'The Little Village of Book Lovers' by Nina George was such a calming read for me. It was the first book by Nina George I ever read, and I really enjoyed it. The writing was lyrical and poetic, and the plot was really creative. The only slight downside was that the read felt a bit slow to me at times. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it.

I love when books are either featured in a book, part of the plot or career of someone in the story, or included in a beautiful cover like this.

THE LITTLE VILLAGE OF BOOK LOVERS
tells the story of Jean Perdu, who ran a bookstore in his restored barge and now floats to the surrounding towns and villages.

I loved the characters and themes of family and friendship.

*many thanks to randomhouse and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

A delightful story set in the late '60s of Southern France, already a dreamy wide eye time in the world's history. Throw in MJ who has a developed a gift through her rocky past.
Emotional story telling of love and loss in a little village where everyone knows everyone, yet everyone is lonely in a uniquely personal way.
Romantic, magical realism, that is a great read for those who want a little peice of France and her people without leaving their cozy reading nook.

Unfortunately this is a dnf book. I tried twice to read it, I even tried it as an audiobook format and I couldn’t get the hand of it. I’m sure it is a lovely book but it is not for me.

Thank you Netgalley and for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

The French setting is a definite plus for this story by Nina George. However, I am not a fan of books about magical realism. Just not my cup of tea. I did appreciate the story of how Marie-Jeanne can do magical matchmaking. And the thought of the mobile library providing comfort to those whose hearts are broken is touching. And while Marie-Jeanne can perform matchmaking, is she ever able to “see” her true love? Hmmmm.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for my advanced review copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

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I’m sorry this one wasn’t for me, Very slow and simply didn’t keep my interest and attention. Thanks for the arc in exchange of an honest review.

Heart warming story! Vivid details of France and the lives of the townspeople. Story told from the lense of the narrator, Love.

This companion book to "The Litte Paris Bookshop" by Nina George but it can be read as a total stand alone book. I wanted to love this book more because it has magic, books and a beautiful olive tree!!

What I did love:
1. Books and references to books
2. Meeting all the emotions and "hearing" their dialogues
3. The descriptions of the countryside and the food!!

What I wished were a little different:

1. So many characters - it was difficult to keep up with all of them
2. The opening of the book was slow and took awhile to get me involved.
3. Too philosophical for such a "magical" opportunity!
 
Thank you to Net-Galley and Ballantine for an early copy of this book.

Nina George's The Little Village of Book Lovers is about people loving books, sure. But it's also a story about finding love and all the little ways people show love to one another.

A sequel/companion to The Little Paris Bookshop, which I have not read, this novel's narrator is Love. And through Love, we first meet Marie-Jeanne and her adoptive parents, Elsa and Francis. Francis makes deliveries throughout their small French town, and in doing so, he's struck with an idea - why not deliver books that people can pay to rent?

Because of the books, Marie-Jeanne and another local woman decide to host a literary salon for lonely hearts - and play matchmakers! Marie-Jeanne has a gift that allows her to see other people's love glow and know who they are meant to be in love with.

This wasn't my most favorite book. It took me awhile to get into the story and get used to the narrator. Sometimes a chapter might be interrupted by a separate section, which I found odd at first, but then I got used to it. There was something about the flow of the story that reminded me of Amelie.

If you're a fan of The Little Paris Bookshop and want to know more about the fictional novel that was talked about in that book, well, THIS is that book.

The Little Village of Book Lovers is published by Ballantine Books and will be available to purchase tomorrow, July 25, 2023! I received a free e-ARC.

This book is one I picked up in the summer and lost interest in; I then found the audio narration and completed the full story. It is a unique concept in that the story is narrated by Love and includes other characters such as Death, Logic, Chance, Fate, Wonder and Time. I enjoyed the French setting, the traveling book bus, and the author's exploration of the concept of all types of Love and the ways Love leaves a mark on each person. I enjoyed the story and think many lovers of of literacy fiction will enjoy this work.

I love this author’s writing style and previous book but I found this was to drag a bit at the beginning.

