I loved, loved, loved, this book. It takes place in a bookshop. I connected with the main character in her love of books. This is a great book for any book lover.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

I really enjoyed "The Lost for Words Bookshop." I think this book is beautifully written and would appeal to any booklover. Not only does the main character, Loveday, work at a bookshop and is tatted with quotes from a variety of books, but there is an appreciation for literature throughout the story. At the beginning "Anne of Green Gables" is mentioned in reference to a window seat by a bay window. I enjoyed the part when a young Loveday is conversing with her mother and pronounces the word intriguing like "in-trig-you-ing" and she thinks "Okay, this is a problem with books. But the only one)." The poem by Loveday called "Books Behave" was just beautiful. I actually enjoyed all the poems that were displayed in the book and loved learning about the characters through their poetry.

While there were a few grammatical errors (just needs a once over by an editor), I love the structure of the book, using genres as chapter definitions. As the story progresses we learn more and more about Loveday's past. I can see that some people would say that this made the story move slowly, but I think this assisted in building the ending that was a bit suspenseful, thrilling and heartbreaking.

The last poem was just a perfect way to end this beautiful story. There was pain, but after the pain comes hope and possibly love.

Loveday works in a bookshop, prefers to not be social and has a past. Then Nathan shows up and rocks LD’s world. We watch as LD learns to let go of her past, which we find out about throughout the book in alternating chapters.

I love how each chapter in this book is named for a genre of writing to hint at the theme/plot point of the chapter!

This book was not what I thought it would be. It is very slow and lengthy in descriptive narrative about a charter who finds this book. I was not very intrigued and had to go back and reread constantly because I found myself skimming over the story. If you are looking for an interesting story that has a character that you can somewhat visualize or connect with, this is not the book for you.

Loveday Cardrew has been through a lot, and I had all the feels for her personal journal while reading this book. I was initially drawn to this title because of its setting, I love books featuring bookstores, with lots of bibliophile characters. But what kept my attention, in addition to the plethora of bookish references, was Loveday, and the safe haven she created for herself in the Lost for Words bookshop. You can't help but root for her as the novel progresses. Her story, which involves coming to terms with her troubled and traumatic childhood, really pulled at my heartstrings.

Thanks to Netgally and St. Martin's Press for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I read this book slowly in order to keep on reading and savouring the words and not to end the pleasure I had in reading it.
It made me laugh and it moved me, I loved the characters and their stories.
This is one of those book that makes you feel sad when they ends.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC

This book is so right up my alley! The reviews say it is a "bibliophile's delight" and truer words were never spoken. Filled with quirky, wonderful - and wounded- characters, it just stole my heart. Highly recommended!

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the free review copy. All opinions are my own.

This is a perfect novel for book lovers. What is better than a book having a main character that works in a bookshop? This may sound like a sweet novel, but Loveday is an amazing complex character that must work through her issues in order to move forward in her life. 

Moving from the present, to the past, and even further back, the reader is slowly introduced to and told about Loveday's story and how that affects who she is now. This novel is all about moving past the past and showing that it may not be as easy as it seems. 

This book has all interesting characters, there isn't really a character without something special about them, which made it that much better. I hope that this will convince you to pick up this great book - it's one for all bibliophiles!

Loveday Cardew hasn’t had an easy time of it. When she was only 10 her life fell apart, but 15 years later, she has a job in a bookshop in York, which is ideal for her, because she likes books much more than she likes people. Although Loveday thinks she’s escaped from her past, now it seems like its coming back to haunt her.

I’ve never read anything by Butland before, but apparently, she’s published several novels already. As a book reviewer, the opportunity to read any book with the word “bookshop” in the title is immediately enticing. The fact that the novel takes place in one of my favorite British cities, York, was also a huge draw for me. Add to this the aspects of a strong female protagonist and a touch of a mystery, and you’ve got me completely sold. I mean, who wouldn’t love a young woman who gets tattoos with the first lines of her most beloved novels (including one of my own all-time favorites, “The English Patient”).

