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A review by mamoru
The Bookshop and the Barbarian by Morgan Stang
4.0
I picked this book up while in the middle of deep grieving. Reading this made me feel just a little bit human again. The author picked me up in her cupped palms and carried me to a corner of the world like none I've ever visited: the pumpkin town of Leafhaven, tucked away against the edge of a forest with beautiful maple trees.
Imagine if Duloc, Stars Hollow, Halloween Town and Whoville had a baby. That's Leafhaven.
Follow along with Maribella Waters as she opens a bookshop (the Cozy Quill), guarded by her murder-hobo Asteria Helsdottir. We are joined by a most impressive cat called Gidget - well it's a goblin girl but I see her as a cat, a literal bookworm who eats dust and finds love in the most unexpected of ways, a villain that looks like a Disney villain because she is, as well as a bunch of townspeople who are as nosy as they are helpful. Caveat: there is one very annoying kid that is not helpful at all and I'm sad no one kicked him even once.
That's it, that's the plot, and it gave me everything I needed.
Pick up this book if you love fantasy, if you're looking for a meta-in-your-face-I-love-cozy-books sort of story where the narrator is very aware that we're inside a book. Pick it up if you're feeling lonely or sad and looking for a warm cup of tea of a book, a hug of a book, a book where the author cares about her readers so much so that she made us a character.
I have never read anything like this before. I loved the quizzes -except the last where you, madam author, tricked me and you are not forgiven!- and the absurdity of the plot. I loved all the author references, all the books inside the book (I laughed so hard at the werewolf billionaire one!), the never-ending stream of fantasy easter eggs, and the very accurate description of all and every epic fantasy book ever written. I am lost on the "stopper" part of the Robert Airickson R. R. R. Branderstopper name. Is the stopper a reference on how their books are doorstoppers? Or is there a famous author whose name ends in stopper?
The plot is lazier than Gidget, which is fine with me. The jokes are too many, which is also fine with me. The final twist is as obvious as Lady Malicent being a villain. Fine with me.
However, the romance subplot was forced and completely unnecessary. What a disappointment! Authors, please, romance is not necessary for every.single.goddam.book. Especially if you're going to throw it at the very end to make sure you crossed everything off your list. Sisterhood and friendship are just as valuable, if not more.
This is not the book for you if you need a plot or your plot needs to make sense, if you don't like meta stuff, if you need something to happen and actions to have consequences. There are plenty of typos here and it took me a very long time to get over the fact that the author seems to not know any pronouns. Instead, every time Maribella does something, we are told Maribella is doing this. Maribella is now doing something else. Maribella has stopped doing that thing and now Maribella is resting. This word appears 676 times in a book that is under 200 pages. I almost stopped reading because it was too irritating for my thin patience. Time passes very strangely. I recall one instance when Maribella spent the entire morning doing x thing, and then a page later we're being told she spent the entire morning doing z thing. So there are plenty of issues that would have been fixed by more thorough editing.
The MC is oftentimes annoying and selfish. Asteria is the classical "barbarian" who is big and dumb and sounds just like Borat. This made me raise my eyebrows a few times, but I'd rather not overthink it since this book is best read without nitpicking.
Some characters that stood out, other than Gidget, are Catalina, her lamas and my good boi Esteban the sloth (yes, there's a sloth and he's a heartbreaker!). I would love a companion novel where we follow Gidget. She is a celebrity, a Ted speaker, a queen and a goddess. When I say she's a cat, I mean it. Every single cat out there believes they are the best possible cat. And so does Gidget. She knows how awesome she is, and I suggest you read her parts with sunglasses on so you don't get blinded by her majestic light. I need Gidget to coach me so I gain some self-esteem. Oh, Gidget, may your rage be fruitful and your hibernating days cozy!
I will come back to this again.
Last piece of advice, pick this up in Autumn or Winter. But if you can't wait until then, use some rain/snow ambience in the background. Enjoy!
Imagine if Duloc, Stars Hollow, Halloween Town and Whoville had a baby. That's Leafhaven.
Follow along with Maribella Waters as she opens a bookshop (the Cozy Quill), guarded by her murder-hobo Asteria Helsdottir. We are joined by a most impressive cat called Gidget - well it's a goblin girl but I see her as a cat, a literal bookworm who eats dust and finds love in the most unexpected of ways, a villain that looks like a Disney villain because she is, as well as a bunch of townspeople who are as nosy as they are helpful. Caveat: there is one very annoying kid that is not helpful at all and I'm sad no one kicked him even once.
That's it, that's the plot, and it gave me everything I needed.
Pick up this book if you love fantasy, if you're looking for a meta-in-your-face-I-love-cozy-books sort of story where the narrator is very aware that we're inside a book. Pick it up if you're feeling lonely or sad and looking for a warm cup of tea of a book, a hug of a book, a book where the author cares about her readers so much so that she made us a character.
I have never read anything like this before. I loved the quizzes -except the last where you, madam author, tricked me and you are not forgiven!- and the absurdity of the plot. I loved all the author references, all the books inside the book (I laughed so hard at the werewolf billionaire one!), the never-ending stream of fantasy easter eggs, and the very accurate description of all and every epic fantasy book ever written. I am lost on the "stopper" part of the Robert Airickson R. R. R. Branderstopper name. Is the stopper a reference on how their books are doorstoppers? Or is there a famous author whose name ends in stopper?
The plot is lazier than Gidget, which is fine with me. The jokes are too many, which is also fine with me. The final twist is as obvious as Lady Malicent being a villain. Fine with me.
However, the romance subplot was forced and completely unnecessary. What a disappointment! Authors, please, romance is not necessary for every.single.goddam.book. Especially if you're going to throw it at the very end to make sure you crossed everything off your list. Sisterhood and friendship are just as valuable, if not more.
This is not the book for you if you need a plot or your plot needs to make sense, if you don't like meta stuff, if you need something to happen and actions to have consequences. There are plenty of typos here and it took me a very long time to get over the fact that the author seems to not know any pronouns. Instead, every time Maribella does something, we are told Maribella is doing this. Maribella is now doing something else. Maribella has stopped doing that thing and now Maribella is resting. This word appears 676 times in a book that is under 200 pages. I almost stopped reading because it was too irritating for my thin patience. Time passes very strangely. I recall one instance when Maribella spent the entire morning doing x thing, and then a page later we're being told she spent the entire morning doing z thing. So there are plenty of issues that would have been fixed by more thorough editing.
The MC is oftentimes annoying and selfish. Asteria is the classical "barbarian" who is big and dumb and sounds just like Borat. This made me raise my eyebrows a few times, but I'd rather not overthink it since this book is best read without nitpicking.
Some characters that stood out, other than Gidget, are Catalina, her lamas and my good boi Esteban the sloth (yes, there's a sloth and he's a heartbreaker!). I would love a companion novel where we follow Gidget. She is a celebrity, a Ted speaker, a queen and a goddess. When I say she's a cat, I mean it. Every single cat out there believes they are the best possible cat. And so does Gidget. She knows how awesome she is, and I suggest you read her parts with sunglasses on so you don't get blinded by her majestic light. I need Gidget to coach me so I gain some self-esteem. Oh, Gidget, may your rage be fruitful and your hibernating days cozy!
I will come back to this again.
Last piece of advice, pick this up in Autumn or Winter. But if you can't wait until then, use some rain/snow ambience in the background. Enjoy!