I didn't really get into this book until maybe half way through. It had a strain of Magic or surreal happenings through the book but some I just didn't get. There are loads of five star reviews so it might have just been me and I won't mark it down for that. I enjoyed the story from the past better than the present.

An absolute delight - a truly spell binding novel that you can get completely lost in. I loved it! A magical story set around The Bronte’s and books. Written over dual time lines Evie also points out women in the 1940’s had no real voice of their own.

Lots of book lovers and bookstagrammers enjoy a novel set in a library or a bookshop and this one features a lost bookshop in Dublin.

It is a dual timeline story told by three different voices.
The first is that of Opaline Carlisle. Her timeline is set just after the First World War and her bullying brother is arranging her marriage against her will for the sake of the family finances, so she flees the family home. After working in Paris for a while at Shakespeare & Company where she meets Hemmingway and James Joyce, she eventually heads for Dublin and supports herself by trading as a book dealer.

Meanwhile, modern day Dublin provides the perspectives of the other two narrators’ voices : Martha, who has fled an abusive husband and found work as a house-keeper for a retired actress living on Ha’panny Lane, and Henry, a PHD student, whom she meets there. He is researching Opaline Carlisle, convinced that Opaline’s bookshop was next door to the house where Martha is now working. He needs to locate it as it is central to his thesis, but there is no firm documentary evidence of its existence.

What follows is a sweet and entertaining story, laced with elements of magical realism, and separate plot strands that are united by the search for a lost manuscript that will rock the literary world.

The characterisation is well done, and the prose is well written and flows well.

Whilst the novel touches on themes of addiction, violence, grief, PTSD and controlling behaviour, it is a heart-warming, and beguiling little read, with lots of charm.

Thank you to Harper Collins One More Chapter for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

3.75/5

A bit historical fiction, a bit magical realism, a bit modern story about society dampening the voice of the unique in us, an overall nice book about three people trying to find their way through the world and the obstacles in front of them.

I wish the book was a bit less about the shop keepers and more about the shop if I’m honest, and some parts were a slog to get through. I would have preferred a bit more lyrical writing for a book on the power of books. but I enjoyed each of the character’s perspectives, the two story lines (one in the 1920s Dublin, one modern day) and found the wrap up good but not overly perfect. It feels like a good fall book to me. I’d recommend for those who like solving mystery of the past type books

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods. This is as the title states a story about a lost bookshop. The three characters Opaline, Martha and Henry tell the story from the 1920’s through to modern day Dublin. This is a magical story based on a lost bookshop, a lost manuscript and a mystery about what really happened to Opaline the owner of the lost bookshop..

This book is also a love story about Martha fresh from an abusive relationship and Henry who has no confidence in himself or his abilities to find the bookshop and the lost manuscript.

The story is both magical, whimsical and a very real mystery of what happened to Opaline Grey and why did she disappear taking the lost manuscript with her.
This is a satisfying read, funny ( laugh out loud ) and very sad ( crying out loud) I highly recommend
5 stars

Suspend your belief in reality and enjoy the story. Multi faceted in time periods and circumstances. I fell for the story and every character. Enjoy the story I did

Thank you to the publisher, the author and to Net Galley for the opportunity. This is a wonderful. read. It is intriquing from beginning to end. This is one of my top 4 favorite books of 2023 from Net Galley. The story is told in a sweeping story from three different people absorbed in a mystery surrounding books and mysterious missing ancient bookstore. The timelines are pre war and present day. The charchters are richly drawn to the plot and all compliment the plot. The author has included wonderful referances to books gone by to add to your TBR list. I found it utterly charming and loved the charcters, the plot and the mystery. The ending is outstanding . Prepare to read through the night as this is a book you will not put down. This is a love story to Biblophiles and we are in love . Thank you to the author for this wonderful book.

The Lost Bookshop is an enchanting dual-timeline story shrouded in mystery, history, fascinating characters (some likeable, others detestable) and slivers of magic. It is told in three perspectives by very different people, all who are running from something and need to escape in more ways than one. Not only is there mystery and the horror of being locked away but also romance and love.

