Member Reviews
Savannah heads to Bloom, North Carolina after a Lupus diagnosis and her boyfriend dumps her. she goes to visit her aunt. sweet story
After her Lupus diagnosis and being dumped by her fiance Savannah heads to where she has always been happiest. Bloom North Carolina and her Aunt Eleanor. There she reunites with her best friend Evan who has always loved Savannah. Could there be a chance for him now? Sweet second chance story.
The cover of this book is enough of an incentive to make me want to read this book. Book lovers and plant lovers will enjoy this story of second chances, hope and healing. Some people find comfort in food. I find comfort in reading a good book, and this book was just what the doctor ordered. Annie Rains develops characters that I, as the reader, can relate to. They are engaging and have real problems. They are not just fantasy characters.
Savannah Collins has had her heart broken, which is how she ends up back in Bloom, North Carolina with her Aunt Eleanor with her broken heart and health issues as well. Savannah seems to be able to communicate better with her plants these days. Aunt Eleanor is just exactly what Savannah needs. Eleanor has a free library in her backyard known as The Finders Keepers Library. This is not your little free library stands that we see everywhere. This is a real building full of books. She loves to share her love of literature with others. She also has a garden to die for, which is Savannah's area of expertise as a botanist. I wanted to jump into this book and wander around.
Evan Sanders is the next door neighbor. He is struggling to raise a teenage daughter on his own. She is not happy being in Bloom, and she intends on making his life as miserable as possible. After all why should he be happy if she is not happy? Evan and Savannah need a second chance in every area of their lives. She is hurting and does not know how to express her feelings.
This story was insightful and emotional at times as the vulnerabilities of each character is fleshed out. I enjoyed getting to know the main characters and supporting characters. Eleanor was definitely my favorite character. She speaks constantly with quotes from favorite books. Her love of books and sharing that love with her community has made an impression on everyone she knows. Sometimes the heart and mind need healing and a thimble full of hope to make it through the day. This book will open your eyes to the pain and grief that these characters are going through, but it will also provide a ray of sunshine on a dark day. This a heartfelt story that will touch your heart and soul.
Thank you to Forever Grand Central Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Annie Rains has become a go to author of mine!
Her writing always grips me and keeps me so entertained and. I always look forward to reading her stories and connecting with her characters!
The Finders Keepers Library is another wonderful story by Annie Rains.
Her beautiful writing, amazing storyline and phenomenal characters who are easy to connect with and a realistic plot make for a quick read.
I love how she makes me feel like I am right there with her characters in the story.
I’ve had the pleasure of reading some of her previous titles and this book is another amazing read with fantastic characters!
Thank You NetGalley and Forever for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
The Finders Keepers Library is the first book in the Love in Bloom series by Annie Rains. This small town, second chance romance is a wonderful and enjoyable ride for anyone who loves books and reconnection.
Savannah is a botanist who has often spent summers with her Aunt Eleanor in Bloom, North Carolina. When things in Savannah's life take a turn and she needs a change of scenery, she heads for the one place she knows she will feel safe and that's her aunt's house. Her plan is to stay for a few weeks, but when a storm comes and damages the library that her retired librarian aunt has in her backyard garden, she chooses to stay to help get it back in shape before a wedding that is to be held there. Evan, Eleanor's neighbor, his pre-teen daughter, and other members of the town work with Savannah to get everything back to rights and also find their way into Savannah's life and her heart. Is there a place in her life for Evan, the boy she knew long ago that stands before her now causing feelings she wasn't sure she would feel again?
This story was about healing, overcoming fear, new beginnings, and taking chances on the things that may be the scariest, but the most rewarding in the end. I appreciated all of the quotes from the various books that were used throughout; for anyone that reads often, many of these were familiar and felt like a hug as I moved through the book.
**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**
I love this cover! The book was good too!
It’s a nice clean romance with nice characters.
I loved all the book quotes at the start of each chapter
It’s a perfect beach read and looks to be part of a series.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the early copy
Readers who enjoy second chance romance will love this story. All the characters are realistic and relatable. I really enjoyed the author including snippets from books to relay words of wisdom from Aunt Eleanor. Savannah's struggles with coping with her illness and searching for a new beginning is an encouragement for others. Predictable but very enjoyable. Recommended.
If sweet, low angst, and minimal conflict is what I'm looking for, Annie Rains is a go-to author for me. Time and time again, she delivers a feel-good story with endearing characters, and The Finders Keepers Library is just that!
