This book grabbed my attention with the word "Bookshop." That is a word I identify with and relate to so I knew I would like it. The story was a little unusual for me. Loveday Cardew is what some would consider to be a lost girl. She has been through the foster system and survived but she is damaged. She was damaged years ago and has not been able to come to terms with it. She works in a bookshop for a man named Archie who, I think, is her guardian angel. He's always there for her and watches over her. The story is about her coming to terms with a terrible incident in her past that she cannot get past. The novel fascinated me and held me in suspense. I was so hoping that Loveday would find herself. I'll let the reader decide if she did.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

3/5 stars

First off, there’s not much ‘secret’ to her secrets. I sussed things out wayyyy before it was revealed in its naked entirety. And maybe that was the author’s intention or maybe not, I don’t know. Either way, the only mystery found in here was who put those ‘suspicious deliveries’ there for her to see?

Lost For Words(originally ‘The Lost For Words Bookshop’, I agree with their decision to shorten the title) starts out with Loveday Cardew finding an abandoned book on the sidewalk on her way to work at the Lost For Words bookshop. There’s dry, witty humor and some mild cussing which gives a good intro to what kind of character our MC is. You can sense the gloominess coming off of her, her cynicism worn on her sleeve. She tempers it with acceptance and droll humor, settling for what life’s thrown at her without much fight.

The story focuses on Loveday’s inner turmoil with her past, she just can’t seem to shake off The Incident in her childhood even after so many years. The story is told in alternating timeline’s: present-day, a few years back and childhood, in a seamless order that ties everything up nicely.

The characters were well-fleshed out and, in one word, human. Loveday, especially, is a broken individual, not that the others weren’t in their own way. At first, it was interesting to see her flaws but towards the end got grating. I wanted to shake her out of her paranoia(paranoid people irk me to no end), self-absorbed and woe-is-me attitude. I fail to see how her love interest could put up with her for so long. I sympathize but also find her infuriating. Although, I must admit, it’s realistic.

Throughout the book there are literature references and poetry sprinkled in. I enjoyed learning about the process of running a book shop and loved Archie, the warm and whimsical old bloke who owns the shop.

Lost For Words by Stephanie Butland is a well-written ode to literature’s influence and the power of books but, ultimately, earns a ‘meh’ rating from me.

Absolutely loved this book! Absolutely my kind of thing - interesting characters, a bookshop, and lots of books!
Read in a day, and cried towards the end.

I chose this title for the word bookshop, it will I think always catch a reader's eye. And it did mine. The cover for The Lost for Words Bookshop is kinda cute but it wouldn't have really pulled me in. However the character of Loveday Cardew was the gem within the pages that caused me to fall in love with this story.

The story begins at a gentle walk, then moves to a trot and finally a gallop you might say. There is a slow revelation to begin with as the book seamlessly moves between present day and Loveday's childhood. Slowly we find out why our Loveday is like she is.

And what is she like? Well prickly... a loner kind of figure, and a great lover of books. She loves to work in the second hand bookshop, and mostly hide out from customers. She also loves poetry and wait for it... writes a bit of her own. I liked how very occasionally Loveday addresses the reader, just enough for me to sit up with a jolt because I wasn't expecting it!

Archie is the bookshop owner, we only see him really through Loveday's eyes so we learn about him slowly, but everything we learn about him I loved. He has the perfect heart, well almost anyway.

Archie isn't young so he isn't the love interest. Leave that to Rob and .... Rob doesn't last too long and as you read you'll see very soon why. But.... now quite a different person comes into the picture, he's a keeper but will Loveday keep him?

This is a touching, quirky, delightful story. It does tackle the difficult subject of domestic violence so if that's a trigger for you maybe avoid, although it is mostly off stage.

Often when I read I skip words/paragraphs. No word was lost while reading this book!

This book is unique and it is one you can really sink your teeth into. I think it would make a great book club read. There is a lot to discuss between the characters, their histories, and their growth. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to people who enjoy stories that involve character growth with a little bit of a love story thrown in. like I said, I can’t say too much because I think a lot of the fun of this story is the little bit of mystery, but it is a truly good story and I look forward to reading more by Butland in the future

I hope that “Lost for Words” gets lots of book love! Loveday is a remarkable character; she has become real to me in a way that I suspect will linger. A prickly, damaged woman, who pushes away the people who love her, she nonetheless is endearingly lovable and leaves the reader hoping against evidence that she will find a way to heal.

