I loved this title! As a librarian, it's fun for me to read books about other librarians. I got more than I bargained for in this title - family drama, a charming town, and characters who learn about life from one another. I see the potential for a series and would gladly read the next title!

4.5 stars

I really loved this book. I loved the idea of a book charmer and books speaking to say who needs to read them. Also the idea of a family all having mystical skills. That is a fun premise. But this book isn't just about the book charmer. It is about her friends and her town. The book is told from multiple points of view so the readers knows what is going on with Sarah as well as Trav and Grace. I loved all three of them though Grace and Trav are both harder to like at first. And I loved Mama G. I could relate to the difficulties that Grace experienced due to Mama G's dementia. My mother lived with Alzheimer's for at least 14 years before passing. I saw the decline, the fear, the anger, the confusion that Mama G experiences and the frustration of trying to care for her and keep her safe. Sundowners is especially difficult and I would have loved a tea that would have that calming effect for my mother. The moment where Grace sees Mama G's knitting and realizes that part of her is gone, swallowed up by this disease is heartbreaking. For my father that moment came with the realization that my mother no longer knew how to cook macaroni salad. All the things that Mama G goes through with this disease were realistic. I can give an equivalent to each moment from my family's experiences.

The book is partly a romance but has a lot more elements than just that. I think that most of the book had to do with love but not the romantic kind. And the ending leaves you with the idea of what will come next but it doesn't truly tie up every thing in a neat little bow. I felt like they would continue to have trials in life but that they would be there for each other to help them through.

I think that my only real dislike in the book was some of the language. There were a few moments that I felt were a little crude and could have done without. Luckily they passed by quickly and weren't frequent.

Sex: no but a few crude statements
Language: yes, including Deity
Violence: no

A small town with a bit of magic (or whimsy, if you will), a newbie in town, the touch and scent of old books....there you have a charming read. This proved to be a lovely book, one I enjoyed and will recommend. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately, had trouble getting into it. I think the cover and blurb will contribute to it's sales and I'm sure it will resonate with many readers -- just not me at this time. I have nothing more to add just need to fill the character limit to post.

This is a sweet book and a solid start to a series. I loved the touches of magic in this book, the characters and the quaint setting. I’m excited to see how the characters and story develop in subsequent books.

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins is the 1st book in her Dove Pond series. The Book Charmer revolves around the small town of Dove Pond, and it’s librarian, Sarah Dove, who is the book charmer;she magically hears her books suggest who should be reading the selected book. The Dove family has always had a little magical ability to help the town and its townsfolks. Though Sarah plays an instrumental part of the book, the lead in this story is newcomer Grace Wheeler.

We meet 10 year old Grace and her younger sister, Hannah, when they are placed in a foster home, as due to Grace’s tough attitude they have found themselves moving often, but upon meeting her new foster mom, Mama G, she will find a place to stay. We pick up years later, with a grown-up Grace, leaving a good job, to move to house in Dove Pond, to help Mama G (who is in the stages of dementia), and her niece, Daisy (her now deceased sister’s child). Grace takes a job as a township clerk; and gets help for a caregiver for her Mama G. Grace is distant, and tries not to befriend anyone in town, just do her job. But Dove Pond is a sweet wonderful small town, with friendly and caring residents. The town is in financial trouble, and Grace as part of her job, needs to fix the budget, and in time find ways to bring the town back to financial stability.

What follows is a sweet story of Grace slowly understanding more of this town, especially the residents who are determined to keep her. Grace is also having her issues with the deterioration of Mama G, who does have lucid times, but the inevitable will happen. Daisy is also a handful for Grace, but as the townsfolk start working more with Grace to run a festival and bring in money and people back to Dove Pond, they also bring Daisy into being around new friends and neighbors, bringing her out of her shell.

The Book Charmer was a sweet story line in a wonderful cozy small town in Dove Pond. Hawkins also gives us wonderful characters, especially Grace, Sarah, Trav, Ava, Daisy, Mama G and so many more. I also enjoyed the animals, as well as spending time with everyone in Dove Pond. Grace was a great heroine, who over time began to change when she became part of the wonderful town, and make friendships that she never had. Her late blooming romance with Trav was slow built mostly in the background, but it was a sweet happy ever after. A major part of the story was Grace having to deal with Mama G descent into dementia, and this was done so very well by Hawkins. The Book Charmer was an an enjoyable read that had a bit of everything; books, small town, magic, family, friendship and sadness. I suggest you read this book now.

