Love Walked In by Marisa De Los Santos

Sometimes life leads you to unexpected places that can be both thrilling and terrifying.  Cornelia Brown manages a coffee house in Philadelphia.  A lover of old films and books, she yearns for her own Cary Grant to make her romantic dreams come true.  Then one day, Martin Grace walks in.  He not only looks like Cary Grant, but shares his wit and charm.  Cornelia is smitten.  Will love’s path walk smoothly?

Claire Hobbs is also living in Philadelphia with her mother.  She has the best mother in the world until she doesn’t.  Now at eleven years old, Claire tries to keep her life together with a mother who seems to be losing her mind.  Using her favorite plucky orphan stories, Claire tries to figure out how she can make it and hide her mother’s conditions.  She needs help, but where can she get it?

Love Walked In was the April pick for the FLICKS Book & Movie Club (AKA Rogue).  I finished the book up sadly the day after book club, but knew enough of the story to have a good discussion.  What I enjoyed most about the book was all of the references to favorite old classic movies and books of mine.  The Philadelphia Story plays a large part in this book as does the Anne of Green Gables books and the book The Secret Garden.  I loved all of these little snippets and it made me want to check out movies it mentioned that I actually hadn’t watched yet.  I was a Turner Classic Movies addict until we cut the cable cord.  Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden were two of my favorite books growing up.

I also enjoyed that the story was different than most stories I’m used to – it ended up in a different place and moved along a different path to get there.  What is family and what is home were themes that were explored.  I really like a good character story and this was a great character story.  I loved the characters and wanted to continue with them on their journey.  Luckily, I found out at book club that this series continues on.

Favorite Quotes:

“Jimmy Stewart is always and indisputably the best man in the world, unless Cary Grant should happen to show up.”

“Especially since he was obsessed with her because he’d drilled holes in her sailboat and sent her dead body to the bottom of the sea.” – reference to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier which is one of my all time favorite books and also one of my all-time favorite classic movies.

“I’m a fan of suggestion, obliquity, discretion, the cut to the morning after, the camera’s eye turning upward, outward – to the sky, to the cuckoo clock over the bed, to the rushing river, away.” – I feel the same way about movie love scenes!

“And then there are people whose deaths prevent the sun from rising, deaths that turn the walls black in every room you walk through, deaths that send storm clouds and a wail swirling through your head so that you can’t hear music and you can’t recognize your furniture or your own face in the mirror.”

“Like love was a habit you couldn’t break.”

Overall, if you are looking for a great story with unforgettable characters, Love Walked In is the book for you.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library