Sarah Adler’s Finders Keepers is a gem! This is her third romance, and her first, Mrs Nash’s Ashes was a DIK here at AAR. In this story, she combines a character driven romance with a secondary plotline about an eccentric billionaire who leaves a treasure hunt in his will. This whimsical storyline gives our protagonists something to do as they try to reconnect after seventeen years apart.

Nina Hunnicutt and Quentin Bell have both moved back at home after they suffer disasters in their personal and professional lives. Nina is an academic and archivist who has just lost her job, her boyfriend and her apartment. With no savings or work prospects, she is back in her childhood bedroom, dealing with her too-exuberant mother and too-remote father as she regroups. Similarly, Quentin has been working as a lawyer in France and loses his job after his engagement ends. This sends him back to Catoctin and his childhood home, right next door to Nina.

The book opens with an article from 1938 about the last will and testament of local business magnate Julius James Fountain, who left his home, Sprangbur Estate, to the city of Catoctin, Maryland, along with a mystery treasure, which has never been found. When they were teens, Nina and Quentin had worked together to try and find the treasure, but one night they got caught on the estate by the police, and Quentin left town and ghosted Nina. They haven’t seen each other since.

I’m not a big fan of romances where all the problems stem from something that happened when the protagonists were teenagers. In this case, there’s a bit of that, but their friendship also broke up at a time when other challenges were happening to each of them – and at such a critical moment, they lost each other as well. Nina recognises that at the time, Quentin’s leaving was only one part of her struggle, but it still affected her ability to trust and believe in herself, and was a major contributor to an anxiety and depression spiral she is still dealing with. Nina thinks:

it wasn’t losing Quentin himself that made that fall and winter so awful so much as losing the steadiness of having him around.

The story is told entirely from Nina’s point of view, and her internal voice is very funny, wry and self-aware, but mental spiralling is a real issue for her. We can see how it holds her back and prevents her from really seeing Quentin – as the man he is now. She also compartmentalises herself: Ambitious Nina, Badass Nina, and these labels erode her self esteem.

As they are both back in Catoctin looking for jobs and taking stock, Quentin persuades Nina to work with him to try and find the treasure. Their adventures are interspersed with transcripts of interviews that JJ Fountain did towards the end of his life and these provide the context for the mystery and the treasure hunt. Over the summer, they explore the Sprangbur Estate and reconnect with their pasts, the town and its possibilities. We gradually find out what happened to Quentin, and why he ghosted Nina.

Sometimes … not intending to hurt each other isn’t enough to keep it from happening anyway.

The romance is whimsical and quirky, and although there are some tough moments, overall it’s a light-hearted and gentle read. Sarah Adler is protective of her characters, and while they do face some tough times, it’s a romance wrapped in a warm hug. Nina is a lot, it’s true, and as we are in her head all the time, we get all her introspection. Too much? Not for me, but then I gobble up this stuff. Quentin is vulnerable too, and not nearly as afraid, so they are such a good pair. Finders Keepers is a wonderful read if you love a warm-hearted, low-angst romance!