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It’s okay to be optimistic, but I can’t let myself feel the stab of every disappointment—or I’ll leak from all the holes in my heart.

Pretty writing, hometown magic vibe, slightly dark edges but happy resolution. No surprises, sweet characters. The emotional themes were hammered in about 40% more than needed, I felt. I skimmed a good bit.

Highlights: Durst - The Warbler ***

The best thing about books, at least for me, is that favorites can feel like home. Yet they’re portable and replaceable. Any copy will do. Even more, once you’ve read them, they’re part of you. You don’t need the actual book anymore. You can let them go without letting them go. It’s a rare and beautiful loophole in the rules that govern my life…

Whenever she needed an errand run, he’d cheerfully do it. Oh, he wouldn’t think of it himself. If the toilet paper was low, he wouldn’t think to add it to the grocery list that she kept on the fridge with the bumblebee Bee Happy magnet. He wouldn’t volunteer to scrub a pot in the sink, but he would if she asked. …They were both helpers, but it was clear that it was all Rose’s responsibility in the end.