I had no trouble getting into the story, and I found the pacing was fairly good. I enjoyed that we got both Savannah and Evan's POV, but it was also nice to have a few chapters from Eleanor's POV as well.
Evan and Savannah's relationship was cute, and I especially liked how Savannah bonded with his daughter as well.
All in all, it's a satisfying read. The Finders Keepers Library contains a few fun tropes, so if you're into small town, single dad, or second chance romance, definitely check it out!
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*Complimentary copy provided by Forever Romance. All opinions expressed here are honest and entirely my own.
TW/CW: cancer; autoimmune disease; grief
The perfect book for book lovers. First let me say that Annie Rains is a new author to me and this cover is what drew me in…..
I am not typically a cozy (non spicy) romance reader……but this book sold me!
The adorable bundle of flowers at the start of every chapter. The book quotes throughout and to start your journey at the turn of a chapter and POV! ALL ADORABLE! 🥰
Now on to the actual story……Evan and Savannah crushed on each other every summer, as Savannah spent her summers in Bloom at her Aunt Eleanor’s house. Eleanor loves books and her late husband loved gardening……which is why there is a Finders Keepers Library in Eleanor’s backyard garden……open to everyone. This isn’t just the story of Evan and Savannah falling in love…….it’s also a story about finding your person……..the person who supports and stays with you through all the times…..not just the easy ones.
These characters have become a part of my heart.
The Finders Keepers Libray is a second-chance small-town romance.
Savannah is a botanist who spent her summers at her Aunt Eleanor's house. Unexpected life changes have brought her back to the house where she plans to stay for a few weeks to get back on her feet. However, her stay turns into a summer of self-discovery. Eleanor is a retired librarian who has a charming little library in her garden, open to locals for borrowing and gifting books... When a storm damages the garden and library, Savannah, Evan, Eleanor's neighbor, and the community come together to repair it.
This was a slow start and slow end for me, But I loved the story and the characters. The story is about family, healing, friendship, and love of books and flowers.
Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for the eARC.
The Finders Keepers Library is a new romance book that reads like a Hallmark movie. We have a young woman, Savannah, who has lost everything after her Lupus diagnosis. She comes back to the place she spent every summer with her aunt. While there, she reconnects with her crush she had growing up.
This book was so cute! I loved all the book references and the library at the center of all of it. I loved the changing perspectives as well. We have a few love stories going on and they are all very cute. This book does have some series problems in it like Lupus and cancer, but they’re handled in a delicate way where everyone comes together.
The whole book reads like a hallmark movie and I really liked it. I would recommend to anyone who is looking for a palate cleanser or just a cute book.
Thanks so much to netgalley and forever for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!
The Finders Keepers Library is three separate but connected love stories, each with an emotionally charged challenge that must be dealt with, and it is also about second chances in life which present themselves at the most seemingly inopportune times.
Single dad (Evan) is doing the best he can, loving and raising his daughter alone. Savannah has challenges in her life that leave her with self doubt, but she has never forgotten how she felt about Evan when she was younger. And Eleanor, who has lived a good, long life, is finding herself in her 70s wanting something more than what she has right now. Her long time friend, Charlie, might fit the bill, but Eleanor is afraid to love again.
So even if you can’t control how you got where you are, you can open your heart, take a risk, and you can control where it will take you. This is a wonderful and heart warming story.
Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read an advance copy and leave an honest review.
This reads like a love story for fans of books everywhere! Savannah's aunt is quite a character who has her own lending library in her garden, the setting which is the backbone for most of the story I volvi g her, her aunt, and neighbor Ethan and his daughter. It's a story full of sweet moments, light hearted romance, and second chances for everyone of all ages. This one will stay with me for awhile, and I especially loved all the references to novel characters and book quotes.
The Finders Keepers Library - small town, second chance romance.
This is a later in life romance & I absolutely love that - not a theme commonly found. Great character development. Such a fun read that I will definitely be recommending! Excited to read more books by this author.
Thank you to NetGalley & Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for this ARC!
This book has three things I love in it: it’s about a library/bookstore, it includes many references and quotes of other literature, and it has romance.
This is a unique book in that there are two main characters we follow and they differ in age quite a bit. This is the first book that I read that included an elderly woman’s point of view, and it was quite touching. I also appreciated the way the book talked about grief and the different ways it can affect us, and how we can face it.
I adore the idea of the aunt who shares book lists to her niece and friends and they gobble the books up. All around fun and touching read.