What I didn’t bargain for with this book was just how humorous this novel would be. Butland draws Loveday with an acerbic wit that is mixed with fierce independence together with a good dollop of self-depreciation, where many of her funnier observances are directed towards the reader, thereby breaking the proverbial “fourth wall.” This works very well because it lightens up some of the heavier aspects of Loveday’s past life. Loveday is also self-aware enough to realize that she doesn’t know everything, and while she’s not ready to work it all out just yet, she knows she’ll have to eventually. It was really a pleasure to watch how Butland developed Loveday, and I feel that this is one of the greatest strengths of this novel.

The mystery part of this book is also very well devised, and Butland certainly knows how to plant the seeds and not give away too much. In this way, when the mystery is finally solved, it comes with a very satisfactory twist. Mind you, I think some bits of the ending were a bit on the obvious side, with some things a touch too convenient, but I was glad that the last bit of Loveday’s closure wasn’t detailed since that would have been way too much. I always prefer it when some things are left to my imagination at the end of a novel. I should also mention that I was a touch disappointed that Butland didn’t give us more of a feel for the city of York, because I love it so much. However, that might have distracted from the plot and the characters, so I can forgive her for that.

None of these niggles were any major drawbacks in this book, but there was one thing that kept me from giving this novel a full five stars. That was the inclusion of some poetry. To explain, there’s this love interest for Loveday in this book, named Nathan, and he holds a weekly poetry slam. Despite her initial trepidation, Loveday goes with him, and Butland includes the poem he reads. Later, Loveday reads one of her own poems. No problem there, right? Well, yes there was. To begin with, I wasn’t really impressed with the poems. I found them to be lacking in imagery, somewhat too self-apparent and they seemed more like works of prose that had been artistically chopped up than poems. This is, of course, a matter of taste and I’m sure other readers won’t mind them as much, and one might think that poetry isn’t Butland’s forte. This was why I was even more disappointed when Butland included another poem at the end of the novel that was much more to my liking.

However, what really bothered me was when Loveday’s poem appeared, it seemed to be in the exact same style as Nathan’s poem. I’m sorry, but no two poets would write so similarly, no matter how much influence one has on the other. That just felt a bit lazy on Butland’s part, I’m afraid – but I’m willing to bet that this won’t bother most readers. So, although in general, I really liked this book, and can recommend it quite warmly, I can’t give it more than four out of five stars.

Loveday grew up in a warm loving family. She should have grown up to be a well balanced mentally and emotionally stable person. But then her dad lost his job and her idyllic home life fell apart. Now she works and hides in a used bookstore with no strong attachments, except to the first lines of her favorite books. Loveday makes a lot of assumptions based on the end of her childhood and this forms a wall around her and her emotions. Inside are just her, her love of books, and her feelings about what happened to her parents. But then things start happening at the bookstore and her walls start crumbling. Though Loveday is older, the book is written almost as her "coming of age" story as the reader follow Loveday through her emotional stumblings. The story was well crafted and I loved the literary references.

I thought this was going to be a cosy, lightweight story about a bookshop with cute characters that give you a warm fuzzy feeling. That is not what this book is. At times this is a heartbreaking story about a family torn apart and a daughter's struggle to come to terms with her parents mistakes.

Loveday comes across as a bit of a tough cookie, hardly surprising considering the trauma of her younger years. But she is, perhaps, not as tough as she thinks she is. She has found a good friend in Archie, the owner of a secondhand bookshop in York called Lost for Words, who took Loveday under his wing and gave her a job. Archie is a gregarious older gentleman who has a penchant for pipe smoking and a heart of gold. He is without doubt my favourite character in the whole story. Loveday doesn't like people and finds it difficult to trust, preferring her own company wherever possible, hidden somewhere in the shop amongst the books. But after she rescues a poetry book from a muddy puddle and tries to find it's owner things seem like they might start looking up for lonely Loveday.

This is a lovely book. The main story is a very sad one but Loveday's spiky personality and narration saves it from becoming too bleak. There is some romance but it is not overdone or too sappy and never overtakes the story. Overall a very enjoyable read.

Summary:

           The Lost for Words Bookshop and it's larger-than-life owner Archie are a staple in York.  Everyone knows Archie and has an outlandish story to tell about how they met or what they have done.  It's a tourist's dream and a local's hangout.  And it's one woman's escape.

         Loveday Carew prefers books to people.  Leaving behind a traumatic childhood, she clings to the chance to work quietly with books and have her own little space.  She's been part of Archie's world since they met when she was fifteen and he and the shop have been her haven.  

