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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Pour a cup of tea and settle in for a slow and easy armchair journey back to post-war London where books became an essential part in rebuilding lives and three inspiring women give a charming bookstore a much-needed woman's touch!
Quaint looking Bloomsbury Books has managed to resist change for decades. It’s run by narrow-minded men and their set of 51 rules. When the manager is off due to an illness, the women who’ve not only had enough of unfair treatment but who are also overqualified and underpaid, take matters into their own hands.
Evie Stone, from The Jane Austen Society, is one of the first females to graduate with a degree from Cambridge and has just recently been overlooked for a university position in favour of a less qualified male.
Vivien Lowry, whose fiance has been killed in action, works harder than any other employee yet can’t earn a better position because of societal constraints.
Grace Perkins, has had to put her life on hold after her husband comes home from war-damaged. She’s struggling to hold down a job to support their meagre existence and doesn’t get paid what she deserves.
You’ll read about these women, stifled under the rules and the male-dominated workplace, who go about taking back control, not only for themselves but also for female authors who’ve been denied publicity. I chuckled as they went about rearranging the bookstore, and befriending and promoting famous female authors such as Peggy Guggenheim, Sonia Blair, Daphne Du Maurier, and Ellen Doubleday. I cheered them on as they steadfastly and with purpose, took back control and demanded to be treated as equals.
This is an inspiring story about women taking the reigns and forging a path for themselves.
I was gifted this advance copy by Natalie Jenner, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
Quaint looking Bloomsbury Books has managed to resist change for decades. It’s run by narrow-minded men and their set of 51 rules. When the manager is off due to an illness, the women who’ve not only had enough of unfair treatment but who are also overqualified and underpaid, take matters into their own hands.
Evie Stone, from The Jane Austen Society, is one of the first females to graduate with a degree from Cambridge and has just recently been overlooked for a university position in favour of a less qualified male.
Vivien Lowry, whose fiance has been killed in action, works harder than any other employee yet can’t earn a better position because of societal constraints.
Grace Perkins, has had to put her life on hold after her husband comes home from war-damaged. She’s struggling to hold down a job to support their meagre existence and doesn’t get paid what she deserves.
You’ll read about these women, stifled under the rules and the male-dominated workplace, who go about taking back control, not only for themselves but also for female authors who’ve been denied publicity. I chuckled as they went about rearranging the bookstore, and befriending and promoting famous female authors such as Peggy Guggenheim, Sonia Blair, Daphne Du Maurier, and Ellen Doubleday. I cheered them on as they steadfastly and with purpose, took back control and demanded to be treated as equals.
This is an inspiring story about women taking the reigns and forging a path for themselves.
I was gifted this advance copy by Natalie Jenner, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.
Though this isn’t advertised as a sequel, I feel like I should have read The Jane Austen Society first to really enjoy this one. Bloomsbury Girls is a cute book in a unique setting- a 1950’s London bookshop- which interested me, but it fell flat for me anyway. It just felt kind of tedious and I had a hard time connecting with anybody the female employees in this male dominated bookshop.
I’m sure fans of Jenner’s first novel will probably love it and probably people with more interest in the interactions of bookshop workers and 1950’s authors will find it all interesting, but I -unfortunately- was pretty bored.
I’m sure fans of Jenner’s first novel will probably love it and probably people with more interest in the interactions of bookshop workers and 1950’s authors will find it all interesting, but I -unfortunately- was pretty bored.
This was an interesting book, good for fans of Jane Austin. I really enjoyed the bookshop background and the characters abs watching their arcs progress through the story.
Loved following Evie after the first book. A terrific tale of women heroism and advancement!
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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:
Complicated
An incredibly cozy and heartwarming story of shared dreams and a love for books by three women shopkeepers in the 1950s. Constantly undermined and overlooked by their male counterparts, they forge and unlikely friendship and alliance as they turn Bloomsbury Books on its head. I loved the story telling and narration of this story and found the characters to be so lovable and easy to cheer for. I especially enjoyed the mix of fictional and real characters from that time period; it was done so seamlessly that it never took away from the story.
