3.5 stars.

Magnolia hasn’t set a foot on stage since her sister, Iris, died. Iris believed Magnolia would be the next big singer-songwriter, but this dream died with Iris. Two years have passed, and Magnolia feels trapped with the responsibility of caring for Poppy, Iris’ daughter and is floating through life, searching for purpose. Theo is a paramedic and a girl dad who meet cutes his way into Magnolia’s life, sparking a second chance that she didn’t expect. 

EMERGENCY LULLABIES is a quick and cute read. I enjoyed the main characters: Theo and Magnolia. The other central characters (Poppy, Rocket, and Emma) were truly adorable, and Hanna is the best friend a girl could ask for. The flower name theme within Magnolia’s family was too cute!

The romance was sweet but I did find it lacked something to make me swoon over this couple. 

EMERGENCY LULLABIES has a strong theme of grief. I liked that the author explored Magnolia’s grief regarding her sister’s loss, but also the grief her parents experienced and how they each handled it a little differently. This aspect of the story was really well done. 

Lastly, I enjoyed the subplot about Magnolia’s journey through self-discovery and determining her own path, particularly with respect to music. I wish this would have been discussed more as it was the part of the book that I was most interested in. I also feel the same about Theo’s work – it’s a well known fact that he is a paramedic and the cover made me think there’d be a little more development on this. I think a dual POV would have been helpful to better understand both main characters and to have Theo’s side of things developed a bit more. 

Regardless, I’ll be on the lookout for this author’s next book!