My Rating: 4 stars

What an enjoyable read! When I first read the summary and found out this story is about a bibliophile and takes place in a bookshop, I was immediately interested in reading it. I love “books about books” and with this one taking place in a bookshop, I anticipated that there would likely be plenty of references to various literary works. For me, as a book lover, part of the fun in reading these types of books is being able to recognize the literary references sprinkled throughout the story – of course, this one had plenty of references to books, but what set this apart from other “books about books” for me was the unique way in which some of these references were incorporated into the story: the main character Loveday Cardew, who works at the Lost for Words Bookshop, has some of her favorite quotes from books she has read tattooed on various parts of her body. It was interesting to see which quotes Loveday chose and the significance those words had for her.

Loveday is a wonderfully drawn character – flawed and broken after having endured unspeakable tragedy as a child, she was a loner who didn’t like interacting with people and instead, found comfort in the world she created for herself through books and a love of reading cultivated since childhood. She is quirky, sarcastic, unapologetic, and has a negative outlook on life due to what she endured many years ago, yet it was precisely these traits that made her such a realistic and endearing character. Having the entire narrative told from Loveday’s first person point of view worked really well with this book, as we got the chance to dive deep into her mindset and personality firsthand, which for me, also made it easier to connect with this character on an emotional level.

The other character I adored in this book was Archie, the owner of the bookshop who was eccentric and charming and larger-than-life in many ways, yet genuinely cared for Loveday and as a mentor as well as father figure, always had her best interests at heart. I loved the special bond that Archie and Loveday shared – their interactions and the way they bantered back and forth with each other always managed to put a smile on my face (which of course should come as no surprise that I cried real tears over the ending). The other supporting characters in the story (Nathan, Melodie, Rob, etc.) were also well-drawn – this is definitely a cast of characters that I won’t soon forget.

The character of Loveday reminded me of Eleanor in Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine while the bookshop setting, Archie, as well as the events that occur around the bookshop remind me of Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. Both books were ones I read last year and absolutely adored! For me, this book was a worthwhile read that went deeper than I expected in terms of exploring important issues such as domestic violence, mental illness, love, resilience, social convention, childhood trauma, etc. yet managed to remain lighthearted and even uplifting. This is a well-written story, one that can be simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking (and will likely make you shed a few tears or two), but definitely highly recommended!

Received ARC from Thomas Dunne Books / St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

I loved Loveday and totally connected with her! The cast of characters are endearing, especially Archie. This is truly a book for book lovers and will tug at your heart. Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Rating: 5 Glorious Stars!

I didn’t know much about this book before diving into it, and first third of it didn’t prepare me for how much I’d love it by the end. I’m giving this 5 stars, and am recommending it to all my friends. The author, Stephanie Butland, danced along the edge melodrama, but didn’t step over that line. This might be categorized as chick-lit, but it’s really a primer about life. I grew to love the main character, Loveday Cardew (her Welsh name is pronounces Love-dee). She was prickly, intelligent, reclusive, and she fiercely loved the bookshop she worked in. She reminded me a little bit of the main character, Eleanor, in ‘Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine’ by Gail Honeyman. We start to learn Loveday’s backstory in the chapters that alternate between Loveday’s childhood, and the current day.

There is a mystery from Loveday’s childhood that slowly unfolds, and as it does, you begin to see the forces that shaped the current narrow life she lives today. Her rock is Archie, the owner of the bookshop that she’s worked at for the last ten years, since she was fifteen. She lives in York between the bookshop, and her small bed-sit (studio) apartment. She’s had a few romantic encounters, before Nathan pops into the bookshop, but nothing that has made her feel like giving up her single existence.

Nathan is looking for a book of poetry that he’d lost in the street. Loveday rescued the book because she couldn’t stand to see a book treated as garbage. She then posted a note about the found book in the bookshop window. Nathan comes in to claim the book. From that initial contact, and against her better judgement she is slowly pulled into Nathan’s orbit. She starts to attend Poetry Night at the local pub. Nathan (a published poet, and sometime magician) emcees the weekly open mic event.

