A FIVE LETTER WORD FOR LOVE – Amy James
Avon
ISBN: ‎ 978-0063399013
December 2024
Romantic Comedy

Waldon, Prince Edward Island, Canada – Present Day

Emily is twenty-seven but doesn’t really enjoy her life right now. She is working in a dead-end job as a receptionist at an auto shop and doesn’t have a boyfriend or any close friends living in town. She keeps in touch with her college girlfriends, but their lives have diverged greatly from hers. It’s enough to make Emily depressed. The one thing that keeps her happy is her daily Wordle puzzle. She is currently on a 300+ daily streak. John, who is one of the mechanics at the shop, rarely says more than grunts to Emily, but one day, she discovers that he is a Wordle player also. This leads to them interacting more, and Emily begins to like John…a lot. A relationship develops. 

Meanwhile, Emily has become friends with her next-door neighbor, an elderly woman who is determined to remain independent in her home despite what her daughter wants. Emily starts helping her neighbor, and it soon leads to a part-time job getting groceries and minor things for the lady. Word gets out, and Emily has several part-time jobs. She also volunteers at a local museum, and it doesn’t take long before she is thinking about events there, even if the manager is a horrid person. Emily has a lot going on, but she is the master of none. Her dream job is…what?

I found A FIVE LETTER WORD FOR LOVE to be an enjoyable read because a lot is going on. We start out learning that Emily is basically by herself in Waldon, but she hates it there. She wants to be in a big city doing a job she loves instead of working as a receptionist. However, she hasn’t decided on what kind of job she wants to do, especially since she lacks the qualifications. Emily is what one would call a “dreamer.” Enter John into her life. They fit perfectly, though she wonders why he is working in an auto shop when he could be doing something better. This tale turns out to be a journey for Emily, and a lesson that sometimes what we think are greener pastures doesn’t always work out in the end. 

The other characters in A FIVE LETTER WORD FOR LOVE mix in perfectly with Emily and each other. Besides her elderly neighbor, Emily becomes friends with an elderly man she does chores for. She first met him at the museum but when he found out she did chores, he hired her. He enthralls her with stories about his late wife, etc. Things are going smoothly in her relationship with John, even as she contemplates her future. With her life full in Waldon, why is she looking to leave? That seems to be the message for readers in this tale. There is so much going on that readers will want to find out what happens next. As with life, it is up and down for Emily. But is her current happiness enough to have her give up her dreams?

A contemplative tale that will keep you wanting to find out what Emily decides in the end. Will she continue to build a relationship with John? Will her home care jobs keep expanding? Or will she end up finding a pot of gold at the end of her rainbow dreams? Find out the answer by grabbing a copy of A FIVE LETTER WORD FOR LOVE.

Patti Fischer