The Little Village of Book Lovers was unlike any book I have ever read and I have read a lot. Nina George's lyrical writing, deep, profound meaning, world building and ways to illustrate emotion are second to none. I wouldn't say this is a quick read, but that's only because every chapter pulls at the heart strings and allows for reflection and contemplation.

A story told from the pint of view of emotions in a way that the readers can relate is not easily done, but in the case of The Little Village of Book Lovers it because a mastefully woven tale that takes one on an adventure of self growth and discovery. Truly inspirational book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Ballantine Books and Nina George for the advanced copy of The Little Village of Book Lovers. While not required to write a review I am happy to offer my honest opinion.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I gave this book 20% and then had to put it down. The plot itself was very interesting, and I was ready to read about the girl. However, things like Love, Fate, Death, etc. were all characters in the book and it was SO distracting from the story line. I did not like or appreciate the interjections and wide, overarching characterizations of these "characters". After reading several asides with them, I knew this book wasn't for me. Unfortunately, I could not handle reading more of this book.

I tried, I really tried with this book that involves magical realism, which is not my normal genre to read. I made it 1/2 way through the book and found the plot so thin, the lyrical way of writing and my lack of caring about any of the characters made me put it down. Normally I'd soldier on and finish the book, but I was finding that I wasn't looking forward to my reading time every night when faced with this novel. Except it's not really a novel, either. I don't know what it is, but it did not work for me DNF 55%. I'm sure there's an audience out there for this type of book, but it wasn't me. Maybe it would have helped to have read George's previous work, although I'm told this is a standalone novel. Who thought a book about book lovers could be so boring?

Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC. All opinions are my own. I will be posting this review on Goodreads but will not be posting on my blog or social media.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review. I think this book was very creative especially the way Love, Fate, Death, Wonder, Logic, Chance, etc. are all characters. I thought it started out very slowly, but it did pick up somewhat. However, I felt like an overall plot was missing. Still, I did like the concept of the book, the characters, and I really enjoyed the mobile library.

It’s a quirky story. Love is a character and so is death in this book along with other elements like curiosity.

When Francis was on a delivery in a small village south of France, he came across a happy baby, Marie-Jeanne. She was taken care of by her grandmother who had just passed. The mayor of the town decided that the child should stay with Francis and his wife, Elsa. He said it would be better than going to a state-run children’s home.

There are some lines in this book that would make me smile. One morning Marie-Jeanne was asking her mom questions (why, why, why…) and she responded: “Did you eat a why machine for breakfast?”

The little girl accompanied her father, Francis, when he dropped off goods in the small surrounding mountain towns delivering all sorts of things including books. Marie-Jeanne had a gift. She was able to see heavenly light on various upper parts of people. In time, she could connect people with love and everyone was also thrilled with the books.

The author had a way of catching the reader’s attention with words. One of the ladies bought books for people with broken hearts, books for people to read before saying farewell, and books for people with too many possessions and still wanting more.

The story isn’t long but it was so far out there in places, that my mind kept drifting. She said, “Books turn people into time travelers, shape shifters, body switchers, mind readers, and immortals, and therefore books are the last great alchemy of our age.” One has to have a good imagination for everything the author had to say.

My thanks to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy with an expected release date of July 25, 2023.

Thank you kindly to Random House Publishing - Ballantine for the ARC of The Little Village of Book Lovers in exchange for an honest review!

Lyrical, musing and delicate, the Little Village of Book Lovers is a sweet story told by Love itself, about a young girl named Marie-Jeanne who can see the mark of love on others and has the unique intuition to bring people together. Her foster father, Francis, begins a mobile library and travels around to bring the love of books to the people around them, while Love watches and contemplates and commentaries with its contemporaries. The novel is a spinoff of George’s previous novel The Little Paris Bookshop, a story featured within its predecessor, now being told and given its own life.

