Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

28 reviews

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


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mayab56's review

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challenging emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0


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rubymajor's review against another edition

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3.75

I don't usually use .25 ratings but I really struggled to rate this book. 

The book definitely wasn't what I was expecting it to be. I picked it up expecting a more of a fantasy/magical realism book, but it turned out to be more of a historical fiction with a sprinkling of magical realism. Coming from that perspective, I was pretty disappointed that the magic of the bookshop was largely ignored or glossed over. It seemed more of an extraneous detail, had you taken it away I don't think it would have changed the overall story much. I would have really liked to have read more about the bookshop and how the magic of it worked, where it came from, etc. 

That being said, I think if I had picked this up expecting more of a historical fiction, I would have been enchanted by the subtle hints of magic and whimsy. It this sense, I would say it's a cozy, whimsical book perfect for casual reading by a fire with some tea - it just gives off those vibes. In between there is some truly beautiful writing and some fabulous tidbits of women finding and owning their power in a time and world that doesn't value them. The author's love of books is obvious, not only in the characters love of books, but in the many wonderful quotes about the power of books and stories. I thought that the 3 POV's and dual timelines were very skillfully intertwined, and I really enjoyed finding all the little connections as we alternated between them. 

My biggest complaint though:
WHO WAS MADAME BOWDEN?! What happened to her? Who was she really? She was one of my favourite characters and I wanted more!

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moxiereads's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring mysterious sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5


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divingbelle's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.75


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town_scar's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Docked a star because the timey-wimey stuff got to be hard to follow. I found the end very confusing and hard to follow. I did read this while actively traveling in Dublin so its possible my travel brain made it harder to follow along.

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corriejn's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes

5.0


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staceyinthesticks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0


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sarahbsews's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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helenaramsay's review

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this book. It's not a complex or challenging read, but it is sweet and engaging, the characters are lovely, the plot is fairly simple and a little predictable (in a nice way- where you can follow the mystery as it unravels and it isn't some great resolution you could never have hoped to solve at the end) but it feels cosy and warm to read.

The pacing is good, with lots of interesting plot covering different timelines and themes in there without feeling rushed or underdeveloped. The tone is friendly and not pretentious or patronising, making it easy to read and switch between character perspectives without whiplash. The writing isn't a masterpiece, but not everything has to be, and this book feels like a really nice getaway from the try hard, complicated, tragedy driven stories of modern prize-winners hoping to become instant classics.

Overall, very enjoyable. A simple, pleasant read, a great book to curl up and read in a blanket with a cup of tea.

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