Reviewing: All Booked Up by Melody Carlson

 ...from the publisher....Empty nester and widow Riva Owen lives in the Victorian house that's been in her family for three generations, but finances have become a challenge she can no longer ignore. Her daughter is pushing her to move, and after considering all her options, Riva knows selling would be the smartest course. But she just can't bring herself to leave years of memories--and her cherished library filled with hundreds of books.

When she pursues an alternative--opening her home to women like her who have been forced to make lifestyle changes and need a room to rent--Riva is unprepared for the mix of personalities and peculiarities of her new housemates. She is even more unprepared for Marcus, the handsome and handy older brother of one of her new tenants. The possibility of finding love again feels overwhelming, even as her tenants seem to have romantic schemes of their own.

Warm your heart with a contemporary romance story of found family, booklovers, new beginnings, and an unexpected second chance at love in Melody Carlson's delightful signature style.

...my thoughts...This is a wonderful story for those readers like myself who enjoy a good story written by Melody Carlson.  She has a way with creating believable characters who resonate with her readers. All Booked Up begins with Riva, surrounded by the wonderful books in her family library. Her daughter is heading out to begin her career. 

Lonely and overwhelmed at the prospect of packing up a home that has been in her family for generations, she is hit with an idea to combat not only her loneliness but a way to keep her home in a surprising way.  Challenged to attend a grief support group, she encounters her first tenant. One thing leads to another and soon she has three tenants, all women of a certain age, who will meld together four unique personalities into one charming victiorian home.  Indeed, what starts out as a solution to remaining in her own home turns into a sometimes fun, sometimes daunting situation.  

Reaching onto the shelves of her beloved library, she has a book for each woman to read, that has incidental similarities of the reader in mind. There always seems to be one troublemaker in a crowd and Jane Austen emerges to rescue a situation that threatens to disrupt the household for good. 

All Booked up is a character study that enlightens us all about our friendships, expectations, unexpected romance and a little empathy.  I laughed a lot, got misty eyed and was glad I read this book.