This would be my dream come true to have my very own bookshop, I was drawn into this book straight away, it was the perfect love story with secrets!!

Thank you to Net Galley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Hallie is living every book lover's dream life. And I just loved it. This is escapist reading at its finest. This is a Netflix or Hallmark romcom in book form.
Hallie is unfortunately fired from her job, but luckily that day, she gets an email that she has won her favorite bookshop. When she goes to visit, she learns that it also has a flat upstairs that comes with it. When Hallie takes over, she meets a charming illustrator named Dmitri. He is working on a fairytale adaptation in the book shop, and he helps Hallie figure out how to run the bookshop. They bond over reading, baked goods, and finding messages in secondhand books.
I did enjoy this book. I loved how British the characters were. I also loved Hallie and Dmitri. They were both fun nerds, the kind of nerds that I like hanging out with. I loved the setting. The little town and the bookshop are totally somewhere I would hang out! Also, owning a bookstore with a flat upstairs? That is beyond awesome. Also the secret messages in the books were too cute, and I really liked how they worked together to find everything.
However, this book isn't perfect. The dialogue was a bit unnatural. Hallie and Dmitri speak in highly personal, exposition monologues much too often. The part where they break up isn't surprising and plays awkwardly. Also, it was sometimes hard to tell what was going on, or who was talking, but that will probably be fixed in an edit before the book comes out.
Overall, if you are a fan of Hallmark movies, you will be a fan of this book. Honestly, it's not really my thing, but this book knows what it is doing and does it well.

I always feel bad when I get an ARC of a book written in first person because I know, unless it's really well done, it'll get a negative review from me.

Unfortunately, for some reason, I just wasn't feeling this book from the very first paragraph.

My issue with first person narrative is all the internal monologuing. You can definitely tell whether you like a person by what they think and if you don't like the main character then you're not gonna be that bothered about their life or their story.

I'm sad to say this one goes on the DNF pile for me.

I swear this book is my fantasy wish come true story. I’m totally living vicariously through the main characters life.

My favorite book store recently was for sale and I dreamed of all the things I would do to make it my own, improve, And even decorate if it were mine. So to have read a story about something that was similar makes this book ten times better!

The Little Bookshop Of Love Stories is a wonderful heart warming story. Every page kept me smiling a goofy smile to myself.

This book literally feels like I tripped and fell into everything I have ever loved. A clumsy, eccentric 35 year old book worm wins ownership of her favourite bookshop on the high street of a Cotswold's village as well as the flat above it and it changes her life. This is just an entire book about books and the love of books and the way we use books to express love and joy and fear and vulnerability. Add in some lovely bookish descriptions and a to-die-for hero named Dimitri, and this is more than a winner. I just loved it. I smiled so much my cheeks hurt (something that hasn't happened in a very long while considering the state of the world) and it made me lose myself in a life beyond the news and the press and the lockdown. The hero is catnip: an illustrator with a pencil always tucked behind his ear who bakes and has a winsome charm. The heroine is oh-so-relatable. I am picking up a continuing theme in Admans work that is all about lonely people finding pieces of themselves in the restoration of community... it worked so well, especially, in It's A Wonderful Night and it is resplendent here. This book is a complete and utter joy.


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I adored this book.

A book about books, what's not to love.

Throw in a splash of romance and a touch of humour and you've got yourself the perfect combination to entertain.

I fell in love with the characters, the scenery and everything in-between.

Well written, this is a wonderfully light-hearted novel with a real sense of hope and pride wrapped up within the pages.

I've always wanted to work in a book shop and this had me dreaming about that job again.

This is a book which all us book lovers can relate to - knowing how powerful books can be and the pleasure they can bring. It was refreshing to read a book with a main character who has books on her mind all the time... so often main characters seem to swoon after men or be obsessed with their appearance or worrying about what their friends think about them, but Hallie is different, Hallie loves books, doesn't feel the need to travel far (as when she reads she can be transported to all different kinds of places), and finds comfort within the pages of the stories.

