Bloomsbury Books transports the reader to 1950 and shows him what life in London was like for a myriad of characters with different backgrounds, different nationalities, and different expectations towards life. It brings back Evie Stone, a sweet girl introduced in Natalie Jenner’s debut book, The Jane Austen Society, but it also presents us with other characters who work at the bookshop in Lamb’s Conduit Street, namely Vivien Lowry and Grace Perkins around whom the main story will be centered.

As we are introduced to the bookshops many rules, the narrative connects those rules to the stories of the various employees who share a love for literature despite their many differences. This was one of the aspects I enjoyed the most about this book. I mean, what’s not to love in a book about books and literature? The setting was perfect! I loved to witness the events that were organized at the bookshop, follow the participants discussions, and to have well known authors like Daphne du Maurier, Samuel Beckett and George Orwell present in the story in one way or the other.

I found the diversity of characters and especially the diversity of their lives, their position in society and expectations very interesting as it demonstrated that everybody is unique and has their own struggles to face, but I also found it difficult to connect with all these characters because the book was somewhat descriptive and we were introduced not only to many different characters, but also to many details about their lives, thoughts, feelings and even the people connected to them, which created a distance towards the characters, and was at times distracting to me.

Even though this is a women-centric novel, and Grace was the person who captivated me the most, there were a few male characters such as Alex or Lord Baskin that I truly enjoyed and would have liked to get to know better. They were essential to get the Bloomsbury Girls where they needed to be in, and I really liked their contribute to the tale.

As the story progressed, I started to get more interested to know if the Bloomsbury girls would indeed overcome their fears and achieve their goal. I liked the fact that these women found a way to support each other, and that their common goal was also liberating with regards to their own personal struggles. Each one of these characters had something they felt they needed to overcome to be happy with their life, so I enjoyed seeing that books were the answer to their desires.

Summing up, Bloomsbury Girls in an immersive novel that transports the reader to the post World War II London society where the reader will find stories of lost hope and disappointment, but also resilience, friendship, strength and success.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for my gifted audiobook copy of Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner.

This story about a bookstore and three strong female characters sounds marvelous but it is very slow going throughout the novel. I am glad I had the audiobook to help me along the way. The narration by Juliet Stevenson is well done and helped me to get into the story and connect with the characters. There is a good amount of characters in this novel which was sometimes tricky for me to follow but I had the physical copy as well which had a list of characters and their jobs at Bloomsbury Books which helped. I also enjoyed the map of the bookstore that was provided in the physical copy.

This is a quiet novel with interesting characters that I would not have appreciated if I only had to physical book. I am glad I decided to listen to the audiobook to help me work my way through this story.

Read if you love books about books and bookstore and if you do not mind a slower paced book.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

I love a book about books! The way the author ties history into the telling about three women and a bookstore is genius and created such a page-turner for readers. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Lovely but a little too slowly paced for my liking. It had a great premise just took awhile to get into and even then I wasn’t rushing to finish it.

Evie Stone, from the Jane Austen Society, makes a second appearance in Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner.

Set in the 1950's, Bloomsbury Girls chronicles the lives of 3 ladies working in a bookshop in London . In the early 1950's, Women were still considered to be inferior to men, especially in the workplace
Bloomsbury Girls is the story of these women standing together and putting the male employees firmly in their place.

I enjoyed this book. I would recommend this title to anyone who enjoys women's literature.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a free digital audio copy of this book from Net Galley.

#BloomsburyGirls#NatalieJenner#NetGalley

This was such a heartwarming historical fiction read! I liked the premise of this one so much but some of the execution left me wanting more.

Oh, how I love Natalie Jenner's books. The eloquence of her writing and the superb storytelling is simply delightful. These three women are captivating as they follow their path to self-discovery and discover what their futures could be if they follow their dreams.


Reviewer Note: For a while, I originally posted on my website because that was where most of my followers were, and it was the easiest for me at the time. Then my website crashed. The reviews I wrote were lost. I am doing my best to post my comments here from what I can remember. Starting 2023, I have been posting across platforms (site/Instagram, Goodreads, & Amazon) so that the reviews are in more places.

Even though historical fiction isn’t my go to genre because I become a bit too emotional. After reading the premise of this book, I thought it would be one I would enjoy. However, it just didn’t work for me.

It took me a while to get into Bloomsbury Girls. I definitely didn't enjoy it quite as much as The Jane Austen Society, but I did enjoy it. I loved how strong the female characters were and how they supported each other. I found it cozy and would love to work in their bookshop! The story just lacked a touch of magic.

I loved the premise of this book, but unfortunately it a little flat for me. This is the second book in the series, but you do not need to read the first. This book is a little slow, but it gets better as it goes. If you’re a fan of Jane Austen, you will enjoy this book!

The second book in the Jane Austen Society series has arrived, and I just love a book that showcases fellow book lovers and plenty of books at the heart of the story.

BLOOMSBURY GIRLS is set during the 1950s, and is a story about three women, Evie Stone, one of the first female graduates from Cambridge, Grace Perkins, a wife and mother, and Vivian Lowery, who is picking up the pieces after losing her fiancée during the war.

I love the theme of female friendship woven through this story, lifting one another up and showing female support to one another. This was such a heartwarming and enjoyable read that made my book loving heart so happy.

I had both the physical and audiobook copy, and loved them both.

*many thanks to St Martins Press and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy for review

“Bloomsbury Girls” is for readers who love the smell of pages, who spend hours searching for treasures in old bookshops, and who are predisposed to the empowerment of women. In short, it is a book lover’s dream.

Juliet Stevenson, CBE, the accomplished stage and screen actress, narrates this Earphones Award-winning audio book with her vibrant, adaptable voice, skilfully capturing the different personalities in the book.

Natalie Jenner’s debut novel, “The Jane Austen Society”, is a much-loved international bestseller. In her second novel, “Bloomsbury Girls”, she returns to the world of books. Jenner used to own an independent bookshop so it was easy for her to come up with a setting for her second book.

The novel was inspired during the pandemic when the housebound author rewatched “84 Charing Cross Road”, a favourite movie (and book).

“Bloomsbury Girls” begins in England, on 19 December 1949, with Evie Stone, who has recently graduated with honors from Cambridge University. What follows is the story of Vivien, Grace and Evie, three very dissatisfied female employees of a quintessential old fashioned London book shop in 1950. They are engaged with a battle of the sexes with their male department heads and they band together, plan to perform a coup and try to take over the book shop.

“Bloomsbury Girls” is a tribute to the power of the written word, and a captivating read.

At the heart of Bloomsbury Girls is a story about female friendship and how we can all succeed if we help each other along the way. I expected this to be another war novel, but it was so much more! And I loved that it was set in the 1950s. You still got WWII vibes because the characters talked about their struggles, the rationing that still took place, and how the war impacted everyone in different ways, but it was a nice change of pace for this novel to be set while Europe, and London in particular, was digging itself out after so many years of chaos.

This is a slow burn historical fiction and was so utterly charming. I loved that it tackled some real issues that were faced by groups in the past. It added an extra depth to the novel. I found myself becoming enveloped in the bookshop, which I’m sure is the dream of many bookworms. I had the biggest smile on my face as I read the last few chapters. Everything was wrapped up so nicely which I always love! I found that I didn’t need to read the Jane Austen Society to thoroughly enjoy this book but I will definitely be going back to read it now! I cannot wait to see what this author does next!

Book: Bloomsbury Girls⁠
Author: Natalie Jenner⁠
Format: Audiobook⁠
Genre: Drama, Romance, Historical FIction⁠
Places Featured: London, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⁠
Book Club/Reading Challenge: N/A⁠
Review Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁠
Review: This book had a premise that seemed to be right up my alley--it follows three women in 1950s England who work at a small bookstore in London run by a group of men who are out of touch with the changing world. Unfortunately, the stories are boring and the characters unrealistic--I really didn't have any attachment to any of them and with a meandering story that didn't seem to have much purpose, I had a hard time following along.

1950: Bloomsbury Books has been in business for 100 years, run by men, following the general manager’s 51 unbreakable rules. The women who work in the store have plans, though. There is Viven Lowry, whose aristocratic fiancé died in World War II and who butts heads constantly with Alec McDonough, head of fiction; Grace Perkins, who supports her family since her husband’s breakdown after the war; and Evie Stone, one of the first females to graduate with a degree from Cambridge, looking to remake her future at Bloomsbury after being denied a career in academia.

This book is a sequel to <i>The Jane Austen Society</i> but can easily be read as a standalone. With the influx of World War II novels over the past decade, it was refreshing to read one set a few years post-war. The story started a bit slow for me but soon picked up as I became invested in the store and everyone’s lives. The three women all had their own distinct personalities but were strong in their own ways. A solid 3.5 star read

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I thoroughly enjoyed by reading Bloomsbury Girls as my introduction to author Natalie Jenner. Her descriptive writing and engaging characters created a delightfully immersive experience.

The novel features Evie, Grace, and Vivien, women in different circumstances, brought together through employment at Bloomsbury Books in post-war London. The story is a delightful combination of bookish goodness, women characters claiming their power in the 1950s, and actual historical women, including Daphne Du Maurier and Peggy Guggenheim. The audiobook narration by Juliet Stevenson was spot-on to convey the spirit of this feminist-focused story.

Most of the male characters represent forces that have suppressed Evie, Grace, and Vivien from achieving their potential, beginning with Herbert Dutton, Bloomsbury Books manager. He runs the store with an outdated set of 51 unbreakable rules; one is quoted at the beginning of each chapter. There's also a sweet romantic storyline.

My only regret is that I hadn't read The Jane Austen Society first, an 'error' I hope to correct soon. While Bloomsbury Girls isn't its sequel, I feel I would have had an even richer reading experience if I was already familiar with Evie and the events of the author’s first novel.

Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the review copy of the audiobook.

It’s post-war London and three women of varying backgrounds and ages find themselves working together at Bloomsbury Books. Vivien, an outspoken aspiring writer is behind the cash counter; Grace, a mother and discontented wife to a man scarred by the war is Secretary to the General Manager; and Evie Stone, a young female graduate of Cambridge who was recently passed over for a research assistant position in favor of a less qualified male, is hired at Bloomsbury Books to catalogue the rare books on the third floor. These three intelligent, abundantly capable women are desirous of more meaningful positions in the shop, but their fresh, innovative ideas are often hastily dismissed; their ambitions and creativity stifled by the men in charge even though their combined efforts create a beneficial symmetry that cannot be denied. This is especially true of the General Manager whose fifty-one rules govern Bloomsbury Books and must be abided by—rules that have deprived the shop of profit to the dismay of its owner, the Earl, Lord Jeremy Baskin. Lord Baskin is confident in the womens’ abilities to effect positive change in the shop, however, he’s reluctant to usurp any authority he has entrusted to his male management team. But when a bad decision on the part of one of his trusted male employees causes a chain of events that will change the trajectory of all of their lives, the women prove to be more shrewd than anyone expected.

I loved this book! While it’s not a sequel to The Jane Austen Society (one of my favorite *Top Pick* books of 2021, also by Natalie Jenner), characters from the book are present in Bloomsbury Girls, including one of the main characters, Evie Stone. While it can most definitely be read and thoroughly enjoyed as a stand-alone I highly recommend reading The Jane Austen Society preceding it.

There’s so many great elements comprising this book. Each chapter heading begins with one of the fifty-one rules from the shop and then proceeds with how that particular rule is broken by mostly the female staff at Bloomsbury Books. 😂 I thought this was a clever way to formulate the narrative. I enjoyed the womens’ tenacity in shaping their professional and personal lives and their determination to change the impressions of a woman’s worth. My heart leapt at the mention of famous female authors who attended the literary luncheons the ladies orchestrated, along with discussions of their published books, some of which I’ve read and enjoyed during my lifetime. The name dropping of famous authors, bookstores, classic books and well known publishers excited me. 😃
The women of the shop triumph with their intuitive ideas on how to bring recognition and popularity to the status quo Bloomsbury Books. I was rooting for them in life and in love. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

A story for book lovers, which transports the reader to London in the 1950s. The intrigues of a bookstore and the literary world. Three women who decide to forge their future and control it. This is a delightful read. Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillan Audio for the advance copy.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Audiobooks have so much to do with the narrator, and I did not like the narrator of this book it distracted me from the book, and therefore I did not finish the book. Maybe I will try again when it comes out in print.