I was expecting a run-of-the-mill three-star read, so it was such a pleasant surprise to find that this book handily earned a five-star rating instead. The characters in this story - grief-stricken Natalie, aging Grandy, industrious Peach, precocious Dorothy, suave Trevor, and loyal shop employees Cleo and Bertie - are filled with warmth and personality. They drew me into the world of this bookstore and made it feel homey and familiar. Even when the story dealt with the difficult experience of mourning the loss of a parent, the atmosphere surrounding that grief was cozy and comforting. I was so invested in both characters and plot that I was constantly making predictions about what might happen next, and I was equally delighted by the times I guessed wrong and the one time I was actually right. It was just such a pleasure to be in the world of this story, and to feel so invested in the fate of these fictional people and the bookstore they love. I recommend this book very highly to all bibliophiles, especially those who like a good love story.

THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP by Susan Wiggs. What a delightful tale! As an avid reader, I adore stories that take place around a bookshop (or library, etc.) and this one was wonderful as the bookshop building was historical too. The characters were likable - especially Grandy - oh how I adored him. Ms. Wiggs fills this tale with family, love, friends, history and even romance. If there is a drawback for me, it would be the many secondary characters and their tales. It did become a bit distracting for me. Otherwise, a heartwarming read. (received NetGalley ARC for honest review)

I enjoyed this book. It reminded me of a Hallmark movie. Enjoyable read with likeable characters. I could have done without some of the foul language, though. I didn't think the swear words were necessary.

The Lost and Found Bookshop is an easy read filled with flawed characters and hopeful prose. I truly enjoyed it and will be reading more from Susan Wiggs in the future.

Natalie Harper grew up around books: “When she was very small, her mother used to tell her that books were alive in a special way. Between the covers, characters were living their lives, enacting their dramas, falling in and out of love, finding trouble, working out their problems. Even sitting closed on a shelf, a book had a life of its own. When someone opened the book, that was when the magic happened.”

In The Lost and Found Bookshop (William Morrow), author Susan Wiggs invites her readers to step inside a small, independent bookshop where “floor-to-ceiling shelves [are] accessed by rolling ladders with brass fittings,” and rare, aging tomes have been displayed respectfully in glass cases. It’s the shop every book lover dreams of exploring, but for Blythe Harper’s daughter, Natalie, who ran from the financially unstable family business, it’s a dangerous land to tread.

After the sudden and tragic death of her mother, successful wine sales executive Natalie must leave beautiful Sonoma and return to San Francisco when she inherits her mother’s bookshop, enormous debts and the care of her ailing grandfather, whom she calls Grandy. Her plan was simple: sell the business and the building, relocate Grandy to Sonoma and go back to her stable career in sales. Grandy has other plans. He still owns the building and won’t consent to selling, insisting that Natalie keep Blythe’s shop and the building’s other treasures alive.

Now, Natalie must commit to keeping the business afloat in an age where everyone shops online, in a city too expensive for comfort and in a building with an endless list of needed repairs. As Natalie sorts through the chaotic mess her mother left behind, she can’t help but wonder how her mother, as financially underwater as she was, could manage to be so happy. Blythe “lived for the shop, and although it had pounded her into debt, she had been beloved and connected in ways that had nothing to do with security” — the one thing Natalie has always so desperately desired.

The more time Natalie spends in the charming bookshop, the more she realizes that the stability she’d been chasing all these years could never grant her the kind of happiness her mother seemed to have achieved while struggling to share her passion for books with the world. Perhaps her mother’s chaotic way of living wasn’t as foolish as she’d always believed.

Natalie isn’t sure what will become of the shop without the woman who “never failed to find the exact-right perfect book.” And she certainly can’t predict what will become of her own life without Blythe, but with help from a few new friends who seem to understand the unique magic of her mother’s bookshop, she may just uncover those hidden treasures Grandy’s been talking about.

Enchanting and cozy, Wiggs reminds us of the boundless joy to be had and endless lives to be lived when we turn the pages in a book.

Readers who enter The Lost and Found Bookshop will discover a place where family can be found behind the desk, in the upstairs apartment or nestled somewhere among the imperfectly charming shelves, and the grandest of adventures patiently wait to begin between the covers of the next book they open.

What could be better than a well-written book about a bookshop?

I loved this story - everything about it. The characters, the locale (San Francisco), the storyline - everything resonated with me.