The Book Charmer by Karen Hawkins
I read a free NetGalley preview of this book, and while I didn't end up loving it for the same reasons I requested it, I will certainly be eagerly waiting for the next installment of the series! All the way through the novel, I was envisioning it as a Hallmark movie -- young professional moves to a small town because family situations necessitate the change, sets out to help the town, and figures out who she is in the process. It was a perfect little light romance for my summer reading list.
What I liked:
While the plot and characters are not particularly original, especially to readers who watch plenty of Hallmark movies, they drew me in and made me love them!
Mama G's dementia -- I am watching my grandmother decline more and more each week, with good days and bad days. Hawkins' portrayal of Grace and Daisy's struggle to accept the illness and learn how to best interact with Mama G was timely in my life, and many other readers would probably identify with it as well.
I read slowly, usually because I'm reading several books at any given time, but I read this one quickly.
What I didn't love:
The title refers to the character Sarah Dove, the town librarian, and the description of the book leads the reader to believe that it will be about her. Actually, the book is really about Grace Wheeler, but it appears that Sarah Dove might be the thread that ties the series together. At the very least, there is a major plot point focusing on Sarah that will require its own whole book to develop and resolve. I just wish the title were different so it would be more indicative of the book's actual focus.
The librarian in me struggled with some minor details. If someone had spilled hot chocolate on a book, particularly a classic like Little Women, even if it were still readable and could be kept for a few more years, I would certainly weed that copy and replace it with a new, less ragged copy before the next generation was old enough to read it. The teacher in me who used to hoard used copies of books for my classroom library would certainly have kept that copy, though!
Overall verdict: I enjoyed it, and I can't wait to read more of the Dove Pond series! Hawkins has released an e-novella to go along with release of The Book Charmer, so I already bought it for my Kindle.

The Book Charmer is a charming and magical story of a town in trouble, two very strong women determined to save it, and maybe a bit of magic thrown in to make the perfect tale.

Dove Pond is a small town on the verge of financial disaster. The Dove family has always been lucky. They all have their own talents and Sarah's is books. What better job for her to have than a librarian?! Sarah's gift is knowing which person needs which book. To be fair the books tell her who needs what and she doesn't argue with them. Most of them anyway.

When Grace arrives to take over the town clerk job and settle Momma G and eight-year-old Daisy, in Momma G's hometown, she immediately gets off on the wrong foot. Hurting from the loss of her job, her sister and now Momma G's worsening dementia, Grace comes off as snooty and judgy. Both cover a lot of uncertainty and fear.

As Grace and the town get to know each other better she feels as if she may have found the family she never had. But is she still leaving when her year is up?

This was so beautifully written. The characters were quirky and very relatable. I hope we see more of them. 

Very Well Done!

NetGalley/ July 30th, 2019 by Gallery Books

"New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins crafts an unforgettable story about a sleepy Southern town, two fiercely independent women, and a truly magical friendship.

Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books have always been more than just objects: they live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. When Sarah grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.

If the books are right, Grace could be the savior that Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents—Sarah chief among them. It takes a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, but Grace ultimately embraces the challenge to rescue her charmed new community. In her quest, she discovers the tantalizing promise of new love, the deep strength that comes from having a true friend, and the power of finding just the right book.

“A mesmerizing fusion of the mystical and the everyday” (Susan Andersen, New York Times bestselling author), The Book Charmer is a heartwarming story about the magic of books that feels more than a little magical itself. Prepare to fall under its spell."

Books ARE magic people!

This book reminds me of Sarah Allison Allen's Garden Spells which all the librarians liked and recommend to everyone. Hawkins does a good job with the concept of Sarah's magic relationship with books and teased us with the last books she gave to her sister Ava. Grace was believable in her confusion of how to parent her sister's child, take care of her foster mother whose Alzheimer's was developing very quickly as Grace also dealt with a new job and a failing town. Less realistic was that all of the characters in town were likeable and had their own little quirks. There was enough questions about people that a sequel might be in the works.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this advanced copy. I enjoyed this book, but it centered around the story of Grace and her family not the Book Charmer, who plays a secondary role. Grace is coping with raising her niece and taking care of her ailing foster mother. She moves to a new home and settle into the town's life and culture.

This is a well written book.

Set in a failing small town, Grace has moved to Dove Pond to care for her foster mother and her niece after the death of her sister. She had to give up a really good job in Charlotte and take a low paying job as the city clerk of the town just to afford the move. Grace is totally new to being a caregiver, her foster mom is expressing the beginnings of Alzheimer's and totally unprepared to be a mother to her niece, an angry ,sullen 10 yr old. Her new job is a challenge as well since the previous employee hated computers and left a huge unorganized mess. Not to mention that the local librarian is a bit quirky and is really pushing to be her friend but Grace doesn't really want to make any friends because she has no plans to stay in Dove Pond. The mayor adds the planning for the annual Apple Festival to her already ridiculous workload. Grace begins by throwing the planning of it back into the committee's lap and there lies the beginning of a wonderful story. There is magic, friendship, love , camaraderie and a few tears in this story. The writing is similar to Sarah Addison Allen.This was a fun read!!!

