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A delightfully heartwarming romance, sprinkled with: magical realism; an insecure heroine (yet to discover her own shiny essence); a bevy of handsome prospective beaus; and a bantering, gentle, humorous cadence that oozes authenticity and charm. Not to mention a glamorous LA setting, sure to catch the interest of even the most casual star-struck reader.
Daphne Bell, thirty-three years old, is looking for love. Or better said, Daphne is looking for guidance on love. Because Daphne wants to get it right – wants to find her Mr Right, her soul mate, the partner with whom to share her life – with no expiration date attached.
An ask that is perhaps more difficult than it seems, for, beginning at the tender age of seven, (Grade Five), Daphne has been receiving strange anonymous notes, penned by an unfathomable know-all-things spirit, instructing her on the name and duration of her next romantic partnership.
As Daphne, our first person POV narrator, has learned to navigate the strangeness of a world replete with these instructions, her narrative interweaves timelines to fill the reader in on these pre-ordained relationships in her past, leading us to her current situation. A flurry of vignettes follows, each as engaging and spirited as a mini episode of “Modern Love”, outlining the young Daphne’s romantic past, and helping us understand the complications involved. For, without giving the plot away (no spoilers here), all is not as it seems with Daphne.
For our heroine has secrets, dark ones, yet to be revealed. And a lesson, hard-fought, to be learned.
I loved this book – the touch of magic, the story, the characters, and the perfectly crafted ending. And who could resist the sweetness and the quirkiness, counterbalanced by the mind-nudging question-bubbles floated tantalizingly by the author.
Questions ultimately raised, and faced head-on, without need, or fear, of answers. Questions about love, and living, and letting go.
And the wonder that may be waiting, just around the corner, if a heart is ready and open.
