books. Riva is a widow and the cost of upkeep for her house is becoming too much. She may need to move but can she part with her books.

Through circumstances she decides to rent rooms in her house to other women. This leads to a house with five very different women all single due to different circumstances. One of the women has a older brother who is a handyman and helping is sister and her friend with moving. With five different personalities there is bound to be teething issues. We see this fairly early on especially with one lady. She is trying and at times I would have liked to knock some sense into her. However, this does lead to a good book. Seeing how Melody would deal with the issues and what resolution would happen.

This book deals with grief and the different stages and how little things can bring up memories and feelings the characters have to deal with. It also has healing. One of the early scenes is Riva attending a grief support group and it is a recurring theme. We learn early that Riva’s husband Paul died of cancer and Riva was his carer. This in itself adds a layer to grief. If you are in this situation or just recently widowed, you may find this book difficult at times. I also think for those a little into the…