What a sweet little story about a book store, family and carving your own path in life. Madeline was the perfect main character for this book. I love how she inherited the bookshop, threw her young lawyer carreer out the window and did the right thing for the bookshop. It shows that good deeds and karma come around as her story unfolds. (but there sure are rollercoasters along the way). Well written and beautiful character development.

A great book with a happy ending filled with real issues to work through. I found this book to be more than just a good fiction read. It caused me to reflect and think about my own life. I loved the story and character development. It was done in a way that was authentic and deep.

This was such a delightful book. I loved the focus on female friendships and how they each helped the others with their unique situations. I also enjoyed the bookstore and small town setting. It felt a bit like a Hallmark movie (big city lawyer takes over aunt’s business and falls in love) but with more depth. I also liked the plentiful book references.

I looooove a book that is about books, in any way. Library, bookshop, any of it... sign me up. This book had charm, and was as earnest adventure to go on.

Perhaps because I enjoy bookshops so much, books with the word bookshop in their titles attract me like bees to honey!

However, I am finding that I don't enjoy reading many of them. Approaching a senior status in my life, I have become extremely picky about the novels I read. Usually the first few pages is enough to inform whether I should continue reading or not.

Having said that, I'm glad I found The Printed Letter Bookshop quite charming and in many parts quite engrossing. I like that details about books and bookshop management were mentioned unlike many other novels with a bookshop title.

Other parts were a bit slow-moving for me though and I found myself struggling to finish it. However, I do know that many people love this book and heartily recommend it.

If a book lovers dream is book about books, The Printed Letter Bookshop delivers! This story is such a gem, an ode to readers and lovers of small bookstores everywhere.

When Madeline Cullen learns she has inherited her Aunt Maddie's beloved bookshop following her death she plans to sell the shop as quickly as possible and get on with her life. But following unexpected changes in Madeline's life she starts working in The Printed Letter Bookshop again alongside it's other two employees, Janet and Claire. Each woman comes to the bookshop every day for different reasons as they deal with the death of their dear friend and personal baggage.

The beauty of this book was in the relationships developed between the women. A stunning story of friendship and commonality.

Didn't like this one as much as her earlier books, and it took me longer. I almost didn't finish it. Glad I did, though, it was enjoyable.

The premise sounded interesting, but I couldn't finish this book. It reminded me of a cheesy Hallmark movie, and I just couldn't care about the cookie-cutter characters.

Thank you so much @ThomasNelson, @HarperCollins & @NetGalley for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest and unbiased review (Release Date | 14 May 2019)

SYNOPSIS | Madeline inherits The Printed Letter Bookshop from her Aunt who has recently passed away & while Madeline has really fond memories of it & its owner, the reality is that its double mortgaged & struggling to make ends meet. Madeline intends to sell the shop as quickly as possible, however she starts to realise that maybe this is where she actually belongs

WHAT I LIKED:
- what reader doesn't love a story based around books?!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:
- too Hallmark movie-esque for me
- romance was too squeaky clean
- had to keep rechecking whose point of view I was supposed to be reading from
- the entire conflict with her Aunt didn't really make sense to me

Although I didn't really feel invested in the characters. I did enjoy the story overall. I'd be interested in seeing what else Katherine comes out with.

As an avid reader I love reading books about books! This one had an interesting perspective and reminded me of my own love of bookstores that developed for me as a young child. Stories of new beginnings are always a joy to read and I enjoyed the perspectives of the story.

Ohhh myyy.. Absolutely loved this one.. Katherine Raey does a fantastic job keeping you enganged til the very end.. Definitely recommend this one..

3.5 stars

I am not even ashamed to say that I totally picked this book by because of the cover and the title.
A slow build up but an enjoyable read none the less. I think the perfect word to describe The Printed Letter Bookshop would be charming.

As usual, Katherine Reay creates a multifaceted story with a cast of characters who are deep and complex. It's amazing how she makes their stories converge.

RATING: 2.5 STARS
2019; Thomas Nelson/HarperCollins

I was expecting more from this novel especially as it had such a pretty cover and great synopsis. The characters didn't feel really, and I could not get into the story. I would try another novel by Reay.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through Edelweiss/NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

Wow! I really enjoyed this novel, and the community of friendship. Richly characterized and an engaging, small-town story.

Katherine Reay is a go-to author for smartly written tales that weave literary references into original narratives. She writes about all types of relationships, from sisters, different generations, female friendship and of course, romantic. After a couple really strong novels (her first, Dear Mr. Knightley remains my favorite), I lost my unwavering enthusiasm for Reay's work. But The Printed Letter Bookshop has me very back on board. The bookshop setting is obviously a delight. But so are the three main character's individual stories. I especially enjoyed how Reay approaches the coming of age trope for characters of various ages in this one.

BOOKS, BOOKSHOP AND FRIENDSHIP!

I don't know why it took me so long to read this book. For some reason I kept delaying, but I am glad I finally did.

It was very slow to take off and I almost gave up on it when at 30% percent it finally and luckily changed rhythm and pace and things were starting to happen. From then on it firmly gripped me until I finished.

Madeline Cullen is a 33-year-old lawyer, working for an established, elite law office in Chicago, where she puts in long hours of work to become a junior partner.
Though her aunt (his father's sister) lives only 40 miles away in a small Illinois town, Madeline rarely makes the time to meet her. It's not only that she is busy; her father and her aunt had fallen out over financial matters some 20 years ago and have not spoken since. Madeline does not want to be disloyal to her father by getting too close to his sister.

