A charming, easy to get into novel. I loved the main character Martha and her transformation. This book makes me want to do a read and leave! As a librarian I will suggest this book to many of my patrons.

I'm thrilled by the recent surge of books that describe a love of learning and love of books. While the family mystery initially intrigued me, I found my mind wandering while reading this one. This book will be a delight for many, but it just wasn't my taste.

Like her earlier book, The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, where the talisman is the found bracelet, this story features stories, with the "found" book of stories leading the main character back to a beloved grandmother while explaining a tricky (and hidden) family situation. Martha's love of libraries, her grandmother's love of stories and sharing them, and the fairy tale-like stories wound through the book makes a lovely, comforting read. The overbearing (and let's admit it, abusive) father is a bit overdone, but if you want a long and pleasant read about a middle-aged woman who moves on in her life, give this a go.

Martha has a hard time saying no. She lives her life saying yes to anyone who asks her to do something, in saying yes she has left no room for herself in her days. A mystery book with a dedication to her written in it changes everything. Family secrets are revealed and Martha has to decide if she is ready to stop saying yes to others, and start living her own life.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

The premise of this book is what first drew me to this unknown author. A librarian who finds a mysterious book of fairy tales that could hold a secret to what happened to her grandmother? Count me in! This book was one that I enjoyed tremendously but never would have expected it. I am glad I did.

Another fabulous story from the marvellous mind of Phaedra Patrick. When volunteer librarian Martha Storm receives a mysterious book for Valentine's Day she begins to question long established truths from her past. This idyllic story weaves a narrative as soft and sweet as stands of cotton candy. Fans of Elinor Lipman will enjoy this book that makes you believe that it's never too late for second chances, and that letting go of the past is the only way to embrace the future.

I really enjoyed this book. The main character was a push-over who spent most of her life doing for others while neglecting her own professional, social, and personal needs. One day, a book arrives with puzzling information included and it sets her on a journey of both personal and familial discovery. The book was told from the perspective of the past and the present, a device I enjoy and the book had a wonderful cast of supporting characters. I don't want to go into too much detail as this story unfolds in a lovely way and is as much a discovery for the readers as it is for the main character. I highly recommend this book. It was a wonderful story about storytelling.

Martha Storm leads a lonely existence tending to everyone else's needs but ignoring her own needs and wishes. After giving up the love of her life to care for her aging parents, she has devoted her days to working at a library, apparently as a volunteer, and solving others' problems. Thanks to serendipity, she is given a book inscribed by her beloved grandmother, but mysteriously the inscription is dated after her grandmother died and the stories contained are ones that she and her grandmother made up. While undertaking to find the origins of this book Martha develops new relationships at the same time that family secrets are disclosed. Although perhaps predictable, the resolution of this book is satisfying and the characters enjoyable.

Another charming character study from Phaedra Patrick. I was rooting for Martha from the start and it was great to see her grow from someone who does everything for everyone to someone who found her own voice and happiness.

The book was ok, it wasn’t what I expected. However it wasn’t bad either. The plot was ok and kind of predictable. Overall it was ok.

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, i found it charming. It felt as if i was reading about a quirky town from a TV show, like Stars Hollow on the Gilmore Girls. The characters were charming, and I really wanted things to turn out well for them all. And on that level the book was successful for me.

However, this was also a source of disappointment to me. You see, this book felt lightweight in a way that I didn’t enjoy. Once the main character began to work her way out of her self-imposed misery, and begin to interact with the people around her—I knew that all would work out well in the end—and it did.
Although I can appreciate this in 1 hour bites—like an episode of a TV show—this is not really what I look for in books. I usually appreciate more nuance, and often something with a darker tone.

So—for me—this book only rated three stars. But, I think this is the type of book that many readers would really love—if the synopsis appeals, give it a try!

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.

I received this ARC from the publisher and netgalley for my honest review.

This book reminded me of "Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine" in that we have an awkward character and we learn her reason of why she is the way she is and we witness her butterfly coming out story. Although I enjoyed the story both past and present, Patrick's writing style drove me a little crazy sometimes. Some of her descriptions were a little repetitive (stripy hair, aloe tissues, Suki's bump). This may have been intention as a story telling device possibly..

Overall a nice story.

I received this book "The Library of Lost and Found" from NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own. This was a fun easy enjoyable read. Full of secrets and heartache. Loved the characters.

This book was enchanting and heartbreaking at the same time. It is a story about life, loss, secrets, discovery, and forgiveness, and I enjoyed every minute of Martha's adventure, even as my heart broke for her.

At times I was infuriated while I was reading, by the way that Martha allowed people to treat her. (I LOVED Suki and her encouragement and support of Martha.) I had a very hard time reconciling the meek, cowed woman Martha with the spunky, creative girl Martha, which was, I think, a testament to the author and her ability to accurately portray how people can be changed by their environment.

There are a couple of different mysteries in this book, that are connected to one another. One is solved very early on, but its part in the second mystery isn't revealed until later in the book. It was definitely interesting how all of the events throughout two generations tied together, and how something that happens at the present can have effects years into the future.

I enjoyed watching Martha remember who she was and reclaim herself as a person, and was very satisfied with the ending of the book.

An adult coming-of-age novel. Martha has been doing for others for years and has lost herself in the midst of it all. (Clearly an Enneagram 2) She learns to say no to others and stand up for herself as she learns who she is and what happened to her family. Loved this sweet book about family, books, and libraries.

I was allowed an advanced reader copy via NetGalley in exchange for a review. All thoughts are my own.

Phaedra Patrick's latest novel, The Library of Lost and Found is a home run! Patrick takes the best of a cozy mystery, romance, family drama and fairy tale and wraps it all up in one sweet, wonderful story. Patrick's books are all such unique treasures and this one is no different. It's the type of novel that stays with you long after the last page. Fans of Phaedra Patrick will devour this one.

I'm not sure how to review this book without giving too much away. I will say, I found myself drawn to keep reading. Pheadra Patrick wrote a deep novel disguised as a cozy read. At first you fall into the spell of her easy writing then realize just how much is really going on. In the lives of both sisters, their past memories of their grandmother and parents. Why one is the favorite and the other feels left out. Family secrets that were never meant to be spoken. I found myself thinking about the characters, their lives and how I couldn't wait to get back to the book and see how it all comes together. Phaedra does a wonderful job at juggling the lives of these characters and I will be awaiting further novels from her .

This was a pleasant story of a volunteer librarian worn down from caring for her aging parents, who after their deaths has continued her "doing for others" as the full focus of her life. When a bookseller sends her a book too damaged for him to sell that is inscribed to her from her beloved grandmother, her world begins to open up. The tales included are some she wrote herself, with others by her mother and grandmother, and most alarming, the inscription is 3 years AFTER she was told her nana had died. And so she sets off on a quest of self-discovery. It was a lovely premise well-realized but for some reason did not hold my interest throughout. The characters were somewhat bland and flat, secondary characters just sketched in. Being a librarian made some of the library bits hard to watch - do they really let people routinely eat and drink in British libraries? Yikes! It was enjoyable watching Martha pull herself together, but then making it ALL about "me" was not so satisfying. Just didn't quite work for me.

I liked the premise of the book but I found it hard to identify or like the characters, they felt one-dimensional.

Cozy literary and family mystery that was hard to put down. A meek person finally standing up for herself and finding her way in life is wonderful.