Great Bones by Lynn Ames is a romantic comedy that’s sure to make you laugh, smile and forget about the world around you.

Rachel writes greeting cards and is so good at it that she sets the industry standard. What she’s really bad at, however, is relationships and having any measure of self-confidence. Her grandmother, Goldie, can see how unhappy Rachel is and wants to help her find love, so she reaches out to Ida, an old friend from the neighbourhood who lives in the same assisted living facility as Goldie.

Ida’s granddaughter, Julia, runs an online dating site on the side, having taken up the family matchmaking tradition. Goldie wants Julia to help Rachel find someone to love, but there’s a catch—Rachel can never know that her grandmother hired someone to help. What Ida and Goldie don’t know is that Julia is a lesbian too, and when she sees Rachel around the Shady Acres facility, she finds herself immediately smitten.

What happens when you take two adorable Jewish girls, their meddling grandmothers, a viral YouTube video, and a dog named Freud, shake them all up and put them in one story? You get a seriously adorable book.

The Characters

I don’t see how anyone could not like Rachel and Julia. They’re both lovely, sweet, funny, and kind. I wanted good things for them throughout the book and was so happy with how their story ended.

Goldie and Ida are a hoot. They kind of reminded me of some of the grandparents in Robin Alexander’s books, but less sassy and more interfering. They show up almost as much as Julia and Rachel, adding heart in addition to humour.

The Writing Style

Great Bones is a super easy read. It’s warm and lighthearted, with plenty of silliness scattered throughout. The characters still have interesting arcs (especially Rachel), ensuring the story doesn’t end up being saccharine or shallow.

The Pros

Everything worked for me.

The Cons

I don’t have any!

The Conclusion

Let’s be honest—lots of things about the world suck right now, which means even checking Facebook is hard some days. Great Bones is a wonderful antidote because reading it was like getting a warm hug from Lynn Ames. If you’re feeling exhausted, anxious, or overwhelmed with life and the world, pick up this book and take some time for yourself to read it. This is a book that loves you, and I say go ahead and embrace it.

Excerpt from Great Bones by Lynn Ames

Rachel Wallach stared at the painting on the wall behind the soft brown leather chair where her therapist sat. It was an abstract, and she found herself wondering if the picture and the placement were intentional. Perhaps the idea was to keep the patient off balance.

“You’re staring at the painting again, Rachel.”

“I am?”

“You know you are.”

“Did you put it there to psych out your patients? You know, to make them wonder…”

“Wonder what?”

“Wonder what they’re supposed to see in the image. You know, like in bad movies where the shrink draws conclusions about serial killers based on what they see in an ink blot.”

“What do you see in the painting, Rachel?” The therapist’s tone was warm and mellifluous, and the skin around her eyes crinkled as she smiled.

“Now you’re just playing with me.” Rachel picked at a cuticle. She was fond of Malinda. Like Rachel, she was in her mid-thirties, a professional woman, a straight shooter, and, most importantly, she was patient with Rachel’s foibles.

“Yep, I am. So, let’s pick up where we last left off. As I recall, I asked you a question: What do you see when you look in the mirror? You said you wanted time to contemplate your answer, and that you’d get back to me at our next session.”

Rachel sighed and fished in her pocket. She pulled out a crumpled, folded sheet of lined paper and smoothed it on her khaki-clad knee. She cleared her throat and kept her eyes down. “How I see myself,” she read. “Lank brunette hair, an annoying widow’s peak, a square jaw, too-high cheekbones, plain brown eyes, a-once-fit-body-now-gone-too-soft…” She chanced a glance at the therapist, then averted her eyes again. “Do I have to go on?”

“No. I get the idea.”

“Why was I taking inventory?”

“Because what you see is not what the world sees.” The therapist said gently.

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Bits and Bobs

  • ISBN number: 9781936429141
  • Publisher: Phoenix Rising Press

Lynn Ames Online

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