Audiobook Review: The Secret Christmas Library by Jenny Colgan

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Secret Christmas Library
Author: Jenny Colgan
Narrator: Eilidh Beaton
Publisher: William Morrow
Publication date: October 14, 2025
Print length: 320 pages
Audio length: 10 hours 16 minutes
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased (audiobook); E-book ARC from the publisher/NetGalley
Rating:

A new holiday story set in the Scottish Highlands to warm booklovers’ hearts by Jenny Colgan, New York Times bestselling author of Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop.

Mirren Sutherland stumbled into a career as an antiquarian book hunter after finding a priceless antique book in her great aunt’s attic. Now, as Christmas approaches, she’s been hired by Jamie McKinnon, the surprisingly young and handsome laird of a Highland clan whose ancestral holdings include a vast crumbling castle. Family lore suggests that the McKinnon family’s collection includes a rare book so valuable that it could save the entire estate—if they only knew where it was. Jamie needs Mirren to help him track down this treasure, which he believes is hidden in his own home.

But on the train to the Highlands, Mirren runs into rival book hunter Theo Palliser, and instantly knows that it’s not a chance meeting. She’s all too familiar with Theo’s good looks and smooth talk, and his uncanny ability to appear whenever there’s a treasure that needs locating.

Almost as soon as Mirren and Theo arrive at the castle, a deep snow blankets the Highlands, cutting off the outside world. Stuck inside, the three of them plot their search as the wind whistles outside. Mirren knows that Jamie’s grandfather, the castle’s most recent laird, had been a book collector, a hoarder, and a great lover of treasure hunts. Now they must unpuzzle his clues, discovering the secrets of the house—forming and breaking alliances in a race against time.

A treat for booklovers and treasure hunters alike, The Secret Christmas Library serves up a delicious mystery with a hint of romance, and plenty of holiday spirit!

Jenny Colgan’s books can be counted on for sweet romance, lovely settings, clever people, and simple pleasures, and The Secret Christmas Library delivers all of these… although the stakes in this particular book are mainly on the low end of the scale.

Last year, the author published a fun novella, The Christmas Book Hunt, in which a young woman named Mirren ends up on a search to find a rare book that her great-aunt remembers from her childhood. Seeing the book again is her dying wish, so Mirren turns book detective, chasing leads and sorting through dusty old shelves to make her beloved aunt’s wishes come true.

Surprise! In The Secret Christmas Library, Mirren is back! The rare book that Mirren found is proudly displayed in the British Museum, along with a plaque giving Mirren credit for finding it. Mirren is not (as the blurb might imply) a professional book finder; she’s kept her less-than-exciting day job as a surveyor, but dreams of spending more time with the books she loves. When she bumps into a stranger while visiting “her” book at the museum, and admits that she’s the person on the plaque, it’s the start of an adventure she could not have anticipated.

The stranger is Jamie McKinnon, who has just inherited the family estate in the Scottish Highlands. Estate? It’s more like a castle… although it’s on the verge of falling apart, deeply in debt, after years of family neglect and mismanagement. But Jamie’s grandfather always implied that there was a secret treasure to be found there — a book worth more than anyone could imagine. Jamie is desperate to save the estate, and hires Mirren to come look for the book.

To Mirren’s surprise, he’s also hired Theo, her competitor/partner on her previous book hunt — someone she thought might be a romantic partner too, until he ghosted her after their last adventure. She’s not thrilled to be reunited with him, but is determined to put feelings aside to pursue this new quest.

The castle is indeed a disaster, and Jamie’s grandfather appears to have been a hoarder, at least when it comes to books. There are miles and miles of overflowing shelves throughout the corridors, and even the cupboards are stuffed with books. Their only clue is a poem the grandfather has left behind, full of cryptic clues and strange references. With only a few days until Christmas and a heavy snowstorm leaving the group stranded, they devote themselves to trying to decipher the clues and locate the book… assuming it even exists.

Meanwhile, as Mirren gets to know Jamie, she realizes that this handsome laird has an inner sweetness that she feels drawn to. And the more she comes to care for Jamie, the more important finding that book and saving Jamie’s home feels to her.

The Secret Christmas Library really takes a while to get going. There’s lots of loveliness — an old-timey train, scenes of exploring the castle, fancy dinners (with men in kilts!), a sweet nostalgic feel once the power cuts out and they dance by candlelight to an old Victrola. The book hunt is cute, but not particularly engaging… at least for this reader. Personally, I find I don’t have much patience for this sort of plot — finding hidden objects, discovering clues in old pictures, following a word puzzle to a particular location. (Maybe that explains why I have no interest in escape rooms either…)

In any case, these type of scenes make up a good portion of the book. It’s nice, but not terribly exciting. Things get a little more dramatic when the weather and some other elements combine to put the people — and the castle itself — in grave danger. A dramatic escape as well as the escalation of various personal connections and relationships make the last 25% or so much more engaging — finally, some stakes to truly care about!

