Wonderful, atmospheric and haunting!!
Historical fiction.
Books.
WW2 Fiction.
Gorgeous cover featuring books.
Yup, this one has it all.
I enjoyed this so much I purchased a copy for my shelf.

I agree with other reviewers that this book unfortunately had very little to do with the bookshop, but it still was a great story. It’s often heartbreaking, but beautifully told.

Wonderful plot which I could not put down. Brilliant characters, and theart. Highly recommend to other fans of this genre!!

Bermondsey, 1920s: After her mother's death, Kate is taken in by her father's sister, the quick-tempered Aunt Sylvie. Already struggling to feed children of her own, Aunt Sylvie treats Kate like an unwanted burden. Although Kate's father disappeared when she was a child, she still harbors hope that he will one day reappear and release her from this miserable existence. If only she knew why he left and what really happened to her mother.

One day, after a terrible argument, 18-year-old Kate is thrown out. Desperate to land on her own two feet, she answers an advert for a cleaner at The Bermondsey Bookshop and Reading Room. Little does she know that her life is about to be changed forever.

This is my first read by author Mary Gibson and won’t be my last. I was drawn to the story by the title as I like books set in bookstores, libraries etc. and was pleased to find The Bermondsey Bookshop actually existed, founded in 1921 by Ethel Gutman, who also appears in the book. My grandparents lived in southeast london but a different boroughs, so I enjoyed the descriptions as it gave me a peak into what life might of been like for them.

I definitely recommend this wonderful read to fans of historical fiction.

I was disappointed that the title of the book had little to do with the actual story. I’m not a fan of romance books, but there were other aspects of the book that made up for the fact it was part of the romance genre. The details of status of class in the Victorian era along with the mystery helped my view of the book. The characters are not that well developed and more depth would have been a positive aspect.

Thank you to NetGalley and Head of Zeus for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Kate's life in 1920s Bermondsey is just Dickensian until she's hired to clean the bookshop, which, btw, really existed. Her life opens up, her horizons expand, and there's romance as well. Perfect for fans of historical fiction.

The Bermondsey Bookshop gives the impression this story is largely centred around a bookshop in Bermondsey, but the shop is merely the setting. The story follows Kate Goss who works in the bookshop in 1920s London. Kate has endured much personal loss, and the story follows her struggles as she works towards making her own way in the world. When her aunt evicts her, Kate is homeless. While she already has a job at a factory, she finds extra work at the bookstore, which is her salvation. There, she meets numerous interesting people and makes new friends. But a chance meeting takes her back to the past...
The writing flows well, well paced, and a sense of place is vividly painted.
Overall, it is a well written historical fiction story with interesting characters and rich description. Can definitely recommend.

This book is centred around a bookshop.
This story has a great plot and has some great descriptions of the bookshop. The pace of this book is quite slow.
This is a heartbreaking and heartwarming read

Every once in a while, I like to read a good historical fiction. The Bermondsey Bookshop is one such book after a long time. It has every element I look for in a historical fiction book. A bookshop, check. A girl who is coming of age,check. A troubled family history, check. I am in love. I will definitely pick up another book by this author.

There is a lot going on in this book. I kept wishing that some things had been cut out as I didn't think that they were terribly critical to the story. But once I finished I realized that each piece was in fact important to the overall story. It would have been nice if some of those pieces flowed better and didn't feel like they drug the book out longer.
Overall this was a good read. It is difficult to find a book that not only breaks down class structure but then breaks down the barriers between those classes as well.

How disappointing the a book with a bookshop name as the title has very little to do with the shop or with books! Although The Bermondsey Bookshop by Mary Gibson was not really about the bookshop, I did appreciate the introduction and enjoyed learning about the bookshop through some research. Kate learning to use her voice not only for herself but also to help others is the strength of the book even when the story takes a decidedly melodramatic turn.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/01/the-bermondsey-bookshop.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

★★★★ 4.5 stars

A book about a bookstore. How could I resist? The smell of old books, new books, all books...and losing oneself to the stories within. Yet THE BERMONDSEY BOOKSHOP is not really about a bookshop at all but about one young woman's growth through the strength she finds within that bookshop...and the classes that bring them together.

