My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Many thanks to Net Galley, Orion Publishing Group, and the author for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are expressed voluntarily.


Aww, what a bittersweet story this turned out to be. A book that teaches readers to give a chance at life and be open to opportunities, The Handover is essentially a lovely romance with some endearing characters.

Daisy Dukes is the night-time security guard at Manchester Museum of Social History. NOPE, if you ask Daisy, she would probably tell you that she’s definitely not the night security but kind of evening security coz her timing is from 6 PM to 1 PM in the night, so how can she be night security? Well, that’s exactly what her character is like, a stickler for rules and routines, she wants everything to run like a well-oiled machine and is happy to continue doing everything in order irrespective of the monotony of repetition. One can’t help but love this quirky woman, whose idea of jokes is non-existent, she’s too literal to understand the nuances of people’s communication but it is this quality that Nate who does the job in the morning notices in her and can’t help but admire.

Nate and Daisy have struggles in their life, Daisy in letting go of the past that has crippled her to the point of having only her sister and her cancer-stricken mother and her work to get things going in life, the microscopic world that she lives in has no room for anything more. Nate on the other hand has the baggage of an abusive father in his past and his attempts with his son to do everything exactly opposite to what his father was, created some beautiful eye-opening scenes.

I loved the story for its simplicity, the setting of the museum, the various people inside it, the lessons in life that the author imparts thru incidents that seem real and relatable, both Nate and Daisy grow thru the story, realizing the importance of letting loved ones closer and helping each other, expanding one’s horizons and the connection Daisy discovers in loving someone wholeheartedly. The mystery element of the story with missing museum pieces was another lovely touch. The amateurish detective work taken up by Daisy and Nate brings a smile to the reader’s face. I loved the writing by the author which has a peculiar charm as the characters remain in our hearts days after finishing up the last chapter.

Endearing!

Daisy does nights and Nate does days, which causes no end of hilarity at the Manchester Museum of Social History. ‘It should be Daisy on days and Nate on nights,’ Marion on the reception says to her at least once a month, as though Daisy hasn’t yet got the joke.

Daisy is the night security guard at the Manchester Museum of Social History. She takes her job very seriously, protecting the museum from troublemakers and anyone who openly mocks the fact they have a dinosaur on display.

Nate works the day shift, though he’d be more suited as a museum guide the way he chats with the visitors. Daisy doesn’t approve: every one of them is a potential threat and befriending them could impair his judgement.

Daisy and Nate don’t have much to do with each other except for the five minutes when they’re shifts overlap at handover. He passes the torch over to her – like a baton – always with a smirk on his face, and she asks him for a full report of the day, which he gives reluctantly. It’s the only interaction they have… until strange things begin to happen at the museum.

Daisy notices priceless objects are going missing but then reappearing, with no explanation (and nothing showing on the CCTV, which is why she doesn’t trust technology). No one believes her except Nate, and he agrees to help her solve the mystery.

They soon discover they have a lot more in common than they realised… and their investigations uncover more than just the truth. Could they have feelings for one another?

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