The audiobook is narrated by Eilidh Beaton, narrator of many Jenny Colgan books. Her delivery is warm, with an engaging cadence, and she excels at the various characters’ accents and speaking styles. I found it easy to get into the story, and the narration never let my interest wander.

Overall, this is a fun, sweet book, but not quite as wonderful as some of the author’s other books. I’d still recommend this book for Jenny Colgan fans who’ve read all her books and gobble up her new releases as soon as they’re available (guilty!!). For those newer to her works, I do think this is a fine choice, but there are others I’d probably recommend more highly to get a true taste of how lovely her books can be.

Purchase links: Amazon – Audible audiobook – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

8Aug2025

Title twins two-fer: Battle of the books about battles between bookstores

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Two new releases with titles so close to being identical that I’m constantly having to check to see which is which!

It looks like battling bookstores are all the rage… or at least, the hot topic of summer 2025, as both of these new books seem to prove.

I’ve read them both. Neither ended up being a stellar read for me, but I have a clear preference between the two. Which battling bookstore book comes out on top? Read on for my thoughts!

Title: Battle of the Bookstores
Author: Ali Brady
Narrator: Karissa Vacker, Brandon Francis
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: June 3, 2025
Print length: 432 pages
Audio length: 9 hours 32 minutes
Genre: Contemporary romance
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley; audiobook via library
Rating:

Rivalry and romance spark when two bookstore managers who are opposites in every way find themselves competing for the same promotion.

Despite managing bookstores on the same Boston street, Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson have never interacted much—Josie’s store focuses on serious literature, and Ryan’s sells romance only. But when the new owner of both stores decides to combine them, the two are thrust into direct competition. Only one manager will be left standing, decided by who turns the most profit over the summer.

Efficient and detail-oriented Josie instantly clashes with easygoing and disorganized Ryan. Their competing events and contrasting styles lead to more than just frustration—the sparks between them might just set the whole store on fire. Their only solace during this chaos is the friendship they’ve each struck up with an anonymous friend in an online book forum. Little do they know they’re actually chatting with each other.

As their rivalry heats up in real life, their online relationship grows, and when the walls between their stores come tumbling down, Josie and Ryan realize not all’s fair in love and war. And maybe, if they’re lucky, happily ever afters aren’t just for the books.

This was one of my most highly anticipated summer reads, given how much I enjoyed this author duo’s previous three books. Sad to say, Battle of the Bookstores just doesn’t measure up.

This story about rival bookstore managers — one manages a romance bookstore, the other a store focused on literary fiction — embraces pretty much every trope under the sun. It’s done in a cute, self-aware sort of way (the characters talk about how they’re living out the enemies-to-lovers trope, for example). The story also includes the stereotypical extremely tall male love interest, fake dating, just one bed, corresponding with someone online without realizing they know each other in real life, and so much more.

On the plus side, the focus on reading, books transforming lives, and getting to truly know a person by reading the books they love all really appeal to my book-loving soul.

However — what I loved about the other Ali Brady books was the strong focus on friendships and family dynamics as the central storyline, with romantic plots being more secondary. Here, the romance is all there is. Honestly, we barely get to know anyone else in either main characters’ lives, and all issues and considerations are secondary to their enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story trajectory.

Add to that some over-the-top sex scenes and awkward lines (“My pants grow tight in anticipation”), and I just couldn’t get past the sense that this story was somewhat (to use one of Josie’s put-downs) run-of-the-mill.

The audiobook wasn’t fabulous either — the narrators are okay, but a few mispronunciations (like saying the CH in “Chanukah” like the CH in “cheese”) felt like sheer laziness to me.

Overall… Battle of the Bookstores get a lukewarm “meh” from me. Which makes me sad — as I’ve said, I adored Ali Brady’s three previous books and recommend them wholeheartedly!

Title: The Battle of the Bookshops
Author: Poppy Alexander
Publisher: Avon and Harper Voyager
Publication date: August 19, 2025
Length: 336 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

A charming literary-themed novel about a young woman determined to save her great-aunt’s beloved bookshop from extinction by the shiny new competition—which also happens to be run by the handsome son of her family’s rivals.

The cute, seaside town of Portneath has been the home of Capelthorne’s Books for nearly a hundred years…

The shop, in the heart of a high street that stretches crookedly down the hill from the castle to the sea, may be a tad run-down these days, but to Jules Capelthorne, the wonky, dusty world of literary treasures is full of precious childhood memories. When her great-aunt Florence gets too frail to run it alone, Jules ditches her junior publishing job in London and comes home to make the bookshop’s hundredth birthday a celebration to remember.

Jules quickly discovers things are worse than she ever imagined: The bookshop is close to bankruptcy, unlikely to make it to its own centenary celebration, and the lease on the building is up for renewal. With a six-figure sum needed, the future looks bleak.