Kate Goss was just six years old when her mother fell to her death from the garret stairs in which they lived. Her father, overwhelmed with grief, palmed her off to his sister Sylvie to look after until he had made enough money to reclaim her. But that day never came. Instead, Kate grew up with her aunt and her cousins who despised her and tormented her daily. She became their skivvy to cook and clean up after them when really she would rather have dumped their dinner in their laps. When her cousin Stan began to show an unhealthy interest in her, Kate was given the cold confines of the garret for her bedroom. But that didn't stop Stan trying to grope her at every chance.

When Kate turned 14, her Aunt Sylvie dragged her to the local tin factory, Boutle's, who were hiring girls. It was a dirty filthy job but Aunt Sylvie said it was time she "earned her keep" and of the seven shillings sixpence she earned, Sylvie allowed her to keep a shilling for herself...to buy her own clothes and soap, mind. Kate had no idea where the rest of her money went, for it wasn't on her keep. At Boutle's Kate makes a few friends but one particular kindly robust woman called Marge takes her under her wing. There is also Conny, a young girl who replaces Kate with the sweeping and cleaning when she started tinplate bashing.

Kate had been at Boutle's three years when she had an altercation with her cousins and aunt that there would be no turning back from. Her spiteful cousin Janey, three years her senior, made innuendos and untoward comments about Kate's deceased mum...and Kate saw red. She punched Janey square in the nose, breaking it, and did not let up punching her until Aunt Sylvie stabbed her with a knife, drawing it along her arm. The incident saw Sylvie throw Kate and her meagre possessions out with nowhere to go. She tried her Aunt Sarah down the row but she couldn't stay there. She even slept on the boats moored in the river until she was caught. Despite having nowhere to go, Kate vowed she would never return to Sylvie's. Then Aunt Sarah said she had found her a place...but it was ten shillings a week! Three more than she earned at Boutle's. But the room was none other than the garret in which she had lived with her mum and dad all those years ago...and she felt she had come home. Each night she would gaze out the little dormer window down to the Thames and dream of her father coming back to rescue her. That was when she began looking for extra work to take on. And when Marge came across a notice in a window for a cleaner, she was quick to tell Kate about it before the position was snatched up.

In her dinner break, Kate raced up to Bermondsey Street and looked for the brightly coloured building Marge had described to her...and found herself standing outside the Bermondsey Bookshop. A bookshop? In Bermondsey? She went in and met Ethel Gutman, the proprietor, stating that she was here for the job as cleaner. The hours were a little different, Ethel informed her but that didn't matter as it could be worked around her shifts at Boutle's and those as a barmaid down at the Hand and Marigold pub. Ethel said the pay wasn't much but to Kate it was more than she could have imagined and even better than that at Boutle's. And so she began her silent work as a cleaner for the bookshop. Little did she know, the faces that she was to meet within this little shop would change the course of her life forever.

Kate dreamed of a life with her father, one where he would return to reclaim her and they would live happily every after but her aunt Sylvie and cousin Stan tried putting paid to that by telling her he didn't want to see her. Besides, he was now living abroad making his fortune - why would he want to come to Bermondsey? But one morning, Kate catches a glimpse of a familiar figure in a flash car outside the bookshop. It can't be...can it?

Set in 1920s London, THE BERMONDSEY BOOKSHOP is a well-crafted story of period fiction, complete with melodrama and a diverse cast of characters - some likable, others definitely not. It features the real Bermondsey Bookshop that was founded by Ethel Gutman in 1921, who also features in this story, and although the book's focus is not the bookshop but rather Kate, it is an important fixture of Kate's story.

THE BERMONDSEY BOOKSHOP is such a heartwarming tale of Kate's strength and determination, her rise from the cockney girl of Bermondsey to the affluence of Belgravia. But Kate soon learns that it's far more than distance that separates Bermondsey and Belgravia and money doesn't necessarily buy you happiness.

My first read by Mary Gibson, I definitely recommend this wonderful historical tale that has an easy style with great flow.

I would like to thank #MaryGibson, #NetGalley and #HeadOfZeus for an ARC of #TheBermondseyBookshop in exchange for an honest review.

The Bermondsey Bookshop was a real place, but as a book title, it's deceiving, as it's merely the setting for part of the book. (I did appreciate learning about the bookshop and its owner.)

The real story here is about Kate Goss, and she is a vividly painted, engaging character. She is tough, spunky, self-sufficient and resilient, clever, and endearing. Through her, we get a clear picture of the poverty-stricken working class in London in the 1920s, and how their lives contrast with those in the upper class who she meets working a second job at the Bermondsey Bookshop.

