In a Nutshell Reviews

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One Moment by Becky Hunter
Published by Forever on March 12, 2024
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Fiction

Goodreads

This heart-wrenching read about friendship, love, and loss tells the story of a woman grieving the death of her best friend and learning to embrace a future she never imagined—perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Josie Silver.

One moment in time can change everything...

The day Scarlett dies, her hopes and dreams for the future die with her…or so she thinks. Because she’s still here—wherever here is—watching the ripple effect of her death on the lives of those she loved the most. She’d do anything to go back and join the living, especially Evie, her best friend who needs her now more than ever.

Scarlett and Evie have been inseparable since they were ten years old. Now Evie can’t imagine life without Scarlett, and she certainly doesn’t want to forgive Nate, the man she blames for her best friend's death, simply because she needs to hold someone accountable. Yet Nate keeps showing up in her life—so charming and outgoing, just like Scarlett—when all Evie wants is to retreat from the world.

But Evie’s not alone. Scarlett is still by her side, even as she wrestles with the choices that led to that fateful day. Knowing what she knows now, and seeing Evie bravely embrace a future without her, would Scarlett go back and alter the events that changed their lives forever?

Best friends for most of their lives, Scarlet and Evie found themselves without the other following Scarlet's untimely death. Told from both Evie and Scarlet's points of view, this was a story of love, loss, and healing which highlighted friendship above all things.

Anyone who knows me understands how much I enjoy a good story of grief and loss. It's not the loss part that I love, but rather, the healing that I always find pleasing. The interesting twist here was that I saw this process from both sides. Including Scarlet's point of view brought something different to this type of tale, and I appreciated getting to see her grow and heal right alongside Evie.

There's that saying, "beauty in the pain", and that was something that played a major part in this story. At the time of Scarlet's death, Evie was still coming to terms with her MS diagnosis. Not leaving home and wearing THAT sweater, she was fading away. Scarlet's death was terrible and tragic, but one result was that her friend began to live more. That one moment when Scarlet stepped off the curb set off a chain of events which pushed Evie to make positive changes in her life.

I have to be honest, the saddest part of this book came at the end for me. I hardly shed a tear before that last chapter. It was a very thought provoking way to end the story in my opinion. Beautifully sad, and I would underscore the word beautiful because it really hit me in my heart. And no worries, this was not a super sad story. There were a nice blend of moments and emotions. As I read, I felt happy, sad, mad, frustrated, and hopeful.

Overall, this was a touching story of friendship and love. It was about how having that "person" in your life shapes it in so many ways, and how even when they are gone, the impression they made on your life will be long lasting.

*ARC PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER

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What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama
Published by Hanover Square Press on September 5, 2023
Age/Genres: Adult, Fiction

Goodreads

For fans of The Midnight Library and Before the Coffee Gets Cold, this charming Japanese novel shows how the perfect book recommendation can change a reader's life.

What are you looking for?

This is the famous question routinely asked by Tokyo’s most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. Like most librarians, Komachi has read every book lining her shelves—but she also has the unique ability to read the souls of her library guests. For anyone who walks through her door, Komachi can sense exactly what they’re looking for in life and provide just the book recommendation they never knew they needed to help them find it.

Each visitor comes to her library from a different juncture in their careers and dreams, from the restless sales attendant who feels stuck at her job to the struggling working mother who longs to be a magazine editor. The conversation that they have with Sayuri Komachi—and the surprise book she lends each of them—will have life-altering consequences.

With heartwarming charm and wisdom, What You Are Looking For Is in the Library is a paean to the magic of libraries, friendship and community, perfect for anyone who has ever found themselves at an impasse in their life and in need of a little inspiration.

This was such a lovely story. It's a quiet book that is very character driven, and its beauty really sneaks up on you. Each character has a chapter that focuses on them, but connections in and among the main players all slowly emerge. This is something I will never tire of, and I am always delighted when authors make this happen. 

What are you looking for?

Each person in this story was at a different point in their life, but also seeking something, a change, a purpose. Their search brought them to the library where a wonderful librarian worked her magic. With an eye-opening list of books and a bit of felting magic, each character was able to see their situation from a different perspective and eventually, they found the path that was right for them.

I thought the author did a great job getting me into the characters' heads and feeling their emotions. I enjoyed seeing them connecting to others while experiencing epiphanies when it came to their own lives. 

Overall: A quiet but uplifting and hopeful book.

Favorite book involving a library?
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