Loveday is drawn to Nathan but she’s built so many walls around herself that she can’t share all of her truth with him. Archie, the large mysterious bookstore owner encourages her to open up to Nathan, but she just struggles with those trust issues. Then books from her childhood start arriving with the boxes of used books dropped off for resale. Are they the actual books from her childhood? Who would have access to these books, and who would torment her this way by leaving the books for her to find?

Without getting bogged down in too many plotlines or retelling of too much of the story, just let me say that this books surprised me multiple times. It brought me up short a few times, and dang it, it made me actually cry once. It tries to answer important questions like; “How do you survive early trauma?’” “How do you learn to take a risk?” Will Loveday be able to break old patterns and craft a new life for herself? Take my recommendation, this book isn’t a risk. You want to get to know Loveday, and see how it all turns out. It’s a great read.

Thank-you to NetGalley; Thomas Dunne Books; and the author, Stephanie Butland; for providing a free ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Three stars is the best I could do on this one. It was not at all what I was expecting and hard for me to stay interested in.

"A bookshop is not magic, but it can steal away your heart. A bookshop is not magic, but it can slowly heal your heart."

This is a lovely character-driven novel set in the eponymous second-hand bookshop in York, England.
Loveday Jenna Cardew has worked there since she was fifteen, when the owner Archie caught her trying to sneak out with a copy of her favorite book, Possession.

For most of her childhood, Loveday had been in foster care after her father's death and her mother was taken away when she was ten. She prefers books to people and perhaps escaping into books has saved her life. Her body is tattooed with the first line of her favorite novels.

Now at twenty-five, she meets the poet Nathan, who begins to pull her out of herself. Can she truly believe anything lasting can come from this? Or will he leave when he learns her truth?

Told from the damaged Loveday's first-person point of view, the chapters alternate between her distant past, more recent past and the present.

This novel was in solid five-star territory for me until the last 15 percent when I thought it fell into the mundane. Loveday, Archie, Nathan and others really came to life in these pages and I truly liked and cared for them. Even the villain was well-drawn.

This utterly charming book came very close to being my favorite read for 2018. Good going, Ms Butland! I'll look forward to reading more of your books to come.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via Netgalley for my honest review.

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
<b><i>“Books are our best lovers and our most provoking friends.”</i></b>

<b>*Poetry*</b>


<i><blockquote><b>Books Behave by Loveday Cardew</b>
I like books cause they don’t care if your knickers match your bra
If you’ve washed your hair.
I like books cause they don’t invade your space
They don’t get in your face.
I like books cause they don’t mind
What your heart contains
Who you’ve left behind.
I like a book cause it doesn’t give a shit
When you get to the end what you think of it.
Books don’t care if you’ve got a degree
What you watch on TV.
Books don’t judge if you’ve got tattoos
If your friends are few.
I like books cause they don’t care.</blockquote></i>

Loveday Cardew has worked at The Lost for Words Bookshop since she was 15. Now a young woman she bears her tattoos and nose piercing as a shield. Her sarcastic laced tongue serves as her sword. She doesn’t care to fit into anyone’s box. Her best friends are her beloved books and her family consists of the avuncular book shop owner, Archie. Although Loveday keeps a journal of her poetry she doesn’t trust anyone to share her thoughts.
That is until one fateful day when she finds a book of poetry in the road. A bibliophile at heart she can’t abandon a friend. She rescues the book and posts an advertisement in the front window of The Lost for Words Bookshop which brings the handsome Nathaniel Avebury to her door.

<b>*History*</b>
But Loveday is not an easy egg to crack. She has built up this hard exterior over time and is cynical with good reason. Will she be able to let down her guard? Or will any chance at love and happiness evade her.

<b>*Crime*</b>
Certainly Loveday must come to terms with her past. Ultimately she must allow herself to forgive.
<i>“The first lines did not define the last pages in real life the way they did in books.”</i>

THE LOST FOR WORDS BOOKSHOP is an interesting title because our protagonist is many things as a narrator, but she is decidedly not lost for words, as she spins her tale back and forth across the years of her childhood, recent past and present. Loveday is 25 years old, an introvert, and prefers the world of books to those of people so much that she hides in a used bookstore all day. She furthermore has covered herself in tattooed quotes from her favorite authors, like magical incantations to ward off evil and keep herself safe. Soon the question becomes, is she trying to be safe or just isolated, and does she know the difference? The book is surprisingly engaging, beyond the usual ‘bookshop’ tale of warm, engaging characters who solve their needs for companionship through shared love of reading. There is a powerful story that Loveday will need to confront as an adult; one she barely understood as she experienced it in her childhood. This is a book that packs a strong message of endurance and the strength of the human spirit. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Lost for Words Bookshop featured a complex narrator who slowly revealed herself to the reader and to those around her and sits squarely in one of my favorite genres: small, niche British businesses and the quirky regulars that frequent them. I found myself getting completely sucked into Loveday's story and the hint of mystery Butland injects.

