The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie
By: Rachel Linden
Published Year: 2022
Publisher: Berkley
Pages: 352
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way shape or form influenced my opinion of this book.
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): Lolly Blanchard's life only seems to give her lemons. Ten years ago, after her mother's tragic death, she broke up with her first love and abandoned her dream of opening a restaurant in order to keep her family's struggling Seattle diner afloat and care for her younger sister and grieving father. Now, a decade later, she dutifully whips up the diner's famous lemon meringue pies each morning while still pining for all she's lost.
As Lolly's thirty-third birthday approaches, her quirky great-aunt gives her a mysterious gift--three lemon drops, each of which allows her to live a single day in a life that might have been hers. What if her mom hadn't passed away? What if she had opened her own restaurant in England? What if she hadn't broken up with the only man she's ever loved? Surprising and empowering, each experience helps Lolly let go of her regrets and realize the key to transforming her life lies not in redoing her past but in having the courage to embrace her present.
First Impression
How cute is this cover?! I love the color and the cartoony-ness of it. I’m also a sucker for what-if stories so I knew immediately I was going to read this. This was a hole in one for me first impression wise for sure.
What I thought
Lolly finds her diary from when she was 13 in which she lists five things she hopes to accomplish in her life in the next 20 years. When she looks at it, at almost 33, she realizes that she really only has accomplished one of these things, having abandoned the rest to support her family after her mother died 10 years ago. Now she is having an existential crisis and realizing how unhappy she is with her life. When her Aunt Gert hears her complaining about her life, she offers her three magical lemon drops to see what her life would’ve looked like had she made three different choices.
I don’t know if I’m in a bit of a romance slump or if this romance just wasn’t written well, but I much preferred Lolly’s family and career storyline to her romantic one. I just didn’t like Rory, nor did I understand why Lolly was still so hardcore hung up on him after 20 years. It seemed like to her, her entire happiness was dependent on her relationship and I didn’t love that.
I found her family history to be interesting and I also loved her best friend Eve. She has so much support and it was interesting to learn how Lolly ended up giving up on her dreams and the difference between her and her sister. The idea that so much can change in your life but certain things are also fated was intriguing. I felt her lemon drop choices also showed her which core values brought her happiness. Definitely ones she had taken for granted prior to receiving the lemon drops.
I also appreciated that I could only partially predict how this resolved. With these types of stories, it’s always questionable how the magic will interact with real life in the end. I liked the way that this one resolved with one slight inconsistency that I think I can forgive.