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mariavdl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Abandonment, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Infidelity
kelsimitchell's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I firmly believe that books are meant for certain times in your life and that reading can help you through things and even understand yourself. I liked most of the characters, and I like how everyone’s story ended, even if it took a little while to get there.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
atamano's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Infidelity
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, and Cancer
Minor: Pregnancy
thereadinghammock's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
A beautiful love letter to grief, loss, love, finding yourself after loss, and refinding love after loss. Nina George's lovely story of Jean Perdu rediscovering life after grieving the loss of his lover 21 years before. Jean's amazing ability to read his customers to "prescribe" then just the book they need to cure their woes, hence the shop name, The Literary Apothecary. The only person Jean is unable to read is himself.
A story of love, loss, and the difficulty in refinding joy in life after such great loss. Jean's is a story of finding a way to move on after being afraid to live for so long; Max a story of overcoming the fear of "what's next" after a remarkable success, but that's almost intrinsic of the millennial experience these days. Together, the unlikely pair begin healing the others' unseen wounds through friendship and the remarkable power of books.
On a road trip like no other, the men traverse the French canal system, making friends and changing lives along the way. The Literary Apothecary dispenses its bookish wisdom to customers and passengers both, and Nina George manages to pack remarkably insightful wisdom and worldly advice into a wonderful story of love, grief, found family, and relearning how to live.
A story of love, loss, and the difficulty in refinding joy in life after such great loss. Jean's is a story of finding a way to move on after being afraid to live for so long; Max a story of overcoming the fear of "what's next" after a remarkable success, but that's almost intrinsic of the millennial experience these days. Together, the unlikely pair begin healing the others' unseen wounds through friendship and the remarkable power of books.
On a road trip like no other, the men traverse the French canal system, making friends and changing lives along the way. The Literary Apothecary dispenses its bookish wisdom to customers and passengers both, and Nina George manages to pack remarkably insightful wisdom and worldly advice into a wonderful story of love, grief, found family, and relearning how to live.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Sexual content, and Infidelity
Minor: Death of parent
oliii_24's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
If you cry easily and like to do it, this book is for you. I was crying from beginning to end but in the best way.
This book is about a man looking for himself after trying to erase himself for 25 years. He ends up finding others along the way (people, cats and book related things). A book about grief and how it can be felt individually or collectively, about not letting life be static and opening up to others and yourself.
But if you don’t like SAD books just skip this one
This book is about a man looking for himself after trying to erase himself for 25 years. He ends up finding others along the way (people, cats and book related things). A book about grief and how it can be felt individually or collectively, about not letting life be static and opening up to others and yourself.
But if you don’t like SAD books just skip this one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Sexual content
aklovekorn's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Infidelity, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content
starshine1's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Grief
Minor: Animal death
yourlocalscrivener's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
kelly_e's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Title: The Little Paris Bookshop
Author: Nina George
Translator: Simon Pare
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 2.25
Pub Date: April 26 2013
T H R E E • W O R D S
Disappointing • Charming • Slow
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Jean Predu isn't just a bookseller; he considers himself the literary apothecary, prescribing books to those facing hardships. And yet he can't seem to help himself, still haunted by the disappearance of his one great love. In fact, all he has left is a letter, which he has never opened. When he does, he embarks on a voyage abroad with floating bookstore to find out the end of the story.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I thought I was going to love this book - the book blurb sounded like the perfect read for an introverted and anxiety riddled woman who has often found comfort in books. Unfortunately the literary apothecary aspect plays only a minor plot point here. The concept was great but the execution was poor and I didn't love it like I wanted to. In fact the middle seemed to drag and I found myself easily bored, I ended up having to tandem read with the audio in order to finish it. There is no denying the beautiful prose throughout, I just think this would have been a much better book if it had gone in a completely different direction. Keep in mind this is a book in translation so it's quite possible some of the magic was lost along the way.
It didn't work for me, but if contemporary romance is your cup of tea than you should probably see for yourself.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• contemporary romance readers
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'I became myself when my son died,' he said falteringly, 'because grief showed me what's important in life. That's what grief does. In the beginning it's always there. You wake up and it's there. It's with you all day, everywhere you go. It's with you in the evening; it won't leave you alone at night. It grabs you by the throat and shakes you. But it keep you warm. One day it might go, but not forever. It drops by from time to time. And then, eventually ... all of a sudden I knew what was important - grief showed me. Love is important. Good food. And standing tall and not saying yes when you should say no.'"
"Death doesn't matter. We will always remain what we were to one another."
Author: Nina George
Translator: Simon Pare
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 2.25
Pub Date: April 26 2013
T H R E E • W O R D S
Disappointing • Charming • Slow
📖 S Y N O P S I S
Jean Predu isn't just a bookseller; he considers himself the literary apothecary, prescribing books to those facing hardships. And yet he can't seem to help himself, still haunted by the disappearance of his one great love. In fact, all he has left is a letter, which he has never opened. When he does, he embarks on a voyage abroad with floating bookstore to find out the end of the story.
💭 T H O U G H T S
I thought I was going to love this book - the book blurb sounded like the perfect read for an introverted and anxiety riddled woman who has often found comfort in books. Unfortunately the literary apothecary aspect plays only a minor plot point here. The concept was great but the execution was poor and I didn't love it like I wanted to. In fact the middle seemed to drag and I found myself easily bored, I ended up having to tandem read with the audio in order to finish it. There is no denying the beautiful prose throughout, I just think this would have been a much better book if it had gone in a completely different direction. Keep in mind this is a book in translation so it's quite possible some of the magic was lost along the way.
It didn't work for me, but if contemporary romance is your cup of tea than you should probably see for yourself.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• contemporary romance readers
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"'I became myself when my son died,' he said falteringly, 'because grief showed me what's important in life. That's what grief does. In the beginning it's always there. You wake up and it's there. It's with you all day, everywhere you go. It's with you in the evening; it won't leave you alone at night. It grabs you by the throat and shakes you. But it keep you warm. One day it might go, but not forever. It drops by from time to time. And then, eventually ... all of a sudden I knew what was important - grief showed me. Love is important. Good food. And standing tall and not saying yes when you should say no.'"
"Death doesn't matter. We will always remain what we were to one another."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Infidelity
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Suicide
podanotherjessi's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book just really went back and forth for me. Some really great moments, but surrounded by mediocre context and occassionally awful moments. For example, in one scene, the main character looks at a woman and can tell just by looking at her that she's just waiting for a man to come along and take charge but she'd never admit it??? On the other hand, there's some really wonderful messages about the importance of men being open with their feelings and the need to accept soemthing has happened before you can move on. So overall, it just ended up middle of the road.
Characters: 7
Plot: 7
Setting: 5
General appeal: 6
Writing style: 4
Originality: 5
Ending: 3
Characters: 7
Plot: 7
Setting: 5
General appeal: 6
Writing style: 4
Originality: 5
Ending: 3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content