A loner of the highest order, Loveday has a difficult past (that we don't get a full picture of until more than 2/3 of the way into the book) and is very aware of the scars it left on her. She's wonderfully introspective and has already decided the things she isn't ever going to be or have (despite being in her mid-20s). Despite this strong sense of self, Loveday gets pulled out of her routine by Nathan, a magician (!) and poet who loses a book one day that Loveday finds and reunites him with through a sign at the bookstore where she works. She tells us her story in the present, three years in the past, and in her childhood and the pieces come together gradually to form a complete picture of this wonderfully complicated woman.

The story kicks off with a book and is full to bursting with love of books in a deeply honest way, not a snobbish way. I highlighted several passages about reading and relationships to books because they just hit me as so spot on. Butland's writing creates a unique voice for Loveday that makes her stand apart from other characters I could compare her to.

The one thing I did not like was the twists and turns in the final pages which felt unnecessary. This was a character study with a hint of mystery that suddenly became a whodunit that resolves too rapidly to make the whiplash effect worth it (but also so rapidly it's barely a blip in an otherwise lovely novel).

A book about books, and a bookstore, and a woman who works in that bookstore! A book I should have loved. But I didn't. Here I am, out on the fringe with my apparently unpopular opinion. And so I'll do my best to explain.

Problem #1: The pace is maddeningly slow. Hardly anything at all happens in the first half of the book. The second half picks up somewhat, with the last quarter being where things actually happen.

Problem #2: The main character is closed off. This is her personality, but the writing style has her closed off to readers as well as the other characters. And that leads to...

Problem #3: Because Loveday keeps herself distant, the romance aspect didn't capture me or feel real. I didn't see any playfulness, any joy, or anything other than poetry and sex that connected the characters. Even the sex was a form of release for Loveday, not a form of passion.

Problem #4: Here lies my main problem. This story is told in 3 competing timelines. We have 2016, which is the present story. Then we have 2013, where we go back and experience a prior relationship of Loveday's. Then we have 1999, where we spend a lot of time with Loveday as a child. All three timelines are different stories from her life. This approach ties into something within a poem that intrigues Loveday early in the book. In theory, or in poetry, it has appeal, but in novel form it didn't work for me.

In the end, this story touches on some powerful topics that should have been heart-wrenching. But I just didn't feel the emotion.

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland
Source: Netgalley
My Rating: 3/5 stars

**Mini-Review**

The Bottom Line: In truth, I’m not sure I got out of this book what the author intended. I completely understand Cardew as a broken, sad, individual, but not one who should ever be seen or interpreted as a survivor. In fact, I found myself, throughout this read wanting Cardew to grow up, take responsibility for herself, her life, and choices, and actively pursue some sort of help to deal with her vast issues. Simply put, Cardew isn’t a nice person, and for too many years, she has used her past as an excuse to behave abhorrently. I found it a bloody miracle there was anyone left in Cardew’s life who legitimately liked her. There certainly is a turning point, a moment when Cardew decides to change her life, but it feels, quite simply, like too little, too late.

You would think, based on the above, my star rating would be much lower. Alas, there were aspects of this book I very much enjoyed and appreciated. Namely, the actual bookshop, Archie, and Nathan. The bookshop is a cozy environment often occupied by strange and wonderful people, it is a place of refuge and wonder that has been fostered by its proprietor, Archie. Archie is, hands down the best character in this book with his booming voice, his positive attitude, his love of everything and everyone. Archie reads is a completely genuine, kind and caring individual, and for that, I truly loved his part in this book. Nathan, the close-up magician is another character who kept me turning pages. From his crazy attire to his gentle nature, I found Nathan to be a balm to the anger and awful of Cardew.

