The format of this book made it difficult to engage with any of the characters. I found Fawn to be a quite unlikable and more than a bit OTT. For this reason, I can't rate this book as highly as I'd hoped to be able to.

“Confessions of a curious bookseller” has the premise of a light-heart book, but as pages pass one is left with the sense of reading something that has no purpose at all, The way Elizabeth Green forms her narrative, via emails and letters, starts as an interesting method but soon it proves to be a really boring one for the reader. As I was reading the book I felt that this book is basically a superficial copy-cat of “Confessions of a shopaholic” that one really has to struggle to finish. With a protagonist that one can not sympathize with and a narrative that makes readers suffer, unfortunately, I would not advise anyone to read it unless it is the only book left in a remote hotel in a desert island! Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for the ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF at 15%. Fawn is harsh and pompous. A bookstore opens near Fawn's store - though she is presenting an unconcerned front.
The narrative told by email exchanges, reivews written by customers and Fawn elaborating as needed.
I just couldn't get past Fawn and her unlikable character to care about the story.

I struggled with this book, despite the main premise.

Fawn was just not a likeable character and while, at times, that works well for a storyline, it did nothing here.

The writing was okay, but the characters tanked it.

Thanks to Netgalley, I was able to recieve a free copy of this book. To be honest, it was quite boring. I was hoping the story would pick up but it didn't really go anywhere. I wouldn't recommend it for my library.

2.5 STARS

I wanted to to enjoy this book - and in a way I did - but it was SO ANNOYING at times. At times I laughed a lot, and I do really enjoy the emails as a form of narrative storytelling style, but the protagonist, Fawn, is (purposefully) an awful person and it took more than half of the book to get used to her narrative voice.

If Fawn had been just 10% easier to like I think this book would have been more enjoyable. As it stands, the book was quite funny but unfortunately when it came to the less whimsical plot aspects about Fawn's relationship with her family I struggled to sympathise with her because she is - to be entirely blunt about it - just a massive Karen.

What a gem of a book !! Feeling a little down and struggling to get into books I came across this read and couldn’t put it down ... I loved the main character Fawn and the way the book was written as emails/blog entries. Fawn runs a run down charming bookshop in her own eccentric way new bookshop on the block run by Mark opens and the story unfolds. We learn a lot about Fawn her childhood, relationship with her father and the ‘fake’ world she presents but beneath this you also learn the harsh reality of why she acts as she does. I didn’t want this book to end and we could surely see the further adventures of Fawn I feel in a sequel

Through emails, tweets, blog posts, and journal entries we follow the life of Fawn Birchill, a used bookstore owner struggling to make ends meet when a hip, new bookstore moves in down the street.

I love an epistolary novel and thought that format was utilized well to make a quick read of a long page count. Unfortunately, Fawn is the most unlikeable main character I have ever encountered. And not even in the anti-hero way where she has redeeming qualities. She is delusional, rude, cold-hearted, and a compulsive liar throughout. There is a small redemption arc attempted at the end, but in my opinion it was too little too late. I was really excited for this one but unfortunately would not recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for an advanced review copy of this book, but as always all opinions are my own!

Read this book in one sitting, and though the format it was written was mostly through email, posts, etc, I was not bothered by it. The author was able to carry on the story smoothly and without confusing the reader. At times the main character Fawn was a bit annoying or I just felt like I wasn’t really getting to know her, just her annoying habits and her overall sometimes mean demeanor. I enjoyed the book and always enjoy books that pertain to bookstores, librarians or book sellers.

I thought this would be right up my street as I love stories revolved around bookshops! Whilst some parts were entertaining/ funny, I found Fawn really unlikeable and just not a nice character. Books can be good if there is an unlikeable character but this just wasn't one of those. I found the way it was written through emails and journals made it more difficult to read as well. I thought it was going to be a light-hearted read and unfortunately just didn't feel that way to me.

3 ‘confused but curious’ stars

The Confessions of the Curious Bookseller tells the story of Fawn, the owner of a struggling bookshop and her cringe-worthy attempts of trying to compete with the owner of a new rival book store. This book felt long. Like. Really long. And unnecessarily so at times.

The story was told entirely through a series of emails, journal entries, notes, texts and ads. But despite this the author truly managed to do a great job of bringing Fawn to life.

If Bridget Jones ever decided to quit her job and turned to owning a bookshop, I imagine it would go very much like this. I don’t think Fawn was curious, I think she was more of a confusing catastrophe. But still, I couldn’t look away.

I expected a light hearted, ‘You’ve Got Mail’ romcom type read, but that is most definitely not what I got. In fact, romance doesn’t really exist in this book at all.

While I found the main character to be irritating, she was also rather complex, and because of this felt very human, which I appreciated. I think I stayed invested as I wanted to see if the author managed to redeem the character, or at the very least make her more endearing.

There is also lack of descriptions of many characters, which I acknowledge is a matter of personal preference, but I did not enjoy this aspect of the book. Towards the end of the book I realised I did not know what Fawn looked like, nor many of the secondary characters.

This book was very much all about the main character, though she was so annoying this made it challenging to persevere all the way through. If I had a penny for every time I rolled my eyes, shook my head or sighed at Fawn’s actions… well, I’d have a lot of pennies.

However, I’m glad I did persevere. The ending made me smile, and I even felt like I could sort of relate to the main character. I found the book to be well written - the content was amusing and moving at time, though occasionally the story seemed to drag. I would be interested in reading future works from this author as the writing style made for an easy read.

If you’re looking for an odd read, can tolerate an unusual main character that might grate on you, like reading about some awkward/funny situations and enjoy a few unexpected turns, then this may be a read you enjoy.

DNF at 53%

Many people think that you shouldn't post a review to a book you didn't finish, but if your leaving before a play ends shows your thoughts of a play, why wouldn't you leave before the end of a book you really don't like?!

So, if you like:
1. misleading titles
2. no plot
3. and horrible characters
this book might be the one for you. Sadly, none of the aforementioned is my thing.

Now, I like me a bad, nasty character, I really do. But bad characters are hard to write. You need to know how to balance and not make a reader sick before they finish a book. This is not that case.

The title and the cover of this book, even the description, suggest that this is a hilarious read. I mean, bookshops, cats, secret confessions - what's not to like here!?

First of, this is nothing bad sad and miserable.

Fawn, the main character, is this lonely, miserable person whose business is failing. A new bookshop opens in her neighborhood, and she does is lie, treat everyone around her poorly and try to get vengeance for who knows what.

I just can't even explain how frustrating of a character Fawn is!
The way she treats her family, employees, customers, fellow business owners. Everything is just sickening!

The book was written in the form of email correspondence, online comments and a little bit of journal entries. If it wasn't written like this, I highly doubt that I would have read this much.

Maybe the book itself isn't all that bad, but the advertising has to do a 180.

This book is laugh out loud funny in some parts and super sad in other parts. I absolutely loved the format of emails, journal entries, and web page correspondence. I loved this and it was written very well, some parts were a little drawn out or repetitive but overall a good story with good humor.
Fawn Birchill is the owner of her very own neighborhood book store, she also has a store cat named butterscotch and has taken on the feeding of numerous alley cats, the name of her bookstore is aptly named The Curious Cat Book Emporium. The book follows her journey through being the only neighborhood bookstore and somewhat thriving to becoming the second bookstore on the block and barely surviving. We find that fawn had a tough childhood working in her fathers store and see why she is very blunt and seems to complain a good bit, Fawn can be a bit ornery but is also generous and kind when she deems necessary.
This was a quick easy read and i thoroughly enjoyed all parts of the book,.

Thank you to the author, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love most anything about bookshops, cats never hurt and I enjoy reading epistolary novels. This should have been completely my jam. Unfortunately, the blurb "uproariously funny" should read "deeply miserable and depressing". Fawn, the main character is a deluded, completely out-of-touch fantasist who is deeply irritating because her treatment of everyone else is so shabby. As you read, you realize a bit of how she became the way she is, but I found her almost impossible to like. Because I do like epistolary novels, it was a quick read, and the last 20 pages make an effort to show that she is capable of change. However, it's a case of too little too late, sadly.

Actual rating: 2.5

When it comes down to it, I think that the biggest problem with this book is with its marketing. The cover, title, and description had me expecting a funny story, possibly some romance, and a whole lot of book love. What I got was an epistolary novel about a lonely, vindictive woman and her failing business.

Unfortunately, that meant that this book wasn't what I was expecting (or hoping for), and wasn't something I would normally pick out for myself. That being said, it definitely had its moments. The side characters were definitely the highlight of this story - each of them had really strong and distinctive personalities, and a lot of my favorite moments were their responses and reactions to Fawn's antics. And, although I'm not generally a fan of epistolary writing, the format of this novel was relatively effective. I ended up with a very vivid picture of Fawn's life, even without any actual narrative writing.

In terms of unlikeable main characters, this book really takes the cake. Fawn is simply dreadful. She's selfish, rude, and a pathological liar, and I just could not bring myself to empathize with or relate to her. And, while she does get a redemption arc, I found it incredibly rushed and therefore not nearly as satisfying as it could have been. Her comments and actions could be amusing at times, but other times her callousness was downright difficult to read. After a while, I got the point that she wasn't a good person, and her continued lies and snide comments were just overkill.

I am a bookseller and have been for over 30 Years. This book was different. Some of it I liked and some I didn't. I actually liked other characters better than the main charterer. Fran Birchill got on my nerves in the first part of the book and I could seem to shake that after

I read quite a few of the bad reviews of this book before diving in and I have to say it isn’t nearly as bad as a lot of people have said. Yes, Fawn is a terrible person, but she’s sad and desperate, not malicious, and there’s clearly a darker side to her history with her father that influences how she acts around others. It’s not a hilarious laugh-out-loud novel, but it is quirkily funny, something like Bridget Jones or the Bob Servant books with its epistolary style. It’s way too long though, it could have been half the length it is.

This story was very cute but I could only read it in my Humanities professors voice as Fawn had the same personality. Witty and cute but did seem to be long winded..
I did find that it was lacking in some areas.

Though I did not finish the book, I felt it necessary to give feedback. First and foremost, I thought Fawn was a great character and had a lot of potential. Her dialogue was well written and at times witty, which I really enjoyed. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into the story itself. I don’t mind the format of the book; I’ve actually read other books with a similar format and really liked them, so that did not deter my enjoyment of this book. However, at times I felt parts of the book didn’t flow well, and some parts felt very dry and unnecessary, as if they were just filler. I truly wish I would have found the story more intriguing, but it just didn’t grab my attention like I had hoped.

I loved the format of this book, It was written as a series of emails which was unique and easy to read. However I found the main character Fawn very hard to stay interested in. I love books about bookstores but this one didn't do it for me. The writing was well done, the author is definitely skilled. However, if I was shaving coffee with Fawn I would want to leave quickly and I felt the same way about this book. Thank you for the opportunity to read it. Sorry this one didn't work out but I will try this author again next time.