        What happens, though, when the past won't stay put?  Books that she remembers well start showing up.  Someone knows who she was, but who?  And what are they planning to do with the information?  Then there's Nathan.... magician, poet, lover.  Can she have a real relationship now, or will her past always get in her way?  If he knew, would he see her differently?  Can a shattered girl piece herself back together?

My thoughts:

     I am in awe.  This book is told as if Loveday is talking to you, the reader.  At times it makes it a little messier than I like, but in the best sort of way.  I feel like this gave me a more rounded picture of the main character and it made her somehow softer to me.  More approachable than she would have otherwise been in the beginning.  The times where she spins back to memories, both of her childhood and her time with an ex, are interesting and add a lot to the story.  

       I loved how reverential she was about books, how her tattoos were first lines of books she loved.  I loved how she described the people in her world, especially Archie with his million fish tales.  (Instead of having caught a fish "this big" it's always "did I ever tell you about when I.....)  It's easy to fall under Loveday's spell- just following her cadence and rhythm.... and before you know it, it's midnight.  

      The way she spoke of one character's mental health also kind of pleased me, simply because it was so in keeping with the character.  She allowed that he had issues, and was willing to help him so long as he helped himself.  She didn't see him differently for them.  When they fell apart due to his action, he asked why she couldn't be more understanding under the circumstances- using his illness as a Get Out of Jail Free card.  She basically said that they would be having the same conversation if he had a physical disease.  

      Every once in a while there would be a poem placed in the book- some by Nathan and some by Loveday.  I actually liked that a lot, and I enjoyed reading Loveday's thoughts on Nathan's writing.  This wasn't really a fast read for me, but one that grew on me slowly and then became an obsession.  I had to know what would happen next- what she would do, what another would say.... how it all panned out.  It is impossible to not be invested the the lives of these well developed characters.  For me, this is a five star book with an extra star for creativity.   
         On the adult content scale, there's a lot of language, some sexual content and violence.  If domestic violence is a trigger for you, be warned.  I give it an eight.  
        I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.  My thanks!

4 bibliophile stars to The Lost for Words Bookshop! 📚 📚 📚 📚

My friend, Melisa, spotted this book even before it was listed on Netgalley. When I heard about it, I knew I had to read it, too.

Loveday Cardew is an introvert known to prefer books to people. Any of us could relate to her bibliophile ways. She is fortunate to work in a bookshop of all places, and within those walls, she holds some significant secrets about her own dark past.

This story is all about Loveday. What is she hiding, and how do books help her cope? Loveday is quirky, with a sharp wit and a heart of gold. This is an emotional read as Loveday opens up, grows up, and explores her beginnings.

Ultimately, The Lost for Words Bookshop is a serendipitous ode to the books we all know and love and how they can help us escape real-life, heal ourselves, and in turn give us bountiful hope. There’s nothing better than that, right?

Thank you to Stephanie Butland, Thomas Dunne Books, and Netgalley for the complimentary copy.

The Lost For Words Bookshop
Stephanie Butland

Butland’s latest is a brilliant piece of Brit-Lit set in York, a tragic yet hopeful story about loss and learning to trust again. It’s a pseudo coming of age tale staring a quirky loveable social outcast with a big heart even though it’s hard to see hidden behind all of her barriers. From page one reader’s spidey-senses will be tingling alerting them to read between the lines and making the novel impossible to put down. The narrative is flowing and easy to read, the author’s clue dangling is exceptional and US readers will have fun with all the Britisms. The characters are incredible and their wagon circling of Loveday is endearing, but it’s Loveday that rules every page, she is a revelation, a complicated heartstring pulling enigma and her courage to let people in even though it goes against all her self-preservation tools is amazing to experience.

SUMMARY:
Twenty-five year old Loveday Cardew needs anonymity like she needs air to breathe that’s why working for ten years at the Lost For Words used bookstore is perfect for keeping her invisible plus giving her access to the thing that saved her life; books. She’s very comfortable stacking the shelves and staying in the background, leaving the moving, shaking and interacting with customers to her boss Archie, one of the few people she lets into her circle. Because the more people you let in the bigger the chance that you’ll be hurt and your secrets revealed and Loveday has a doozy of a secret. Then one day a handsome magnetic poet/magician walks into her life and shakes up her very existence. He’s light to her dark and suddenly he wiggles his way past her defenses and right into her heart. But all is not sunshine and roses and the secret she’s protected for so long threatens to come out.

