The Little Venice Bookshop is a changing novel. It took me a few chapters to get into it but once I did I really enjoyed it. It’s a tale of love, family and loss with the added bonus of cats and books, plus a gorgeous Venetian backdrop. The characters are warm and likeable and the plot flows smoothly. I would rate this book 3.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author for the chance to review.

Netgalley review: My first book by this author, unfortunately I won't be rushing to read anymore.
The overall story was a good story, but the way it jumped around made for a hard read. Some chapters seemed a bit pointless to me, the way parts ended abruptly was a bit confusing and made it feel like some of the story was missing.
To me the ending was disappointing as well, I was expecting more from the main character but it felt it was cut short. Maybe a sequel is planned to continue that story but I don't think there is enough of a story for a second book.
Overall, easy enough to sit and read, but not my ideal book.

Thanks to netgalley for the opportunity to review

Advanced book review thanks to NetGalley and HQStories! This is a charming read full of family mystery and romance. Luna is soul-searching and attempting to put the pieces together of her mother’s past after her mom dies of cancer. This leads Luna and her best friend Gigi to Venice.

It started off slow in the first few chapters, however the story picked up for me once the characters arrive in Italy. The descriptions of Venice were as beautiful as the book cover. The characters were quirky and likable.

This was my first Rebecca Raisin book! I’ll definitely be checking out more of her work.

I always enjoy Rebecca Raisin books and the way she brings characters and places to life. I love Venice so when I saw the book on Net Galley I couldn’t wait to read it. There was a lot to like in this book, the town of tiny homes was very interesting, brought alive by Aunt Loui. Luna and her mum have led an interesting life, first travelling and then settling down in the town where Luna felt loved by the women there. She is in Thailand when she hears that her mum has died and, supported by her friend Gigi, she goes back to the town where she finds some letters in her mothers processions. These letters lead her to a bookshop in Venice, so beautifully described that you can almost see it and hear the canal lapping in the background. What’s not to love in a book with cats, books and a mystery. Five stars doesn’t seem enough

A light hearted story about friendship, family, grief and love. I loved Lunas journey how she carried on with her best friend Gigi, those girls are bonded for life, and how everyone comes together to support Luna after losing her mum, and the adventure to Venice in search of a part of her and her mums life. It has a happy ending which is always a bonus, but most of all I fell in love with the bookshop which held the story together well.

Dislikes: It could do with another proofread as sometimes there was spelling mistakes or double words or sometimes points where a sentence didn’t read correctly. So hopefully the publishers pick up on this before it goes to print.

I was given a digital copy to read from publishers.

I enjoy reading feel-good novels built on a bookshop theme, so requested an ARC of this novel. I was not disappointed. The storyline rests on the popular literary trope of a mysterious love letter, or in this case, a collection of letters that Luna finds when dealing with her deceased mother’s possession. It appears that long before Luna’s birth, her mother had been in love with a Venetian bookseller called Giancarlo. Luna is keen to know more and travels to Venice together with her best friend Gigi. But what will Luna find out – both about her mother’s experiences and about her own life?

I enjoyed following Luna’s quest and found her and her best friend Gigi well-rounded and developed characters. More enigmatic are male character Giancarlo and the terrific Libreria sul Canale, so I hope both will get more coverage in a future book.
Thank you to NetGalley and to the publishers for this free ARC that I received in return for this unbiased review.

Thank you @netgalley and @hqstories for sending me an advanced copy of The Little Venice Bookshop in exchange for my honest opinion.

I’m a huge fan of books and bookstores and was excited to read Rebecca Raisins newest book.

The Little Venice Bookshop is a charming story about finding yourself and the community you discover along the way.

Luna was brought up by her mother in a very unique way which only added to her character in the story. When she loses her mother who was her only family she feels unsettled. The discovery of a bundle of letters in her mother’s belongings sends Luna on an unexpected journey. Following a clue in the letters, Luna heads to Venice, The City of Love and a bookshop overlooking the canals.

Will she find the answers she’s looking for and find where she truly belongs?

Perfect for fans of books and bookshops.

Luna has to stop her travels and return home following the death of her mother, sorting through her mom’s belongings she finds a stack of letters from Giancarlo, who seemed to have been romantically involved with her mother before she had Luna.

Together with her best friend, Gigi, they go to Venice where Giancarlo owns a bookstore, and she gets a job there to get closer to him and unravel the mystery of the letters.

Will Luna find what she is looking for?

Thanks Netgalley and HQstories for my advanced reader copy of this book, I haven’t read any of Rebecca’s books before, and loved the story and the setting (I am from a town near Venice). I think the bookstore is inspired by the Libreria Acqua Alta.
I think the characters could have been developed a bit more, and we don’t have much insights on Giancarlo till the last part of the book which is a shame.
3.8 stars

I loved all Rebecca books but I found this a bit hard to read but I think that was Mr a I lost my dad in November to cancer so I found the story a bit hard as it about a mum with cancer but Rebecca did it well very heartfelt letter a good plot good story characters that you felt for what a lovely setting I could see in it my mind a great read just the wrong time for me to read I say but so well wrote again

I love taking a little walk with Rebecca in the little worlds that she creates. In this one we were exploring the gorgeous Venice. It was also nice to meet the characters find out their life stories and to discover their love stories too.

