True to form.
To be fair, the drive from the city up to Archangel could be unpredictable in the afternoon. It was equally possible that Blythe Harper had completely forgotten that she'd promised to show up to celebrate her daughter's achievement.
***
Heartbroken Natalie Harper inherits her mother’s charming, cash-strapped bookshop and finds herself the carer for her ailing grandfather Andrew. She thinks it’s best to move him to an assisted-living home to ensure his care, but to pay for it, Natalie will have to sell up the bookshop. However, Grandpa Andrew owns the building and refuses to budge.
Moving into the studio apartment above the shop, Natalie hires a contractor, Peach Gallagher, to do some repairs. His young daughter becomes a regular at the shop, and she and Natalie begin reading together while Peach works. Slowly, Natalie’s sorrow begins to dissipate as her life becomes an unexpected journey of new friendships. From unearthing hidden artefacts in the bookshop’s walls, to learning the truth about her family, the bookshop is full of surprises. Can Natalie reveal her own heart’s desire and turn a new page…?
***
I can never resist books about book shops so when I found this on the library shelves, I knew I had to borrow it. And what a good choice it was. It did not disappoint in any way, and now I cannot wait to read more from this author.
In fact, she has an extensive back catalogue and having checked, I am delighted that the library has lots of them in the county.
There is a cast of well developed and likeable, characters. Natalie is an excellent main character and her relationship and challenges with her grandfather were wonderful to observe.
It has a certain charm to it, and Natalie was easy to identify with. She is a woman who, at the outset, is trapped in a job that she finds unfulfilling, and it was fascinating to see her character mature as she takes on the bookshop and has to deal with so much loss.
The bookshop itself was as significant as the characters, and I could almost smell the mustiness of the old books, as well as the freshly printed pages of the new. The author has done an excellent job of bringing the shop to life on the page.
On the surface, this book is about grief, but it is about so much more. Love, hope and passion are woven throughout it's pages. Some might say the book is predictable, and certainly there were no rapid twists and turns. But sometimes, a calm stroll through a book is exactly what I need, and this one hit the nail firmly on the head for me.
ISBN: 978 0008358754
Publisher: Harper Collins
Format: e-book, audio, paperback and hardback
No. of Pages: 400 (paperback)
About the Author:
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