Review: Love Walked In, Marisa de los Santos

Cornelia was working in the cafe one day when Martin Grace walked in, suave and sexy and the image of a modern day Cary Grant.  Amazingly, he asks Cornelia to go to London with him, that day.  She refuses, but he still calls.  And sends her flowers.  Martin Grace, however, is not the love that comes into Cornelia’s life.  That comes later, in the shape of a little girl named Claire Hobbes, whose mother is not herself and whose father is not very interested in her.  With the help of her brother-in-law, Teo, and her friends and family, Cornelia learns what love is.

This book promised me a modern day fairy tale, and in a way, it delivered just that, but in a very contemporary setting and tone of voice.  I loved both Claire and Cornelia.  I love their separate voices and the love that developed between them.  I adored Claire’s stubborness and Cornelia’s dreams and the way that they meshed.  From the minute Cornelia played with a baby in the first few pages, I knew what was going to happen for her in this book, but I loved the way it unfolded.

Actually, I didn’t predict all of it; some things I did not foresee immediately.  In that sense, this isn’t a typical romance; Martin isn’t really the love that’s walking in, although the book makes it sound that way at first.  Rather, he is the change that allows Cornelia to embrace love in her life.  I liked that.  Cornelia says this at the beginning, so I’m not giving anything away.

I also really liked the writing in this book.  Unfortunately I have already had to return it to the library, so I don’t have any quotes, but you can certainly see the result of the author’s degrees!   The prose is simultaneously beautiful and personable; it’s as if the characters are talking to you, but they’ve put a great deal of thought into their words. I loved that she threw in so many movie references while citing Cornelia’s addiction to classic movies.  I haven’t watched a ton of old movies, but I have seen enough of the classics to get who she was talking about and it really enhanced my ability to visualize the characters, something that I generally struggle with.

Overall, this was a charming, enchanting read.  This is another one of my finds through book blogging and I’m so grateful to have discovered so many fantastic titles lately!  I have Belong to Me, the sequel, waiting for me at home, and I can’t wait to read it.  Love Walked In has my enthusiastic recommendation.

Available via IndieBound, Powell’s, Amazon, and Amazon UK.