How to Find Love in a Bookshop
Ratings14
Average rating3.6
i've been in the mood for this kind of slice-of-life novel lately, and i absolutely adored that it was all centered around a bookshop
definitely comparable to love actually, but imagine instead of the big reveal of how everyone is intertwined at the end you have that reveal at the start
“The whole point of life was you couldn't ever be sure what would happen next. Sometimes what happened was good, sometimes not, but there were always surprises.”
Nightingale Books has long been a beacon of hope, heart and home for the small community of Peasebrook. When the owner, Julius Nightingale, passes away the entire town feels the pain...and the emptiness.
His daughter Emilia has come home to Peasebrook to take over and run the bookshop. As it was for her father, it is also for Emilia, a place of wonder and warmth. However, she is soon thrust into financial despair as she learns the depths of the bookshop's debt. With the help of her friends and residents of Peasebrook, Emilia embarks on a heartwarming journey to save the store.
I adore books with well...books lol. Add in a bookshop and it's love. Add in a small town bookshop that is the heart of that town and it's absolute heaven. When you journey into this one you will struggle with Emilia, fall in love with Jem & Thomasina, and follow the path of love and acceptance for many more of the residents as they find it themselves.
From the title, you'd think this is a love story - and it kind of is - but not a traditional one. We don't have a center couple with side characters, and the plot doesn't revolve around their misunderstandings. No, the main character here is Emilia Nightingale, entrusted with her late father's book shop, and the romance is with the town. There are several side characters, and while Emilia does get a romance, it's the side characters' love lives that we spend the most time with. We have the heiress to the local estate and her devoted gardener, the property developer's minion and his estranged wife, the housewife longing to be a career woman again and her career husband who wants to stay home, the shy but sweet chef and the cheesemonger. (That one's my favorite! Bonding over books and food? Girl after my own heart!)
The main conflict in the book comes from the financial straits of the bookshop and Emilia's efforts to stay afloat - everything else revolves around that. We dip back in time to Emilia's father's life to learn about the founding of the shop and his own romances, which helps us see how some characters are emotionally invested in Emilia and the current status of the bookshop.
This is a sweet, gentle book that's perfect for a rainy day and a cup of tea. Combining characters who love books, the enchanting magic of a good bookshop, and the (mostly) serene atmosphere of a quiet English village, the book is just cozy and comforting and I absolutely loved it.
You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.