As a lifelong avid reader (you might even say obsessive) I have loved books of all kinds, libraries, used bookstores and new bookstores. I have frequented them since I was a very young child and have never lost my sense of wonder in discovering new books, genres, or authors. So THE LOST AND FOUND BOOKSHOP called me from the moment I read the title.

Natalie Harper grew up in an unconventional family that lacked security and stability. So when she graduated from college, she looked for a career those things. On the day she gets a big promotion at work, she hears devastating news that changes all her plans for the future.

She ends up at The Lost and Found Bookshop in San Francisco that she grew up in and her mother ran.

She has to make monumental decisions about her and her grandfather's lives and try to figure out what her future holds.

Author Susan Wiggs did such a good job with this story. I identified closely with Natalie, loved her grandfather Grandy, and fell strongly for the love interest.

I highly recommend this story to all readers who love books, love romances, and complex characters.

I received this book from William Morrow Books through Edelweiss and Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

Natalie Harper's single mom, Blythe, runs an independent bookstore in San Francisco. In addition, Blythe is the devoted caregiver of her father, Andrew, who is in his eighties and has become increasingly forgetful. Natalie adores her mother, and admires her strength of character, love of literature, and people skills, but she wishes that they had spent more time together over the years. Natalie has a job in Sonoma County that she loathes; is hesitant to commit to her handsome and good-hearted boyfriend, Rick; and is skeptical about her future prospects for happiness and fulfillment.

Susan Wiggs' "The Lost and Found Bookshop" is a charming novel about a young woman who is struggling emotionally, even before an unexpected tragedy forces her to take over Blythe's store and look after Andrew, whom she calls Grandy. The characters are beautifully delineated, and Wiggs handles such themes as love, fate, grief, and the tough decisions that can make or break us with warmth, humor, and compassion. Suddenly, Natalie finds herself juggling a great many tasks, such as renovating the dilapidated bookshop and balancing its books. At least, Blythe had hired a handyman, Peach Gallagher, who is good-natured, hard-working, and skilled at electrical work, plumbing, and carpentry. Moreover, Natalie worries about her grandfather, who is becoming increasingly frail. When Grandy is up to it, he and Natalie reminisce about the past, look into their family history, and make some surprising discoveries.

Thanks to a series of serendipitous events, the heroine meets a wealthy and handsome children's book author who becomes infatuated with her. Should she quit her old job and try to save a failing business that can never turn a profit? Why not marry a rich man who will give her the security that she needs? A third option is to sell the shop and place Grandy in an assisted living facility. We can relate to Natalie's confusion and uncertainty as she tries to put her priorities in order. The most satisfying aspects of this enchanting tale are its emphasis on the glory of reading for pleasure; the importance of bonding with our loved ones before it is too late; and the joy we derive from friends who share our values and interests. Although the conclusion is a bit too pat and predictable, on the whole "The Lost and Found Bookshop" is a delightful and engrossing work of fiction.

This is my first Susan Wiggs book. The Lost and Found Bookshop is a delightful summer read. It reminded me a little of The Little Paris Bookshop. Natalie’s mother, Blythe was tragically killed. She owned a bookshop in San Francisco and was killed. Natalie comes home to San Francisco and takes over the bookshop and cares for her grandfather who has dementia. As a voracious reader, I love bookshops, and I liked this bookshop. The building is in need of repairs. She, at her grandfather’s suggestion hires Peach Gallagher who has a daughter, Dorothy. Natalie and Dorothy read books together. This book is a little bit love story, a mystery as they uncover some artifacts in the building.

I found this book to be a sweet story and a perfect summer read. Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the advanced ebook copy.

This book was filled with characters I cared about. Natalie Harper is questioning her job and relationship with her boyfriend when her world comes crashing down, giving her new perspective about what is most important to her. Her grandfather, Andrew Harper, is struggling with memory and other health issues. While sorting out what to do with her mother's bookstore, Natalie is surrounded by the bookstore employees, a contractor she hires to work on the building, and an in-demand author who answers the call of a customer to help out the struggling shop.

Overall I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. What holds it to three stars for me are a few quibbles I found distracting, such as, what was Natalie's role at her wine sales job? It was perplexing how she handled a staff issue if she was a supervisor, but perhaps she was some sort of team lead instead? The ending felt rather rushed and I found myself wondering about some of Natalie's relationships that were not resolved by the last page.

The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs. I loved the story. The family lived over a bookshop what a wonderful thing for anyone who read books. I loved the artifacts and the stories and descriptions of the things they found you felt like you were there with them. Read the story you will love it.