Loveday Cardew words in a used bookshop preferring the company of books to people. She doesn't share details of her mysterious past with anyone but secrets have a way of coming out whether we want them to or not. I enjoyed this book and identified with Loveday on several levels. Since we both work in bookstores, her four kinds of customers guidelines had me laughing and agreeing. As the layers of her past unfold, we see that her tough, anti-social exterior hides an intelligent, caring person. Although her life is littered with heartbreak and tragedy, Loveday's journey kept me turning the pages eager for the outcome.

4 stars--I really liked it.

This is a charming, whimsical book about books, bookstores, and creating your own found family. It deals with some tough subjects but doesn't become maudlin; overall the feeling was cozy and very satisfying.

I stayed up way too late because I wanted to know more of Loveday's story. I absolutely adored both Archie and Nathan. Recommended for readers who love bookstores (who doesn't?) and crave cozy reads.

I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

ARC Book review : The lost for words bookshop by Stephanie Butland

The title and the blurb which both promised me a story about a book lover made me pick up this book. There is nothing more satisfying than reading a book about a bookworm. The addition of a slight mystery surrounding the protagonist’s past made it all the more interesting.
The story starts with our protagonist Loveday, finding a book of poetry by the roadside on her way to work. This one small incident has a butterfly effect that will ultimately help her come to term with something in her past which had made her the way she is in the present day.
Loveday was an interesting character. She is a tattooed and pierced introvert, which is completely different from how the stereotypical bookworm is usually portrayed in books. Her sarcastic thoughts, awkwardness in social situations and her absolute love for all books made her really endearing. Her love for her friend and boss Archie and Nathan whose book she had found in the beginning of the novel and how inadequate she feels because of her inability to express her love makes her all the more relatable.
The entire book is divided into Lovedays childhood, her past with an ex boyfriend and her present, which alternates with one another and gives us a complete picture of Loveday’s character. The mysterious past was not a total mystery and one could guess what was coming but the way it was written gives us a deeper understanding of our protagonist’s character, which was what the author wanted.
All in all I really enjoyed reading this book. It is more an indepth character study rather an action packed novel. Its slow, sad and poignant. If you love reading about bibliophiles and heartwarming characters, do give this book a chance. You will love it.

Arc received from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

A very enjoyable read, especially if you like book shops and biblio-fiction. It would be great pick for a book club. (Updated: I added it to my round up of 'Beach Reads for Bibliophiles' on the Fine Books blog: https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/fine_books_blog/2018/06/beach-reads-for-bibliophiles-2018.phtml).

This book was everything I hoped it would be: a book about books and life in a bookshop, a quirky main character, a handsome young man and a gentle love story. Well written with great characters and a wealth of human feelings and emotion.

Sassy, prickly Loveday Cardew is a damaged soul. Her nose-ring and tattoos of first lines from her favourite books are part of the shell she's built around herself. Something traumatic happened in her childhood and she ended up in foster care. At 15 she met Archie, the owner of The Lost for Words bookshop who offered her a part time job and 10 years later she is still there, very much an integral part of the bookshop, watched over by Archie, a gregarious and friendly man who has become Loveday's friend and family.

Loveday loves books more than people, "Books don't care if you've got a degree or what you watch on TV. Books don't judge if you've got tattoos, if your friends are few." She hates crowds and social situations and would rather be home in her small bedsit reading or writing poetry. One day all that changes when she finds a lost book of poetry at the bus stop and posts a found notice on the bookshop board. A young man called Nathan, a poet and part time magician walks in to claim it and sees beneath Loveday's antisocial front to the frightened and fragile girl hiding there.

This is a very charming and engaging book. It was lovely to watch Loveday's journey towards facing her past and learning to live and love again. Archie and Nathan are wonderful characters and the bookshop is just what every bookshop should be.

This book is very light..Loveday (main character) was socially awkward ... Sometimes it reminded me of myself... Although I'm not that blunt.
She had a great appreciation for books...
I wanted to like this book better, but I felt it slow.