While Marie sees the glowing lights of love on those she encounters, she is left to ponder whether Love will ever come to her too. Adding to the leading narrative, The Little Village of Book Lovers is filled with a bit of poetry, and small asides to add context and charm, making it a whimsical, magical, sleepy marvel of a book. While slow at times, there is something so pleasing about the words, the characters, the celebration of language, books, and stories. Books, as George writes, are not for cowards.

I’ll admit this novel was out of my usual genre, but it’s nice to explore every once in a while, and find something so contenting, so warm, and thoughtful, and true. Love and books go well together, and George has created something in tribute to both.

I was a bit confused by this book by Nina George. For some reason I was not able to get into this story. I will give it another go and will update my review if my opinion changes.
Thank you to Net Galley, Random House Publishing Group, and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

After having read over half, I could not finish. Most of it just went right over my head and I could not connect with the characters or the story.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I personally found this a bit hard to get into because of the slow start, I don’t think it’s a bad read, definitely not; it’d just be better for someone who enjoys a slower and more sophisticated style of writing.

I would like to first thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review. I greatly appreciate it!

When I first began reading “The Little Paris Bookshop”, I fell so unexpectedly in love with the characters and themes. I had stumbled upon the book by accident, so I was glad to have read it. Which is why, upon learning about “The Little Village of Book Lovers”, I was seriously excited.

In some ways the story delighted me, and in other ways, it disappointed me. It still possessed the strong themes of literature and passion as its predecessor, but in my opinion, the plot lacked that sense of personal adventure and character growth.

“The Little Village of Book Lovers” is more of a mild and cozy story, intended to be read and pondered, rather than read for mere entertainment. Although it did not meet my high expectations, I still recommend it for its powerful portrayal of books and their magic in our lives.

The Little Village of Book Lovers is an extraordinary story. It's the first book I've ever started rereading immediately, and I haven't reread that many books overall because it feels like there are too many books out there waiting to be read. What I love most about this book is the unique perspective of Love. The entire book is Love telling the story, with some points-of-view of an ancient olive tree; both of which Marie-Jeanne has a special connection with. This is a book about love but it isn't a romantic book. Between my first and second reads I had to say goodbye to my beloved cat and many phrases hit me differently. I found myself highlighting passages that I didn't connect with the first time around that deeply moved me after a new life experience. I imagine this would be a perfect book to reread throughout one's life.

The Little Village of Book Lovers will be released on July 25, 2023. A friendly reminder to order from your local indie bookstore! If you don't have one, let me know and I can share one that ships for free.

I was given a copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, though I have already preordered my own copy.

First of all, you need to know that this book is basically narrated by “love”. Love explains what and who and how it is, right in the beginning. But you have to keep that in mind, let you forget who the “I” in this gentle novel is. It is love.

This novel is so lyrically beautiful that it’s a joy to read. But don’t look for an action-packed, heart pounding plot line. This book is narrated by love, and is about love. Don’t look either for a bodice-ripping romance. It’s just very hard to put a label on George’s unique novel. I confess I have not read her previous novels, and I suspect I shall go back and do so.

The format of this book is rather unusual. The story is told with numerous interruptions, asides and back histories, always set off with their own little title within a chapter. I wasn’t sure I would like that at first, but then I began to look forward to them.

Nina George is a very wise woman, I think. Her insights resonated within me. The story charmed me, but I can’t help thinking it taught me something too.

In the Postface, George says “I promised my readers….a book about the various kinds of love, told as if it were written for a single human being.” I am that person. But so are you.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for granting me an advance copy of this book.

Have never read anything by Nina George, but the title and synopsis drew me in, so I requested.

Was happy I did. The book was a really good read. The story flew seamlessly. I loved the details. I really felt like a knew the characters and could picture myself in their world.

Nina George is on my go to list.

Recommend.