This book was enjoyable. The love between granddaughter and grandfather was very touching. I loved the bookstore. I finished the book wanting more of a story...it was not compete for me.

I love books about books and bookstores and that is why I was eager to read an early Netgalley copy of a book by an author that is new to me. I loved and highlighted the many quotes this book contained by authors and by the main character Natalie’s mother Blythe. Blythe lived for books and shared her love with everyone and had a special knack for picking out the perfect book for her customers of the Lost and Found Bookshop. After the sudden death of Blythe, her daughter Natalie shockingly discovers that the bookstore that she lived in while growing up with her mother and grandfather is financially struggling and must face some major decisions for her future, the bookstore and her ailing grandfather. Natalie slowly finds out more shocking truths about the building itself and her own family history. I really enjoyed reading this book but found some things such as the finding of different objects in the building during restorations a little too convenient and some of the love interests seemed a little too soon considering other events that happened earlier. Overall a good read if you are a book lover.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I’d never read Susan Wiggs before, but I was drawn to the title of The Lost and Found Bookshop, due to my love for stories focusing on books, and bookstores or libraries. With its focus on family, it also sounded heartwarming and exactly the sort of read I’d be interested in.

And it is. The characters are great, as are the bonds they share. The story opens with overwhelming grief as Natalie loses her mother, but sees her working with her sick grandfather, both caring for him and working in the shop he refuses to sell.

Throughout, she makes connections with other colorful characters who help to form a sense of community around the bookshop, as well as see the shop become financially profitable. But there’s also a larger mystery surrounding the building, given the discovery of its history, which I found the most fascinating aspect and wish had been a bit more pronounced than it was.

This is a delightfully heartfelt story about finding oneself in the face of loss. I recommend this to anyone who loves women’s fiction.

A bookshop, books, and a little splash of romance, what's not to love?

A double tragedy brings Natalie Harper back to San Francisco, the place where she grew up. It's a bitter-sweet return to the city and as she quickly learns, not everything's as she remembers. However, with an elderly, ailing grandfather to care for, she has to make unpopular decisions if she is to try to keep her late mother's book shop open. Thankfully, fate steps in to allow Natalie, to fulfil her dream and pick-up her life in a way she never believed possible. 

I enjoyed the back story about the Sun-Rise building where the book shop's allocated. It's a well-developed character in its own right as we learn its history and hidden secrets as well as other significant historical details associated with its time frame. Then there's the eclectic cast of characters, who blend effortlessly. Each differs from the other, and yet, friendships are forged as they all work together to keep the shop established by Natalie's mother, open. 

The narrative is well thought out and kept my attention throughout. I liked the inclusion and naming of many notable novels, to accentuate the book shop backdrop. Additionally, twists and turns, revelations and disappointments are revealed. Yet, there's hope, a promise of new beginnings and an overall sense that life, ultimately will sort itself out. 

This novel has wide appeal for anyone looking for a heart-warming story, addressing sensitive issues and a happy ending. A coffee and a book, anyone? 

***arc generously received courtesy of publisher William Morrow via NetGalley***

Received ARC from NetGalley and William Morrow publishers.
I want to say that this book is closer to the. 3.5. I did really love the story, it was sad and relatable and you were invested in find the “treasure” but I felt like the writing got a little rushed and sloppy towards the end. You were hoping that Natalie and Peach would end up together but their intimate relationship was so rushed and that made me sad because so much time was spent on the Trevor storyline. I also would have like Dorothy being a part of the engagement or whatever since she was a big part of both of their lives. I would definitely recommend, it was a quick summer read and set in a place I have never been before!

Received ARC from Net Galley and William Morrow in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved this book! When Natalie’s mother dies, she takes over the book shop. She discovers items, family secrets, and new relationships! The story read so quickly and I love that it wrapped up in a perfect little bow! Highly recommend this book!