To make matters worse, the owner of the property is the insufferable Roman Montbeau, from the posh, local family who owns half of Portneath. The Montbeaus and Capelthornes have feuded for years, and Roman has clearly not improved since he tormented Jules as a child. Fresh from a high-flying career in New York, he is on a mission to shake things up, and—unforgivably—proves his point about Capelthorne’s being a relic of the past by opening a new bookshop directly opposite—a shiny, plate-glass-windowed emporium of books.

Jules may not be able to splash the cash on promotions and marketing like the Montbeaus, but she’s got some ideas of her own, plus she has a tenacity that may just win the hardest of hearts and the most hopeless of conflicts.

Let the battle of the bookshops commence…

I did NOT realize this was going to be a Romeo and Juliet retelling before picking up the book (guess I didn’t read the synopsis very carefully… Montbeaus and Capelthornes, indeed!). I still would probably have requested this ARC, but might not have groaned out loud once I realized the central plot device.

In this battling bookstores book, Jules’s family has run Capelthorne’s Books for one hundred years, but it’s getting shabby around the edges. And now the wealthy Montbeau family has opened up shiny new Portneath Books right across the street — and what’s worse, they own the land on which Capelthorne’s stands. It seems that this small town isn’t big enough for two bookstores, but which will prevail?

Jules wants to hate Roman Montbeau — for everything his family stands for, for his perceived snobbishness, and for trying to ruin her aunt’s business — but she’s also had a crush on him since they were teens, and it appears that he’s felt the same way all these years. Jules and Roman go from business adversaries to lovers in the blink of an eye, but they still have to contend with centuries of animosity between their families.

I did so want to like this book! Sadly, it was pretty much a bust. Jules and Roman have no chemistry, and we only know that they’ve fallen in love because they tell us so. There’s no discernible build up or early sparks or any sign of growing feelings. Very unconvincing.

I also intensely disliked this moment of high drama (spoiler: there’s a fire) when Jules seems intent on fulfilling her role as a Juliet stand-in:

It was too hard to breath, too hard to keep going. Roman must have perished, and Jules knew, in that moment, life without him was impossible. She was done.

I’m sorry, what? I just can’t…

Meanwhile, the families’ feuding and backstory is a yawn, mainly just a device to shoehorn in the Romeo and Juliet theme. Some intrigue about an antiquarian book found on the Capelthorne’s premises seems to be meant to add excitement — but again, it’s just not particularly convincing

There’s a sweet, small-town-UK vibe to the story, and the village and its people are rather charming. A nice setting doesn’t compensate for lack of an interesting plot. Unfortunately for me, I have two other books by this author in my Kindle library (grabbed based on cute covers and steep price drops) which I now doubt that I’ll want to read.

So which book comes out on top in the battle of the bookstore battle books?Save

Save

Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady

Is this a perfect book? No.

Is it this author duo’s best book? Again, no.

But, in the battle of the bookstore battle books, this is the one that kept me entertained, had a fun, upbeat tone, and made me care about the characters and their silly competition (and their romance).

Also, the Ali Brady book clearly revels in a love of books, with the characters engaging in endless swooning over their favorites novels and authors and characters, and with plenty of terrific mentions of great books. The Poppy Alexander book is sadly lacking in this area, which is downright odd for a book about bookstores.

As I mentioned right from the start, Battle of the Bookstores is not my favorite Ali Brady book — I adored their three previous novels, and wholeheartedly recommend any or all of them. But, as a light piece of summer entertainment, this book is sure to please booklovers with a soft spot for book-centric love stories.

Final verdict: If you’re looking for a bookstore battle book for your summer reading, check out Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady!Save

7Aug2025

Book Review: The Mystery Writer by Sulari Gentill

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Mystery Writer
Author: Sulari Gentill
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication date: March 1, 2024
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Thriller
Source: Library
Rating:

A literary thriller about an aspiring writer who meets and falls in love with her literary idol—only to find him murdered the day after she gave him her manuscript to read.

There’s nothing easier to dismiss than a conspiracy theory—until it turns out to be true

When Theodosia Benton abandons her career path as an attorney and shows up on her brother’s doorstep with two suitcases and an unfinished novel, she expects to face a few challenges. Will her brother support her ambition or send her back to finish her degree? What will her parents say when they learn of her decision? Does she even have what it takes to be a successful writer?

What Theo never expects is to be drawn into a hidden literary world in which identity is something that can be lost and remade for the sake of an audience. When her mentor, a highly successful author, is brutally murdered, Theo wants the killer to be found and justice to be served. Then the police begin looking at her brother, Gus, as their prime suspect, and Theo does the unthinkable in order to protect him. But the writer has left a trail, a thread out of the labyrinth in the form of a story. Gus finds that thread and follows it, and in his attempt to save his sister he inadvertently threatens the foundations of the labyrinth itself. To protect the carefully constructed narrative, Theo Benton, and everyone looking for her, will have to die.