I so could not put this one down. I loved this story and the use of magic. I think this one would work great for a summer book at the beach, where you will hear the roar of the ocean and breeze on your skin.

The characters were fabulous and fully developed and again I just could not put this one down. I loved how the story started out in the past then went to the present day. It was a great way to tell this story and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I can not wait for the next installment which I hope is about Sarah!



Go Into This One Knowing: Magical Realism, Friendship

There are bookworms and there's Sarah Dove. She is the type of reader in which books talk to her, literally in her case.



In Karen Hawkins’s charming and magical novel, The Book Charmer, Sarah first hears the voices of books when she is a little girl. She hears the voice of her ancestor's diary begging for her to read it. After much deliberation and argument (Sarah wanted to read about dragons), she agrees and becomes fascinated with her family history.


The Doves are a unique family in Dove Pond, South Carolina. They have always produced seven daughters and each one is bestowed with some unique ability. The seventh (in this case, Sarah) is the most powerful and is often the head of the family and her community. Sarah's ability to hear books calling to her is put to good use in her role as town librarian. The books long to be matched to the right person and tell her who should read them. Sarah is able to match a Reader with the right book to solve their problems or answer their questions.


However, a once thriving company, Dove Pond is now dying. Businesses and residents are leaving. The mayor, an honorary position, is tremendously lazy and is inept in handling the town's funds. Even many of Sarah's sisters have left leaving only her and Ava, a horticulturist who hears plants the way her sister hears books. If Sarah doesn't act fast, there won't be much of a Dove Pond left.


Enter Grace Wheeler. Grace arrives in Dove Pond with her troubled orphan niece, Daisy, and her dementia-ridden foster mother, Mama G., to accept the job as Dove Pond’s Town Clerk. Sarah's books tell her that the new arrival will be the one to save Dove Pond, so she wants to get Grace to join the committee of the upcoming Apple Festival as a springboard to save the town. At first, Grace is reluctant but when the two eat coffee cake and carpool together, a friendship begins to develop.


The plot of The Book Charmer is similar to many of the other books of this type. Big City person visits a small town (usually in the South) of good-hearted eccentric locals. At first, the City Slicker has their own personal problems and doesn't want to have anything to do with them but still they begin to like it there, and become an active member of the community helping to save it from dying. Expect some cute little magical touches and a friendship and/or romance with a local.


It's not a bad plot, and if done right the results can be quite pleasant. Luckily Hawkins does it right. Grace and Sarah make for an interesting duo that play the familiar plot rather well.

One way is that they compliment each other so well. Sarah is a romantic almost otherworldly figure. She takes much of the strangeness of her family and the town in stride. She treats her beloved books like wise old friends and she is always on the lookout for signs and omens like flowers inexplicably changing color to let her know she is on the right track.


Sarah is an engaging people person who knows a great deal about the locals’ personalities, interests, and of course reading habits. She takes her role as a community lead seriously because she loves Dove Pond and doesn't want to see it die.

Grace is the more cynical realist. A former foster child, she developed a tough exterior that she uses in her relationships with others. While she could have been written as a heartless yuppie or an urban snob, Hawkins instead writes her as someone who is overwhelmed. She is trying to care for her niece and mother so when the mayor forces her to chair the Apple Festival, it's no surprise that at first she instantly delegates it to someone else and automatically resigns.


However, once she is tricked into rejoining the Festival committee, Grace shows a strong business strategy and work ethic. When she realizes the town's finances are in bad shape, she is able to plan a business outreach to send businesses to Dove Pond for the festival. To reach out to local business owners, she needs to get to know them and that's where Sarah comes in.

Grace and Sarah make for a great team that work well together and are able to use their talents to achieve their goals. Sarah wouldn't have the business acumen to draw in various companies without Grace and likewise Grace wouldn't understand how the town works without Sarah. They are practically two halves of the same woman representing the realist and romantic sides.

There are also other interesting characters that go through great change throughout the book. Daisy starts out as a rebellious sullen girl, but begins to enjoy being a part of the town when she is given extra duties such as reading to children. While Mama G’s faculties are diminishing, she is still on hand to provide a sympathetic ear and some words of encouragement. There is Trav Parker, an Afghanistan war vet and childhood friend of Sarah who begins to develop a fondness for Grace and Daisy. His relationship with Grace and her family allows him to move beyond his PTSD and self-imposed isolation. There are also other memories of the community that are likeable and charming in their own ways.

