Cornelia, a coffee shop manager, finds her life changing completely on the day that she meets Martin. A Cary Grant look-alike, Martin almost—but not quite—sweeps Cornelia off her feet. The beginning of this book makes it seem like it’s going to be a more traditional girl-meets-boy love story, but that’s not what it is at all. Cornelia’s love of old movies makes her try to live as if she is in one, but she can’t ignore her own feelings and doubts. Instead, the story takes a different turn as Cornelia meets Clare, an 11-year-old girl who has been abandoned by her mother. The relationship between Cornelia and Clare is the true love story of this novel.
I’m not a fan of old movies, so all the discussion of them throughout this novel didn’t really interest me too much, though it was easy to see how they influenced Cornelia’s life and I can grudgingly see their importance to the story.
I loved how small decisions in this novel led to life-changing events. Cornelia’s decision to let Clare stay with her changes her life in every way, all for the better. Clare’s decision to look for her father brings her a whole new family, so that she no longer has to worry about losing her one-family-member support system.
I found the ending of the book to be a little abrupt, as if everything was heading one way and suddenly veered off in a whole new direction. But it was a likable love story and I enjoyed reading it.
