Bookmarked for Love

Title: Bookmarked for Love

Series: Checking Out Love #3

Author: Sarah Monzon

Source: Own

My Review:

This book had me simultaneously wanting to gobble it up while also trying to take it slow and savor it. Bookmarked For Love is the third and final book in the Checking Out Love series. The books can be read in any order.

I loved that Martha is not rail thin, and the author doesn't spend a lot of time expounding on Julian's body either (a breath of fresh air). Nor is Julian perfect. I also enjoyed that these two are middle-aged, and acted like it (no childish drama here).

I have loved this series about three librarians, and I am sad to see it end. Martha is not a "true" librarian, but works just as hard, if not harder, for the library and her community as any true librarian would. She loves her community and the children she helps with all the different programs she spearheads. She is crushed when budget cuts threaten her very livelihood. Going into the King empire is difficult, but reconnecting with Julian is not. I love how strong Martha is, and how quick she is to speak her mind. This book is fun in all its bookish glory, especially if you have a love of children's fiction.

★★★★/5

Synopsis (Goodreads):  

When children's librarian Martha Aldridge learns about budget cuts that will not only put her out of a job but also shut down the library's children's programs, she's determined to raise the funds needed to save both. The good news is, she knows just who to ask for a large donation on the library's behalf. The bad news? She swore she'd never step foot in his office again. 
  
Julien King has been groomed to one day run his family's publishing empire, and now he must prove he's ready to take the helm by turning around the company's languishing children's imprint. That wouldn't be a problem, except he doesn't know the first thing about children's literature. But when Martha waltzes into his office, he sees an opportunity and makes her an offer she can't refuse. He'll give her the money she needs for the library in exchange for her help in acquiring a best-selling manuscript that will resurrect the dying imprint. The longer they're forced to work together, however, the more they come to realize their jobs may not be the only thing on the line. 

In her charming rom-com style, Sarah Monzon presents a story that will delight fans of bookish-themed reads and forced-proximity romance.