Hello and happy Sunday. After reading way too many romance novels, I am happy to review A Lot of People Live in This House by Bailey Merlin, a love letter to the family we get to choose and build.

The English teacher in me needs to point out the grammar error in the title (you know, because “a lot” is used for uncountable nouns, and “people” is countable), but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of this novel, and I am almost certain it was an intentional choice made by the author. I think this was a brilliantly crafted, quiet piece, that honestly felt like a hug.

I must warn you, though, to check for content or trigger warnings because this novel deals with a lot. It is set in the beginning of the pandemic, so the uncertainty and the fear that the world experienced in 2020 is a very prevalent element of the plot. Grief and loss are also major themes in the book both because of the pandemic, but also because of the life events that Rachel, the main character, and her husband Job have gone through.

Like I said, to me, this book felt like a hug. It took me back to the beginning of the pandemic, when the lockdowns happened and everyone thought, at least at first, that it would only last a couple of weeks. While this novel was short in length, it took me a few days to read because at some points I had to stop and take a break. I cried happy tears and I cried sad tears, and I wished I could learn more about each of the characters and what happened to them after the book was over.