But Hallie isn't a 'stereotypical bookworm', no, she isn't seen as geeky or 'weird' but instead clumsy and silly and you can't help but think she's fun. She's always getting into scrapes - a bit like Bridget Jones - and she's a great main character who pulls you in right away because you can't help but warm to her and want to know what will happen.

When Hallie wins a competition to own her very own bookshop, her dreams come true... but things aren't as they seem, it's not that easy... the bookshop is struggling financially, the building next door is empty and a certain property magnate has his eye on her shop...

I really enjoyed reading this, it was easy to read, enjoyable and perfect escapism. I felt like the author had created a character that so many readers will relate to and also a subject matter that makes us think about the importance of our little independent bookshops and how innovative they have to be to keep going.

This is the perfect read for a day relaxing in the garden or (if you're not in lockdown!) on the beach. There are no complicated storylines or intense descriptions, instead this is a gentle story with a well-crafted main character you can't help but love.

Although I guessed the story line, it did not detract from this whimsical tale.
When clumsy Hallie wins a failing?run down bookshop she is in for a steep learning curve. However, with customer Dimiri's help, messages from the past and innovative ideas, she endeavors to turn it around.
Unbelievable coincidences occur, but these are due to the magic of books and her bookshop.
i loved the description of the family meal and Mum's take on how to make a pizza.
Read the book for a tale of love, laughter and a touch of magic!

If you love to read and wished you could own a bookstore, this book is for you. Hallie Winstone buys a ticket in her hometown to own Once Upon A Page Bookstore. Hallie is a person who has had a string of bad luck with jobs - getting fired because she is a clumsy person. She wins the bookstore from Robert the owner. The only stipulation is that she has to give it away, she cannot sell it. Dimitri is a person who helps her with the bookstore as he is drawing illustrations of a fairy tale book. I enjoyed how they turned the bookstore around and how close they get. I enjoyed this book and would love to visit this bookstore. Thank you HQ Digital and NetGalley for an ARC. This is my own honest opinion.

A real happy feeling, delightful little book!

I must admit I wasn't too sure at the beginning as both the main characters were very accident prone and I found it slightly annoying and over the top, but as I got into the book and the characters grew on me it turned into me finding them endearing instead of annoying!

Hallie never has any luck, until she wins her favourite old-fashioned bookshop in a raffle. She's left the shop by its elderly owner, but on the proviso that she never sells it on, when the time eventually comes she'll have to find someone to gift it to, as the shop has never been sold, just passed down to like-minded bookish people who want the shop to survive.

At the beginning Hallie is thrown in at the deep end and struggles, but she always has Dimitri to help. Dimitry isn't an employee but is always in the shop, using one of the rare fairy tale books, to help him with his illustrations for his new book as an illustrator. He is there every day and is a great help to Hallie, they are very like-minded, but he has secrets too that are eventually revealed.
As Hallie tries to help the bookshop survive and slowly gets close to Dimitri in the process the shop starts to thrive, secrets are revealed, and they both help each other out.

A lovely feeling book that grew on me with each page, with a really lovely ending. I can see a sequel - I hope!

Thank you netgalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After reading this, I now want to own my own bookshop with a handsome artist who visits daily!

Hallies the type of person who instead of being lucky all the time, finds herself with constant misfortunes. She’s been fired from numerous jobs (every time not being her fault), she is clumsy, and always gets the short end of the stick. Until one day when her luck changes and she finds that she is the winner of a secondhand bookshop, Once Upon a Page. While acquainting herself with her new shop she notices a handsome man who frequents the shop daily, Dimitri. The two begin a friendship and help Hallie start making the shop her own. They find personalized books with everything from love letters to baby announcements. Hallie then comes up with a plan, to start posting the letters online in hopes of finding who their stories belong to. But with the shop being in financial trouble, Hallies unsure if she’s cut out for owning her own business. Will Hallie be able to keep the business, while also finding her own happily ever after?

Holy smokes I adored this story, the authors writing is lovely. First off, this cover is one of my favorite covers ever. It’s so beautiful! Anyways, onto what I love about this book. Hallie and Dimitri are a fun pair and you find yourself laughing with them constantly. Dimitri has faced loss in his life, but hes still always cheerful, and you feel for him and root for him. I also adore the bond they share over the love of books. If you’re in the mood for a light hearted, sweet romance, check this book out. I look forward to reading more from this author.

