I have become a big fan of Sarah Jio‘s writing. Her characters are often overcoming some sort of personal struggle, and their strength and courage is inspiring. They are also just good stories that pull me right in which make them perfect reads to sink into.
In her latest novel, The Look of Love, we meet Jane, who leads a pretty lonely life. Her father has been out of the picture since she was a little girl. Her mother died a few years ago, and her brother is there for her, but he’s busy living the life of a man about town. She enjoys her work running the flower shop like her mother and grandmother before her.
On her 29th birthday, she gets an odd card inviting her to meet someone who wants to tell her about a gift she was given at birth. She doesn’t know what to make of it, but ends up taking her best friend to hear what the woman has to say. She is told that she was given the ability to see love and has one year to find and record the six types of love or else she will be cursed and not ever able to love on her own.
In identifying the different types of love, we become privy to the stories of many different people. Some are brief, but others — friends of Jane’s — become an integral part of the story.
The year in the life of these characters is satisfying and meaningful. The supernatural elements make it feel different than the other novels I’ve read by Sarah Jio, but it works. It’s still realistic women’s fiction, with this little bit of a magical element.
See the related posts below for reviews of some of her other novels I’ve read.