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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was delightful. I’m excited to listen to the Spotify playlist accompanying it. The story was great and I just loved the emphasis on kindness and friendship and empathy. Lovely.
Frank owns a record store on a dead-end street in an unsavory part of town. People who aren't sure of what they want/need come to Frank's store and he has the uncanny ability to figure out EXACTLY what they need to listen to. Then one day, an elegant woman appears in front of Frank's store. Ilse convinces Frank to give her "music lessons" - that is, to teach her what he knows about listening to music.
Frank takes on this task all while trying to keep his crumbling store together, fighting off reps who want him to sell CD's (he will deal only in vinyl, thank you), and keeping the neighborhood business owners from selling out to a development corporation that wants to clear out all of the current tenants.
The story overall was a bit 'meh,' though the characters were fun and the music was amazing. (I especially love the accompanying playlist on Spotify. Points for that!)
Frank takes on this task all while trying to keep his crumbling store together, fighting off reps who want him to sell CD's (he will deal only in vinyl, thank you), and keeping the neighborhood business owners from selling out to a development corporation that wants to clear out all of the current tenants.
The story overall was a bit 'meh,' though the characters were fun and the music was amazing. (I especially love the accompanying playlist on Spotify. Points for that!)
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
What a sweet book. I really enjoyed this and the spotify playlist was great!
I had to read slower because I didn’t want this book to end.
Only one thing stopped me fully enjoying it was the need I had to work out where it was set. I googled and some stupid American publisher said, “set in a disused part of London,” but I knew it wasn’t London. England, yes but not London! There were clues: a crisp factory and a clock tower but not Leicester because there were docks. Castlegate made me think she had crunched Nottingham and Leicester together to make a fictional city with a cathedral but it was no mystery because if you search Unity Street then you find it in Bristol, which has a clock tower, Smiths crisps, a cathedral, a clock tower and was heavily bombed in the war. But the book isn’t about working out the city. It’s a beautiful love story. A love of music story.
Only one thing stopped me fully enjoying it was the need I had to work out where it was set. I googled and some stupid American publisher said, “set in a disused part of London,” but I knew it wasn’t London. England, yes but not London! There were clues: a crisp factory and a clock tower but not Leicester because there were docks. Castlegate made me think she had crunched Nottingham and Leicester together to make a fictional city with a cathedral but it was no mystery because if you search Unity Street then you find it in Bristol, which has a clock tower, Smiths crisps, a cathedral, a clock tower and was heavily bombed in the war. But the book isn’t about working out the city. It’s a beautiful love story. A love of music story.
3.5 stars. Took a minute to get into it, but once I got rolling it was quite good.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
A perfectly pleasant listen. Nothing too exciting happened but nothing too egregious either.