Map of the Heart

Map of the Heart starts off with too much telling instead of showing (okay, we get it - our beautiful heroine Camille lost her husband and will never fully live or love again; our handsome, rakish hero Finn went through a nasty divorce and is through with love forever. Repeating this to the reader every ten pages is not necessary.) but once it settles into the main plot the book becomes much stronger. The chapters dedicated to Camille's father Henry and her daughter Julie are in some ways more engaging than the ones with Camille and Finn, and Henry is the character who has the most surprising story arc. In fact, it's refreshing to see a man in his 70s portrayed with such affection and nuance. Although Camille and Finn are pretty standard characters, their shared love of history and the straightforward conversations about their relationship elevate the love story above the mundane. All in all, a very satisfying novel with just enough unique touches to rate it a notch higher than the many “contemporary setting with flashbacks to the past” women's fiction novels.