A woman with the uncanny ability to see who belongs together is then searching for her own true love. It was fantasy mixed with reality. An interesting read.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. I struggled to click with it at first. I had several false starts. I found that to be the case with The Little Paris Bookshop, as well. In that case, I didn't continue. This one I felt obligated to complete, as I was reading an advanced copy through NetGalley. I'm glad I did persevere, as it was worth it. I enjoy stories that have a light mystical thread to them that make you pause to consider the possibility of that idea being realistic. What a lovely gift the main character, Marie-Jeanne had, albeit weighty and disheartening for her own story.

I usually love to read books about books or have some magical realism throughout, but this book was really hard for me to get into. There appears to be no rhyme or reason to this book. Thanks to the author, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley. I received a complimentary copy of this ebook. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Love narrates this charming companion book to The Little Paris Bookshop. Marie-Jeanne can see a glowing on people where they are the most touched by love. Growing up with her foster parents in a small French village, she also comes to understand the power of books as does her foster father who starts a business of renting books in rural areas. Fairy tale like, the book slowly moves through Marie-Jeanne’s life. Excellent book group title.

I was a bit confused by this book by Nina George. I had a hard time getting into it and it was not my favorite. I look forward to her next read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest feedback.

Nina George, within The Little Village of Book Loves, provides a tale of love and hope in a way that is sorely wanted in our world today. A simplistic look at a complicated emotion as love follows a little girl who sees love differently all because of a death and fate's addition to love. It's a tale of how we learn to speak our truth through love and release some fears and a tale of how to love without speaking aloud.

In some ways, not reading the previous books by Nina George allowed me to enjoy this book without having a notion that it plays such a role in another one of her books. I had no preconceived ideas other than the story in place and this story needed none to make it a remarkable and touching read.

However, this is not a book that has a fast pace, nor is it meant to be consumed quickly. Each chapter has a loving point, but in some it is hidden and requires its own time. Normally, for fiction books of this length, I can read and be done within several hours. This books seems to follow the advice in the first chapter, "read 3 pages a day in the morning" so the message can be tasted much like the way you savor wine or chocolate in tiny amounts. It is a slower rhythm than many fictional reads that have today's flow and reminds me of the books from the mid-1900s where the texture of the writing was meant to enhance the flavor of the story as much as the words did.

I also enjoyed the non-Americanizing of the story, for the pace also felt very much like the 1960s time frame when things were slower and maybe had not shifted fully out of the agricultural rhythm into the fast paced industrial rhythm that we live in today. Having read other non-American authors, this book falls into a different style of telling than what Americans tend to read normally..

The style of writing isn't going to be for everyone. The way the story is told is also not going to be for everyone because of the shifting from a first person to a third person tale and even the asides that occurred in the book broke the story into nibbles instead of an entire meal

Overall, I enjoyed this read, especially as it was different from what I normally have read over the past several years.

Thank you to Nina George, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC to read and enjoy.

United States Publication: July 25, 2023

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this advanced reader's copy. In exchange, I am providing an honest review.

In a small town in France, a young girl is growing up having been touched by Love. She's able to see Love on (literally on their physical bodies) others and help bring them together. Her foster father, an entrepreneur at heart, finally lands on the most successful idea he's ever had - a mobile library and Marie-Jeanne (the young lady) helps him introduce the wonders of reading to their small community. As she grows older, she combines the wonders of reading with the wonder of Love she can see on others.

I'm going to attempt to be diplomatic. What was this book? It felt very disjointed as if George had two ideas and attempted to combine them. Where was her editor? How did this book reach publication as is? It was, well, awful. And I'm so dismayed to say that. The personification of Love was painful to read, truly painful. I found myself grimacing a lot during the parts that Love was speaking. The gift of seeing Love on people and a mobile library becoming a main attraction in a rural area are not two ideas that came together well, in my opinion. George attempted to weave them together but the result was frustrating for this reader. I am still, days after finishing it, frustrated by the whole book. I probably should have abandoned it, and had it not been an ARC, I most likely would have but I was giving it a chance all the way to the very last word. And I kind of regret that I did.