The Library of Borrowed Hearts

I just finished The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore and here are my musings.

Chloe Sampson is struggling to make ends meet. Her mother left her and her three younger siblings and she is now in charge. Working in the local library is what barely pays the bills but when she finds a rare edition of a book she knows might bring in some extra money, she takes it home. Her crotchety neighbor offers her an obscene amount of money for the book which makes Chloe take a closer look.

The book has written messages in it. She realizes that her neighbor, Jasper, was definitely one of the writers. This triggers Chloe and the man who saves her brother, into a scavenger hunt to find more books by the love birds written inside the pages of some classic books.

The more she gets to know Jasper in the pages, the easier it is to get to know the old man next door. A man with sadness and loneliness in his eyes but begrudgingly starts to open up to Cgloe and her siblings. The unexpected friendship that blossoms between them, Chloe realizes that not all love stories start or end the same.

I think I was just as invested in finding those books as Chloe was. To know that Jasper's lost love was something he never got over, decades later, was so heartbreaking. Thanks to Chloe finding and returning the book, it ended up opening Jasper up into letting people into his heart again. He spent a long time in utter sadness and it took remembering the lost love in a new way, not in darkness, to really start living again. The book reminded Jasper that he loved to read too. The book is loaded with family drama, romance and unlikely friendships.

It was amazing to get both timelines. Jasper's past and how the writing got into the books and the present. It hit me right in the feelers. Chloe gave up her life to take care of her siblings and she didn't realize just how much she is loved. I'm tearing up just typing this review.

It has some really sweet moments and some really deep parts and a chuckle or two. It was my favorite read of the month and that's saying something.

4.5 stars. If you love women's fiction books about books with a little bit of everything... This has to be your next read

Thank you to @netgalley and @sourcecasa for my gifted copy