The E + M Book Club

Hello and welcome to the Enneagram and Marriage no-pressure, go-with-the-flow, cozy, and simple book club blog. We review books we think you may love, share a few Enneagram features, and fascinating story arcs we found. We also rate the reads and add some playlist faves to go with them so you can accentuate your lit love with us!

As you can see from the chill vibe you’re hopefully sensing by now, you can tell that it is run by an Enneagram Nine, me, Melody Hardin and as you read about our recommended books, I hope that you find new reads that get you not only out of your reading slump but also into a newfound and newly appreciated love for reading in the midst of everything life throws your way.

As eras are “all that” right now, I figured I might as well come clean about being in my almost-lifelong “reading era” as I will continue to encourage you to join me in this blissful period. Whatever life throws at us, we will be well prepared because we know we can safely retreat to a book, not to numb out life, but to take a breath and a pause away from life and all of its chaos and join back when we feel prepared to do so.

So after yet again a long introduction, let’s get into our first book club read! Most of the books in this book club will probably be pretty positive and easy reads that are purely for enjoyment and peace! Are you feeling my Nine yet? Haha. Unlike most of my usual reads, our first book, The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie: A Novel by Rachel Linden is heartwrenching yet poetically blissful. I enjoyed every second of it and found that even “hard” emotions can be used to create a beautiful happy ending that I know everyone (except maybe some dark-academia Fours lol) is looking for.

As you’ll read below, Lolly Blanchard stars in this enticing novel as she walks through heartbreak, love, loss, and hope. I hope you find this book as riveting as I did, and as you read I encourage you to look for the ways in which you can apply this book to your life. The post pressing question for me:

How can you look for the silver lining even amid pain?

Here is an excerpt from The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie: A Novel by author Rachel Linden:

“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.

Star Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 - Four and a half well-deserved stars (both Melody & Christa gave this high rating!!)

Age range: 15+ (no explicit content - just heavy topics and lots of kissing)

Main Character Typings:

1. Lolly Blanchard - 9w1 (Tri-type 9-4-5)

2. Rory Shaw - 9w8 (Tri-type 9-2-6)

Glow Pairing: Sweeter Than Fiction! Click the link to find your pairing and learn more about Lolly and Rory’s Sweeter Than Fiction love together!

Fave scenes (minimal spoilers):

• The cut!

• The party!

• The third day with sticky fingers and a wet sundress!

• The heatstroke!

• And all of the flashbacks!

Songs that this book reminds me of:

- Bigger Than the Whole Sky/Taylor Swift

- Fifteen/Taylor Swift

- Happiness/Taylor Swift

- Epiphany/Taylor Swift

- A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes/ Ilene Woods (From Cinderella)

- Sweet Nothings/Taylor Swift

- Golden Hour/Surfaces

Yes, I really like Taylor Swift.

Movies that this book made me think of:

💕 13 Going on 30

💕 Season 1 of your comfort show

💕 The Family Man

💕 Back to the Future 2

💕 Cinderella

And so many more!

I hope you will read this book and enjoy it as much as I did! Thank you for sticking with me - please stay tuned for what’s to come!

Lots of Love,

Melody Hardin

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Meet Me in the Margins!

This month’s E+M book club read is Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson! This is one of my favorite reads (if not my favorite - this is Melody again) and I am so excited to hear your thoughts after reading this, too! Meet Me in the Margins follows Savannah as she attempts to get through her life as a book editor with a handsome new boss, a mysterious book-editing “friend,” and all the family drama - all while trying to publish her very own manuscript!

Can she juggle all that is coming at her?

Here is a quick back-of-the-book summary from this Thomas Nelson classic:

Savannah Cade’s dreams are coming true. Claire Donovan, editor-in-chief of the most successful romance publishing company in the country, has requested to see the manuscript Savannah’s been secretly writing. The only problem: she’s an editor for a different company, and their philosophy is that only highbrow works are worth printing - aka romance should be reserved for the lowest level of Dante’s inferno.

But when Savannah drops her manuscript during a staff meeting and nearly exposes herself to the whole company—including William Pennington, the new boss and son of the romance-despising CEO herself—she has no choice but to hide the manuscript in a hidden room.

When she returns, she’s dismayed to discover that someone has not only been in her hidden nook but has written notes in the margins—quite critical ones. But when Claire’s own reaction turns out to be nearly identical to the scribbled remarks, and worse, Claire announces that Savannah has six weeks to resubmit before she retires, Savannah finds herself forced to seek the help of the shadowy editor after all.

As their notes back and forth start to fill up the pages, however, Savannah finds him not just becoming pivotal to her work, but her life. There’s no doubt about it: she’s falling for her mystery editor. If she only knew who he was.

Star Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (FIVE STARS!)

Age Range: 13+ (The perfect book for YAs to adults with no explicit but lots of swoon-worthy content)

Main Character Typings:

1. Savannah Cade - 7w8 (Tri-type 7-3-9)

2. William Pennington - 1w9 (Tri-type 1-4-5)

Glow Pairing: Pure Sunshine! Click the link to find your pairing and learn more about Savannah and Will’s “grumpy vs. sunshine” love together!

Fave Scenes (Minimal Spoilers):

• The courthouse!

• The rescue!

• The first margin notes!

• The pumpkin spice latte banter!

• THAT note! (I can’t say it because it is a little bit of a spoiler)

• ALL. OF. IT!

Songs That This Book Reminds Me of:

- Invisible String/Taylor Swift

- Enchanted/Taylor Swift

- Rollercoaster/Jonas Brothers

- Story of My Life/One Direction

-One Call Away/Charlie Puth

- Sparks/Coldplay

Movies This Book Reminds Me of:

💕 The Proposal

💕 You’ve Got Mail

💕 Leap Year

💕Pride & Prejudice

💕Gilmore Girls (Luke & Lorelai)

I hope you fall in love with this book as much as I have! This is such a fast-paced and rewarding read (I read it in a few days - could. not. put. it. down)!

Lots of love,

Melody Hardin