I was offered a copy of this book by Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA in exchange for an honest review. My apologies for being so late.
Summary:
We meet Baptiste Molino, who has spent his life trying to figure out how to make people happy- for a living. Living on his houseboat, Candace, he is content to help others find their happiness while not making waves in his own life. He loves his family, whom he sees regularly, and spends every evening having dinner at Jardine’s, drinking wine and talking to Sophie the young bar tender and friend.
He is obsessed more with his past than his future. His mother died in childbirth, on a train to a destination written on her arm. She carried very few possessions, all of which Baptiste’s adoptive mother (who acted as the midwife) kept for him. But who was she? Where had she come from? Why travel at that stage in pregnancy? It’s easy to get lost in the questions. Sophie, though, wants him to rediscover passion. To live! She pulls him out into the world.
At the same time, his new client Amandine is awakening his heart. She may be the one to bring Baptiste back to life. As tension rises in the streets of town between protesters looking for a better life, Baptiste begins to take more risks- to allow himself to feel more. His wishes to resists love with it’s roller coaster of emotions wavers in the face of two amazing women. When he discovers a secret that could destroy everything, he must decide if he will keep his loved ones safe, or just let go and take the days as they come.
My thoughts:
This book was beautifully written, charming and sweet and completely heart-wrenching. I loved the characters, and how the book was broken into different POV so that I could get more of the story and a better feel for the characters. I especially loved that my copy had lovely sketches of birds as the chapter header (a lovely touch, thanks!). The twist of the book (nope, not telling!) came as a shock to me, and broke my heart. I loved the story, the character interaction… everything really. Five stars, plus one for creativity!
As far as the adult content scale, there is some sexual content and violence. Light language, all very minor. I would give it a four.

I wanted to like this but found it difficult to engage with both the plot and the characters. King has an interesting way with language which might have contributed to this. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Although this wasn't for me, suggest you might like it if you like slow, richly layered tales told from a variety of viewpoints.