I loved everything about this book! All I really needed to know that I would love it was that it's a book about books. A book set in a book shop. That's all I needed but, there was so much more! A story about finding oneself. Healing. A story of family. A mystery, some history and a love story. ❤

HJ Recommends

In The Lost and Found Bookshop by Susan Wiggs, On the day that Natalie Harper's professional life was about to get a huge boost, her personal life suffered a devastating loss. With too many decisions to make and an overwhelming amount of grief holding her down, Natalie temporarily moves back to San Francisco to figure out how to take over her mother's bookstore–and how to care for her beloved grandfather Andrew. It turns out the man who helped raise her, a fixture in Natalie's life since her birth, is struggling physically and mentally. The last thing she'll do is give up on Grandy, though. No matter what it takes to keep everything afloat.
Between the horrific state of the bookshop's finances and the many structural issues the historical building it's housed in is facing, Natalie has her work cut out for her. Hiring contractor Peach Gallagher–who is also father to one of their favorite younger customers, Dorothy–is a godsend. He understands how to painstakingly restore the Bay area's old historic buildings. And Peach is quick to lend Natalie and Andrew a hand anytime it's needed. Although Andrew doesn't want to be a nuisance to them, he's increasingly aware of their tenuous situation. But just when things are looking bleak, the uncovering of artifacts within the aging building might just be their saving grace while also shining a light on the truth behind some of their family legends.

The Lost and Found Bookshop was quintessential Susan Wiggs with its heartfelt, thoughtful prose and intriguing historical facts as we followed a family in crisis, trying to heal as they set out to save their beloved family business.

Aside from the down-to-earth, flawed characters I always associate with Wiggs' work and like so much, her storytelling ability is what truly draws me to her novels. The Lost and Found Bookshop definitely took readers on a journey, linking the Harper family's past with their current struggles in San Francisco. The city itself was a beautiful backdrop for the story. And there was already so much history to draw from the location. I loved how discoveries Natalie, her grandfather Andrew, and contractor Peach found while renovating the building added new light to the Harper family as well as painted a picture of life around the late 1800s, early 1900s–including the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. Some of the details regarding those times (as you can imagine) were grim and very sad, but it added depth to the stories that had been passed down in the family each generation.

Wiggs always has some interesting twists and turns to her plots and this book certainly had some that I didn't see ahead of time. One of which was the tragedy that started off the book, forcing Natalie to go home to San Francisco to care for her mother's bookshop and for her ailing grandfather. I really did adore the relationship between Andrew and Natalie. It was warm and tender and filled with a lifetime of beautiful sentiments between them. The tough part was watching Andrew, or Grandy, as Natalie called him, decline mentally and physically. Particularly when we had passages written from his POV. *sob* He was an incredibly kindhearted man who added joy to the lives of those around him, even the customers in the bookshop.

As far as our heroine Natalie, it felt like she came full circle when she went back to the bookshop and dug into the family history. Wiggs described her grief and all the myriad emotions that went along with the situation Natalie was in perfectly, making it easy for us to empathize with her. I enjoyed the addition of Peach and his awesome daughter Dorothy to the Harper's lives and thought they all made a great team while they tried to shore up the bookstore, help Andrew with his health problems, and also the connection they all shared as individuals. I will admit the ending felt a little bit rushed, although I did love how Wiggs closed things out through articles and announcements that let us see how everything played out for Natalie and crew.

Insightful and poignant, with heartbreaking moments that ultimately led to triumph and fulfillment, The Lost and Found Bookshop will quickly and completely capture the heart of booklovers.

I was provided a free advance copy of this book from @netgalley in exchange for my honest review!
This was a great book by @susan_wiggs_ !! Although it is fun and romantic it also deals with some serious topics, to include mourning and Alzheimer's. Natalie thinks she has everything she wanted; a great job, financial security, and a steady boyfriend. But when tragedy strikes she's left with the responsibility of her family's bookstore that is in serious financial distress and the sole caretaker of her aging ailing grandfather! Thankfully her mother had already scheduled Peach Gallagher to begin some renovation projects! As she navigates through her grief and making hard decisions about the bookstore and her grandfather's care, she will be reminded of the importance of family, friends who are framily, and the wisdom of good books!! 🥰📚🥰
It will be published on July 7th, and you should definitely run out and grab a copy!! You won't be disappointed!
#NetGalley #TheLostAndFoundBookshop

I enjoyed this book but, its not something I typically enjoy reading. I like edgier books-a bit more complicated and thought provoking. This was an easy-breezy book that was a simple, quick read.
Although the book drops 2 horrific tragedies at the beginning, the book's star, Natalie presses on. She then turns to tragedy number 3, her ailing grandfather who refuses to sell his wife's bookshop. Natalie struggles to keep the bookshop running, and she meets a handful of interesting characters who assist her and add goodwill and cheer to the story. Its a tad trite and a little bit-oooey-gooey for my tastes but, overall a good beach read.

jtb
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