The Mystery Writer was my book group’s pick for July, and as with many of our group reads, it’s unlikely that I would have picked this one up on my own. Unfortunately, while many of our book group books end up being surprise hits for me, this one just didn’t quite work, despite some clever hooks and unusual story beats.

Theo Benton, approximately 20 year old, drops out of law school in Australia to show up at her older brother Gus’s home in Kansas. Gus and Theo were both left trust funds by their American grandfather, requiring them to become lawyers in order to inherit. Gus did, and is a partner in a local practice. Theo, however, has realized that she doe not want to become a lawyer; instead, she wants to write. Gus agrees that she can stay with him while she pursues her writing goals.

As she starts writing at the cafe where she’ll soon become a regular, she encounters another writer — an older man whom Theo eventually identifies as successful author Dan Murdoch. Theo and Dan form a friendship, and he takes an interest in her writing, offering her tips and encouragement. Finally, when Theo finishes her manuscript, she gives it to Dan to read. He’s enthusiastic, but declines her request to send it to his high-powered literary agent. And the very next day, Theo discovers that Dan has been murdered.

Theo and Gus become entangled in the unfolding mystery as more murders occur — and the two of them appear to be the connection between all the dead bodies. With the police focusing on them and their lives in danger, Theo takes a drastic step to keep them safe.

That’s about enough plot summary to get the general gist without getting into spoiler territory. The plot revolves around convoluted conspiracy theories, and hinges on Theo making some truly ridiculous decisions. So many elements require a complete suspension of disbelief that it becomes harder and harder as the book progresses to take it seriously in the slightest.

Survivalists and preppers, Australian hippies (“ferals”), crazed fans, sinister secrets of the publishing world… there’s a lot going on, and yet, not much of it makes any sense. Theo’s ability to sit down and pound out a potential bestseller over the course of a few months doesn’t feel credible, and neither is her connection to the writer whom she just happened to stumble across. Her gullibility in dealing with the agency felt like a breaking point for me (as was her brainless decision to give someone the address of the secure location where she was hiding out). If not for the book group commitment, I likely would have quit somewhere in the middle.

Still, I finished the book. The story itself moves quickly and it’s a fast read, so I was able to get through it without too much effort. At some point, I felt invested enough to want to see it through and see how it all wrapped up.

I can’t say that I actually recommend The Mystery Writer. There are some interesting facets to the story, but overall, it’s simply not believable and strains much too hard to make it at all convincing. I just didn’t buy it.

PS — Why did the publisher stick this cover on the book? There are no typewriters involved in this story! Feels like a lazy way to say “hey, this book is about a writer!”

Given my lukewarm to not-so-great reaction to this book, it may seem like a contradiction to say that I’d still like to read more by this author! Having read some interviews and other materials on the writing process for this book, I get what she was trying to do, even if I didn’t especially love it. I’d be willing to try again with another of her books, possibly her upcoming new release, to see if a change of topic works better for me.

Purchase links: Amazon – Bookshop.org – Libro.fm
Disclaimer: When you make a purchase through one of these affiliate links, I may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.

8Mar2025

Book Review: Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Jane and Dan at the End of the World
Author: Colleen Oakley
Publisher: Berkley
Publication date: March 11, 2025
Length: 368 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Date night goes off the rails in this hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise.

Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn’t sure they’re going to make it to twenty. The mother of two feels unneeded by her teenagers, and her writing career has screeched to an unsuccessful halt. Her one published novel sold under five hundred copies. Worse? She’s pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. When the couple goes to the renowned upscale restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it’s as good a place as any to tell Dan she wants a divorce.

But before they even get to the second course, an underground climate activist group bursts into the dining room. Jane is shocked—and not just because she’s in a hostage situation the likes of which she’s only seen in the movies. Nearly everything the disorganized and bumbling activists say and do is right out of the pages of her failed book. Even Dan (who Jane wasn’t sure even read her book) admits it’s eerily familiar.

Which means Dan and Jane are the only ones who know what’s going to happen next. And they’re the only ones who can stop it. This wasn’t what Jane was thinking of when she said “’til death do us part” all those years ago, but if they can survive this, maybe they can survive anything—even marriage.

Author Colleen Oakley has quickly become a go-to author for me, and it’s engaging stories like Jane and Dan at the End of the World that keep me coming back.

When Jane and Dan head out to dinner for their 19th anniversary (which he seems to think is their 20th), rather than go to their stand-by date night restaurant, they instead go to the ultra-exclusive, ultra-expensive La Fin du Monde — a chic place located at the top of an isolated cliff along the Pacific coast. (Dan got a gift card… although he’s shocked to learn that the card only covers the cost of the reservation itself, not the thousand-something-dollar meal.)

The couple seems bored and jaded. Jane has heard every joke already. Dan has grown used to Jane’s need to double-check whether she’s unplugged her curling iron every single time they leave the house. But to Dan, it’s all fine. Jane, however, has had enough. She’s discovered texts between Dan and some unknown woman, and this proof of cheating is the final straw. In between their fancy courses, she informs Dan that she wants a divorce.

