This was very hard to read through audiobook. I got that It is a series of letters between a few people but about 3 chapters in I had lost track of who is who and what they were all talking about. I finished it because I wanted to see if it changed anyhow, but it never did. Could hear a little bit about the core story, but still don't get what it was about or how it exactly ended...
It was a book that reached many people and they all were connected through the book, but thats about all that I got from the book. Don't know what the book was about or why it was important to each person.

I just finished listening to The Lost Manuscript a couple of days ago and I really enjoyed it. The story starts with a woman on a mission to reunite a lost manuscript to its author. They then work together to try to find all the other people who had acquired the novel and how it came into their possession.

The story is told through a series of letters between the characters. I haven't read many novels that are framed this way, but despite my initial hesitance I have found I really enjoy them. I like that there's some mystery behind each person writing the letters and you only know as much as you do about them by what they say. This is not to say that you're left in the dark about who they are, but its just a different experience from other fiction novels.

The story itself was fun and light. The characters are interesting, they all have regrets and difficult pasts, but through the friendships they find they're able to grow and work towards happiness. As I read I googled the locations where they live and travelled - needless to say I'm jealous and hope to someday visit these places. One of the things I loved most about the audiobook was that there were 4 narrators, which emphasize the various personalities of the different characters.

Thank you Netgalley, Cathy Bonidan and Dreamscape Media for providing me with a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book was just okay for me. I listened on audio and I had a hard time keeping track of the storyline and alternating view points. I do feel as if I would have enjoyed it much more if I had read a physical copy. It was an enjoyable read, however, and I could see myself going back to it to read instead of listen.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Cathy Bonidan for allowing me to read and review The Lost Manuscript. Since reading Meg Cabot’s “The Boy Next Door” years ago, I have been a big fan of books written in the epistolary style. Because “The Lost Manuscript” is more than a boy meets girl story, however, with its multiple narrators and stories within a story framework, I feel that By listening to this story rather than reading it in print, I missed out on the true epistolary experience. Since I LOVED the complexity of this plot line, however, I will be reread it a print version of the book to fill in what I found lacking just by listening.

That said, the curiousity driving Anne-Lise to solve the mystery of how the 30-year-old manuscript she found while on holiday on the Brittany (Breton.?) coast ended up in the drawer of the bedside table of her hotel room was enough to hook me, as it was sufficient to persuade all of the people she corresponded with or otherwise encountered during her “quest.”

This book was quite an enjoyable read (listen)! It follows various characters as they attempt to find out who added to a manuscript that was found in a hotel. It's written as letters to and from these characters, which I very much loved. Books that are written like this are some of my favorites because it is something different and fun from my usual reads.

However, it did get a bit confusing as an audiobook. I typically listen to them while I am doing laundry or dishes but with all the characters to keep track of, I had to kind of focus more on what was being said. This made it a bit harder to enjoy the actual book for me, which is why I am giving it the star rating I did. I think I would have liked it more as a physical book compared to an audiobook. Overall I thought the book had a good premise and was good, but it would have maybe been better for me if I had read it in a different format.

Anne-Lise finds a manuscript while she is staying at a hotel, and when she enjoys the story she decides to mail it to the address she finds within its pages - assuming this is the only copy.

What follows is a story of discovery, told in epistolary form - as the author writes back and explains that the second half of the manuscript was written by a second person. Anne-Lise embarks on quest to find out what had happened to the manuscript, and over time she discovers various people who have touched the manuscript and who's lives were changed by it.

Friendships are forged, and secrets are revealed.

I listened to the audiobook - narrated by several French speakers, While it gave the book a good atmosphere, and stayed true to that fact that this is translated from French, it did mean that I had to work harder than I expected to follow along. Pronunciation of the English translation was unusual at times - often enough that it started significantly interfering with the story for me.

I really wanted to enjoy this book more than I actually did in the end. I found it boring at times, and found my mind wandering to the point that I had to replay sections to ensure I could follow the plot.

This ended up being a much more exciting book than I thought it would be. This story follows a multitude of characters as Anne-Lise Briard tracks down the author(s) of a lost manuscript found in a hotel room. I loved the characters and the unexpected journey that this manuscript took. It's a sweet, simple story. I listened to this as an audiobook and found the narration charming.

This audiobook was pleasant to listen to, but I found myself quite confused about who was who for awhile and the ending ultimately did not wrap any of that up for me.

Can you imagine opening your night stand at a hotel and finding a manuscript sitting there. Would you be tempted to read it, would you leave it? Anne-Lise can’t help but read it, finds a phone number, and starts a crazy journey to find the two authors of the manuscript who she quickly learns don't know each other. Each person leads to the next and a story about how the manuscript touched and changed their lives.