Read nearly the entire book in one day. Two days to be exact. Started on my way to Maine. Finished it on the way home (most of the reading done 2nd day). Empowering story with a few lessons in history. LOVED.
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Fans of NBC’s television show NCIS just might be familiar with Gibbs’ rules. Gibbs has dozens of rules, and sometimes there were additional rules assigned to the same number. The people that work with him now and those who worked with him in the past will never forget any of them. While Gibbs and others clearly broke specific rules from time to time, that is not the case in Bloomsbury Girls, by Natalie Jenner. The bookshop rules have been set in place by the shop’s general manager Mr. Dutton. There are 51 rules. These shop rules were to be abided by all employees. No one was expected to forget them, thus everything at the bookshop will go flawlessly.
This book follows Jenners' previous book, The Jane Austen Society, This delightful read was like sitting down to a cup of tea with the employees and authors who were made famous at that time. The society was formed by people from different walks of life. They connected and were bonded by their love of books in Jane Austin. Does the Bloomsbury Bookshop bring the same sense of camaraderie?
There are three women featured in this book that work at the bookshop who struggle to respect the shop's rules, all while bringing about change in the rare book store that has been around for over one hundred years. The world they live in is changing, and it is high time that the bookshop changes as well. We have Vivien Lowry, Grace Perkins and Evie Stone, who are all as different as can be, yet share the same dreams and goals for the bookshop. They work well together, while also rubbing shoulders with powerful literary figures, including Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday and others. The store has a wonderful environment, with the love of the written word being the glue that binds all involved.
What a remarkable book by Natalie Jenner. While reading this book I felt like I was transported back in time and working alongside those women who demanded change while showing that women were not meant to simply marry and bear children. Each of our protagonists had different circumstance and goals, all while dealing with difficult perceptions and circumstances. It was lovely to see these women defying convention, even while working with a few men in this story.
Even though I was quite drawn to Ms. Jenner's previous book, The Jane Austen Society, it is not needed to enjoy this story, but I will still highly recommend it nonetheless. Having this book as an audiobook gave me a deeper experience, although I often referred to the print ARC while listening to the excellent narration. Tough subjects are explored while the special place that makes the bookshop will be with me for a long time.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.
This book follows Jenners' previous book, The Jane Austen Society, This delightful read was like sitting down to a cup of tea with the employees and authors who were made famous at that time. The society was formed by people from different walks of life. They connected and were bonded by their love of books in Jane Austin. Does the Bloomsbury Bookshop bring the same sense of camaraderie?
There are three women featured in this book that work at the bookshop who struggle to respect the shop's rules, all while bringing about change in the rare book store that has been around for over one hundred years. The world they live in is changing, and it is high time that the bookshop changes as well. We have Vivien Lowry, Grace Perkins and Evie Stone, who are all as different as can be, yet share the same dreams and goals for the bookshop. They work well together, while also rubbing shoulders with powerful literary figures, including Daphne Du Maurier, Ellen Doubleday and others. The store has a wonderful environment, with the love of the written word being the glue that binds all involved.
What a remarkable book by Natalie Jenner. While reading this book I felt like I was transported back in time and working alongside those women who demanded change while showing that women were not meant to simply marry and bear children. Each of our protagonists had different circumstance and goals, all while dealing with difficult perceptions and circumstances. It was lovely to see these women defying convention, even while working with a few men in this story.
Even though I was quite drawn to Ms. Jenner's previous book, The Jane Austen Society, it is not needed to enjoy this story, but I will still highly recommend it nonetheless. Having this book as an audiobook gave me a deeper experience, although I often referred to the print ARC while listening to the excellent narration. Tough subjects are explored while the special place that makes the bookshop will be with me for a long time.
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.