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saessenach's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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
4.25
This book was extremely comforting and I love the direction it followed. Takako was a resonant narrator, and it was lovely to see her grow into herself as the story progressed - the parallels between parts I and II were especially rewarding, and I loved her relationship to her aunt and uncle. This feels like a very well-loved book, and it was the perfect pick-me-up.
Content Warnings
Minor: Abortion
canadianforest's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Infertility and Abortion
hyperashley's review against another edition
inspiring
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Abortion
sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition
hopeful
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
4.0
this book is a solid 4 star and i knew from the very first moment i started reading it. but i would have never thought it would take me SO long to finish reading it.
for some reason, after i finished reading the first half of the book i got into a terrible reading slump and i don't want to blame it on the story, since i must admit im super burnt out bc of uni, but i liked the first part better, idk.
anyways, going back to the book, i really loved its main theme, of how books can bring people together and i really loved both takako and her uncle satoru so much <3 specially takako, it was nice following her journey of growth, self-discovery and watch her falling in love with books. and of course, her relationship with her uncle was one of the best parts of the book <3
i did not particularly dislike the second half of the story since it was cool to get to know a bit more of momoko's story. but i do wish i had enjoyed it more :/ let's just blame my reading slump, lmao.
but, overall it's a simple cozy story that can easily become your new comfort book <3
for some reason, after i finished reading the first half of the book i got into a terrible reading slump and i don't want to blame it on the story, since i must admit im super burnt out bc of uni, but i liked the first part better, idk.
anyways, going back to the book, i really loved its main theme, of how books can bring people together and i really loved both takako and her uncle satoru so much <3 specially takako, it was nice following her journey of growth, self-discovery and watch her falling in love with books. and of course, her relationship with her uncle was one of the best parts of the book <3
i did not particularly dislike the second half of the story since it was cool to get to know a bit more of momoko's story. but i do wish i had enjoyed it more :/ let's just blame my reading slump, lmao.
but, overall it's a simple cozy story that can easily become your new comfort book <3
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, and Abandonment
Moderate: Terminal illness and Abortion
Minor: Child death
lararosemary's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Miscarriage and Abortion
maimdj's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The book deals with a 25 year old woman that has just been broken up with and lost her job, so she moves into the library of her uncle who shes not very close to. It explores family relationships as well as being in your 20s and feeling a little lost but in a nice digestible way. Its a light book and got me back into reading, even though it does have a couple mentions to harder topics like illness, depression and abortion theyre not too indepth.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Abortion
Minor: Cancer
ruthie_the_librarian's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Sounded like something I'd love, but perhaps much of the charm was lost in translation? I was bored through most of it, with the short, dry, empty sentences, and a female lead who seems entirely devoid of emotion (and character!) It was a push to finish it, to be honest, and I only continued because my daughter promised me the last 40% would go by quickly and part of that was translation notes that I didn't need to read!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death and Abortion
caity_h's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Grief, and Death of parent
kateea7536's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
3.5
This was a beautiful book, wonderfully translated and had a very warm, quaint feeling about it. As a book love I adored all of the scenes in the bookshop and I loved reading a book set amongst the Japanese culture of reading and bookstores. I found the main character really loveable but would’ve loved to have had more set up about her life before she moves to the bookstore because I wanted to feel her pain a bit more. I also didn’t love the character of Momoko, but maybe that’s the idea. I loved the Uncle and would’ve loved more of the book to be about him. Really liked Takako’s love story but would’ve loved that to be embellished even more and to hear more about how it turned out
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, and Abortion
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
a little unspectacular, but charming nonetheless.
as a reader, reading about someone discovering the magic of books was incredibly heartwarming and very relatable.
the plot was fine—not a lot happened (character-driven book), but I thought the family-dynamic and overall character situation was interesting enough. the characters were unique and likable.
nothing about this book was thrilling in any way, but it didn't bore me or anything, either.
so, just a good, quietly enjoyable read.
as a reader, reading about someone discovering the magic of books was incredibly heartwarming and very relatable.
the plot was fine—not a lot happened (character-driven book), but I thought the family-dynamic and overall character situation was interesting enough. the characters were unique and likable.
nothing about this book was thrilling in any way, but it didn't bore me or anything, either.
so, just a good, quietly enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity
Minor: Infidelity, Abortion, and Pregnancy