Reviews with content warning for Domestic abuse - The Lost Bookshop

Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

170 reviews

roxyrip's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

I didn't think I was going to like this book at the beginning as much as I ended up liking it. I loved the duel timeline, the 3 POV's, and most of how it came together in the end. I didn't give 5 stars due to still having a few questions in the end that I would have liked answered.

Who was Madame Bowden? Seemed to indicate the shop/house in some way but there was no other mention of it manifesting like that before. I think this part would have been better in Martha's POV not Henry's.
What's with the mind reading scattered throughout the book?
What happened when Shane fell down the stairs?
Why was the bookshop hidden in the first place?
Did Opaline search for Rose?
How was Opaline able to go back to living in and operating the bookshop after all that time?
How did Opaline's story end? I get that she mostly had a happy ending with Josef but I wanted more info on their life after he came back.
Did Martha tell her mom about the relation to Opaline, the bookshop and who Opaline was?

Content Warnings

libraryofdreaming's review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

For a book about a magical bookshop, this had very little magic and very little about the actual bookshop. I struggled to connect with the characters as they made increasingly baffling decisions. The small bits of fantasy were just weird, not entertaining. There were quite a few plot holes too. I wanted to root for the romance(s) but they involved so much cheating and lack of communication I couldn't connect with them at all.

I ended up putting the audiobook on 3x speed just to finish and even then it seemed never ending. Also, I feel like none of the blurbs or reviews I read really conveyed how GRIM this book is as it deals with domestic abuse and forced institutionalization. Once again I simply beg publishers/authors to add trigger/content warnings!

Content Warnings

snacklord's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? N/A

3.5

characters are wonderfully woven together. perfect dose of magical realism and untangling of a mystery. the romantic endeavours didn't interest me at all, but the romance of loving books was perfectly encapsulated. a cozy light read that isn't just surficial.

Content Warnings

md3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.5

Content Warnings

lostwithoutaplan's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful reflective

4.5

4.5 stars
I was pleasantly surprised by this story. The tale is told through the viewpoint of three characters - Opaline is in her timeline, whereas Martha & Henry are sharing another. The characters are all interwoven into the story of the Lost Bookshop - the shop that Opaline has built... that Henry stumbled upon one night, and while trying to relocate it - he meets Marta. It's amazing how the author builds each character so that you fall in love with their quirks - and then weaves them together into a much bigger tale. One of my favorite books of the year!

Content Warnings