3.5 stars
I was able to read The Little Village of Book Lovers as an ARC from Netgalley. Thank you to the publisher. The story unfolds around Amelia, a bookish young woman who inherits a bookstore in the titular village. As Amelia steps into her new role as the bookstore owner, she discovers not only the joy of curating stories for her customers but also the power of literature to shape lives. The author paints the village with vivid descriptions, making it come alive with its cobblestone streets, charming cafes, and, of course, the bookstore itself – a haven for readers of all kinds.
While this book wasn't what I expected, that isn't a knock on the novel. It just wasn't what I thought it would be.

Unlike other books by Nina George, this book was hard for me to connect with. I ended up setting it aside and DNF. Perhaps later I will return and pick it up again because I have enjoyed every other book written by Nina George. Thanks to #netgalley, #ninageorge for being able to read this book.

“Everyone knows me, but none can see me. I’m that thing you call love.”
And that's the heart of this charming little book and in a sense, love is the main character. Set in a little town in the south of France in the 1960s, an orphan named Marie-Jeanne begins to see the marks Love leaves on the people around her. When she realizes that she's the only one who can see these marks, and that she can discern people's love matches through the marks, she begins to try to nudge those matches towards each other.
When her foster father decides to establish a traveling library that travels throughout their region, she finds that she can use books to help bring more soulmates together. All the while she realizes she has no mark herself, and wonders if there's someone out there for her. It's a lovely book about how we love and why we love, and how we find (and lose) each other. There's some commentary from Love itself, along with Fate, Death, Wonder and other "voices" that affect our lives. It's lyrical and whimsical, and Nina George has created a place I'd love to visit, filled with characters I'd love to know. It's a companion piece to The Little Paris Bookshop, which I own but haven't yet read - but I'll be correcting that soon.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House/Ballantine for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

Nina George’s newest novel is on the slow side, much too slow for me. At 40% and still on the confused side, I chose not to finish. I know many will love this story, it just didn’t work for me. Thank you to Ballentine Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

There’s a young girl in a little village in France who has the ability to see love and she helps people get together. She also loves books. But as she gets older she becomes frustrated because she cannot see love for herself and wants nothing more than to find it. It’s a lovely but unusual story.

This one wasn’t for me. I didn’t love the structure of the book, the slight aside backstories made it confusing for me to follow the actual storyline. The language was too ‘precious’ for me…just wanted to get to the heart of the book that really never delivered for me.

Much thanks though to Netgalley for the ARC…you can’t win them all!

Thank you for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This was unfortunately not for me. I had major problem getting into it and put it down. The writing didn't flow and I didn't really care about the characters. I'm sure others will enjoy it though!

I DNFed this at about 15%. I didn’t find it to be engaging at all and found myself forgetting the story even as I was reading it. Though I loved the book this was a spin off of, I have found that maybe I was not the right audience for this.

The Little Village of Book Lovers is such a sweet story that kept me wanting to know more and more what was going to happen. However, at times, I found it a bit confusing or felt like I was missing something. It wasn't until I realized that it was actually related to another book that it somewhat clicked into place. Overall I enjoyed reading this book.

The Little Village of Book Lovers:

The book has a open, flowing sense to it. It's fun, whimsical and different. Our story starts out with a young female orphaned baby in the South of France in the 1960's.
The story is told in Love's point of view. It touches people, blows in the wind, it's in the trees. It's free flowing, all surrounding. It's not just romantic love, parental love, friends love.
Marie-Jean is a matchmaker and sees love all around her, but will she find her own? Will love freely flow to this gentle soul and send her soulmate to her? Very open, seeing, seeking and encouraging book. Well written.

Pub Date 25 Jul 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for providing me this Advanced Readers Copy of The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George.

Thank you Net Galley for allowing me to receive this book for an honest review.

THE LITTLE VILLAGE OF BOOK LOVERS by Nina George is my latest effort to try something outside my usual genres.

The story is narrated mostly by Love with a few other characters like Fate and an Olive Tree as well as 3rd person narration. It centers around a girl, Marie-Jeanne who grows up in an unusual family and can see love in the form of glowing "Southern Lights" on them, but cannot see any on herself.

This felt very much like a fable. There was a lot of commentary inside the story given by various entities.
I had such high hopes for this book since I read Nina George's Little Paris Bistro and enjoyed it.

This was a a sweet story but I felt like it was missing something. It dragged and I was waiting for it to pick up.

I have to say it was just ok for me and was hoping for more.

This story was written in a poetic manner. This was my first book by Nina George and I wasn’t sure what to expect. It was whimsical and endearing with touches of magic. That being said, I did find it hard to connect to the characters so it didn’t hold my attention.

The Little Village of Book Lovers
By Nina George
Published by Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine
7/15

This was such a sweet book and a refreshing change from what I’m normally reading. It also caught me at a time when I needed to read something inspirational and comforting.

Marie Jeanne was orphaned as an infant and during that time Love visited her and begins to follow her throughout her life. Mare Jeanne has the unusual ability to see marks of love on others, but begins to question if and when she will be marked by love.

The setting of the story was magical and the people Marie Jeanne encounters are quirky and decent people. This was one of those stories where I wanted to just walk into the setting and spend a few days. I also loved that books were at the center of Marie Jeanne’s world and she influenced those around her to take up reading.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to offer my honest review and recommend this to other readers.

This book is a bit slow, but also dreamy and steeped in magical realism. Definitely suited for those who love being swept away in a dream rather than an action adventure. I loved it and look forward to reading others by the same author!

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I loved the setting of this book, and it was poetically and beautifully written. However, I struggled with staying interested in this story, and I'm not sure whether it was the choice of narrator, or the story itself.

I found all the different perspectives, especially inanimate objects, to be creative, but a little jarring.

If you're a huge fan of the original book, I think it'd be a great, but I wasn't so it didn't carry over.

While I really enjoyed The Little Paris Bookshop, The Little Village of Lovers did not hold my attention. It was a bit sappy for my preference. I am glad it was a short book. Otherwise, I would not have finished it.

The Little Village of Book Lovers is a charming story of love. Told from the point of view of love, and following Marie-Jeanne a little girl who has the ability to see love as a glow on people. This book is filled with stories of love in many forms, and frequently connected with books delivered throughout French villages by the bookabus. I have not read other books written by Nina George, but I did enjoyed this book, thank you to netgalley and Random House, Ballantine for the advanced copy, all opinions are my own.

Having fallen in love with Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop, I immediately needed to get my hands on this book. Narrated by Love, the wide cast of characters throughout the book have you garnering life lessons and wisdom with each character you meet. While Love narrates, the main character, Marie Jeanne, discovers she has the gift of seeing the marks Love leaves on people. This gift allows her to help put soulmates together when a special light glows as they are near. The descriptive paragraph leave you is a lyrical trance. The slow nature of the book brings an ethereal aspect to the book that I adored. If you love mobile bookshops, the concept of falling in love, and the complexity of love, you have found the perfect book for yourself.

I would have thought a story about books set in France would be a five star read for me. However, I did not like the way the book flowed, stopping and starting with side explanations of love, of various characters. The appreciation for the impact of reading and books was a theme I could stand behind, but it was lost to me in the very details that could have made this a favorite. Set in Nyons, Marie-Jeanne is fostered by Frances and Elsa after the death of her mother. Frances is the most interesting character, a handyman who becomes the book bus owner and driver after learning about what books can do. Not a fan of this one, although I enjoyed the author’s previous books. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.