★★★★☆ | Literary Fiction | Digital | Borrow | StoryGraph | GoodreadsÂ

Sure, the plot was predictable. Yes, the genre here might be closer to chick-lit than I’m comfortable with. But, I still liked it. I liked the irritable, opinionated AJ Fikry, I liked his policeman friend, I kind of liked Amelia and Maya. Mostly, I liked the idea of an island bookstore owned by a cranky, book nerd. Oh, and all the literary references.
Spoilers follow …
AJ’s death was predictable. I had hoped for some happy-ever-after miracle. But, that’s not life. I did not like Amelia’s last conversation with AJ in the hospital. So selfish, but maybe it was banter?
I read this book in a single day. I must have liked it.
Highlights
Sometimes books don’t find us until the right time.
We read to know we’re not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone.
We aren’t the things we collect, acquire, read. We are, for as long as we are here, only love. The things we loved. The people we loved. And these, I think these really do live on.