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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
Que livro leve, divertido e fofo. claramente era tudo que eu queria, como eu amei essa protagonista, e toda ambientação em volta a muitos livros.
I loved this book. It is a book about books and the people who love books, so it was basically a book about me. You can't help but love Nina, and it made me want to pick up all of the books she recommends to her customers. This is a light, easy read that has just the right amount of romance, and a really great, feel-good message.
Just a lovely book all around! Fun characters, awesome setting. Nicely paced.
The first third of this book was right at 5 stars but it just dropped off the further it went. I’d hoped to settle around 4 stars, but it didn’t clear that bar.
I want to clarify that intending to read this book, I accidentally bought The Christmas Bookshop. Right book at the right time. I gave it 5 stars and put it on my favorite shelf for a re-read next Christmas. It was packed with characters you were supposed to be annoyed by, knowing they’d get theirs, the lovely if awkward, a few precocious kids, and the perfect relative who clearly wasn’t perfect. It struck the right tone, holiday feel-good and comedic, and I loved it, despite the love triangle. One branch was so far over the top I never took it seriously, and the other of which wasn’t anything to get excited over, but it just didn’t bother me. It just wasn’t what the book was supposed to be about.
So now this book.
Surrinder and Griffin were great. Comedic and layered. This was the story of going from where you don’t belong to where you do. The contrast between Birmingham and Kirrinfief was intentionally night and day. She was meant to discover who she was outside the noise. Her love for books, for possibilities, for how they unlock someone’s humanity struck the perfect note, until we got to another damn love triangle.
Perhaps Jenny Colgan loves love triangles and I got lucky last time, but I no more. Lennox, the landlord, was a one-dimensional, jealous curmudgeon. Marek was a mess, and while there was realism to his story, why did it take up so much of the book? Everyone lost their minds that he may have a family. Yes, he may have. He also may have not been in a relationship with his son’s mom and everything may have been fine. The need to work in the UK before returning home would have worked if he was a single dad or not, but the men (and Surinder) assume that he was cheating, Jenny Colgan agreed, and Lennox only got off his soapbox long enough to chop Marek’s tree down while Nina waited in the car.
And yes, I get the tree was diseased, but laying on the metaphor a bit thick, weren’t you?
In Christmas Bookshop, there was an aggravating character named Skylar. We knew she was aggravating, the lead character knew she was aggravating, and it worked out comedically fine by the end. Kate’s destroying the book, end scene, left the absolute wrong note and only produced a Lennox saved the day plot we didn’t need. Nina, not for a single moment, stood up for herself in that entire scene.
The entire book just struck the wrong note, in all honesty. It’s not the story of a love for literature and what it teaches Nina about herself. It’s about she needs an infuriating man to be happy.
And, repeat after me kids - false advertising. There was not, not at any point, a bookshop on a corner. That was probably up in Orkney, and if Nina had gone alone, I’d have sprung for an extra star.
I want to clarify that intending to read this book, I accidentally bought The Christmas Bookshop. Right book at the right time. I gave it 5 stars and put it on my favorite shelf for a re-read next Christmas. It was packed with characters you were supposed to be annoyed by, knowing they’d get theirs, the lovely if awkward, a few precocious kids, and the perfect relative who clearly wasn’t perfect. It struck the right tone, holiday feel-good and comedic, and I loved it, despite the love triangle. One branch was so far over the top I never took it seriously, and the other of which wasn’t anything to get excited over, but it just didn’t bother me. It just wasn’t what the book was supposed to be about.
So now this book.
Surrinder and Griffin were great. Comedic and layered. This was the story of going from where you don’t belong to where you do. The contrast between Birmingham and Kirrinfief was intentionally night and day. She was meant to discover who she was outside the noise. Her love for books, for possibilities, for how they unlock someone’s humanity struck the perfect note, until we got to another damn love triangle.
Perhaps Jenny Colgan loves love triangles and I got lucky last time, but I no more. Lennox, the landlord, was a one-dimensional, jealous curmudgeon. Marek was a mess, and while there was realism to his story, why did it take up so much of the book? Everyone lost their minds that he may have a family. Yes, he may have. He also may have not been in a relationship with his son’s mom and everything may have been fine. The need to work in the UK before returning home would have worked if he was a single dad or not, but the men (and Surinder) assume that he was cheating, Jenny Colgan agreed, and Lennox only got off his soapbox long enough to chop Marek’s tree down while Nina waited in the car.
And yes, I get the tree was diseased, but laying on the metaphor a bit thick, weren’t you?
In Christmas Bookshop, there was an aggravating character named Skylar. We knew she was aggravating, the lead character knew she was aggravating, and it worked out comedically fine by the end. Kate’s destroying the book, end scene, left the absolute wrong note and only produced a Lennox saved the day plot we didn’t need. Nina, not for a single moment, stood up for herself in that entire scene.
The entire book just struck the wrong note, in all honesty. It’s not the story of a love for literature and what it teaches Nina about herself. It’s about she needs an infuriating man to be happy.
And, repeat after me kids - false advertising. There was not, not at any point, a bookshop on a corner. That was probably up in Orkney, and if Nina had gone alone, I’d have sprung for an extra star.
This was a delightful read! Seasonally, I think it would have been a fun one to read in the summer, but with it set in Scotland and all the blustery weather at first, reading it right about now was perfect.
I loved Nina’s development as a character, I only wish it wouldn’t have taken her so long to see what was right in front of her. I could see it coming! All of the place, food, and character description made my aching to visit my family’s roots all that much stronger.
And it’s made me grateful to be reading adamantly again, but always with the goal of enhancing my REAL, LIVED life — as Nina came to see. <3
I loved Nina’s development as a character, I only wish it wouldn’t have taken her so long to see what was right in front of her. I could see it coming! All of the place, food, and character description made my aching to visit my family’s roots all that much stronger.
And it’s made me grateful to be reading adamantly again, but always with the goal of enhancing my REAL, LIVED life — as Nina came to see. <3
Sweet little novel, I didn't care much for the romance but how the author talks about books made me fall in love with reading even more (if that's even possible), the ending was a bit abrupt and unsatisfactory.
I thought this book was very charming and, quite frankly, made me want to visit Scotland. It was a good story of introverted Nina making a rather huge life change after losing a job she loved. She has a gift of matching people with books and does so from her bookstore in a van. I actually researched this after reading this book, and other people have adapted using vehicles as moving bookstores. I think it's adorable! It took me a little while to warm up to the Nina/Lennox romance though as they didn't seem quote compatible, but it begins to make more sense the more you observe their relationship. Everything happens rather quickly between them, but I think that is in part of them knowing what they do not want in a relationship (Lennox from his ex wife and Nina from her (unbeknownst to her) affair with a married man). I read the physical copy of the book, but I have heard good things about the audio book.
A quick read. Cute enough I suppose. Spent more time on storylines that weren’t endgame than the ones that were.
A pleasant book about books taking place in England and Scotland. A book about books (with some love life splashed in), what's not to love? Her writing is very descriptive and it is easy to transport yourself to the rolling hills of Scotland and the bustling urban settings in Birmingham. Any age group might like this one, even a younger crowd. I'm 37 and found it easy to identify with the main character Nina, although I'm not half as timid as she seems to be in the beginning. Along the way, she finds her voice and her passion. Very much a book that will leave you with a smile.