This book was a feel good story of love, loss, friendship, and connections. I gave it 4 stars because it was a good book but didn’t hold my attention as I thought it would.

Now that’s how you do an epistolary! An epistolary is written in the format of correspondence -- letters, emails, text messages, etc.

“The Lost Manuscript” is about the journey a manuscript takes, through all these different people’s lives, and how it changes them individually, as well as how it brings them together.

What I liked:

I love “books for book lovers,” as I call them. These are books where the characters truly love reading and literature.

The audio is phenomenal. This is a perfect example of how to do an epistolary well, in audio form. There were four different narrators and that makes all the difference. Epistolaries, in my humble opinion, can get very confusing, very quickly.

Having different narrators helps the listener-reader differentiate between the letter writers. Bonus too, that they had accents that corresponded with the area of the world they came from. Very nice.

What I didn’t love:

The ending felt very rushed. I won’t give spoilers, but there was so much build-up to the ending and it felt like it just rushed to reach a resolution. I wanted to know more about the romance that featured so prominently in the lost manuscript.

Plot: 4.0
Characters: 3.5
Performance: 5.0

Thank you, Netgalley, for the opportunity to listen to "The Lost Manuscript."

This was a completely delightful yet poignant story. The narration was perfect and made it easy to keep the characters straight. The overarching mystery of the manuscript was wonderful and so fun for book lovers and anyone who has ever felt connected to or changed by a book. The characters felt so distinct and full, even though we only got to know them through letter. This book was exactly what I needed for the times right now.

Anne-Lise Briard finds a manuscript of a book in the nightstand of her room as she stays in Brittany at the Beau Rivage Hotel. Since she is an avid reader, she immediately reads the manuscript. She notices that the original author did not finish the book, but it was finished by another author. The book moved her very deeply, and she just has to know the story behind it. Anne-Lise begins her search.

Oh, I love this book! Written completely in letters, it is through correspondences that we follow the plot. Not only is it a fun mystery with amazingly real characters, but it shows the reader something I, as an avid reader, already know so well: a book can affect a reader very, very profoundly! As Anne-Lise digs into the history of the book, she makes friends along the way. Books also have the power to bind people together!

Netgalley gave me a free audio version of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The audio version is wonderfully done with great actors from the countries that their characters are from, making this book even more real!

3.5 Stars

I received a copy of "The Lost Manuscript" from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media in exchange for an honest review and I could not be more excited to have had the opportunity to listen to this book. "The Lost Manuscript" is a charming, beautifully written book that kept me intrigued from start to finish.

Anne-Lise Briars is on a vacation and she comes across a manuscript in the beside table drawer at the hotel. Upon reading the manuscript she becomes completely enthralled with the story. The address of the author is noted in the manuscript, so she writes a letter to him, only to discover the second half of the manuscript has been written by another mystery writer.

Anne-Lise then sets out to find the writer. The story is a collection of letters written to a variety of different people in an attempt to solve the mystery of the manuscripts. New friendships are formed, stories are shared, and the characters come together charmingly to tell an incredible story of friendship, love, and heartache. I love books about other books/stories and "The Last Manuscript" did not disappoint. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of the locations noted within the book. I was able to imagine I was right there with Anne-Lise and the other characters as the story unfolded.

The Lost Manuscript is a charming story for lovers of books. It is written as letters between strangers-who-will-become-friends, and this style fits the story format well. It starts when vivacious Anne-Lise Briard finds a manuscript in the drawer of her hotel room in Brittany. She is so taken by the story that she makes it a mission to track down the author. This she accomplishes in pretty quick order, but he writes her back with a twist. He wrote this story 33 years ago but didn't finish it. A stranger has taken it upon themself to finish the story!

Anne-Lise takes on the challenge of finding the mystery second author, despite Sylvester, the original writer's misgivings. She will meet a cast of characters as she traces the book's path backwards, many of whom were touched by the story or it affected their life in a profound ways. All the characters will change during the story and at the end the second author is revealed and it is a great surprise.

This was a quick listen as each chapter is a letter. There are various cast members reading each part and they did a good job of personalizing their character. I appreciate NetGalley for providing me with this ARC, and also the publisher--St Martin's Press, and the author--Cathy Bonidan.