Then Aunt Maddie dies, leaving everything to Madeline: her house, her car, her struggling bookshop and huge debts. Madeline does not want any of this. She doesn't care, not does she understand why she was singled out as sole heir of everything.
But life unfortunately has other, unpleasant surprises in store for her: her ex-boyfriend gets the junior partnership and she decides to quit her job.

Aunt Maddie's friends and employees, Janet (after a painful divorce, with the knowledge that she is the one to blame and with grown-up children who hardly talk to her) and Claire (with 2 teenager kids who treat her as a housekeeper and a husband who is never home) are holding their breath about what would happen to the beloved bookshop that has been a sort haven for them, which they just cannot find in their private lives. They are appalled to hear that Madeline wants to sell the shop. The only thing in the way is that it's not profitable. Madeline needs to work with them to turn things around financially.
But while they are working on this together, a strong bond of support, understanding, acceptance and finally friendship grows between them that gets seriously tested time and again before each of them find their happy endings.

The journey they are taking is long, painful and hard, but they not only get support from each other, but also from the books on the personal booklists Aunt Maddie left for all of them to pave their way.
I loved this idea very much as well as the references to the books that were made.
The bookshop was also a lovely setting.

The story is shown from the alternating POVs of Madeline, Janet and Claire, each with their own voices and stories. While it was a bit hard to connect to them at first, they slowly grew on me and I liked that all of them were characters with flaws.

I also liked the fact that while there was a "romance" in the story, it was kept in the background most of the time, it was not the focus of the book.

Highly recommended if you are in search of a feel-good story.

4.5*

I have to admit that when I first saw the announcement for this book, I was really excited. A book about a bookshop, books and a group of women. It had a great line up of things that would make an enjoyable novel for me and is written by an author whose previous works I've thoroughly enjoyed. The reviews started showing up and were positive. Then came the time when I could sit down and open the book and read it for myself. I just couldn't get into it. I struggled. So instead of forcing myself to read something that I wasn't getting into, I put the book aside. I've eyed it several times over the last couple months since initially trying to read it. It's stared at me. Taunting me. Calling at me to try again. I finally listened to it. Not 100% for the reason of reading it and enjoying it but mostly for the fact that I could get it off of my shelf and stop feeling guilty about waiting so long to do so. (Yes, I received a copy for review and I don't like to not follow through.) So, obviously, I picked it up. I read it. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get past that initial part that I got stuck at during my first attempt. But I did it! And guess what? I was hooked. I think I wasn't in the right mindset to read the book during my first attempt. And I am a firm believer that if I'm not in the mood for a certain book or genre then I probably am not going to enjoy it as much as I would if I am in the mood for reading a certain book. Surely I'm not the only reader out there like that. I just needed to find the right time for reading this one. And that time was yesterday evening and last night. I read and read and read for several hours while my household was sleeping. Then I woke up early and read some more until I had finished the book.

I laughed. I cried. I cringed. I held my breath. I sighed. I cheered (silently of course). I cried a little more. And I felt so much connection to these characters. Their pains. Their aches. Their sorrows. Their hopes. Their fears. Their feelings of failure. Their moments of triumph. Their friendships. Their family relationships. Their dreams. Their losses. Their finding peace. Their forgiveness. Their love.

Once again, I was swept away by this author's writing style. The changing of POVs for Madeline, Janet and Claire was well done. Seeing scenes and situations from their different perspectives felt seamless in the transition of POV.

Yes, the beginning took some time to set the stage. To reveal the players and their stories and develop the hows and whys. But once that was established and the characters started to interact more, especially with Madeline, I really enjoyed seeing how their relationships and friendship developed more. Understanding why they held back. But seeing how they wanted more. How they needed more. Watching them come to the realization of what they were allowing to hold them back and how they chose to move forward was rewarding. It was real and emotional.

Sometimes what we perceive is not necessarily truth. It is only a part of the truth. And sometimes there is no truth in it but what we choose to take from it. Especially when we are younger. We definitely don't get the full picture. Madeline comes to that realization and dawning truth.

Even though the book opens with her aunt Maddie's funeral, I loved the feeling that she was an ever present character in this book. I loved her love and joy and zest for life and for sharing it with those around her. I loved her letters to Madeline, Janet and Claire. I loved how even though she was physically gone from their lives, she still had a great impact on them and left them something she felt would help them work through what they needed most in life. And watching them make right and "settle accounts" was very healing.

The literary references were fantastic. I thoroughly enjoyed them. It was fun trying to guess the ones that weren't stated outright. This bookshop was very idyllic and brought so many people together. I loved watching that.

If you haven't read any books by this author then I highly recommend you do. I've read almost all of them and have enjoyed them. Even if this one took me a bit to get around to it, it was well worth waiting for the right time for me to read it.

Content: Clean. There is talk of a character who had an affair. There is no description only that it happened in the past and we read about the consequences to the character's life from that choice. This book deals with death, cancer and divorce. But not in any graphic details. This could be tagged Christian fiction. One of the characters talks with a religious leader but not done in a way that feels preachy. It is a very mild undertone in a couple spots for the characters and didn't pull away or detract from the book at all. Very well done!

I received a copy from the publisher, Thomas Nelson, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

This book is one you find on a random bookshelf while visiting family. It feels like home. To me, it reminded me of the Aunt Dimity books, not for the mystery, but for the love of reading and the feeling of losing family and finding a new one. Katherine Reay does an incredible job or building a real world with interesting characters that are both compelling and heartbreaking at times.
This is the perfect book club read and even has questions for discussion in the back.