Love is a Filing Cabinet by Jeanne Kern

Publisher: The Wild Rose Press

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

Rating: 4 stars

Reviewed by Xeranthemum

Ambitious organizer Minn Evans resents being the only sane and stable person in her family. She wants a normal life with schedules and balanced meals and maybe a man who won’t fall for her sister.

Ford Hayes, a whiz at creativity and a dud at organization, becomes Art Director for a privately-owned TV station. But his office is a mess, his planning skills are a train wreck, and he can’t find his socks.

Minn needs a job; Ford needs an organizer. But Minn’s vagabond parents and man-stupifying sister aren’t the only roadblocks on their journey to love.

This story is a mixed bag. It has quirky humor, a dysfunctional family, incredible character growth and a complicated romance. Combine all those elements and a reader is in for an entertaining and interesting read.

Love is a Filing Cabinet is told in third person POV from the perspective of Minn, the heroine. The first chapter sets up the romance and it seems like a fait accompli. It’s not. Minn’s sister, Conn, is a classic diversion – the sister who has it all, men adore her, want to please her and everything comes up roses. Conn is flighty, breezy and thinks nothing of raiding Minn’s closet on a whim. Minn is a fixer and tolerates her sister. She also tolerates her father and mother, from a long distance. But, things are not quite as they seem. I think that’s what kept surprising me about this novel. Because I saw it only from the heroine’s point of view, everything she shared with a reader made perfect sense. So, that means I was annoyed with Conn, I wasn’t a fan of her parents, and the hero, Ford, I was never sure he was actually the hero; seemed a nice guy who had great potential, but he fell under the influence of Conn. So, how could he really be the hero? I did say it was a complicated romance, right?

The monkey wrench comes from the owner of the T.V. station. He has style and class and has taken a definite shine to Minn. With him, she could have it all. Again, things are not as they seem.

Conn, Minn’s sister, who I was annoyed with, redeemed herself with her unexpected action, choices and revelations. It totally threw the heroine for a loop and started the process of self-reflection. It began with her sister, but it quickly affected Minn’s parents, the hippie protesters. It affected Ford in surprising ways too.

Minn is under the impression that she’s the only sane, organized, responsible and ‘adult’ person in the room. It’s the dialogue between all major characters that sheds light on a concept that Minn wouldn’t have guessed in a hundred years. Yes, Conn does grow as a character, but I think it’s Minn that needed the greatest attitude adjustment. Some of it was healing, some caused pain and some led her on a path to discover her own truths.

I admit that I had a hard time understanding the whys and ways of Minn for a part of the book. Her stress levels were through the roof and she has these mantras from an aunt that seem to allow her to be a victim, to be taken advantage of and it seemed to me she didn’t have much of a backbone, even if she was a super organizer. The resentment percolating inside was kind of toxic. Because of that, I wasn’t sure if I actually liked her. I mean she had her cute moments and I liked the chemistry between her and Ford, but I didn’t think she was a truly happy person. Then came the scene where she got lost, and I believe that was the pivot point. Her internal dialogue showed me that she was finally waking up to possibilities. The tone of the story changed and I liked it more and more.

The scheme that they all came up with surprised me. In fact, I was clueless. When the actual goal and intent was revealed, I was most impressed and it was a definite fist-bump moment. There is a very brief sub-romance that played a role in Minn and Ford’s relationship and I was actually relieved it came about.

Love is a Filing Cabinet affected my emotions. The story is definitely engaging because they were all over the place. Ultimately there is a well-rounded, satisfying and altogether happy, happy ever after that tied everything up with a big joyful bow. The novel includes some unique and fascinating imaginative scenes that made me smile. Ford really is a genius. And yes, he ended up being the perfect hero for this book.

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