The writing has a lovely flow. The setting is descriptive, the dialogue really cements both the tone and place in time, and the plot is compelling with a few surprising twists. My favorite part, though, was the characters themselves - faceted and intriguing.

If you are a fan of historical fiction, this is one I can highly recommend.

I liked this book though found it could’ve been 2 separate books in the same series.

Halfway through I thought it was about to be resolved and then there was a twist.

Would recommend for historical fiction fans

I'm sorry, I didn't finish it. There were actually many good things about it. It has a great flow, and I like the writing. It's clear and involving. And I appreciate the effort the author put into describing the lives of these people in 1920s London. The social comment is poignant and shareable.
This was the problem for me. The author seemed to be far more interested in describing life at is was, rather than telling a story. Although I could see where the MC might be heading for, I was never sure what the story was about. I patiently waited, but when I came to 30% of the book and I still had no clue, I just stopped caring.

Sometimes you pick up a book with expectations tainted by other feedback and aren't really sure it's going to be a book that speaks to you. Unfortunately, I had preconceived notions going into this one which were completely ungrounded. Fortunately, I realised very quickly that this was, indeed, a book that spoke to me. The title threw me off a little... I didn't find the bookshop to be the actual focus, but more of a supporting role in the overall tale.
That being said it intrigued my curiosity on the facts of the actual bookshop this book is based on. Overall, this was a well-written work of historical fiction with engaging characters, colorful descriptions, and evocative moments. Excellent!

My thanks to the publisher for a complimentary copy via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

The Bermondsey Bookshop by Mary Gibson is an intriguing historical novel. I found it to be well-written that moved along at a thoughtful pace and it has a strong female protagonist. Kate Goss had a loving mother until she had an accident coming down the steep garret stairs. Archie Goss, Kate’s father, deposited Kate with his sister, Sylvie and then departed. Sylvie did not like Kate’s Romany mother, Bessie which she takes out on Kate. Her cousins, Janey and Stan are just as mean and spiteful. Kate holds out the hope that her father will return one day and take her away. Kate is a spirited girl who works hard. She makes some unfortunate choices, but Kate also makes some memorable friends. We get to see Kate go from a teenager to an adult. I could feel Kate’s struggles and her sadness. Of course, Kate had some unforgettable moments as well. There were a variety of interesting characters in The Bermondsey Bookshop. There were some kindhearted souls and some truly terrible people. I especially liked the various people that frequented the Bermondsey Bookshop. It was interesting reading about the Bermondsey Bookshop (it was a real place). It was open for hours that suited the working class and offered a variety of classes (reading, elocution, French, drama) as well as lectures. After reading this book, I searched out more information on this unique bookshop. I thought Mary Gibson captured the accents of the people along with their attitudes especially when it came to education and money. Children were not allowed to enjoy their childhood for long. They were expected to go to work and turn over their wages. There is some mild foul language along with violence (parents or relatives hitting children, men beating their wives, men wanting certain “favors”) which was, unfortunately, typical of the time period. The Bermondsey Bookshop is a book that will have you reading long into the night to find out how Kate’s story ends. The Bermondsey Bookshop has a sharp tongued shrew, a conniving cousin, a fetid factory, a vanished father, and one feisty female.

Based on a true story, I loved, loved this book set in a bookshop in 1920s London. The life of Kate Goss is a hard one, especially with the loss of her mother and absent father, leaving her at the mercy of a cruel aunt. Her struggle for survival and ultimate redemption through the people she meets at the bookshop is touching and heartbreaking. Recommended reading.

The Bermondsey Bookshop is a story of Kate, an orphan that had lost her mother and her father went away. Now she lives a story of Cinderella with her relatives and is treated like a slave. One event and now she ha to fend for herself on her own and in that kind of time that was rather a crucial situation.
Finally, she finds a job at Bermondsey Bookshop and now she can find her own wa and try to ort her own life and past. Some events will change the way everything was going and some hidden pat elements will emerge.
What will happen when she will try to embrace where she comes from, will her past let her go so she can move on? Also what about certain people from her past?
Overall it was a nice story about discovering what was left in the past and growing to stand on your own.

Such a good story! I enjoyed the author's depiction of London in the 1920s. The characters were three dimensional and engaging, the good and the bad! The story weaves around Kate's struggles, but she is touch and adaptable. A character you'd like to be friends with.