Despite how little I liked Cardew, I still liked this book. I wanted to like Cardew, feel for her, but she was simply to caustic for me to like. Fortunately, between the shop, Archie, and Nathan there was more than enough to balance out Cardew and lead me through to the very end!

Loveday's life has been hard since she was a child and to survive she found her solace in books. She's carried that love into her adult life by tattooing her favorite first lines of books on her body and by working in a bookstore. When books start showing up in the store from her childhood she becomes terrified that someone has learned of her past. Is it time to share her heartbreaking past or run?

At first I could not get into the book and then all the sudden I could not put it down. It grows on you and then becomes a part of you. Loveday is a character that we can all relate to in someway whether the loss of parents in our youth or feeling like we do not fit in anywhere except between the pages of a book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Marten's Press through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

All the stars for The Lost for Words Bookshop and Loveday Cardew!  

“God, I don't love much but I love words.”
― Stephanie Butland, Lost For Words

There are times when certain characters in a book are so vivid, so real that you want those characters to be in your life forever - in the real world and not just books. Loveday Cardew is one of those brilliant characters. Loveday is flawed, she is hurt, she is sarcastic and definitely a loner, but her soul reaches out through the pages and grabs your heart fiercely and does not let go! Not since Eleanor Oliphant have I felt so strongly about a fictional character. And yes, I know there are comparisons between Eleanor and Loveday, but they are very different and so are the two books. 

Loveday has experienced more heartache in her short life than most experience in a lifetime. She finds solace and refuge in an old bookstore and through the owner, Archie, who becomes like a father to her, not that she needs one, you understand. Loveday needs nothing and no one except BOOKS. Despite her introversion, she has attracted two very dissimilar men and their stories are enfolded with Loveday's as well. She has secrets, dark secrets, that she has kept hidden since she was a child. Now, with the arrival of a box of books on their bookstore steps, those secrets are threatening to be revealed. As we learn of Loveday's past, as the secrets are revealed, we realize that either they will kill her - literally - or through their revelation she will grow. 

The story is told from within Loveday's amazingly quirky, sardonic mind in three parts - the far past, the past and the present. The back and forth of these timetables can get, at times, confusing but not so much to detract from the overall telling of the story. There are marvelous references to books throughout that obviously will delight any true bibliophile. In fact, the entire book - its prose, the references, the chapter headings and the bookshop itself - are like manna for a book lover's soul. 

The Lost for Words Bookshop is a narrative, not a suspense or thriller. Its story unfolds slowly but eloquently. If you don't read any other book this summer, I would suggest this one as your must read. Loveday will stay with you long after the last page is turned. 

My thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin's Press and Stephanie Butland for the opportunity to read this incredible book.

Many thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press, and Stephanie Butland for the opportunity to read and review her book - absolutely loved it - 5 glowing stars! This is why I love NetGalley - the opportunity to discover new authors - I want to go back and read everything Butland has written!

Loveday is a book person, definitely not a people person. She is happy in her small flat in York, working for the eccentric Archie in his secondhand bookstore. Something happened in her past to make her build a bubble around herself and not let anyone in too close. But does someone know where she is now and is threatening to burst that bubble?

Told in Loveday's voice in different time periods to complete the tale, I fell hard into this book. If you love books, people who love books (Loveday has tattoos of first lines of books meaningful to her), bookstores, all with a good mystery thrown in, this book is for you. Highly recommended!

4 Bibliophile Stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

This was a lovely quirky book filled with books and charm... this was a very uplifting read that put a smile on my face... and even though the characters in this book did not have the most ideal of lives at all times... they all had a love for books and eventually found love for themselves and others...

Loveday is a lovely quirky character... who truly underestimates herself and those around her.... my heart broke for her so many times, she really had a rough childhood and the result of that was tremendous distrust.... she was so fortunate to have two wonderful men enter her life... Archie her boss... and Nathan her love interest.... both these gentlemen were truly genuine good guys.... and I loved the development of her relationships with both of them...

This book will appeal to all book lovers! From the setting in the delightful second hand book shop... to the book quotes tattooed on Loveday... to all the many book references.... I also have to say I appreciate the fact that not every book reference in this book was made to a classic... not every book enthusiast loves the classics... including myself!

Absolutely recommend for a pleasant summer read to anyone who is a fan of quirky characters, books, or a good story...

*** Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book ***