They don’t get to continue the conversation; a group of masked people with guns bursts in and zipties the guests and restaurant staff. The apparent leader is quickly infuriated to learn that the billionaire he’s been targeting isn’t actually present — instead, his wife and daughter are having dinner alone. What follow is a tense (but also very funny) countdown to a major confrontation, as the disorganized terrorists, frightened and frustrated restaurant guests, and local law enforcement interact, make generally bad decisions, and deal with circumstances none of them could have seen coming.

Well, maybe Jane could. As events unfold, she realizes that they’re strangely similar to the events of her heist novel — which practically no one read, not even Dan (or so she thinks). But as the evening progresses and more and more details line up with her book, Jane has a feeling she knows what’s coming… and knows she needs to get herself and Dan out of there before the big finale.

“For the love of God, [spoiler]’s never read your book,” Dan hisses, confirming Jane’s own thoughts. “No one’s read your book, Jane! This can’t be like your book because no one has read it.”

Meanwhile, right alongside the heist/adventure elements, this is really a story about marriage and family and parenthood. As Jane and Dan think back over their years together, certain truths and observations become clear. I don’t want to go into spoiler territory, so without revealing how these details connect, I’ll just say that Jane’s thoughts about motherhood, raising children and seeing them become their own people, and devoting oneself to family feel absolutely true and honest and real.

Jane often thinks all of the difficulty with parenting can be summed up by one sentence: Am I overreacting? And how 99 percent of the time, the answer is yes, but how is one to know when it’s the 1 percent of the time worrying is warranted?

Plus, the writing is funny! You might not think a hostage situation in a fancy restaurant would provide moments of humor, but in Colleen Oakley’s talented hands, unexpected bursts of laughter creep in when least expected.

Watching someone get shot was nothing like Jane thought it would be. Or nothing like the movies, which were Jane’s only point of reference. (Then again, having sex for the first time was disappointingly nothing like Dirty Dancing had led her to believed it would be, so she’s not sure why she’s surprised.)

Jane and Dan at the End of the World is fast-paced and engaging, and I raced through each chapter, unable to put the book down. Ultimately, while the heist elements are entertaining and really well-done, it’s the characters and their personal stories that drew me in.

Putting it simply: I love this book. With unexpected twists, down-to-earth truths, and a terrific main character to cheer for, it’s joyful and fun and full of life. Don’t miss it!

For more books by this author, check out my reviews of:

21Dec2024

Book Review: The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: The Wishing Game
Author: Meg Shaffer
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: May 30, 2023
Print length: 320 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased

Years ago, a reclusive mega-bestselling children’s author quit writing under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly he resurfaces with a brand-new book and a one-of-a-kind competition, offering a prize that will change the winner’s life in this absorbing and whimsical novel.

Make a wish. . . .

Lucy Hart knows better than anyone what it’s like to grow up without parents who loved her. In a childhood marked by neglect and loneliness, Lucy found her solace in books, namely the Clock Island series by Jack Masterson. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher’s aide, she is able to share her love of reading with bright, young students, especially seven-year-old Christopher Lamb, who was left orphaned after the tragic death of his parents. Lucy would give anything to adopt Christopher, but even the idea of becoming a family seems like an impossible dream without proper funds and stability.

But be careful what you wish for. . . .

Just when Lucy is about to give up, Jack Masterson announces he’s finally written a new book. Even better, he’s holding a contest at his home on the real Clock Island, and Lucy is one of the four lucky contestants chosen to compete to win the one and only copy.

For Lucy, the chance of winning the most sought-after book in the world means everything to her and Christopher. But first she must contend with ruthless book collectors, wily opponents, and the distractingly handsome (and grumpy) Hugo Reese, the illustrator of the Clock Island books. Meanwhile, Jack “the Mastermind” Masterson is plotting the ultimate twist ending that could change all their lives forever.

. . . You might just get it.

For all the adult readers who miss the sense of wonder and delight that a good children’s books series can bring… have I got a book for you!

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer is a quest story for kids who believe in wishes… and then grow up. In this sweet, inventive, lovely tale, the reclusive author of the bestselling Clock Island children’s book series announces that he’s written a new book after a six-year gap… but there’s only one copy, and it will be gifted to the person who wins his contest, which is open to only a select few.

Jack chuckled. “The book exists. And there is only one copy of it in the world. I typed it up and hid it away.”

“And you’re seriously going to entrust it to some stranger?”

“No, but I shall whimsically entrust it to some stranger.”

Shades of Willy Wonka, right?

One of author Jack Masterson’s most devoted fans is Lucy Hart, a kindergarten teacher’s aide whose deepest, most heartfelt wish is to adopt Christopher, an orphaned seven-year-old who’s become the light of her life. Reality interferes in the form of finances: Without an apartment of her own, steady income, and a car, Lucy has no chance of getting approved to foster or adopt. Perhaps, the social worker suggests, it would be kinder to tell Christopher that it’s just not going to happen.

