This was a cover buy. The stunning red door with books around it pulled me in and the title kept me there. I had no idea what The Messy Lives of Book People was about, but I knew that I needed it.

We're following a forty-year-old housecleaner who maintains the apartment of a very prominent author. Essie writes a series of adventure/romance novels, but her work has been struggling lately. When Essie suddenly passes away, her final wish was to have her devoted housecleaner, Liv, continue writing the last book in the series.

This is a lighthearted novel about writing, the love of books, and how complicated the process can be. In my opinion, this isn't a novel that I'll remember. I just finished it and the details are already getting foggy, but I loved the reading experience. It was relaxing and inspired me to start writing my own novel again. The writing scenes made my fingers itch for the keyboard.

I also really loved how we follow and older main character. Maybe it's because I just turned thirty, but I love reading about characters who find a grove later in life. There are also some important messages woven between the words in this novel. Liv is a housecleaner and gets a fair amount of shit about it. She's looked down upon because her job is 'lesser,' which is frustrating to read about.

Although this was as fun read, I was confused at times. The interpersonal accounts of the people that Liv communicated with were fuzzy and I mixed quite a few of them up. I didn't think it would be a big deal, but the ending lacked its punchline because I was lost in terms of who was who.

I'm not entirely sure how accurate this is, but I feel like if you liked Evelyn Hugo... you might like this. The Messy Lives of Book People kind of reminded me of it because you're trying to figure out the inner workings of who Essie was. Their personalities seem similar, as well. It's like a lighter, bookish version.