Review - - The Finders Keepers Library

The Finders Keepers Library

by Annie Rains

Somerset Lake - Book 5

Publisher: Forever

Release Date: April 16, 2024

Reviewed by PJ

 

For a gardener blessed with a green thumb, Savannah Collins’s life sure seems like it’s all thorns, zero roses. She has no job, no relationship, and no place to live. With nothing but a car full of plants and her new rescue kitten, Savannah heads to Bloom, North Carolina, to spend the summer with her beloved Aunt Eleanor, a retired librarian.

Her aunt shares her love of literature with the Finders Keepers Library, located in her beautiful garden, where anyone can stop by to pick a book or leave a book. When a sudden summer storm destroys the library and many of the roses, it will take a village to get everything ready for the garden wedding that is planned there in just three weeks.

As the entire town joins in to make the necessary repairs, Savannah bonds with their neighbor Evan Sanders over the books that Eleanor has handpicked for each of them, helping them both find healing and self-discovery. Savannah only intends to stay through the summer, but when an unexpected job offer, a sudden health crisis, and a wayward pre-teen push her future in new directions, she has to wonder whether this is the place that she is meant to be—and the family she’s meant to be with.

PJ's Thoughts:

Annie Rains never fails to engage my emotions with her heart-tugging, small-town, closed-door romances. This one is about starting over, confronting our fears, grief, healing, and hope for the future. Once again, I was pulled into her story, into the lives of her characters, and they into my heart. 

I would love to spend the summer hanging out in Bloom. I want Savannah to teach me all she knows about plants (maybe I'll be able to keep one alive). I want Eleanor to hand pick books for me to read (I'm confident she would pick just the right one). I want to talk books with Evan's daughter in the Finders Keepers Library and cheer her on as she finds her place in Bloom. I want to watch the relationships of Evan and Savannah, Charlie and Eleanor, and Madison and Sam flourish amidst the challenges of everyday life. I want Mallory to find her happy ever after. And, I want to talk to the roses. I may not be able to grow them but I'm confident I'd have no problem divulging my deepest held secrets...and feel better for it. 

Rains made the town of Bloom, and her citizens, come to life for me. I loved how she intertwined several relationship threads together, giving multiple characters journeys without sacrificing the importance of any one person or relationship. There are themes of starting over, second chances, compromise, acceptance, healing, and love. Romantic love, family love, and love among friends. It's a story that made me laugh, made me sigh, brought forth a few tears, and, ultimately, left me with a happy, hopeful heart. How could I ask for more?