Just as Lucy is verging on despair, the news of Jack’s contest breaks. And Lucy has a secret: At age 13, she ran away to Clock Island and met Jack Masterson. Thanks to being able to solve his riddle, she is one of the four people chosen to compete — and if she wins, she’ll own the exclusive rights to his new book, which she can then sell for enough money to make her dreams of a family with Christopher come true.

Without delving too much further into plot details, let me just say that The Wishing Game is heart-warming, enchanting, whimsical, and full of joy. It’s a book for and about adults, but retains the sense of childish wonder that the best children’s books provide. It’s also a gift for those who love and cherish books, and who believe that stories are more than words on a page.

“Why do only brave kids get their wishes granted?” she asked.

“Because only brave children know that wishing is never enough.”

I loved so much about The Wishing Game. The characters are terrific, especially Lucy, Hugo, and Jack. There’s a romantic storyline, but it’s just one part of the whole, and fits well within the overall weave of the tale. Hugo’s artwork sounds amazing, and I wish it were real! Meg Shaffer does a fantastic job of taking fictional works of art — both Hugo’s paintings and Jack’s books — and making them come to life through her vivid descriptions.

The narrative brilliantly weaves together Lucy’s past — especially the very deep childhood wounds she carries — and the future she hopes for, incorporating a child’s wishes and beliefs into the fabric of an adult life. I loved how all the various pieces come together by the end. Realistic? Maybe not, but this is a book about dreams and wishes. It works.

I came to The Wishing Game after reading the author’s more recent novel, The Lost Story. I do still love The Lost Story best, but The Wishing Game is lovely and wonderful in its own special way, and I’m so happy to have made time to read it.

5Nov2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with BOOKSTORES on the cover

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Covers with [Item] on the Cover (You choose the item! It can be anything at all.)

Last time this topic came up for a TTT post, I went with books on the cover… and this time I’m doing books with bookstores on the cover. So, yeah, I’m not particularly thinking outside the box here!

Without further ado, my bookstore book covers are:

Midnight at the Christmas Bookshop by Jenny Colgan (review)
The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser (review)
The Bookshop on the Shore by Jenny Colgan (review)
The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree (review)
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman (review)
The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Better Than Fiction by Alexa Martin (review)

Yes, that’s three by Jenny Colgan! What can I say? Her bookshop books are hard to resist!

I’ve read all of the above except #6 and #9, and both are on my to-read list.

Do you have any great books to recommend with bookshops on the cover?

What was your cover topic this week? If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

Save

14Sep2022

Shelf Control #335: The Book of Speculation by Erica Swyler

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

Title: The Book of Speculation
Author: Erika Swyler
Published: 2015
Length: 339 pages

What it’s about (synopsis via Goodreads):

Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival.

One June day, an old book arrives on Simon’s doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of “mermaids” in Simon’s family have drowned–always on July 24, which is only weeks away.

As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes increasingly worried about his sister. Could there be a curse on Simon’s family? What does it have to do with the book, and can he get to the heart of the mystery in time to save Enola?

In the tradition of Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus, and Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian, The Book of Speculation–with two-color illustrations by the author–is Erika Swyler’s moving debut novel about the power of books, family, and magic.

How and when I got it:

I picked up a paperback in 2016, and it’s been on my shelf ever since.

Why I want to read it:

As I’m writing this post, it occurs to me that perhaps I never even read the synopsis before today! The plot sounds kind of bonkers, in a really good way, but doesn’t seem in the slightest bit familiar. So, I’m thinking I may have grabbed this book at a library sale based solely on the cover. I mean, can’t go wrong with a book with books on the cover, right?

Now that I’ve read what it’s about, I’m much more interested in finally giving the book a try. Generations of circus mermaids? A mystery curse? Count me in!

What do you think? Would you read this book?

Please share your thoughts!

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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link in the comments or link back from your own post, so I can add you to the participant list.
Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!

26Apr2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with BOOKS on the cover

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books with [___] On the Cover (Pick a thing (a color, an item, a place, an animal, a scripty font, a sexy person, etc.) and share covers that have that thing on the cover.). I took what seemed like an easy-ish approach and went with books!

I love books about books and readers — how about you? Do you have a favorite?

