Liv Green is the cleaner for the elusive writer Essie Starling. When Essie dies suddenly she leaves instructions for Liv to complete the last book in her successful series. In trying to complete the task, Liv finds out about Essie and even more about herself. Although not compelling, it was an enjoyable read.

It was predictable, interesting at times but fell flat for me. Wasn't what I expected. Might just not have been my style

THE MESSY LIVES OF BOOK PEOPLE is such a fabulous book. Liv Green jumped off the page and I was truly able to connect with the story through the character. This book is positively charming. I am so happy I was able to read it.

I really thought this was a lovely and sweet book about a housecleaner, Liv Green, who works for a celebrated author, Essie Starling. Liv has worked multiple cleaning jobs and is frequently taken advantage of by her clients and her husband’s family. No one values her, and she has always wanted to be a writer. She develops a friendly relationship with her difficult boss Essie, and is given an opportunity to help her with her new and final book.

I love most books about book people. The title implies there are lots of book people, but it’s mainly about Liv and Essie, a few people in their lives, including the publisher/editor (but those roles are small). In the UK, it’s called The Book Share. It’s kind of an elusive title, but maybe fits a bit better. I did love all of the feels of being a writer - the difficulty and the putting together of the novel, and the reward of the feeling when it was done. It was kind of similar to The Dead Romantics to me in that way. It was also a love letter to the main character in Essie’s books, Georgia Rory, and her adventures throughout the series. A heartwarming and fun book for a book lover.

I read this one for Brenda Novak’s bookclub and The Gloss bookclub. I have long wanted to read one of Phaedra Patrick’s titles and I was so glad this one was selected. It was an enjoyable read. My bookclub was a little mixed but enjoyed it overall, and several people loved it.

In the Brenda Novak discussion she mentioned a tower and the idea of a writer buying Johnny Depp’s yacht. So she asked the question, what would an author be like if she was that wealthy and lived in a tower and stayed out of the public eye. She put parts of herself into both characters - her books often deal with an introvert exploring new aspects.

“If you meet something insurmountable, don’t try and fight it. It will only leave you with bruises. The trick is to outsmart it and do something it wouldn’t expect.” P140

“She had always thought that forty-two-year-old mums didn’t appear in fairy tales, but she didn’t believe that any longer. If stories didn’t exist the way you wanted them, you had to create your own.” P338

I really thought this was a lovely and sweet book about a housecleaner, Liv Green, who works for a celebrated author, Essie Starling. Liv has worked multiple cleaning jobs and is frequently taken advantage of by her clients and her husband’s family. No one values her, and she has always wanted to be a writer. She develops a friendly relationship with her difficult boss Essie, and is given an opportunity to help her with her new and final book.

I love most books about book people. The title implies there are lots of book people, but it’s mainly about Liv and Essie, a few people in their lives, including the publisher/editor (but those roles are small). In the UK, it’s called The Book Share. It’s kind of an elusive title, but maybe fits a bit better. I did love all of the feels of being a writer - the difficulty and the putting together of the novel, and the reward of the feeling when it was done. It was kind of similar to The Dead Romantics to me in that way. It was also a love letter to the main character in Essie’s books, Georgia Rory, and her adventures throughout the series. A heartwarming and fun book for a book lover.

I read this one for Brenda Novak’s bookclub and The Gloss bookclub. I have long wanted to read one of Phaedra Patrick’s titles and I was so glad this one was selected. It was an enjoyable read. My bookclub was a little mixed but enjoyed it overall, and several people loved it.

Sadly this one took me a while to read. I was so excited for this book because of the cover and the synposis. However, I have found this one very dull and it wasnt what I was expecting.  I thought that Liv and the other characters were bland and I just couldn't connect with them. I also wanted more depth. 
My rating is 2.5⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this eARC for an honest review.

Let’s start with good points: Great title! Cute cover! Interesting premise! I really wanted to enjoy this book, but it was extremely hard to get into. I wanted to like Liv and root for her. Unfortunately, Liv is poorly developed as a character so it was difficult for me to feel anything for her.

First of all, Liv is dull. I suppose readers are meant to infer that Liv has sacrificed so much of herself for the sake of others that books have become her only interest and outlet… but honestly, it was odd, sad, and a bit off-putting to me.

The supporting characters are even blander and more poorly fleshed out. Liv’s husband is horrible, with the only things in his favor are that he’s not abusive or unfaithful. He comes through for Liv in the end but it feels like too little too late.

I honestly cannot recommend this book.

I've reached the stage of my reading career where if a book has the word "Book" in it as a descriptive term for the characters, it becomes a must-read for me.

I have read quite a few of Phaedra Patrick's books and this one did not disappoint. The characters were likable, gritty, and dealt with everyday problems. Liv is a mother of two who was raised primarily by a single mom. She works as a cleaning lady and often has difficulties setting boundaries with her clients. One of these clients is Essie Starling, the creator, and author of Liv's favorite series. Essie is abrupt and unforgiving as well as a known recluse in the literary community.
The book does an excellent job of showing the characters not only in the present day but giving a strong background to each. Watching Essie and Liv grow over decades shows that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.