What a sweet book! I know I'm going to miss Hallie and Dimitri so much! Especially because I read it on a Kindle (advance reader's copy) so I'm so sad that I don't have it on my bookshelf. This is a cute romance between two book lovers and their journey to save "Once Upon a Page" from financial difficulty finding the love they have always believed to only happen in romance books. Hallie went from a non lucky girl to a super lucky one for winning a bookshop in a giveaway and also meeting the love of her life after that.

Hallie had just gotten fired (again) and went home to her shared flat when she received an email saying "congratulations" for winning a bookshop. Being a very unlucky girl, that wasn't something she was expecting but it was everything she has always dreamed of: to work in a bookshop. And now even better: own it. The bookshop was located on a cute street in Buntingorden and it was near where her mom and sister lived. Besides the bookshop, she also got the small flat upstairs and the terrace. She couldn't be happy enough. Once Upon a Page was passed from owner to owner and has never been sold. The idea was to give it to someone that loves book as much as the previous owners did. Hallie was told that the shop wasn't in very good financial condition and a company was trying to buy the shops on the street to turn them into a modern place so Hallie had to come up with a plan to save the shop asap. That's when she met Dimitri, a not very lucky person as well, book lover and gorgeous guy that showed up in her bookshop asking if he could use one of the books to work on a project he had. He knew a lot about the shop and helped Hallie come up with plans to save the shop. And during these times together, they fell in love, even though they both said they weren't looking for relationship.

There's a lot more between chapters but I don't want to write spoilers :D

I got an advance reader's copy of this book complimentary from NetGallery in exchange for my honest review.

I loved it . From the moment I saw the cover and read the tittle I wanted to read it. A perfect story . The love of books was brilliantly descibed and how Dimitri and Hallie sorted all the stock and found the messages that were writn in the books. We had a nice love story and the mother who could not cook. It is a great book.

This book is perfection! Such a sweet, charming love story. Great for anyone that loves books, cute romances and charming British towns. Bonus points for the Anastasia and Beauty and the Beast references! Halle and Dimitri are wonderful characters and I had a smile on my face the whole time I read this book. If you want a cute feel good story, this is the book for you!

This was a charming story with two rather different sort of people who bond over their love of books as bad-luck Hallie suddenly wins a cute little bookstore in a lovely Cotswolds village. She soon falls for the awkward, but handsome Dmitri who hangs out in the book store while illustrating a book of Italian fairy tales. He helps her run the store.

They start finding little romantic dedications in the used books in the store and start searching for the real people who once owned the books.

The book is very sweet even if all its supposed surprises seemed rather predictable and their speeches about how much they loved reading got a bit repetitive.

I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book that I received from Netgalley; however, the opinions are my own and I did not receive any compensation for my review.

'Maybe this is why I've never had any luck in my life. Maybe it was all being saved up for this moment. Maybe fate or the universe or whatever powers that be decided I would have the worst luck in the world, just so on this ordinary day in May, I could win a bookshop, and a new chapter in my life could start'.

~5/5 Stars~

Hallie Winstone is having the worst day of her life. Not only has she lost her job, she's also embarrassed herself in front of a whole room of diners. Feeling sorry for herself, she opens her emails and discovers that she's won a bookshop! Not just any bookshop either, but her favourite bookshop.

This bookshop is a dream come true for Hallie, but she soon discovers that it's even more special than she thought, as she starts to find secret love stories within the pages of the second hand books.

Together with the lovely Dimitri, she starts to reunite long lost lovers with the help of the internet; and hopefully Hallie will finally find her happy ending too.

~My Thoughts~

I was lucky enough to receive a free copy of this amazing book through NetGalley. After reading another Jaimie Admans book at Christmas I knew I wanted to read more of her books, so when I saw this new book on NetGalley I requested it right away.

I think one of the main reasons I loved this book so much is that I really connected with Hallie. As somebody that preferred the company of books over people growing up, I felt like she was a kindred spirit and I found it so easy to fall in love with her character. I completely understood her love of books, as I also love to lose myself in a good book. Reading has always been an escape for me, and the way that Hallie reminisces about books that she's read really resonated with me.

