Love Walked In: a love story with a twist

Love Walked In by Marisa de los Santos is the first book in the Love Walked In series. Cornelia Brown, 31, is obsessed with the classic romantic movies and wants to find her own Cary Grant and true love. She daydreams her days away as she wants a life similar to The Philadelphia Story (1941). When a man who looks like the spitting image of her beloved Cary Grant, walks into her Philadelphia coffee shop, she believes she found him. Little does she know that their meeting would set in motion a series of events that would change her life forever. At the same time, 11 year old Clare Hobbes has been covering for her erratic mother and barely holding it together. Until one day when her mother leaves, Clare now must look for her estranged father. While meeting her father, she meets Cornelia and the two immediately develop a bond that won’t be easily broken. Does Cornelia truly find the love she desires? Will Clare’s mother return? 

The story is told between two narrators: Cornelia and Clare. The first half of the book was great but I found myself struggling to get through the second half as one unrealistic event after another pushes the story along. I found Cornelia to be annoying as she is so filled with her idealistic view of love that she is often over the top and at the same time filled with angst that she begins to question everything. I related more to Clare, the child who desperately tries to be an adult but still very much a scared child at heart. I also didn’t care for the constant movie and book references. I don’t mind the occasional reference because it helps connect with and understand the character; however, when it seems like it's the only thing the character is able to connect with, it gets old. And it gives the impression that the author wants to show the reader how smart and cultured they are with all the references. I recommend Love Walked In. 

Love Walked In is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook.