I saw a bookstore setting in the 1950s and jumped at the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. I don't read historical fiction very often these days and thought I would enjoy this change. Unfortunately, I felt that the pace was very slow and I struggled to stay interested in this story. I think I would have been better off having read The Jane Austen Society first, although it isn't strictly a sequel.

I enjoyed some aspects of listening to these women's stories and the way they overcame challenges. It was interesting to "meet" historical literary figures. I think the audiobook narrator voice fit the story well, but some of her vocal changes for the dialogue were slightly grating and I didn't think she needed to distinguish the narration from the dialogue quite so much!

This book would work best for historical fiction readers who enjoy character driven novels and for people who read and enjoyed The Jane Austen Society.

Thanks so much Macmillan Audio, St. Martins Press, and Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.

Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner is the account of three women in the fifties who are tired of being treated as less than the men and the steps they take to move forward. Vivien is young and single, having lost her fiancé in WWII. She is rash and sometimes angry but also fierce and ready to take on the world. Grace is a married mother with two boys. Her marriage is not a good one, her husband is often unkind. And Evie is young, just out of school, and lost out on her next research assistant position because she was not a man. Together, the three women will find friendship, joy, and hope for the future. Bloomsbury Books is an old book store, run by men, and with rules created by men. Fifty one of them in fact. As the only three girls in the store, they must tend to, not only their jobs, but also the whims of men. Add in an old and priceless book, and you get yourself a bit of drama. Much to the surprise of the men!
I thought this book was so fun, but it was also so interesting. As a single mother living in today's society, it doesn't take much to realize that we are not as far removed from this day and age as we would like to believe. I loved meeting the women, as well as some of the men in the shop. The lives we lead all inter-tangle and it is important to be authentic and true.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this audiobook.

I have been anxiously awaiting this book, as it is sequel to The Jane Austin Society, which I loved. It follows the smart, intellectual character Evie Stone as she is finishing her education at the great Cambridge University in 1950. Evie ends up at Bloomsbury Books in London through a series of events, where she works in the rare books department. This book is a slow build as it introduces you to the various employees of the bookshop. You learn to appreciate each one in their own individuality. There is fun in meeting several famous women of that time period, while including some of our favorite characters from The Jane Austin Society. It does address women’s status in society at that time, but doesn’t use it as an excuse. Rather, it shows strong women characters that can overcome social assumptions and use their intelligence to change their status. There is love, relationships (good and bad), and friendships throughout the story. I loved the ending and how it played out.

I did listen to the audiobook and enjoyed Juliet Stevensons narration. I highly recommend this book

This novel highlights the many struggles of women trying to get a leg up in a man's world in post-war London. Three main female characters, each dealing with their own specific issues with the men in their lives, all work at a 100 year old bookstore, in which a strict set of rules and procedures haven't changed during that time. Women make the tea for the male employees and are never put into managerial roles. As the women become increasingly frustrated that despite their hard work and creative ideas, they are not taken seriously or promoted, they ban together to make a change. Listen to this audiobook if you like an inspirational, historically relevant story, with strong female characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio (audiobook) and St. Martin’s Press (ebook) for these ARCs.

This delightfully quaint return of Evie Stone is set within the walls of London’s Bloomsbury Books a few years after the events of The Jane Austen Society, and builds on the events of Natalie Jenner’s debut novel.

While I mostly listened to the audiobook, I did occasionally switch to the ebook because I could not wait to find out how Evie’s story unfolded. Both ebook and audio were equally engaging and captured the essence of the story well, but I preferred listening. Juliette Stevenson was a wonderful narrator, capturing the individual spirits of each character beautifully.

I found myself returning to The Jane Austen Society novel at times to remind myself of the characters and events, as they are occasionally referenced in Bloomsbury Girls. For this reason, I would personally recommend reading (or listening) to that before joining Evie again, but the story might also be able to stand on its own if you are comfortable with a few background details shared sparsely throughout the story (enough to follow along, but not enough to have a robust understanding of where Evie is coming from).

As with The Jane Austen Society, this cozy read was really enjoyable and I look forward to more from Natalie Jenner.

Bloomsbury Girls is wonderful women’s fiction set in an earlier time period. It is set in post war 1950s London. Bloomsbury Books sells rare and new books and is built on tradition and policies. Every chapter begins with one of the stores many rules. Three women come to find themselves working at the bookstore. Grace Perkins, married with two sons. Her husband has come home from war broken and angry. Vivien Lowery is working class. She was engaged to an heir to a title but he died during the war. Evie Stone, is a graduate of the first female class at Cambridge. She hoped to continue in academia but was passed over for a lesser qualified man. She wants to catalog the rare books in the store. Because of an illness of the store manager the women are given more responsibility than ever before and they shine. But what to do when the men want everything to return to the status quo.

It took me a bit to get into gentle style of writing. The author works to slowly introduce you to each character and then reveals a little more with every encounter. There are some dark themes touched on including; racism, marital problems, and glass ceilings for women. I liked the appearances of famous people of the time like Ellen Doubleday, Daphne Du Maurier, and Peggy Guggenheim. This is already going on my suggestion list for my book club next year.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Juliet Stevenson. She does a lovely job and enhancing the characters and their emotions. It was slow for me so I increased the speed to my comfort level but I often do that for narrations. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio and St. Martins for an audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Lovely, charming, witty—Natalie Jenner’s new novel Bloomsbury Girls is sure to delight readers who relish a bookish adventure filled with distinctive, relatable characters who must navigate a changing post-war London while confronting their own journeys of self discovery. Young Evie Stone (who readers will remember from The Jane Austen Society) must forge a new path after leaving Cambridge as one of its first female graduates and losing a research position to a male colleague. Hot-tempered Vivian Lowry, an aspiring writer bristles under the patronizing control of her male colleagues. Grace Perkins appears unflappable during work hours but hides a painful secret at home. These women gradually come together finding power in unity against the discrimination they face in a man’s world. Although often the source of irritation for the women, the men in the story deal with their own demons, their own secrets, which they also must face.

In addition to the vibrant main characters, Jenner surprises us with glimpses of well-known literary figures of the 1950s like Daphne Du Maurier, Sophia Blair, and others (don’t want to spoil the fun.) Chapters are introduced by one of the numerous rules the shop’s manager, Mr. Dutton, has created, each of which are promptly and delightfully broken by one of the employees.

The audio book, read by Juliet Stevenson, is absolutely stunning. Stevenson has already won an Audiophile Earphones Award for her narration, effortlessly giving us just the right accents and tones for each of the many characters.

Book lovers and lovers of bookstores alike will relish Jenner’s new novel. I highly recommend to readers who enjoy The Jane Austen Society, Austen’s books themselves, British mid-century fiction, or The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

Thank you to Net Galley and MacMillan audio for allowing me to preview this lovely novel.

Set in the 1950s, Bloomsbury Girls tackles what life was like in London for women after WWII. When the manager of the Bloomsbury Bookstore has to take a sabbatical, the duties of the employees shift. Though the premise of the book has promise, it moved too slowly and was never able to fully engage me. I thank the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audio ARC.

Maybe I am missing something, but I felt like the first half of this book could have been cut down by at least a dozen chapters. It was just so dull and, while it was trying to be character-driven, it came across as repetitive and overly expositional. Once the story and character development started to pick up around the halfway point, I really did enjoy the novel...but it took some effort to get there. Then, I was disappointed with the last few chapters when it felt as if there was too much telling and not enough showing. It read as if the author wanted to wrap things up and decided to skip over what could have been some of the most interesting scenes! Lastly, it is a major pet-peeve of mine as a reader when it feels as if an author is begging you to read one of their previous works. While there are common characters with The Jane Austen Society, there were countless unnecessary references to the events of that book which just felt like cheap plugs. A number of the constant allusions could have been removed and the reader would have sufficiently understood Evie, Mimi, and the other Society members' connections. It left a bad taste in my mouth as a reader...

I received an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had the opportunity to read the digital copy along with the audiobook.

Through the audiobook the narrator conveyed each character well. I got a stronger sense for the relationships and emotions that characters are dealing with through the story. As a visual reader the audio was great in their descriptions so I could picture the story as it was being read.

This was an interesting glimpse into the life post war for women. They are no longer needed in the workforce, but they want more for themselves. This story has women supporting women. They all came together to support one another in a world where they wouldn't otherwise. The bookstore became their love after the war. They all possess a love of the written word. More than anything else they wanted the world to see more female writers.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this story.

The Bloomsbury Girls is set in post war England 1950’s. Vivian, Grace and Evie are three female employees coming from different backgrounds, each of these woman are forced to live and work in a male dominate environment of the time period. Bloomsbury Books is a store steep in history sales new and rare books. The employees must follow the “rules” or risk dismissal. All of the employees, male and female, have their own secret agenda for working at the store. I enjoyed this book. I found the narration done very well.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MacmillanAudio, #St.Martin’sPress, #NatalieJenner and #JulietStevenson for the advance audio copy for my honest review.

This book is so good and I was so sad when I finished it!! I hope that Natalie Jenner will write more about these characters!!

1950 England. Bloomsbury Books is run by very old and outdated rules!! The women have lots of ideas but the men run the show!!

Evie, Grace and Vivian all have ideas and plans to make the bookstore a better place for the customers by having a better selection of books and author events. The women forge relationships with each other and other strong women that will help them achieve their goals!

I was so invested in the story that I had a hard time not listening all night to it!!

I received an early audio copy.

Name of Book: Bloomsbury Girls
Author: Natalie Jenner
Genre: Historical Fiction ~Chick Lit
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Pub Date: May 17, 2022
My Rating: 3.5 ~ Rounded up


Since March is Women in History month, I thought this story would be interesting as well as fun.
As an avid reader I do love books and bookshops. My typical bookshop read is a mystery, so this is a bit different read for me.

