The Lost for Words Bookshop, by Stephanie Butland. Pub 2017
I purchased this book entirely because the author’s name is the same as someone that I work with. I was interested in it as a novel set in a bookshop (always a favourite), and was not disappointed.
Set in York, with side trips to Whitby (where I have been), the novel tells the story of the unbelievably named Loveday Jenna Cardew, a young woman with a tragic past who has developed a fierce loner persona and who loves books more than people. As one would expect, she falls in love and struggles mightily to stay out of it, and ultimately love triumphs.
While not a literary masterpiece, and certainly some of the details are farfetched, it nonetheless has characters you can envision and learn to love as a reader. I was moved to tears in several places, not an easy feat for a book (although I am a soft touch), and was delighted by the happy ending, with all loose threads tied up.
Fate: charity shop or a friend. I liked it but not enough to keep it.
7 – a book with a female author
24 – a book by an author I’ve never read
rclr 