The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan
Narrated by: Elodie Yung; Rupert Degas; Cecile Delepiere; Jean Brassard
Publication Date: January 12, 2021 - Out Today!
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Description from NetGalley...
“Sometimes a book has the power to change your life… When Anne-Lise Briard books a room at the Beau Rivage Hotel for her vacation on the Brittany coast, she has no idea this trip will start her on the path to unearthing a mystery. In search of something to read, she opens up her bedside table drawer in her hotel room, and inside she finds an abandoned manuscript. Halfway through the pages, an address is written. She sends pages to the address, in hopes of potentially hearing a response from the unknown author. But not before she reads the story and falls in love with it. The response, which she receives a few days later, astonishes her…

Not only does the author write back, but he confesses that he lost the manuscript 30 years prior on a flight to Montreal. And then he reveals something even more shocking—that he was not the author of the second half of the book.

Anne-Lise can’t rest until she discovers who this second mystery author is, and in doing so tracks down every person who has held this manuscript in their hands. Through the letters exchanged by the people whose lives the manuscript has touched, she discovers long-lost love stories and intimate secrets. Romances blossom and new friends are made. Everyone's lives are made better by this book—and isn't that the point of reading?”
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Thank you to @NetGalley @dreamscape_media @stmartinspress for the digital ARC and ALC in return for my honest review.
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My thoughts...
This is an epistolary novel, a novel written in letters. I went back and forth between the book and audiobook, but mostly I listened to the audiobook because I felt I preferred it. The different narrators and accents lend to an authentic experience. This was a fresh and fun experience. There were a few characters in here, but that was not an issue. I really liked the idea of the 30 year journey this manuscript took and along the way it inspired people. It was a delightful read about how a book could heal and bring strangers together.

This may have been my first ever epistolary style book and on top of that i listened to the audio book which I thought would get confusing but the opposite was true! Each letter had a short intro telling me who was writing to whom and after I got accustomed the narrators’ french accents, i loved how fun and unique the story was.

The story unfolds as Anne-Lise Briard finds a manuscript in a hotel drawer, discovers that it has been lost for 30 years and sets out to help the original author unravel the journey the manuscript took to get back to him. The whole thing was such a quirky mystery to dive into. We meet all sorts of people who handled the manuscript and learn about the impression they either left on it or it left on them. This was quite a fun tale and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a fun, light mystery.

This was a lovely book, made more interesting in some ways due to the audiobook presentation. It had multiple narrators allowing me to keep the characters straight and to visualize their interaction as their inflections communicated their joy and displeasure well.
Overall though, the storyline wasn't as engaging as I was hoping it would be. It is a lovely tale about a found manuscript and the circuitous route it took through various people and the impact it had on each of their lives. Both by the reading and by the connections the people found with each other as they went on a journey of discovery of exactly how the manuscript got to where it was.
I love epistolary novels, and so that is one reason why the audio book wasn't as magical as it could have been had I read the words on the page. Also the large number of characters makes it difficult to make close connections with any of them.
Overall this is a sweet tale about connecting in unique and interesting ways.

I love the narrators for this audiobook! They’re easy to understand, but have a beautiful French accent to make the book extra special, something different and romantic. I love the epistolary format. It makes the book feel like you found this bundle of letters that you know you shouldn’t read, but you can’t help yourself. You have to know how the story ends.

Thank you #dreamscapemedia and #netgalley for an advanced audiobook.

I’m just going to go ahead and say that epistolary format just doesn’t work for me. I don’t think it really works with an audiobook either but maybe that’s just my opinion. Maybe it would’ve been better in an epub format but I think the story itself didn’t interest me either so not sure if it would make a difference.

The premise is great on how book can touch more than one persons life. I think that’s a lovely idea and so true since books really do have that power. Sadly, I just couldn’t connect with any of the characters and didn’t’t care about the back stories. The small romance aspect did nothing for me either. Overall, I felt absolutely nothing for this book. I do like how it spanned across different countries and that it is a quick read as well, but that it about it.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

This book was, sadly, not for me. I wish I had a more positive review to give. I received an advance listener copy of the audiobook from Netgalley and I struggled through it. It was read in such a way that was being lulled to sleep. I had flashbacks of listening to older audiobooks read with a similar cadence. That very dry, slow, methodical read. Normally, I listen to audiobooks at 1.2X the speed. By increasing the playback rate, the pacing sound more conversational to me and it allows me to enjoy the book more if I feel like the read it dragging the story down. You can NOT speed this book up. When you do, it gives the audio a sort-of choppy underwater-like quality. So, while I was struggling to listen to the book at a normal rate, I might have enjoyed it more if I could have speed it up. But instead, I had trouble focusing on it and staying awake. Some of the voices were too similar, therefore I would easily lose track of whose perspective I was listening to, which inhibited me from connecting with any of the characters.

Basically, if this book sounds interesting to you I would recommend skipping the audiobook.