Bloomsbury Books is a bookstore that has resisted change for some hundred years.
It is 1950 and things are changing; three bookshop ladies ~ Vivien Lowry, Grace Perkins, and Evie Stone have plans.
Story chapters highlight Herbert Dutton, General Manager, and his ‘Dutton’s 51 Rules’ on how a business should be run. Love the characters and what fun when some famous authors drop by the bookshop!

Additional I always enjoy learning more about the authors and their inspiration for their stories.
In this case, it was great reading Ms. Jenner’s review of her book ~ she calls it a little synopsis.

Natalie Jenner was born in England and raised in Canada. She has been a corporate lawyer, a career coach, and more recently also an independent bookshop owner in Oakville, Ontario. Her first novel "The Jane Austin Society" was a best seller. This is my first Jenner novel.

As I mentioned a bit different for me; I did enjoy it ~ it wasn’t a solid 4 stars for me but I rounded up.
Additionally narrator Juliet Stevenson did a great performance of the characters!

Want to thank NetGalley and Macmillan Audio a division of Saint Martin’s Press for this audio eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 17, 2022.

4 stars for this charming sequel to The Jane Austen Society. This has the same characters Evie and several others from The Jane Austen Society, however I think this book could easily be read as a stand alone. This story shows the strength and tenacity that Vivien, Evie and Grace have during a time period when men ruled the working world and the domestic world. These ladies will test the limits of their sexist environment, the 51 rules that govern them, and then outsmart the men around them. Set in a cozy bookstore they create their own opportunities for work and love. If you enjoyed Jane Austen Society, you should definitely read this one!

This was a follow up of sorts to The Jane Austen Society. There are a few characters and storylines that carry over from the first book but this could also be read as a stand alone book with so many new characters and plot points. On that note, there are many characters and it is hard to connect with any of them. As you start to get to know one we quickly move on to another persons storyline. I wish the book had more detail about fewer people, rather than a little character development about so many people!
It was a cute book about a bookshop in post world war 2 London. If you read and enjoyed the first book you will likely enjoy this follow up.

I really enjoyed this book and it's the second novel by Natalie Jenner which I didn't realize when I requested it from NetGalley. I'm going back to read her first novel- The Jane Austen Society- as soon as possible! Although this book has shared characters from The Jane Austen Society, you can read this as a stand-alone novel. This is the story of three women (Evie, Grace, and Vivien) who work together in 1950's London at a historically male-dominated bookstore, Bloomsbury Books. It's a very touching and genuine view of women’s many challenges and their strength in overcoming them in a male-dominated society. I loved hearing the different background stories of each female character and although they were each different, they were all very determined to achieve their goals. The audio of this was read by Juliet Stevenson and she was brilliant!

I found this very difficult to follow. Then I realized that it was actually the second book in a series! I don't want to judge this too harshly because I'm the one who read this in the wrong order. I think I would have liked the book more if I had read it in the correct order though. I'll start with the Jane Austen Society and give this another go.

This is the story of three women in 1950s London. Evie, Grace, and Vivien have unique backgrounds and work together at a historically male-dominated bookstore, Bloomsbury Books. In the novel, Jenner tells us of the trials and tribulations of the three women making their way in an ever-changing world post World War II. It is interesting to read about the interactions between the three women and their colleagues at Bloomsbury, their growing relationships, and the changes made at Bloomsbury Books due to their employment. The story was medium-paced and enjoyable for those interested in the post-war period. I loved the character building and the descriptions.
Thank you, Net Galley, for the opportunity to read.

The year is 1949, and the world is changing. Bloomsbury Books is a rare book store that has been in business for a hundred years, and has been historically run by men. The story follows Vivien, Grace and Evie and their lives at the bookshop. Overarchingly, the plot raises questions about a women’s place in a male dominated work place, and the characters challenge outdated traditions. But there is more—books, love, mystery—what more could you want in a book!

✨Audio ARC Review✨

Bloomsbury Girls
By Natalie Jenner
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 4/5⭐️
Pub day: 5-17-22

In 1950s London, we step inside a new and rare bookstore run by men in a man’s world. But the highlight is following three determined women as they navigate a fast-changing world.

I enjoyed this book a lot. The three women we follow are wonderfully unique and spirited with vastly different personalities. These differences created an entertaining dynamic that was always stimulating.

And who doesn’t love a book that is set in a bookshop and that talks about books?! It definitely made me wish (yet again) that I owned a bookshop!

I absolutely loved The Jane Austen Society and couldn’t wait to read this new one from Jenner. Thanks to the character connections that continued into this book, I really felt like I was almost picking up a sequel. You definitely wouldn’t need to read the previous book to enjoy this, but I think it made it even more fun for me.

The narration by Juliet Stevenson was pretty good with just one of the character portrayals feeling like it missed the mark. That miss did cause me not to love this as much as I possibly would have otherwise, but it was still a really lovely story!

Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the audio arc in exchange for an honest review.

(Will post to Goodreads and insta closer to pub day)