I almost gave up. It took me almost 40% in to get into it. The second half was much more enjoyable to me than the first making it mostly worth it. Just ok.

I love Rebecca Raisin’s writing so maybe I’m a little biased but this book made me smile. First off, if you’re a bibliophile you will love this setting and BOY every book of hers makes me want to open up my own bookstore, book van, book experience 😂 I was a little offset by her character Luna at the start of the book, but perhaps because she reminded me so much of my friend Lee who passed a while ago. After I made peace with that I realized that the grief Luna is feeling in the book was a connection to what I had gone through with Lee and i started to settle deeper into it. Having been to Venice I could imagine the streets and stores and overall this was a happy/cheerful read.

This was the first book I have read by this author and definitely won’t be my last and am going to seek out their back Catalogue

This was a beautiful poignant read about love loss families and friendships all centred around the beautiful city of Venice and featuring an amazing sounding bookshop which although I have never physically visited the city I felt like I had been there in my head from the descriptions the author evoked in their writing

This was at times a heartbreaking read yet other times positive and uplifting and spiritual in places as we join Luna on her journey of self discovery and finding out her mothers past and trying to find out who her father is.

I would love a sequel to this to see how the characters lives and friendships progress.

The Little Venice Bookshop – Rebecca Raisin

4/5 Stars

Thank you @netgalley and @hqstories for sending me this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I was intrigued when I saw this book listed on Netgalley, having been to Venice and obviously a fan of books and bookstores. I really enjoyed it. It’s a pretty quick read and a heartwarming story about searching for yourself, family and the community you create along the way. I pretty much saw the ending coming but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of it. I also liked the descriptions of Venice and the bookstore. I can almost picture it and can’t wait to go back to Venice one day.

I also think I’ll be adding some more of Rebecca Raisin’s books to my to be read list.

Description: “When Luna loses her beloved mother, she’s bereft: her mother was her only family, and without her Luna feels rootless. Then the chance discovery of a collection of letters in her mother’s belongings sends her on an unexpected journey.

Following a clue in the letters, Luna packs her bags and heads to Venice, to a gorgeous but faded bookshop overlooking the canals, hoping to uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious past.

Will Luna find the answers she’s looking for – and finally find the place she belongs?”

Publication Date: March 30, 2023

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After Luna's mum passes away, she discovers letters that will take her to Venice, but will she get the answers that she thinks she needs?


Unfortunately I didn't enjoy this book as much as I thought I would..I found the writing was overly detailed which made the plot feel very slow and clunky. There were too many paragraphs to give the reader unnecessary back story before the action happened. Parts of the story are charming and have food premise but by the time these happened, I was a little too disinterested.

Book review 💕💫

The Little Venice Bookshop by @rebeccaraisinwrites2

Big thank yous to Net Galley and HQ Stories for giving me the opportunity to read it!

The Little Venice Bookshop is a beautifully written book about finding yourself. I read this super quickly because I absolutely could not put it down.

When Luna loses her Mum to cancer, she finds hidden letters that are about to change her life. Finding clues in these letters, Luna goes in search of her missing roots.

What Luna finds in Venice isn't quite what she expected, but she does get herself some work in The Little Venice Bookshop, only to be swept off her feet by an unlikely romance...and that isn't all she finds.

The words of this book ran like a poem, enabling me to feel every second of Luna's adventures in Venice. Her hippy lifestyle felt stunningly unique, and added layers to the character that made her one of my favourite boook characters yet! The beautiful quotes about books were enough to ignite a flame in any book worm, and I found myself highlighting so many lovely lines.

There wasn't a single dull moment during this book, I found myself indulging in every single gorgeous word. I will certainly be reading more books by Rebecca Raisin. Her work is so ridiculously underrated!

This is the perfect read for any fan of chick lit and books! Everybody needs to read it because it's just perfect!

An engaging story of free spirits, family and love. Set in Venice, the city of romance this is a heartwarming read.

I received this book from Netgalley. The first thing that drew me to this book was the title. The second was the cover. I love books about bookshops so I was excited to read it. I honestly didn't even read the blurb before I started.

The first few chapters were a fairly interesting back story but not quite what I was expecting and not quite what I'm interested in. It took a little bit long to really get into the juicy part of the story.

When the girls got to Venice and they said they'd do some work if they needed to, the first thing that came to my mind was YOU NEED A VISA. Thankfully this was actually addressed!

I think that the idea that Luna comes up with for the book shop is a great idea. Not one I'd use, because I love choosing my own books, but a great idea for people who don't have the time or inclination but still want new books!

While I enjoyed the parts that happened in the book shop , I wasn't crazy about the added parts with the tarot cards/seeing the future. I also went back and read the blurb on Netgalley and its not mentioned there at all. I think if this hadn't been such a big part of the story, my rating would have gone up to 4 stars.