Synopsis

Greta loves her job as an assistant librarian. She loves her best friend, Will, the high school civics teacher and debate coach. She even loves her mother despite her obvious disappointment that Greta is still single.

Then she meets Mac in the poetry section of the library, and she is smitten. Mac is heart-stoppingly gorgeous and showers her with affection, poetic text messages, and free hot chocolate at the local café where he works. The only problem is that he seems to be a different person in his texts than in his face-to-face conversation.

When the Franklin Library is threatened with closure, Greta leaps into action. She arranges for a “battle of the bands” book jam, hosts a book signing by a famous author, and finally, stages a protest that raises more than a few eyebrows.

Through it all, she slowly realizes that it is Will, not Mac, who she turns to for support and encouragement. Mac has the looks; Will has the heart. How can she choose between them?

Check Me Out is a contemporary romance–with just a hint of Cyrano de Bergerac–that reminds us that it is what’s on the inside that matters most.

Review

This was such an enjoyable book.  The crux of the story (to me) was the fate of our public libraries.  Larger cities are blessed to have wonderful libraries but smaller towns might have problems keeping them open if they do not have a large town base.  In this story, the Franklin Library is on the verge of being shut down because it cannot be made ADA compliant. The library is housed in a historic home with lots of charm and character, but if you know anything about those older homes, they weren’t built with wheelchairs in mind.  So Greta takes this as a personal challenge to make sure the taxpayers vote for the bond to build a new library.  Some of her methods are a bit crazy, but she is passionate and will do whatever it takes to keep her job and the library open.

The story also has a local history aspect.  It seems that whenever someone dies all of their papers end up at the library.  So Greta, with the help of Will, is tasked with sorting through the boxes and digitizing the photos and documents.  In the midst of all the documents, she comes across a Dr Silver who was something of a radical for his time and helped end segregation in their town in Ohio.  However, she can’t find any information about him after that time period and it sets her on a quest to figure out what happened to him.  She even admits to having a historical crush on him.  This story has a nice ending but I’m not going to say how she finds Dr Silver.

The romance was delightful, perhaps a bit predictable, but it unfolded nicely.  Greta apparently asks for something on her birthday each year and Will gives her whatever it is despite how hard it might be to come up with her wish.  Apparently this year she wished for the perfect man, handsome with the soul of a poet.  Will being Will, he introduces her to his cousin who is very handsome and seems to be saying all the right things.  But everyone else knows the truth about Mac and his words, how long will it take Greta to figure it out?  I’m sure you can guess where this is going but I’m not going to spoil it for you.

We loved this book and suggest reading it especially if you are about saving the libraries…just don’t go to some of the lengths that Greta did in this story!

We give this 5 paws up.