I've always wanted to work in a bookshop or a library, and I imagine that owning one would be amazing, although it would be hard work. Hallie would have been lost without Dimitri, who proves invaluable. I loved that he's bookish like Hallie and makes her feel like she's not weird or alone in the world. Dimitri is a wonderful character and I couldn't wait to find out more about him.

Hallie's mum was also an amazing character. She's funny and embarrassing, and made me think of the mum in Miranda. She clearly just wants Hallie to be happy, but pushes her to insanity in her attempts to be matchmaker.

I adored the idea of finding secret love letters in old books and using them to reunite long lost loves. I was completely engrossed in not only Hallie's story, but also the people in the love letters. The love letters added an extra layer and a touch of magic to the story, and they were one of the things I loved most.

There were many things that I loved about this book;the plot,the characters, the setting,the books! I could go on forever, but I'll end my review by saying that if you're looking for a feel good read to escape into, with a touch of magic and a hint of Drama, then this is the book for you.

The Little Bookshop of Love Stories
(⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
This book had me from the first sentence, “It is a truth universally acknowledged that today is the Mondayest Monday ever. I’ve been fired. Again.”
*
This stories follows Hallie Winstone, whose luck is changed when she finds out that her favorite little town bookshop will now be owned by HER! She finds love and adventure in books and finally after a lifetime of bad luck she wins her dream job, to be a bookshop owner.
This job comes with some challenges since the bookshop is in financial ruins as Drake Farmer a developer is trying to pressure her into selling or else he will make sure the bookshop goes bankrupt. But it also comes with its own quirky illustrator, Dimitri.
*
This Rom-Com is a perfect escape with its amazing love story, quick whit and a mystery as the couple rediscovers love letters in the stacks. Who do they belong to? Can they bring the lovers back together or is it too late?

I used to dream about owning my own bookshop when I was younger. I
would still jump at the chance if the opportunity arose.
When Hallie wins a bookshop in a prize draw it is a dream come true, especially as it is the bookshop that she has visited since she could read. I think that most avid readers wish that this could have happened to them.
When I read about Hallie, she reminded me very much of myself. Glasses, clumsy- yes, I also trip over my own feet, walk into doors etc. She was also being constantly told that she had enough books, and didn't need anymore. I completely agree with her, you can never have too many books. It was good to have a character who I could relate to.
Hallie and Dimitri are quirky, flawed and I can relate to the self deprecating. They are however both wonderful characters.
Hallie's Mother is very funny in her matchmaking and culinary disasters.
I guessed some of the twists to the story right from the start of the story. However there were a few surprises along the way. I also loved the literary references which were scattered throughout the book.
Jaimie Adman's stories often have a fairytale feel to them, a fantasy setting, romance, a sprinkling of magic and a happily ever after. This book is no exception. It is such an uplifting and happy escapism. Something that is particularly needed at a very difficult and uncertain time. It made me laugh, it made me smile, it is a delightful read.
Thank you very much to Netgalley and the Publisher for my Early preview copy of this book.

Hallie has terrible luck with jobs. After being fired from her current job, she’s at her wits end until she receives an email stating she’s won a contest. The grand prize is a bookstore of her very own. Hallie loves books and has always dreamed of owning her own bookstore.
This was a sweet book that any book lover will want to jump at.
I think the story alone carries it self, for the author to add a villain, deceit and a lot of miscommunication was unnecessary.
Regardless I would still recommend this book.
Thank you to the publisher and net galley for the advanced reader copy and exchange for my honest review.

Unashamedly romantic and book loving, I read most of this book (there’s the usual wee blip 😜) with a huge smile on my face! Anyone who loves books and love stories will love this book too! Oh how I wish this bookshop ‘Once Upon a Page’ existed in my town.
An interesting idea of investigating the inscriptions inside second hand books, and how books as gifts can represent so many stages in life, had me itching to get back into charity shops...after lockdown ends!
The characters feel like best friends, and my heart went out to Dmitri as we found out more about him.
If you need something light and carefree to keep you smiling, this is the book for you!