Joss Perrault left Sky, Colorado after high school with no intention of ever returning, but all that changes when she inherits Atramentum. Burned out on public accounting after too many sixteen-hour days, the allure of operating a small, independent bookstore is too tempting to register, and Joss decides to walk away from the career she spent the last decade building to move back to the resort town high in the Rockies. Cupid strikes as she’s moving into her new place outside Sky and, contrary to popular belief, Cupid has four legs and a tail, hits like a linebacker, and answers to the name of George. Before Joss can recover from being tackled by the Great DAne, she finds herself face to face with George’s mom, Maeve Dylan. Joss is immediately smitten with her beautiful neighbor, but their conversations walk the line between friendliness and flirtation like it’s a tightrope, and Joss is reluctant to do anything that will risk their budding friendship. Thankfully for her, however, George doesn’t give up so easily.

REVIEW
When I was typing in the title of the book, I felt like I was entering in my WiFi internet modem password. A….T…..R……S…Wait, fuck (Backspace)…A…ME…N…..T….UM. You bet I wikipediaed the word, and guess what I found?

Atramentum or atrament, generally means a very black, usually liquid, substance. For example, an octopus may emit a puff of atrament (see cephalopod ink). In ancient Rome, the term atramentum signified any black colouring substance used for any purpose.

They even have this picture to go with the definition:

Just a guess, I think that MJ Duncan fancies Latin / Ancient words. (Veritas, anyone?)

In Atramentum, Atramentum is the name of the bookstore that the lovely protagonist, Joss, inherits from her Aunt Helen. She decides to chuck her lonely life in Los Angeles and her career as a public accountant, for greener pastures (because anywhere is greener than LA) in Sky, Colorado to manage this charming little bookstore.

When Joss and Maeve meet, it’s almost as cute as this:

Animal companions that are determined to play Cupid for their human companions is a recipe for a fantastic story, folks! If only this happened in real life. I tried walking my cat, Marbles once. Unfortunately, this experiment miserably failed. He refused to walk more than two steps, kept rolling around on his back and belly, and I didn’t get any numbers! None! The most we got were very curious (and very sympathetic) stares from passersby. Ah, well. Anyone in LA need a dog-walker?

There are not two, but three main characters in this story. George certainly has enough personality to qualify. MJ Duncan, if you ever decide to do a spinoff starring George, I’m there! George helped make this a really delightful read for me. I almost miss her.

There’s plenty of “will you or won’t you” angst between Joss and Maeve. This mostly stems from “are you or are you not” regarding Maeve’s sexuality. Don’t you hate the guessing game? Everyone needs to wear a blinking sign, I think. The back and forth between the main characters is very sweet, and there’s plenty of romance and passionate love between the pages. There’s one section of the novel that readers and wordsmiths will certainly appreciate. I won’t give it away, but let’s just say that I had to go out for a nice looooooong run after I finished reading through it.

As with MJ Duncan’s other novels, this would be perfect to pack in your suitcase to read on your next vacation get-away.

Happy Reading!

SOUNDTRACK
1. Vance Joy – Fire and the Flood
2. Susie Suh – I Do
3. A Fine Frenzy – What I Wouldn’t Do
4. Jack Johnson – Better Together
4. Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am
5. Lianne La Havas – What You Don’t Do
6. Jason Mraz – Love Someone
7. Brandi Carlile – The Story
8. John Mayer – A Face To Call Home
9. Colbie Caillat – You Got Me
10. Leftover Cuties – At Last

CHEERS!
This book would be best read with….

MEIOMI PINOR NOIR 2014