In 1920s Dublin, Opaline is fleeing a painful relationship. She finds solace in her very own charming bookshop which is described so colourfully it is easy to envision it. I can FEEL it. When her life takes a different direction, her life is torn apart and she is left broken. But when there is life, there is hope.

Decades later, Martha is running from a violent husband and becomes a housemaid. Her passion for rare books moved me, as did observing her evolving book knowledge.

Henry is a Ph.D. student and sees books from an academic viewpoint. He appreciates great writing and old books and is happy to share his knowledge. He also finds love when he doesn't expect to.

The three characters come together in a lovely way, creatively united by the magic of the written word. I felt despair and extreme frustration at circumstances and was also entranced at the how the bookishness was woven into the story. How can a reader not swoon at "the air was thick with knowledge"?

Historical Fiction readers who are intrigued by bits of magical elements will be besotted by this fascinating tale laden with secrets. Magical realism is not my wheelhouse whatsoever but this novel is different...here it reminds me of gentle fairytales in the background, not forefront. That cover! But what captured me most was the gorgeous prose with oodles of insight into human nature.

My sincere thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this fabulous novel!

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods is a wonderful blend of magic and mystery set in Dublin and telling the stories of three charming characters, Opaline, Henry and Martha.
The story begins in 1921 with Opaline, a young English woman who is less than enthused about marrying the wealthy man her mother and older brother have chosen for her, Since the death of her father, the man who taught her about the magic of books and reading, the family finances have been strained and a good marriage would make all the difference. Determined to live her life in her own way, Opaline reluctantly pawns some of the rare first editions she inherited from her father and flees to Paris where she eventually finds a job working in Shakespeare and Co and starts her career as a rare book dealer. When her brother eventually catches up with her she is forced to flee again, and after some harrowing times eventually finds herself running a bookshop in Dublin.
Meanwhile in current day Dublin Martha has escaped an abusive marriage and is now working as a housekeeper for the enigmatic Madame Bowen. Early one morning she meets Henry , an academic who is searching for a lost manuscript, and the book shop which was apparently located next to Madame Bowen's home but which cannot be found on any map or historical record. While her initial assessment of Henry is somewhat negative, as could be expected given her experiences with her husband, she is drawn into the mystery.
I really loved this book, I was engaged by the story and I think anyone who loves reading and understands the magic of browsing in a bookstore and finding the unexpected gem that speaks to you will find similar joy between these covers. The characters go through some truly terrible experiences so the reader will run the whole gamut of emotions as it is impossible not to feel for characters that are as well crafted as these. While largely set in the real world with the mystery of the lost manuscript , there is hint of magic in the way that the bookshop seems to appear and disappear as the story unfolds.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

A book to capture your heart. This is a quirky dual timeline story, with more than a touch of magic. Set around a Dublin bookshop, it features feisty Opaline in the 1920s and housemaid Martha in the present day. Sometimes it is hard to tell what year you're reading about, as the book flits from one time-frame to another, but it's good fun to read.

What a thoroughly lovely story. We are taken on a journey via two time lines, the story of Opaline through the 1920’s and beyond and the story of Martha in the present day. Both women are amazing, strong characters and their stories are similar and yet nothing alike. As the whole tale is centred around books it is just the ticket for everyone. I was so enthralled by the weaving of the story that I could actually transport myself into it.

The Lost Bookshop follows the lives of three main characters — alternating chapter by chapter between Martha, Henry, and Opaline. A story about running after your dreams and away from loneliness and fear. Finding the courage to pick up the broken pieces of life and bravely forge a new path, embracing eccentricities and a bit of magic. Includes unexpected twists and turns — roaming from sweet to sinister, all the while weaving in books and words, and the people they bring together. ♥️♥️♥️

Pseudo-spoilers ahead. I want to give this book more stars. This is really 3,75 stars. I really enjoyed this story. Truly. However, there are several supernatural-ish things that happen in this book without any rhyme or reason.

Disappearing bookstore with shifting stain glass, things that move and fall off shelves. Nothing.

Girl who can know a lot of details about someone without them saying anything. No explanation.