Read this for Book Club, and rated it 3/5 stars. It was a cute and entertaining read but wasn't the most engaging storyline. Felt a little bit juvenile at times.

I read this book for book club and wouldn't normally have picked it up myself. I ended up not loving the book, so I'm not going to write a review on my blog. It just wasn't my cup of tea...it was a bit too far-fetched for me - the story was really a stretch.

The Gloss book club read this book for our September meeting. This is the second book that I’ve read by this author; the first book she wrote was okay and I definitely enjoyed this book more than The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper.

The book revolves around the author Essie and her cleaning lady Liv (Olivia). One day Liv receives a call advising her that Essie has passed away as she was in the hospital for a procedure and she didn't recover. There is a proposal that Essie's solicitor has for Liv that she must not disclose to anybody that Essie has passed away and that she should take on finishing Essie's final book in her series. Under no circumstances could Liv disclose the details to anyone. The expectation is that Live will write the final chapters of the book and meet the November 1st deadline set out by Essie. If Liv follows these rules carefully she would be able to inherit something that Essie had left her.

I enjoyed reading the book and I found it compelling and a quick read and I was able to read it over a couple days - overall it was a feel good story. I would recommend it to others if they like reading books about books this would be one that you could read. I would rate this book around an 8 1/2 out of 10. If it wasn’t for the book club I probably wouldn’t have picked up a second book by this author but I'm glad I did.

Quite an enjoyable book with an interesting premise and a surprising ending. A great book for all who are inspired to write and how we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover - or a cleaner as simply a cleaner.

I really enjoy the way Phaedra Patrick writes and her characters are normally fantastic. My only quibble with Book People is that a few of the characters weren't quite as fleshed out as I would have liked. I loved the setting and the relationships between the family members and employees/employer. It was interesting and I always love a good book shop.

I really enjoyed this book and every time I wasn’t reading it I couldn’t wait to get back to it. I liked that it wasn’t predictable but had me guessing where the story was headed. I feel in love with the characters and felt their pain. I look forward to looking into other books she has written

Thank you to Harequin Publisher for giving me an advanced reader copy. This is the second book that I read from Phaedra Patrick and I will continue to read more. I liked how they mention book titles I have read quite a few. I enjoyed the story of a housekeeper helping a author to fulfill a dream. However, the ending was a little flat.

What a dream to work for an author that you admire! But what would you do if you had to finish writing her last book? And what if throughout your writing, you found out that there was a connection? Such a good premise, and the book did not disappoint!

I think I am the minority here, but this seemed to pull from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - it is even mentioned in here. I think I might be more jaded because Evelyn Hugo is my favorite book...

Olivia works as cleaner for several clients, among them famed author Essie Starling, and her long time favorite writer. When Essie passes away, she leaves instructions for Olivia to finish her final novel. This novel details the transformation of Olivia from cleaner to writer, fulfilling her life's dream. She uncovers secrets about the author and about her own family that lead her in surprising and sometimes uncomfortable directions. In the process, Olivia must closely scrutinize what she really finds meaningful in her life.

This story could be a book-lover's dream, as readers can easily place themselves in the novel. Most readers can identify with the place books hold in their hearts and the influence books and writers exert on their lives, just as Olivia portrays in the story. There are many different ways the story could have ended and many different points in the novel when that ending could have occurred. Personally, I felt as if it went on too long. Readers will have to decide for themselves about their satisfaction with the ending chosen by the author. This is a clean read, without strong language, violence, or graphic intimacy.

I received this novel from the publisher and from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

Thanks to Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I have loved Phaedra Patrick's previous novels and had high hopes for this one. Ultimately, it was a little flat for me but still an enjoyable read overall. Watching Liv become more confident in her new secret role as an author was great, and I liked the bonus mystery of who Essie's one true love was. What was less successful to me was the way Liv acted at times (for someone who is supposed to be in her early 40s, which is roughly my age, I found her to be immature), how she and her husband absolutely babied their sons who are both university aged, and the character of Chloe in general. There was a lot of charm in this book but not quite the depth I was hoping for.

Messy Lives of Book People

Liv Green is a middle aged mother of two college age sons, married to a good man since they were young, and working as a maid to help make ends meet.

In other words, she lives a fairly normal life.

One of her clients is best-selling writer, Essie Starling, whose writing Liv has enjoyed for years.

When Essie dies, her last wish is that Liv would finish the novel she was working on without telling anyone that she has died.

What follows is a delightful story of a woman redefining herself, of love and marriage rediscovered, of family secrets uncovered and of real life.

I described it to a friend immediately after I finished it as lovely and unassuming. It was the book I didn’t know I needed and it just felt good.