Love Walked In | 
| Author: Marisa De Los Santos
Publisher: Plume
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $0.97
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Avg. Customer Rating:  93 reviews
Sales Rank: 538
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 0452287898
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780452287891
ASIN: 0452287898
Publication Date: November 28, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand new, never opened, in stock, and ships right now.
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Product Description
When Martin Grace enters the hip Philadelphia coffee shop Cornelia Brown manages, her life changes forever. But little does she know that her newfound love is only the harbinger of greater changes to come. Meanwhile, across town, Clare Hobbseleven years old and abandoned by her erratic mothergoes looking for her lost father. She crosses paths with Cornelia while meeting with him at the cafe, and the two women form an improbable friendship that carries them through the unpredictable currents of love and life. Love Walked In, the first novel by award-winning poet Marisa de los Santos, is bursting with keen insight and beautifully rendered prose. Invoking classic movies to illuminate the mystery and wonder of love in all its permutations, Love Walked In is an uplifting debut that marks the entrance of an enchanting literary voice. BACKCOVER: Love indeed walks in, and with it, a breath of fresh air.
Marie Claire
This is a book that will be passed from friend to friend with the words, You have to read this.
Richmond Times Dispatch
Love Walked In, by Marisa de los Santos, is the kind of book that makes you want to hunker down on a chilly day in a comfy chair and read straight through til dark. . . .This [is a] poignant, heart-tugging story about a single woman and a little girl who develop an unlikely bond.
The Washington Post Book World
A bewitching, warmhearted grown-up fairy tale about old movies, charming princes, and finding happily ever after in the place where youd least expect it.
Jennifer Weiner, author of Good in Bed, In Her Shoes, and Little Earthquakes
Marisa de los Santoss funny and beautifully written love story is as luminous as the silver screen.
Lolly Winston, author of Good Grief
A touching, triumphant story of the power and variety and responsibility of love. A joy to read, filled with characters you wish you knew in real life. Love Walked In is every bit as engaging as the classic movies Marisa de los Santos lovingly invokes.
Karen Joy Fowler, author of The Jane Austen Book Club
Exquisite and stylish, Love Walked In proves that love in all of its formsromantic, friendship, familialis all around us.
Sarah Jessica Parker
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| Customer Reviews: Read 88 more reviews...
 Orphans and Old Movies May 13, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Cornelia Brown, manager of the Dora Cafe in Philadelphia, views life as movie moments, old movies to be exact, classics, so when someone walks into the cafe looking more like Cary Grant then anybody has a right to, she is attracted, who wouldn't be? Eleven-year-old Clare reads more than anyone her age should, identifying with fictional orphans and the chapters in this book alternate between Cornelia's first person narrative and the third person point of view from Clare's perspective, both stories beautifully told. We know pretty quickly these two are going to get together.
Now as to that man who walked in. He's Martin Grace and he and Cornelia seem destined for each other, but Martin hasn't told Cornelia about his daughter who is, you guessed it, Clare, who has been taking care of her bi-polar mother, something no eleven year old should have to do. When mom goes missing, abandoning Clare, Martin brings her to meet Cornelia and the two bond. Cornelia is the mother Clare should have had and speaking of destiny, Clare seems destined to be Cornelia's daughter, but is Martin really destined for Cornelia?
Okay, there you have it. Do you want to read this story? You should, because it is beautifully written with characters as real as your next door neighbor, characters you care about. Maria de los Santos has put a movie into a book, so vivid are her images. I loved this book, so much so that I'm starting Ms. de los Santos's Belong to Me tomorrow and if it's half the story this is, then it's a winner.
Reviewed by Vesta Irene, Number One fan of Ken Douglas, writer of Tangerine Dream, Desperation Moon & Running Scared.
 Great writing walked out May 10, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I read many reviews before I purchased this book and thought maybe the bad reviews were wrong. This book is so confusing at the beginning, and goes from one movie star to the other. The story of Claire was the only one that interested me. I felt the death of Claire's father was awful the way he really had no part of the story. No one cared that he died. This book is not well written and makes the reader work way too hard for a story that is not that great. It is great for the Hollywood elitist. I read at least two or three books a week and the only reason I give this 3 stars, is for the story of Claire. I also liked that the main character Cornelia's parent are normal and still married and in love. There are too many wonderful books out there to waste your time on this one. This reader walked out.
What a love story! May 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is easily the most beautifully written book I've ever read. The words just flow and are truly like poetry. You can really feel the love in this book. I've just downloaded the next book, Belong to Me, and am anxiously waiting to begin it. Brava to Ms. de los Santos for a wonderful piece of work.
Touching and off-beat love story...but was thrown off by the contrived dialogue.... April 29, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Love Walked In" is not your typical love story. Cornelia is a 30-something, well-educated woman who works in a Philadelphia coffee shop (the type of coffee shop where artists and academics lounge around, playing chess and engaging in witty repartee all day). Cornelia is a petite, peppy, hopeless romantic who is anxiously awaiting a Cary Grant-type to walk in the door and sweep her off her tiny feet. That moment does in fact happen when handsome, charismatic Martin Grace breezes in the door and leaves Cornelia feeling more than breathless.
Cornelia and Martin embark on a whirlwind romance and Martin seems to be everything that Cornelia is looking for in a man, until he shows up one day at the coffee shop with his young daughter whom he neglected to ever mention. It quickly becomes evident to Cornelia that Clare has no fuzzy feelings for her dapper dad due to his serious apathy for fatherhood. Cornelia soon begins to see that Martin may not be the man of her dreams...
Clare's glamorous mother, Viviana, abandons Clare and Martin and Cornelia are left to tend to her broken heart. Cornelia becomes Clare's main care-taker and the two develop a deep attachment for one another. The relationship between Clare and Cornelia is the main focus of the novel and their story is told from both points of view.
I did enjoy the novel because it's a nice story and it is an easy, relaxing read. However, I was completely thrown off by what I felt was often forced dialogue and a few very unbelievable characters. For example, the author wanted to convey that Cornelia is a huge classic movie fan (which ties into her being a romantic) but the manner in which she chose to do this did not work very well, in my opinion. It just seemed very unnatural and contrived and, on more than one occasion, I found myself thinking, "real people do not talk or think this way!" I felt the same way about Cornelia's friend "Linney" who seemed one-dimensional and more like a caricature than a real person.
On the other hand, I thought Ms. de los Santos did a nice job developing the characters of Clare and Viviana and I was able to feel a connection with both.
So, in the end, I'd say my feelings in regard to this novel are mixed. I do not regret reading it and am happy to recommend it to others, however, I was disappointed that the above-mentioned flaws (or what I consider to be flaws) detracted from what was an otherwise good story.
love written in April 20, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. It is a simple, easy read about love in its many forms, shapes and sizes. The author had some fantastic lines about loving and living that I had to mark as favorite quotes.
There is nothing deep to discuss about this book, it is just a sweet book with well defined characters that you really connect too. I'm glad her next book is out and that the characters continue in that story.
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