Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel by Melody Carlson : ARC Book Review

Title: Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel
Author: Melody Carlson
Publisher: B&H Books
Published Date:  June 1st 2013 by
Genre: Christian Fiction, Contemporary, Adult Fiction
Page Count:320
Format: Kindle

My Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Goodreads Summary: 

With high hopes, Daphne Ballinger lands her dream job at The New York Times. But it's not long until writing about weddings becomes a painful reminder of her own failed romance, and her love of the city slowly sours as well. Is it time to give up the Big Apple for her small hometown of Appleton?

When her eccentric Aunt Dee passes away and leaves a sizeable estate to Daphne, going back home is an easy choice. What isn’t easy is coming to terms with the downright odd clauses written into the will.

Daphne only stands to inherit the estate if she agrees to her aunt's very specific posthumous terms -- personal and professional. And if she fails to comply, the sprawling old Victorian house shall be bequeathed to . . . Aunt Dee’s cats.

And if Daphne thinks that’s odd, wait until she finds out an array of secrets about Aunt Dee's life, and how imperfect circumstances can sometimes lead to God's perfect timing.
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 My Review:

"Was she so accustomed to shutting down her feelings, or to concealing them, that she no longer knew how she felt? Was it possible to stifle  yourself so much that you completely lost touch with your genuine emotions? If so, had she done it? And if she'd done it, was there some way to undo it?" 

After having finished the 86 Bloomberg Place series last month by Carlson, I wasn’t sure if I was going to want to jump into a new one but I decided to give it a try and hope for the best. And this one really paid off not only was I not able to stop reading this book, but it helped me stop feeling like a reading slump was about to happen.

Now let’s get to the actual review.

Daphne moved to New York right out of college with a plan, and a job working for the New York Times. All of her plans seemed to be happening as well until she met a guy, fell for him and then had her heart broken when she discovered the truth about him. The heartbreak left her with no motivation, and now having to do work that wasn’t hers in order to please her boss and keep her job.

Her life doesn’t start changing until she get a phone call from her dad telling her that her Aunt Dee has passed away and asking if she can come home to help. Once she gets home she sees how much has changed since she left. But the main focus of this story is Aunt Dee’s inheritance and rules that go with it that she receives. With the inheritance she also learns a lot of secret’s her aunt had kept from everyone. Plus the goals she has for Daphne so she won’t end up like her. Which end up slightly turning Daphne into a reverse gold digger.. Yes that’s now a thing. She has so many men in her life all of a sudden and even gets some real friends it seems for a change and a social life for the first time in a while.  It’s nice to see her change from this unhappy/lonely person to one that realizes how great of an opportunity she has now and is taking full advantage of it and enjoying the time she has before she potentially loses everything.

Overall I really liked this story. When it first started I was a little worried because it started talking about living in an apartment and having two other roommates and I was a little worried that it was going to be like 86 Bloomberg place series. But it’s not at all, and in fact religion was hardly mentioned in this one at all besides one church scene and the mention of prayer throughout the story. This one does focus on relationships and dealing with going back into the dating world which normally I wouldn’t like, but with the guidelines that Aunt Dee had put in place it just made the story very interesting. Especially when Daphne’s ex came back into the picture for a while and she just wasn’t having any of it, and I was so proud of her for doing that. Please read this one if you’re looking for a fun quick and clean read.  

Btw when did I start liking contemporary and romance novels? I’m not saying this is a bad thing; it’s just not my normal. But I’m okay with it and I still love my Historical Fiction. 

Thank you to Netgalley and B&H Books for an E-Arc of the book in exchange for my honest review.