The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George is a light-hearted read about human and non-human characters including an olive tree and Love itself. It is a set of love stories – those meant to be, those that could not be, those that should be, and so on. The books is also a love letter to books and libraries. The book references and the repeating message of love make this a sweet, although sometimes silly, story.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2024/11/the-little-village-of-book-lovers.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

Nina George strikes again with another feel-good story with themes of family and love. Set against backdrop of a whimsical French village, a young girl discovers a talent for matchmaking, and often wonders when it will be her turn to find love.

This is a bit of a spin on George’s previous work, readers who are looking for a light-hearted story will enjoy this book!

I wanted to love this book because I adored The Little Paris Bookshop, but I just couldn't get into this one. It's the book that Monsieur Perdu mentions in that story as the inspiration behind his literary apothecary. This was a magical realism story featuring love, pride, and fate and their interactions with humans. A clever concept, but it just fell flat for me.

I've never read a Nina George book, and I don't know if I would pick up another one. This was very okay, not what I was expecting but not a bad read nonetheless. I didn't fing anything bad about her writing, but I found it a little boring with some pacing issues. Good concept, but I think the execution was somewhat lacking.

Thanks NetGalley for the copy!

I loved Nina George's other books that I've read so I was so excited to read this one! I love her style of writing and there were so many quotes that I found myself underlining because they were just so beautifully written. I loved the premise of this book and the way the story unfolded. It was an immersive delightful read and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get lost in a world of love and books. I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George is a delightful story set in the 1960s south of France. It follows Marie-Jeann, a young girl who loves books and discovers she can see glowing lights around people that show when they are near their soulmates. Marie-Jeann travels with her adoptive father, who runs a mobile bookstore. Together, they help people find the perfect books that connect them with their soulmates. The book shows how books can truly change lives.

Nina George does an amazing job bringing Marie-Jeann's world to light. She is a truly unique character in this heartwarming story.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read The Little Village of Book Lovers!

This is a heartwarming and enchanting tale that beautifully explores the journey of Marie-Jeanne, a young woman with the extraordinary gift of seeing the marks of love on people. Set in the charming south of France in the 1960s, the novel captivates with its lyrical prose and tender storytelling. Marie-Jeanne’s unique ability to play matchmaker in her village adds a whimsical and magical element to the narrative, making each encounter she orchestrates feel like a small miracle.

The character development of Marie-Jeanne is particularly compelling as she navigates her own quest for true love. Despite her talent for bringing soulmates together, she faces the poignant challenge of finding her own glow. Her journey, filled with hope, patience, and a deep understanding of love’s many forms, is both touching and inspiring. George’s skillful portrayal of Marie-Jeanne’s internal struggles and growth makes her a deeply relatable and endearing protagonist. As she helps her foster father with their traveling library, each new location and love story enriches her own search, leading to a satisfying and heartwarming conclusion.

This was a pretty good lighthearted and comforting story. It felt as is I was interacting with the characters and was experiencing what they were feeling. The plot was well written, but there were parts where it got a little slow. I would reccomend this to those people that love a story that will make them feel warm and fuzzy.

This book was lyrical and magical. It wasn’t what I thought it would be, but I enjoyed it. Great plot and characters!

This was atmospheric and I think was reaching for magical in the writing. It was narrated by Love, and had characters like Death, Logic, Chance, Fate, Wonder and Time. It also had a very old olive true dispensing wisdom. I found the first half of the book rather slow and it didn't really get my interest until halfway through. I enjoyed the story of Marie-Jeanne and how she tried to help others find love through delivering books. Also, I enjoyed how reading books changed the community. The concept of the "bookabus" was fun.

Maybe if I would have read The Little Paris Bookshop this book would have made more sense for me. I just couldn't get into this book and kept putting it down to read something else. Overall, I can't suggest reading this book because it took me months to finally finish it and I still didn't love it.

What an eloquently written book! I absolutely adored the read!!! I'd love an actual copy of this one soon!

She transport you to a time you didn’t know you needed and it’s so well know and vivid that ugh I wanna go there now

A charming change of pace from heavier literary books about books - this one starts you out with a narrator that will have you smiling and wanting to scoot closer . . . .and you should - Love has been personi-deified for your reading pleasure. From Love (Himself) a reader is provided handy asides, wry observations, promising predictions and his own personal confessions. Through him you meet the characters of this tale (some of whom were hinted at or had tell-us-more-begging cameos in the author's previous book - which I will now hunt down and read!) and a gifted darling who has a talent like no other. Be ready for other personi-deifications, as well.

If you are missing France, want to be reminded of old great reads, or need to freshen up on the wisdom of olive trees. . .you should pack your picnic basket with a baguette, cheese of your choice, and grapes in some form and settle under a likely tree dappled through with sunshine, to read of unlikely but thoroughly satisfying for life love-meets.

*A sincere thank you to Nina George, Random House - Ballantine, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #TheLittleVillageofBookLovers #NetGalley

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. The characters were great in this and enjoyed the unique premise of this book.

I was excited to read this as I really enjoyed The Little Paris Bookshop by the author. However, this fell fairly flat in comparison.

It was well written as Nina George is a great writer, I just didn't find any of the characters enjoyable at all. I also thought the plot, which sounded so promising, was not executed as well as I would have hoped.

This just didn't hold my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a honest review.

This book felt like the philosophical cousin to a well loved Hallmark movie... if that makes sense? This book had an other worldly vibe, almost like it wanted to be written in a contemporary style, but the way it was set up, prevented it from full committing to that vibe. For me, I think it provided a unique perspective to "dreamy Italian villa romance", that might have been done before. However, I will fully admit that this is not everyone's cup of tea.

In another note, I will say, this book is not a traditional romance, I think it leans more towards women's fiction, and is definitely aimed at an older audience with its gentle tone, and calming themes.

That being said, while it wasn't my FAVORITE, it was something different for sure.

The Little Village of Book Lovers is a well written story and that's it, The characters and plot were not memorable.

The Little Village of Book Lovers was one of those books where I enjoyed the premise more than the execution. I wanted to love it. I loved the idea of the story. But somehow, it fell flat for me.

Touched by Love (the spirit) as an infant, Marie-Jeanne can see marks on others where love has touched them too. As a teen, she helps her foster father start a mobile library, in which she is able to use her vision and love of books to pair soulmates together. But while helping others find love, the marks and partner elude her.

Again, I really wanted to love it, but for a short book (270-ish pages), it dragged. It took me days to finish, because I could only manage about 10% before my mind wandered and I switched to a different book. I didn't really care for the narration by Love itself, which really left Marie Jeanne's story as a novella. I had high hopes and think this could have been so much better.

This was a whimsical story primarily told by Love personified. I don't mind these types of tropes, as I loved The Lovely War, which does a similar thing. Although the focus of this book is romantic love, I think there's a lot more to love than that. That being said, my favorite part was the commentary on the place of books and literature in people’s lives. And I love how books became a way to bring people together and pull them out of the ruts they were in. While this book is not technically a sequel to The Little Paris Bookshop, it is definitely a spin-off from it. Based on the reviews I’ve read, that book sounds even better.