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kshertz's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow this book was fantastic. It made me laugh and sob cry. I don’t think you could ask for more. I didn’t even mind how many characters there were because I loved them all. I wasn’t even mad that it wasn’t a romance! The platonic love story of this book is just magical perfection. I read it in one day. I loved it 😍
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, and Death
kimveach's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I picked this book up because it was set in Coeur d'Alene. I didn't expect much, but it was a lovely story. So glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Cancer, and Terminal illness
the_true_monroe's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was one of the most heartwarming, relaxing and lighthearted (for the most part) books I ever read. I loved all of the major characters and how all of the lonely hearts found each other.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Child death
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, Cursing, Medical trauma, Stalking, Alcohol, and Blood
passionatereader78's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a life fiction read. Perfect read for a Librarian going above and beyond! Sloane and Authur spend their days at the library sparing over literature. When Authur stops coming to the library, Sloane must find out what has happened to him. When she finds out he is ill, she agrees to catalog his books. With the help of Authur's nosy neighbor and grandson they take care of Authur's daily needs and discuss books while doing it. They become the Lonely Hearts book club!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
dogoodwithbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Lucy Gilmore's The Lonely Hearts Book Club is a charming tale of finding community within the love of books in unlikely places.
Sloane Parker prefers the quiet nuances of everyday life as a local librarian, even if it means the occasional argument with the town grump, Arthur McLachlan. Yet, when Sloane finds out about Arthur's recent hospitalization, she decides to assist in Arthur's recovery and eventually forms a makeshift book club made up with the town's misfits.
Going between the book club members: Sloane, Maisey, Matteo, Greg, and Arthur himself, this book really explores themes of belonging and community excellently. Each of the characters with their own set of problems and how their involvement in the book club changes their lives for the better, Gilmore does a great job with balancing out this ensemble cast with their own moments to shine.
Now, I listened to the audiobook version of The Lonely Hearts Book Club through my local library and it was a bit of an investment. The chapters can be a bit long and the transitions between the different POVs, as well as their subsequent chapters, isn't as smooth as it could be. However, Angie Kane, sole narrator for The Lonely Hearts Book Club, provides an excellent narration for the book and conveys every single emotion found in the page with authentic acting.
If you are looking for a contemporary, found family novel featuring an ensemble cast bonding over a love of books, you might want to read The Lonely Hearts Book Club.
Sloane Parker prefers the quiet nuances of everyday life as a local librarian, even if it means the occasional argument with the town grump, Arthur McLachlan. Yet, when Sloane finds out about Arthur's recent hospitalization, she decides to assist in Arthur's recovery and eventually forms a makeshift book club made up with the town's misfits.
Going between the book club members: Sloane, Maisey, Matteo, Greg, and Arthur himself, this book really explores themes of belonging and community excellently. Each of the characters with their own set of problems and how their involvement in the book club changes their lives for the better, Gilmore does a great job with balancing out this ensemble cast with their own moments to shine.
Now, I listened to the audiobook version of The Lonely Hearts Book Club through my local library and it was a bit of an investment. The chapters can be a bit long and the transitions between the different POVs, as well as their subsequent chapters, isn't as smooth as it could be. However, Angie Kane, sole narrator for The Lonely Hearts Book Club, provides an excellent narration for the book and conveys every single emotion found in the page with authentic acting.
If you are looking for a contemporary, found family novel featuring an ensemble cast bonding over a love of books, you might want to read The Lonely Hearts Book Club.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
lizzye33's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcohol, Cursing, Gaslighting, Self harm, Blood, Cancer, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
emilywemily6's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I really enjoyed this book! There is an emotionally diverse cast of characters in a sweet found family environment. Arthur’s banter was witty and the use of books/book quotes was really entertaining and insightful. This felt like a more lighthearted and shallower version of A Man Called Ove, but it wasn’t shallow by any means. So many moments made me laugh or smile, and it was such a joy to read. I liked having different perspectives/voices, though I wish that there was more depth of character in each of them; a lot of the character development felt rushed. The ending of the book also felt abrupt, but didn’t end on a cliffhanger that implies a future book, so it just felt a little incomplete.
This scapegoating or APS (Adult Protective Services) bothered me too, as someone who works in the medical field. Medical providers legally cannot force a patient to stay in the hospital/receive treatment so Arthur had every right to do as he wished. In all my healthcare experience with APS, APS only gets involved when someone is abusing/neglecting a vulnerable adult. As a competent human, Arthur can decide what he wants to do even if it is harmful for his health. So that part of the storyline irked me.
While a few of these characters have suffered death of loved ones, none of them has a truly troubled life. They are ordinary people with ordinary problems and ordinary loneliness, nothing super traumatic (like drug abuse, sexual assault, murder, extreme poverty, etc.) which made them relatable and easy to read about in a lighthearted way.
While a few of these characters have suffered death of loved ones, none of them has a truly troubled life. They are ordinary people with ordinary problems and ordinary loneliness, nothing super traumatic (like drug abuse, sexual assault, murder, extreme poverty, etc.) which made them relatable and easy to read about in a lighthearted way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Medical content, Cursing, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Child death, Death, and Death of parent
ktjazzy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Child death
ciiku's review
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, and Grief
Minor: Terminal illness
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I was super close to DNFing in the first 50 pages, and I'm still wondering if that might've been the better choice. It's competently written, and I understand why others might like it, but there's something off and off-putting about this one, and I'm sorry to say I'm not going to devote any more time to it to try to figure it out. It's an "irascible/antisocial/curmudgeonly elder and other floundering figures connect and create a supportive community" story, of a sort I've certainly read and appreciated before — A Man Called Ove, The Authenticity Project, The Reading List, All the Lonely People, Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting, The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle. It's written in multiple points of view, which I also generally enjoy. The first section proved to be my least favorite POV, so I was hopeful that pushing through it would be worthwhile. It was... okay-ish. Interesting characters, whose back stories are basically the plot, and a moderately satisfying conclusion. I would've preferred fewer characters, more depth, more challenge to some of the casual cruelties and sexism, more humor, and a greater sense of sustainable growth and happiness at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Sexism, Grief, Medical content, Abandonment, Cancer, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Child death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail