"I think within all of us, there is a void, a gap waiting to be filled by something. For me, that something is books and all their proffered experiences." -Madeline Martin, The Last Bookshop in London
I think this quote really resonates with many of us especially during these Covid times. This fit the bill nicely for me. It's a lovely tribute to the people, especially surviving bookshop owners in London during the blitz. At first I was feeling casual about another WWII novel but I persisted. I am thrilled I did. There was something really life-affirming and heroic about their determination to do their best during frightening times. I was reminded yet again, of the power and beauty of words and their power to uplift and inspire.
I would like to thank #netgalley, #Harlequin and the author for an Arc copy. I will be searching out more of her books.
5+

The Last Bookshop in London is a love letter for all booksellers, librarians, educators, avid readers, and anyone else who believes a good story can alter your life.

Grace Bennett moved from the country to London in search of a more exciting life. And find it she did, as Britain soon declares war on Germany and Hitler's Third Reich. Soon her problems seem trivial compared to men being conscripted and mothers sending their children to live with strangers in the country. When the Blitz starts in London, volunteering as an ARP warden gives Grace a sense of purpose, a sense of helping the cause. But Grace soon discovers that helping people escape the war through books can be just as rewarding as helping douse fires.

Madeline Martin clearly knows the power of a good story; for readers, a book can be an escape, a form of therapy, a coping mechanism, and just plain entertainment, and books are all of those things and more in The Last Bookshop in London. Readers will fall in love with Grace, and whole-heartedly relate to how books changed not only her but her community. The Last Bookshop in London is a love story, an emotional and fulfilling love found while the world is in chaos.

Oftentimes, it's hard to put the love of reading into words, to capture what stories mean to the reader and just how important literature can be to a society. Madeline Miller beautifully puts into words that feeling of connection and belonging that comes from reading and anyone who loves reading will find a piece of themselves in Grace Bennett.

If you need an uplifting book about London during World War II, this is the book for you. Although death and loss occur, the book focuses more on how friendships and the comfort of books keep hope alive.
On the eve of World War II, Grace Bennett and her friend Viv leave the English countryside to move to London to live with Grace’s deceased mother’s dearest friend. Grace begins a job in a bookstore, which is not her dream job, as she is not a reader. A handsome customer encourages her to start reading and gives her a copy of The Count of Monte Cristo. She is now hooked, both on the book and George, the handsome customer. They begin a romantic relationship just before he leaves for the front. Grace begins to enjoy her work at the bookshop and starts volunteering as an air raid warden. Grace sees death, destruction and despair on her nightly shifts. But through reading to others in the Underground shelters and in bookstore, she gives hope and escape to the Londoners affected by the incessant bombing.
Martin starts the book with too many unnecessary details, but this stops after chapter 1. It is not densely written, so can be read fairly quickly. Grace is a likable character, as are most others. Even those that start off as unlikable become more sympathetic. Martin mentions the daily conditions during the war, such as food and clothing rationing, children being sent to the country and Victory gardens, but the focus is on the relationships between characters and Grace’s work in Primrose Hill Books.
I would recommend this book to those with a general interest in London during the second world war, those who have a love of books and bookstores and those who like stories about women starting over.
Thank you to Harlequin and NetGalley for this advanced reader’s edition.

Books. Blackouts. The Blitz. This novel of World War II is about a young woman who moves to London on the eve of the war and finds employment in a bookshop. Grace is actually quite uninterested in reading but has a skill for organization and promotion, and she is introduced to the wonder of books by a longtime bookstore patron who is off to war as an airman. There are many, many novels set in World War II, and the outstanding parts of this one are its description of the blackouts and the effects of the bombings. But even more than that, it's about how a love of reading can provide entertainment and comfort to people in times of severe stress and deprivation, how books can build a community, and how books create connections to others near and far. Lovely.

Set in London during WW2, this is a beautiful story about the ways literature and reading can unite a community going through an unbelievably difficult time. I love historical fiction and this had the perfect balance of history-story and character development that it kept me reading all day (and late into the night).
Put it on your list to read!
Pub date: April 6, 2021

Thanks to @hanoversquarepress and @harperaudio, @netgalley and @librofm for the advanced copies.

An enjoyable read! The story starts with Grace and her BFF Viv moving to London at the beginning of WW II and follows their experiences through the end of the war. Grace begins a job at a bookshop - something new to her, and she doesn't read. A helpful, handsome customer there introduces her to the wonderful world of reading and it opens up her whole life. She transforms the neglected bookshop into something that feeds the community through the war. She has a lot of compassion and bravery - taking on being a sector warden during the blitz. And, of course, there is romance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a temporary digital ARC in return for my review.

Trigger warnings: war, loss of a parent, bombings

Grace Bennett has always dreamed of living in London and leaves rural England for the city at the beginning of World War II. Grace and her lifelong friend Viv move in with Mrs. Weatherford, one of Grace's mother's longtime friends. Mrs. Weatherford finds Grace a job at Primrose Hill Books and Viv works as a salesgirl at Harrod's.

Grace's job at the bookshop is initially for only 6 months so she can attain a letter of reference to join Viv at Harrod's, but Grace takes a shining to the bookshop and becomes an asset to the owner.

When in a public bombing shelter, Grace begins telling the other Londoners about the book she's reading, and they ask her to read it aloud. Her reading enraptures the people underground and takes their minds off of the bombings.

The people begin coming back to the shelter to hear Grace read, which inadvertently saves the lives of people who would have been in another shelter if not for wanting to hear her stories. More and more people in the shelters gather to listen, and they form an impromptu book club at Primrose Hill Books.

The bookshop and its customers become dear to Grace, and she begins to see the owner as the father she never had. Through bombings, deaths, and the despair of war, the bookshop stands as one of the last beacons of hope for civilians who have sent their children away, lost loved ones, and worry about the men in their families serving in the military.

Recommended for book lovers and readers of historical fiction, especially World War II fiction.

After moving to London, Grace finds a job at the Primrose Hill Bookstore. Determined to set the dusty uninviting space right, Grace discovers her love of books. When German forces begins to bomb London, Grace is determined to carry on and serve the community.

Although this was a good read, the characters seemed to lack depth. They seemed a little stereotypical and one dimensional. I did enjoy reading about the bookstore and how Grace began reading during bomb attacks to calm those around her. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars.

A somewhat predictable book, however it gives a good accounting of London life during the blitz. I am sure will be enjoyed by many readers

A coming of age tale with books as incentives ...

Firstly I need to harangue the author :
Madeline!
You made me cry ...

This book is not a romance in the common sense of the terme, yet it is a love story.
How books bring people together, how they help them face adversity, how they rescue them from dark places and make them be better persons.

I even googled Paternoster row, and the war pictures were devastating, yet from those ashes life rose and blossomed.

Being French, I am not fond of the WWII period, it was a dirty war which revealed the blackness of the human soul, and the stories told by my grandfather a policeman and my father a teen turned photographer did not alleviate its bleakness. And maybe it is also because it is too close to home, time and distance I am not attracted by the era.
But after watching The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, I was curious to learn more about this dramatic time through the prism from the other side of the Channel.
And I just loved this book, a love declaration to books and their sheer power of one is willing to be open to them.

During this destructive period, books were nearly the only entertaining, the news only brought lists of death and destructions, so being able to jump in an other life, place or time regardless of the time or area, it was an incommensurable luxury.
One of the reason Hitler destroyed some many previous books in his gigantic auto-de-fe.

So, here we follow Grace, a young woman now orphaned who makes her way in London at the worst possible time, on the Eve of the WWII, she needs a job to help her sustain her and provide a recommendation letter for a better job later.
She is no reader, so when she lands a place in a bookshop, she is like a bull in a china shop.
But hard work never scared her, so she rolls her sleeves and goes to work.
One day at a time she slowly wins her employer’s regard.
All the while enduring the hardship of a war period, with all its losses and horrors.
From the lost young woman who first stepped in the big city, she morphs to a self assured one. she, with compassion and efforts, builds a new family, made of add-on-parts, but one of the heart. She is no warrior nor amazon, but she finds her own way to provide help, comfort and respite.
A wonderful tale of ordinary heroes, with their sole courage kept going and living, of their resilience, thirst of life and love shared for words.
5 stars because there is no higher ranking number..

𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 none

I have been granted an advance copy by the publisher Hanover Square Press, here is my true and unbiased opinion.

I enjoyed this book so much! Although I have read widely about the London Blitz, I had never read, or even thought, about the London bookshops during that time. The author certainly did her research, and the character development was excellent. Once I started the book, I didn't want to put it down. I look forward to recommending this title to our library patrons!
Thanks for the advance reading copy.

Grace and Viv left their small home town of Dayton and moved to London to get away from an uncle and overbearing parents. They had no idea things would get as bad as they did.

Grace found a job in a bookstore....how fun to arrive in London and to work in a bookshop. Viv worked as a sales clerk at Harrod’s.

The funny thing was that Grace had no love of books, but that was the only job she could find since war was about to break out. She had to deal with the grumpy shop owner, but she made the best of the situation.

A handsome, helpful customer, George, that visited the book shop and smiled at Grace made the shop more bearable. He was also helpful and gave Grace ideas about getting the shop organized after all these years.

Grace brought new life and more business to Primrose Hill Books. Her organization had customers buying more and staying longer. She was a success and knew she would get a wonderful letter of recommendation if she could last for her required six months.

All things weren’t great, though. The children in London were taken from their parents and sent to the country, and George and Colin, their landlady’s son, were sent off to war leaving Grace, Viv, and Mrs. Weatherford alone.

As the women are alone, Grace learns the beauty of books and how they can take you to another place and keep the story with you.

Viv learns that she can’t work at Harrod’s when she knows other women are doing things for their country.

Mrs. Weatherford learns to cope with her son being gone and with helping others while continuing to take care of Grace.

Readers will hear of the London bombings which I didn’t know were so often and so devastating, but for the most part bookworms will not want to miss THE LAST BOOKSHOP IN LONDON.

It is a must read because of the bookshop setting, London, and the endearing characters. The characters are just so heartwarming and genuine.

This book would definitely be good for a reluctant reader because Grace shares how she turned from a non-reader to one who can’t stop reading and recommending and turning others into readers and book lovers.

THE LAST BOOKSHOP IN LONDON is a lovely, lovely read and a tribute to mankind in times of need.

You will need some tissues and many ways to tell everyone how wonderful this book is. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Bookshop in London is my most recent read about the importance of books during WWII. In this novel, Grace and her best friend have just moved to London, excited for their new life in the big and bustling city. But, in the late 1930s, WWII was raging and London appears to be the next target. Grace finds herself seeking employment at a quaint, somewhat run down, local bookshop. Determined to make her time there successful, Grace plows full steam ahead into modernizing the shop. In an effort to contribute at a time of war, Grace also becomes a warden and walks the streets in full blackout to help protect the people of London. The Last Bookshop in London is a love story for our elders, for family, for fierce female friendships, for books and for romantic love. Author Madeline Martin paints a realistic, at times harrowing, description of how the war literally tore London apart. Watching Grace navigate terror, heartarch, love and hope made for an incredible read. Book lovers all over will rejoice in reading The Last Bookshop in London and it should not be missed by lovers of historical fiction and romance.

A sincere thank you to Netgalley for ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book! I chose in on a whim, being that I love books, bookshops, and any fiction about WWII, and was pleasantly surprised. While the story is sad and difficult to read in many places - as all good stories set during WWII are - the overall idea of hope during times of darkness made the story a happy one overall. A five-star book, in my opinion, and one I will recommend to my Book Club.

What a beautiful story. This story was so full of love, compassion, kindness, hurt, anger and beauty. Even though there is war going on and horrific things that are happening, this book revolves around the bookshop owner, his assistant and the people that live in the area of the bookshop. The characters are so full of life. You truly feel you know them (or you are them). The descriptions put you right there. I loved this story and will highly recommend it and order it for our library (regular print and large print). I could not put it down.

•A R C•B O O K•R E V I E W•
2021 Book #34 out of 80
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THE LAST BOOKSHOP IN LONDON by MADELINE MARTIN
Publication date April 6, 2021
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ out of 5 stars
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QUICK SYNOPSIS: A heartwarming historical fiction novel, set during the World War II era. Grace Bennett obtains a job at the Primrose Hill Bookstore, as an assistant to Mr. Evans. As the tension from the war escalates, Grace becomes a pillar to the community in more than what she had envisioned for herself. Follow her as she builds knowledge in books, connections in the community, and her time as a volunteer ARP (Air Raid Precautions) warden.

STORYLINE & THOUGHTS:
~ I've never really been drawn into reading Historical Fiction, so I was a bit reluctant in reading The Last Bookshop in London. After reading the book, I was very thankful I took a risk and read it, otherwise, I would have definitely missed out on this 4 out of 5-star book!
~ With a female protagonist leading the story, I was drawn to reading more and seeking how their character development would unfold. Martin did a wonderful job showing the strength and courage that a woman could hold during such a sad time.
~ With a subtle amount of romance, the feeling of loss, and the impact of community - Martin's writing style captured the effects of wartime in Britain.
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Thank you to @netgalley and @HanoverSquarePress for this ARC Ebook. All reviews are fair and honest reviews. All opinions are my own.
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The Last Bookshop in London quietly seduces the reader with an irresistible story of a young lass from the country who goes to London to "discover life" and finds instead something very different - the destruction and heartbreak of the Blitz. Madeline Martin does a wonderful job of drawing the reader into the story, much like Grace Bennett the main character draws in the traumatised Londoners to her book readings in underground stations and the "Last Bookshop." Grace doesn't start out as a reader, but she becomes one, escaping the heartbreak and death around her into other worlds, created by Charlotte Bronte, Alexander Dumas and F Scott Fitzgerald. Martin doesn't soft pedal on the shock and destruction faced by the bombed inner city residents, but she captivates with a tale of how the power of story telling overcomes darkness and despair. Truly a book to lose yourself in.

When Grace Bennett moves to London with her best friend Vivienne “Viv” Bailey in August of 1939, there is no way she can even begin to imagine how much not only her life is about to change – but how much the world is about to change as well!

Grace arrives in London full of hopes and dreams, she, and her friend Viv, rent rooms from her late mother’s widowed friend, Mrs. Weatherford, and her grown son Colin. While Grace had high hopes of becoming a job as a shop girl at Harrod’s, she had no written references, she instead gets a job at Primrose Hill Books, a small bookshop owned by Mr. Evans, due to the help of Mrs. Weatherford and even gains the promise of a referral letter after six months. Grace is not pleased, she is not a reader and while she has basic shop knowledge from working for her uncle, she knows nothing about books, which is made clear on her first day. She arrives to work, the shop is a mess, cluttered and unorganized, Mr. Evans clearly doesn’t want an employee, and Grace feels hopeless when a customer asks for help finding a book, but things begin to look up when another customer, a man named George comes to her rescue, and even suggests a book for her to read. She leaves the shop a bit more hopeful, but that changes later that evening when the radio announces the mobilization of the fleet – a sure sign that war is coming.

This book is not my normal genre, but having read this author’s historical romances, I was sure I would find a well-written, well-researched story with a strong heroine and an interesting story – and I was not wrong, but I was not prepared to be sucked into the story and held captive the way I was! While reading this book, I experienced a complete array of emotions while reading this story – shock, pain, heartbreak, loss, wonder, hope, and love – I felt Grace’s struggles, her fears, her disappointments, her hope, her horror, and her joys – I watched her find an escape in reading and happiness in sharing her newfound love of reading with others. I finished this book with a new respect for not only the men and women who served in the military and sacrificed so much but also for those who fought on the Homefront – who were separated from their children, who made do with meager rations, who supported each other and never gave up hope. I loved this book and am so glad I decided to give it a go, it was wonderful, and can’t recommend it highly enough.

*I am voluntarily leaving a review for an eARC that I requested and was provided to me by the publisher. All opinions in this review are my own. *

Stories set during the Blitz always catch my eye, and with the bookshop component, I was instantly hooked. If you love books about books and bookstores, this this one is an enjoyable read with characters you can get lost with.

This book is about wartime London and the effects books can have on our lives. Grace and her friend Viv leave their small village to move to London on the eve of World War II. They live with the best friend of Grace's late mother and look for work. For Grace, that can be difficult because she does not have any references. She does get a job in a bookshop which she doesn't even want because she doesn't like to read. One customer introduces her to The Count of Monte Cristo and Grace's eyes are opened to the joys of reading. We watch Grace as she learns to live in wartime London helping to run the bookshop and serving on air raid warden patrol at night. We see the horrors of the bombings, the death, the nightly trek to the shelters. I think this book more than any other I have read brought the war alive to me in London at that time. Most of all we watch the power of books on Grace and so many others who are trying to escape the horrors of the times they live in. I loved watching Grace's love of books grow and how she shares that love with others. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves books and historical fiction. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advanced reading copy. I have already been promoting it to my family!