I liked the plot and premise of the book but didn’t connect the same way with the characters that I did with The Little Paris Bookshop. It just didn’t pull me in like the previous book.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was an unexpected warm hug of a story! I loved every single character, the plot was addicting, the tone was delightful - it was everything I needed! Having "Love" as a snarky narrator was such a good creative choice by George. Love's take on what was happening never felt intrusive nor did it upset the flow as some interjections can - it felt organic and seamless. Truly, if you are looking for a sweet story with a cast of loveable bookworms, this is a perfect weekend read.

**Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the eARC**

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

The Little Village of Book Lovers is about an orphaned girl who touches Love and in so doing can see the marks Love leaves on those around her. These marks grow brighter when they are around what they love whether that is a person, an activity, or a place. As Marie-Jeanne grows up she realizes she does not have a love mark and makes it her mission to help those in her village to fulfill theirs.

This book is really just vibes. They are good vibes but there isn't a whole lot of character development or plot to speak of, just small village living in 1960/70s France.

The title of this book was used as a plot device in another book by the author, The Little Paris Bookshop, and she had so many readers ask about the fictional book that she ended up writing it. I haven't read The Little Paris Bookshop so I can't speak to how well these books fit together or whether it makes this story more enjoyable to have the extra context. I can say that my impression of the book falls in line with that origin story. It feels a little like set dressing. There isn't a whole lot this book is trying to say but not all books need to say something.

If you enjoyed All the Light We Cannot See or The Nightingale for the slice of life in small town France but don't mind missing out on the WWII storylines, this might be a good pick for you.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (2.75)

#TheLittleVillageofBookLovers #NetGalley

This book was such a good premise, but the execution was lacking. I spent the last half of it checking to see how much time was left (thank you kindle!)
In 1958, Marie-Jeanne is born, sees Love, and reaches out to grab her hand. In touching her for an extended period of time, Love gives Marie-Jeanne the unique ability to see soulmates before they even realize they are meant for each other. While she doesn’t know what she is seeing at first, as she grows she realizes what it is and works to gravitate the people together. Along with all of this, Marie-Jeanne’s foster father discovers books and how wonderful they are. He creates a book mobile to bring books to everyone. While it doesn’t seem to go with Marie-Jeanne’s part of the story, they basically go side by side and work together.
I loved the idea of someone helping to bring soulmates together, but I was bored throughout the majority of this book. It is pretty much all narrative and most of it moves very slowly.
I never read Nina George’s previous book The Little Bookshop of Paris, but apparently The Little Village of Book Lovers was featured in that as a fictional book called The Southern Lights. According to the Author’s Note, Ms. George received so much mail regarding the fictitious book that she decided to write it. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for an advanced copy of this. It hit the shelves on July 25th.

This was the cutest book ever! It made me fall back in love with love! First, I love the way that love was portrayed, not as an entity but as its own person. That and the fact that it could have conversations with pride and logic was pure perfection. The story was easy to follow between characters and kept me on the edge of my seat. I fell in love with the characters the way they fell in love with each other! 100/5!

I did not finish this book. I was put off by the narration by "Death". I read about 1/2, but it's just not to my taste. I suspect others may enjoy the book about a small village, but I just couldn't get into the story.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I was hopeful for this new title because it had aspects of a magical theme to it but I felt like the beginning was confusing and I did care to finish it.

This was a sweet book that gave me cozy vibes. Great second book in the same realm/world. The character development was sufficient and the warmth I felt from reading this book gave me such happiness. Would recommend to anyone who likes a cozy read with a historical fiction setting.

a very neatly woven lyrical work, easy to read and enjoyable to follow. The message is beautiful and the power of unification of books is just heartwarming. I am personally not a romance reader and it boggled me a little, I should have expected it from the blurb, but nonetheless, the readers of cozy romances will appreciate the book.

Nice look at everyday in southern France including olive tress and all. Brings back all the memories of visiting that part of France. Makes you want to go again and enjoy all the sights and good cheeses.