“The Keeper of Lost Things” by Ruth Hogan

Although I did enjoy most of this book, the author lost her way a bit in the middle when she added a supernatural touch to a charming and romantic story, (which was already confusing), since it started with Anthony Peardew, who lost a keepsake and his lover on the same day, and made a lifelong obsession of finding and cataloguing lost things, and whose story was then threaded with two other story lines. As Anthony grows older, Laura, a rather “lost” woman recovering from a divorce, becomes his housekeeper, rediscovers herself, and finds new friends, when she inherits the lost things collection and faces problems with a ghost, while in the third story line, Eunice, working for a good friend and book publisher, tells her story from the 1970s, which seems completely unrelated but eventually ties everything together in a happy ending. 3 Stars

“The Authenticity Project” by Claire Pooley

I was in the mood for something a bit lighter and this story, similar to a Sophie Kinsella book, captured my interest and avoided being too predictable as it revolved around a 70-year-old artist named Julian Jessop who unabashedly writes his deepest feelings in a notebook called, “The Authenticity Project”, and leaves the notebook for Monica, an uptight thirty-something cafe owner. As the book travels around to a recovering addict, an overwhelmed new mother who’s a social media mavin, an Australian traveler, an Asian grandmother who’s a fabulous cook, and an assortment of other quirky folks, each one of them is affected by the notebook and in response, their lives begin to change dramatically as they find new friends, reevaluate priorities, and make changes. 4 Stars