Woman who may not really be there (who’s to say)?! Again, nothing.

A story that randomly comes to someone and half it appears in a tattoo without getting the ink? Nope. No explanation.

Maybe not all of it needs to be explained, but literally none of the crazy things?! That was the most frustrating part of this. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and author for allowing me to read this book for an honest review.

In the early part of the 20th century, Opaline Carlisle - strong independent woman - sets off on her own to forge a career (unheard of!) as a rare books dealer, firstly in Paris, before moving to Dublin.

Meanwhile, in 21st century Dublin, Martha is escaping a life of DV, and finds a job as a housekeeper for an eccentric older lady.

When she meets the somewhat hapless academic Henry looking for a bookshop that doesn't appear to exist, the paths of both women - Opaline and Martha - begin to converge across time, until they are exactly in the places they are meant to be, and WHO they are meant to be.

This was a truly delightful book. Each chapter focuses on one of the three main characters, picking up where the other had left off into a seamless story told from different perspectives.

This is a story about relationships, about identity, about books and about magic. It's also a book about the strength of women and what is endured because there is no other choice. A book about courage and belief in yourself. And it's magical.

I adored this book.

*Note- I was fortunate to have an audiobook version of this as well as the e-arc, and I read/listened to them concurrently.

~Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, and One More Chapter for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

The Lost Bookshop is a beautiful story, intricately woven together with so many literature references that my bookish heart was soaring throughout

It was stunning, emotional and so very human, weaving the historical with the fantastical

A must-read for all book lovers

What a heart-warming, life affirming novel.
The Keeper of Stories meets The Lost Apothecary in this evocative and charming novel full of mystery and secrets. ‘The thing about books,’ she said ‘is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.’ On a quiet street in Dublin, a lost bookshop is waiting to be found… For too long, Opaline, Martha and Henry have been the side characters in their own lives. But when a vanishing bookshop casts its spell, these three unsuspecting strangers will discover that their own stories are every bit as extraordinary as the ones found in the pages of their beloved books. And by unlocking the secrets of the shelves, they find themselves transported to a world of wonder… where nothing is as it seems...
I devoured this book over two evenings and was completely immersed in the lives of Opaline, Martha and Henry and found myself wanting to hunt for 'The Lost Bookshop' too.
I highly recommend this read, I just suggest clearing you diary first and having lots of snacks nearby as once you try to find the lost bookshop you won't want to stop your quest.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author, Harper Collins and One More Chapter for an Earc of this book in return for a honest and unbiased review.

A charming read that has two different timelines, both with women under adversity, a mysterious bookshop and some delightful characters. It’s a romance, a literary chase and a good read.

Wow - what an unusual storyline! A vanishing bookshop, that appears when you seem to need it.

It's a dual time line, easy to follow the switches and the characters are so detailed and their stories are just amazing. I liked the touch of whimsy magic in the bookshop.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a temporary, digital ARC in return for my review.

The Lost Bookshop is truly a book for book lovers. I loved everything about this beautifully written, magical story from Evie Woods. The writing, the mystery, the characters, the love story, and the dual timelines- it all comes together into one enchanting story. Perfect for a rainy, summer day when you can curl up and read it in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Opaline Carlisle’s father has died and she has to flee London in 1921 when her brother tries to marry her off. She is determined to control her own life and become a book dealer.

Moving on to the present day and Martha flees her violent husband, Shane and moves to Dublin, in the hope he won’t find her.

Henry Field is looking for the Lost Bookshop, he’s sure he has seen it but it seemed to disappear. When he meets Martha, there is an instant attraction to her.

This is a beautifully written story told over two timelines. This does not detract from the tale at all, it adds so much character. A tale of magic and love, lost and found.

Three strangers, what is their connection?

There are also lovely references to the Brontë sisters and their writings as well.

This book has become my favourite so far this year, it is truly magical. It is a book to be raved about, I could see this as a film.

I can’t finish this review without mentioning the stunning cover chosen for this book - it is perfect.

My thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins UK & One More Chapter for a copy in exchange for my honest review.