That's what this book has plenty of. Charm. The Book Charmer is a sweet book that casts a gentle spell on the Reader. While it does mention serious topics like dementia, death, mental illness and others, the book does not overwhelm the Reader with them. Instead it suggests that even when things are at their darkest, there is always a solution out of it. There is some light to be offered whether it is through the kind words of a friend, a gentle walk through town, a slice of coffee cake, the smell of a new flower, or the pages of a beloved book

I enjoyed getting to know the people of Dove Pond. The book made me wish I lived in this wonderful sometimes magical small town. The friendships were heartwarming, particularly between Trav and Mama G. Hope to visit Dove Pond in another book.

I'm always intrigued by anything with "book" or "library" in the title, and the blurb fed that sense of intrigue so I requested this one as soon as I saw it. It starts out strong, with great characters and some interesting magical realism elements that, while familiar, still felt engaging and entertaining. But the book rather quickly became a little too sweet and trite for my tastes, and felt like it veered a little too far into Lifetime movie-of-the-week territory for my taste. It was cute, with fun world-building and several enjoyable characters, but a little more convenient and heartstring-tugging than I hoped - or expected, based on the beginning. Still, it's a quick, sweet tale about home and family and finding your way /place with both, so if that's your cup of (sweetened) tea, give it a try. ☕😊

After her sister's death, Grace Wheeler moves to the small town of Dove Pond with the hopes of creating a home for her family and learning the ropes as the new parent for her niece and the caregiver for her elderly mother in the early stages of dementia. She has taken the job of town clerk and only plans to stay for one year, hoping to save enough money to move back to Charlotte with her family.

Grace's new neighbor, Sarah Dove, the town's librarian and the youngest daughter in Dove Pond's founding family, has other plans for Grace. Sarah has a special gift - she can talk to books. Or rather, the books talk to her and tell her who needs to read them. And the books that document Dove Pond's history are telling her that Grace is the miracle the town needs to solve its financial woes and get back to its once thriving roots.

Despite her intentions to not get too attached, Grace starts to put down roots and get to know the townspeople of Dove Pond. Along the way, she finds that maybe they were exactly what she and her family needed all along.

I loved this book! It reminded me of the Waverly Family series by Sarah Addison Allen - a small town story with a little bit of magical realism thrown in. I'm excited to continue this series and really get to know the townspeople of Dove Pond. There's some nice foreshadowing at the end with clues to some future books. I'm definitely adding Dove Pond to my list of literary towns I like to visit.

Sarah Dove lives in the small town of Dove Pond, just like her family has for generations. And like many of those other women in her ancestry, Sarah has a gift, a special power. In Sarah's case the power is the ability to hear books speak to her and tell her who needs to read them. Once she becomes the town librarian, that ability really comes in handy. Just imagine - you're emptying the book return bin and the books are telling you which patron you need to give them to next. Talk about readers' advisory services!

Sarah may have met an immovable object when it comes to the newest resident in Dove Pond. Grace Wheeler moves to the quiet town in an effort to help her adoptive mother and her newly orphaned niece. Mama G grew up in Dove Pond and Grace hopes the move will help them all heal in various ways, but she does not have time for the odd librarian who seems to have conversations with stacks of books, or the motorcycle-riding neighbor next door with his long hair and gruff manner. Can the charms of the books, the neighbors, and the town itself work their magic on Grace and her family?

This is a book perfect for readers who enjoy stories revolving around relationships and small town settings, but also for those who already know the power of the right book at the right time and want to see that power in action (in the hands of the book charmer). Recommended for fans of <i>The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend</i> or <i>The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry</i>..

I will miss Dove Pond and all of my new friends terribly.
This book has all of my favorite things:
magic, books, a small town, romance, friendship, family drama, sisters, women in leadership positions, cats, and books —- wait, did I say that twice? The blurb on this book mentions Sarah Addison Allen and Practical Magic, and that’s spot on. The dialogue is so believable, it feels like eavesdropping.
This poet, gooey warm cookie of a book had better have a sequel.

This was an absolutely delightful book, one that will appeal to fans of Sarah Addison Allen and lovers of Magical Realism.

This is a lovely story, one that I thought would be about Sarah, the "book charmer" in question, but Sarah is more the glue that holds the story together as her library books tell her what book each person needs. This story centers around Gracie, the woman who has come to rescue the sweet but failing town of Dove Falls (and Gracie doesn't want her book, surprise.)

This is a story about love, redemption, and family. It touches on topics of PTSD and dementia and captures the small town dynamic well, The writing is engaging and the characters are relatable and interesting. I was caught up in the emotions of the novel, and sad to see it end as I fell in love with many of the characters. It's clear that this is the first of a series, and I love the idea of seeing more from these lovely characters.

This was an easy, light read and will make for a wonderful summer read.