What was your TTT theme this week? Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

6May2020

Book Review: Of Literature & Lattes by Katherine Reay

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: Of Literature & Lattes
Author: Katherine Reay
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication date: May 12, 2020
Length: 364 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley
Rating:

Katherine Reay returns to the cozy and delightful town of Winsome where two people discover the grace of letting go and the joy found in unexpected change.
After fleeing her hometown three years earlier, Alyssa Harrison never planned to return. Then the Silicon Valley start-up she worked for collapsed and turned her world upside down. She is broke, under FBI investigation, and without a place to go. Having exhausted every option, she comes home to Winsome, Illinois, to regroup then move on as quickly as possible. Yet, as friends and family welcome her back, Alyssa begins to see a place for herself in this small Midwestern community.
Jeremy Mitchell moved from Seattle to Winsome to be near his daughter and to open the coffee shop he’s been dreaming of for years. Problem is, the business is bleeding money—and he’s not quite sure why. When he meets Alyssa, he senses an immediate connection, but what he needs most is someone to help him save his floundering business. After asking for her help, he wonders if something might grow between them—but forces beyond their control soon complicate their already complex lives, and the future they both hoped for is not at all what they anticipated.
With the help of Winsome’s small-town charm and quirky residents, Alyssa and Jeremy discover the beauty and romance of second chances.

Of Literature & Lattes is Katherine Reay’s follow-up to The Printed Letter Bookshop, which I finally read and reviewed just last week. In this new novel, we return to the town of Winsome, Illinois — home of an amazing bookstore, lots of cute shops, and people who get what community is all about.

The story follows two main characters: Alyssa, returning with dread to her hometown after a disastrous stint in Silicon Valley, and Jeremy, a grown-up with a sad childhood behind him, looking to spend more time with his daughter and investing everything in a new coffee shop.

For Alyssa, nothing has worked out as intended, and she seems like the walking embodiment of someone having baggage. After her parents’ divorce three years earlier, she sided with her father, cut her mother out of her life, and moved as far away as she could get. Alyssa’s magic with numbers and coding landed her a great job at a medical start-up — but her world crashes down sudddenly when it turns out that the company was nothing but a fraud, and what’s worse, provided false information to people about future diagnoses of awful illnesses.

Wracked by guilt and totally broke, Alyssa has no choice but to head home — where nothing is as expected. Alyssa’s mother is Janet, one of the main characters in The Printed Letter Bookshop, and Janet has changed dramatically. Alyssa expects to be able to hide out at her father’s apartment, but instead, he forces her to face her mother. As Janet and Alyssa spend time together, they form new understandings and realize that they have a lot of work to do to overcome the harmful patterns of their past, if they ever hope to have a relationship in the future.

Meanwhile, life for Jeremy is complicated too. His 7-year-old daughter Becca lives nearby, and he’s relocated from Seattle to be with her. Jeremy invested all his savings into buying the local coffee shop from its retiring owner, dreaming of turning it into a modern, successful business. The problem is, the locals don’t share his vision — and as he transforms the cozy, shabby coffee shop into something sleek and streamlined, the daily traffic plummets.

Jeremy is a good guy and his heart is in the right place, but he has to learn to step back and understand what community is all about if his business is going to survive — and if he’s serious about creating a new home for himself and for Becca.

There’s a lot to love about Of Literature & Lattes. First of all, the town of Winsome is just as charming as in the previous book. It’s an idealized version of small-town homey-ness, and wouldn’t we all love to find a place like that to belong?

The people here seem to really care about one another, and while yes, they are all up in each other’s business a little more than I’d personally care for, this connection comes out in all sorts of ways that are heart-warming and important.

Alyssa and Janet spend a lot of this book at odds, and it’s messy and a little terrible, but also feels real. Their dynamic goes back years, and has as much to do with Janet’s feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction as with their actual relationship. It’s not easy for them to sort out all the ways in which they’ve hurt and misunderstood one another, but over the course of their months together, they make major strides — and find that they both truly want to make things better.

For Jeremy, the relationship with his ex Krista is difficult, and his business isn’t going as he’d hoped. He starts off very focused on his own vision — an outsider who thinks he knows what the town needs. It’s only when he allows himself to admit that he needs to learn that he starts to connect with the community in a real way, realizing that a coffee shop that’s perfect but lacks heart just isn’t going to cut it.

Once again, I really enjoyed the author’s way of weaving personal stories into a bigger picture of a community. I enjoyed seeing the familiar characters from the previous story, as well as meeting Alyssa and Jeremy and seeing how they fit into the greater whole.

While Of Literature & Lattes could work as a stand-alone, I’d recommend reading The Printed Letter Bookshop first. I’m glad I did! OL&L is touching and lovely, but it’s so much richer when set into the context of the larger story, and I think without the previous book, many of the connections would have gone right by me without leaving an impression.

Another heart-warming story from author Katherine Reay — and yes, plenty of book talk too!

