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A review by bookwormmelissa
With Love from London by Sarah Jio
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.
I picked this up as a bit of an escape from the heavier books I am reading at the moment, and I was immediately sucked in. Valentina is a librarian in the US and she inherits her estranged mother's bookshop (and the two flats above it) in London upon her mother's passing. Recovering from her own failed marriage, she sees it as an opportunity to escape and to try to understand why her mother left so long ago. This is a dual timeline story with alternating chapters from her mother's POV. Valentina follows the scavenger hunt her mother prepared, which takes her to meet many in the neighborhood and get to know important people in her mother's life. This book is a book-lover's dream, with so many references to the power of books, favorite books, the importance of a bookstore in a community, etc. But it is also heartbreaking as Jio explores Eloise's and Valentina's grief. I had a couple little issues with things in the text, but overall this was a huggable book! 4.5 stars.
I picked this up as a bit of an escape from the heavier books I am reading at the moment, and I was immediately sucked in. Valentina is a librarian in the US and she inherits her estranged mother's bookshop (and the two flats above it) in London upon her mother's passing. Recovering from her own failed marriage, she sees it as an opportunity to escape and to try to understand why her mother left so long ago. This is a dual timeline story with alternating chapters from her mother's POV. Valentina follows the scavenger hunt her mother prepared, which takes her to meet many in the neighborhood and get to know important people in her mother's life. This book is a book-lover's dream, with so many references to the power of books, favorite books, the importance of a bookstore in a community, etc. But it is also heartbreaking as Jio explores Eloise's and Valentina's grief. I had a couple little issues with things in the text, but overall this was a huggable book! 4.5 stars.