LOVE WALKED IN

Love Walked In, Marisa De Los Santos, Dutton, 2005, 307 pp


Am I lowering my standards or is chick lit getting better? I had a good time reading this book. Cornelia is 31 years old, single and managing a coffeehouse in Philadelphia. She can't figure out what she wants to be when she grows up. In walks who she thinks is the man of her dreams. They start dating and all is wonderful except the sex.

Pretty soon in walks Clare, an 11 year old girl whose mother has just gone missing. Now Cornelia really falls in love. Eventually the reader finds out how all these people are connected, there are ups and downs and revelations and complications all the way to the obligatory happy ending.

The writing is fine, the insights are true and delivered gracefully. I grew to love the characters and to feel like I was involved in their lives. I could see being a friend of Cornelia. Clare is a believable 11 year old who has had to face a bit too much in her young life but has great strength. In another chick lit touch, De Los Santos has a movie moments thing going on which I thought was cleverly done.

A good read, emotionally satisfying and fairly real: no one gets everything she wants but some get what they deserve. OK, I will have a music moment: sounds like a Rolling Stones song.