30Apr2020

Book Review: The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title:The Printed Letter Bookshop
Author: Katherine Reay
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Publication date: May 14, 2019
Length: 324 pages
Genre: Contemporary fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

Love, friendship, and family find a home at the Printed Letter Bookshop
One of Madeline Cullen’s happiest childhood memories is of working with her Aunt Maddie in the quaint and cozy Printed Letter Bookshop. But by the time Madeline inherits the shop nearly twenty years later, family troubles and her own bitter losses have hardened Madeline’s heart toward her once-treasured aunt—and the now struggling bookshop left in her care.
While Madeline intends to sell the shop as quickly as possible, the Printed Letter’s two employees have other ideas. Reeling from a recent divorce, Janet finds sanctuary within the books and within the decadent window displays she creates. Claire, though quieter than the acerbic Janet, feels equally drawn to the daily rhythms of the shop and its loyal clientele, finding a renewed purpose within its walls. When Madeline’s professional life takes an unexpected turn, and when a handsome gardener upends all her preconceived notions, she questions her plans and her heart. She begins to envision a new path for herself and for her aunt’s beloved shop—provided the women’s best combined efforts are not too little, too late.
The Printed Letter Bookshop is a captivating story of good books, a testament to the beauty of new beginnings, and a sweet reminder of the power of friendship.

What a difference a year makes!

And reading moods certainly make a difference too.

Last year, I received an ARC of The Printed Letter Bookshop via NetGalley. And I was excited to read it, because I’ve enjoyed several of this author’s books previously. But according to my Goodreads post, I DNFd this book at about 25%, saying that I just wasn’t interested and couldn’t get into it.

This could probably be an entirely different post about reading according to a schedule (I was trying to read ARCs on or before publication date) and feeling obligated when choosing what to read… but suffice it to say, for whatever reason, this just wasn’t the right book for me at that particular time.

So here I am, a year later, and I received an ARC of Katherine Reay’s soon-to-be-released newest book (Of Literature and Lattes) — and as I started reading it, I realized (a) it’s set in the same town as The Printed Letter Bookshop, and (b) while it appears to be focusing on different characters, there’s definitely crossover. And even though I was already five chapters in, and enjoying it, I decided it was time to go back to The Printed Letter Bookshop and give it another try.

Whew. All that is just context for the actual review! So here goes…

The Printed Letter Bookshop is charming! It’s a look at women’s friendship, centered around a bookshop located in small-town Winsome, Illinois, just an hour’s drive from Chicago, but worlds away in terms of the cozy, quaint, close-knit nature of the community.

When the store owner Maddie dies, her two colleagues and close friends Janet and Claire are devastated by her loss, and then immediately have to begin worrying about their future of their beloved store. Maddie leaves all her belongings, including her house and the bookshop, to her niece Madeline, a hard-charging young lawyer who hasn’t visited Maddie in years.

Madeline doesn’t want the store or any permanent link to Maddie. While they used to be close, some rift between Maddie and Madeline’s parents years in the past caused horribly hurt feelings, and Madeline has never forgiven Maddie. Now, though, Maddie’s holdings are her responsibility, and they come at a time when Madeline’s professional life has taken a sudden detour.

Madeline’s plan is to get in, get the store’s finances in shape, and sell. But life seems to have other plans.

Once she begins to get involved at The Printed Letter Bookshop, Madeline starts to understand how much it means to Janet, Claire, and the town. She also gains fresh insight into Maddie as a person, how badly she misunderstood her parents’ estrangement from Maddie, and just how much she herself needs a fresh perspective on her own life.

Janet and Claire are also POV characters. Each has her own reason for being drawn to Maddie, who gave them purpose and connection by welcoming them into the bookshop. They each have troubled home lives, but through their work at the bookshop, they reinvent themselves and start to understand where their lives’ turning points were, and how to choose different directions.

Although the book opens with Maddie’s funeral, she’s a large presence throughout the story. She’s a warm, lovely person who truly understands the way books can transform lives. She has the knack of finding the right book for each person who enters The Printed Letter Bookshop, and as her parting gift to Madeline, Janet, and Claire, leaves each a list of books to read — no explanation, just a list. And for each woman, the book list helps her grow and change.

The Printed Letter Bookshop is a lovely book. I’ve seen it shelved as Christian fiction (publisher Thomas Nelson specializes in Christian content) — but if I hadn’t known that, I don’t think I’d classify this book that way. (Full disclosure: I am not Christian, and would not normally read books classified at Christian fiction. I’m glad I didn’t see a “label” before picking up this book!)

There are discussions about faith and God in the book, but I never felt like those discussions dominated the novel or that I was being hit over the head with religion. Instead, these themes are a part of the women’s journeys, as they think about their lives, their families, their relationships, and the meaning of it all. While their beliefs don’t align with my own, I was actually quite moved by some of their inner processes and how they decide, each in their own way, to make important changes in their lives.

There’s also a love story for Madeline, but that’s probably the part that I cared about least in this book. I mean, it was nice, but I didn’t get a good feel for the relationship or how it grew, and didn’t feel all that invested in that piece of the plot.

All in all, I’m really glad I decided to give this book another chance! It’s a quick, engaging read, with heart, emotions, and LOTS OF BOOKS. (The author helpfully includes a list of all the books mentioned or referred to in the story at the back of the book… and we all know how awesome books about books can be!)

And now, I feel ready for Of Literature and Lattes.

Sometimes, it’s all about the timing.