This was a fun book to read! Annie Rains’ new release, The Finders Keepers Library, is a dual romance story. The characters were all great, they had the nicest personalities and there wasn’t a single one that I didn’t like. What I loved most about this story was all the references to the many wonderful books that have been published and are so well known by us as readers. Each chapter started off with a book quote. It was even stated in the book how the 3 main characters, Evan, Savannah and Aunt Eleanor even spoke in books. The story covers many different aspects of life which made it all seem very real. That included illness, accidents and even the loss of a parent and spouse. It was a very realistic storyline that was filled with love and I found it very heartwarming. I’d like to thank Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for accepting my request to read and NetGalley for the arc. I really enjoyed this and believe that anyone who loves to read like I do will get a real pleasure from this story as it’s like an ode to fiction. I’m giving it a 4 star rating and will be recommending it to all of my reader friends.
This was a really sweet second chance romance by Annie Rains. Savannah has decided to head to Bloom North Carolina to stay with her favorite aunt after she loses her partner and job all at once. As a child her summers with Aunt Eleanor and Uncle Aaron helped foster her love of plants and books. Coming back as a jobless single adult, she finds magic in the garden and free library of her youth. As Savannah is trying to figure out what to do next in her life, she re-connects with the boy next door turned handsome man next door. There were always sparks there, but it never seemed a good idea to do anything about it when she was only ever in town for the summer. Will this be the summer Savannah finally realizes that all she has ever wanted is right in front of her, if she only looks for it? I loved how this book addressed and handled chronic invisible illness, mental health issues, seeking out counseling and grief. It was a beautiful small town slow burn sweet romance, a hug in book form. I would definitely recommend this sweet book by Annie Rains, and I hope this might be the start of a new series, with a book featuring Mallory up next! I received an ARC, and this is my honest review.
THE FINDERS KEEPERS LIBRARY
By Annie Rains
Release date April 16, 2024
This is another amazing book by Annie Rains!
A beautiful small town story. With family love and wonderful friendships.
Savanah Collins is going home to Bloom North Carolina. She is going to visit her aunt Eleanor. Because she found so much comfort visiting her aunt every summer. Savanah, felt this was the best place to recover from her broken engagement and her new diagnosis of lupus.
She is a little shaken and surprised to run into her schoolgirl crush Evan Sanders. And even more surprised to find his 12-year-old daughter June is living with him. Savanah and June seem to have an instant connection.
Aunt Eleanor had a bad fall so she has been pretty much homebound. She didn’t want to miss the wedding of one of the local girls so she offered her backyard as the venue. When a storm hits and destroys that backyard, the town really pulls through to put everything back together.
Eleanor‘s husband was a master gardener and he knew Eleanor‘s love of books so he built her THE FINDERS KEEPER LIBRARY right in her backyard.
Savanah’s is a Botanist so fixing the roses and the Arbor with the help of her friends. And Evan helps with the reconstruction of the library, along with the help of friends.
I loved all the characters, but I think June and Charlie might be two of my favorite.
This book had great character development. I love when author's delve a little deeper into health issues or mental issues to add more depth to their characters. That is exactly what Ms. Rains has done in this book. The main character, Savanah, has been left by her fiance because he can't handle her Lupus diagnosis. Her aunt has found herself unable to leave her home after a fall and injury. There are also emotional issues from losing a loved one.
The story is about family, friendship, trusting others and yourself, and falling in love. It's also about the love of books and how books can feed the soul and get you through some tough times. I absolutely adore the cover!
Thanks to Forever Publishing and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.
The Finders Keepers Library brings two of my favorite things together with plants and books being such an important part of the lives of the characters. Savannah is back in Bloom, North Carolina to visit her Aunt Eleanor after her fiancé breaks her engagement because of her medical diagnosis of lupus. She did not know that she would rekindle her friendship and maybe more with her teenage crush Evan, Eleanor's neighbor. Eleanor is a former librarian and has a cute little library in her garden, one where locals can go, borrow, and gift books. Her husband loved gardening and while he was alive, he had his garden and built Eleanor her little library. When a storm does damage to the garden and library, the community comes together to repair it so that a summer wedding of friends can take place. Savannah, a botanist, works with Evan and others to set things straight and romance seems to still be there. This is a sweet story of love, healing, and new beginnings with wonderful characters, including Evan's twelve-year-old daughter, in a fun setting.
I received a copy for the purpose of an honest review. These are my thoughts.