The Lost Bookshop
By Evie Woods
Pub date Jun 22, 2023

The Lost Bookshop has a dual timelines story with one story set in the 1920’s that follows Opaline and the other set in modern day and follows Henry and Martha.
Opaline defies her family’s expectations of her to marry well and “save” the family by running away and starting a new life. The new life includes many interesting literary people who introduce her to the world of rare book/manuscript collecting and selling. She takes over a very eclectic and seemingly magical bookshop and becomes very successful. She eventually comes to discover an amazing literary discovery that will set the world on its side 📚 But will her family let her alone to be happy in her new life or will they hunt her down and demand her to come back?
In modern day, Henry and Martha meet in Dublin by chance. Martha is escaping her own abusive past and Henry is seeking to find out more on Opaline, the bookstore and a possible manuscript she may have found while also trying to discover himself and what he wants out of life. As their paths cross they need to learn to trust each other to overcome their pasts and solve the mysteries unfolding. Could discovering the past help them heal their future?

🏡I found this book intriguing and I enjoyed reading it. My heart broke for the situations the Opaline and Martha were forced into but also proud of how they found strength to overcome the obstacles. I learned so much about how women’s voices were silenced during that time and how inhumanly they were treated in asylums . I love reading books that teach me something I never knew.
I also loved the magical realism 🪄elements and also the slight bit of mystery as Henry and Martha work to uncover Opaline’s story. I felt satisfied that the ending tied everything up nicely. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a book that will take you on an emotional adventure while also incorporating some interesting literary facts and elements into the story. 4 stars 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thanks NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for allowing me to review this book. All opinions are my own.

#netgalley #thelostbookshop #harpercollinsuk #eviewoods

3.5 ⭐️

1922:
Opaline, flees her childhood home to escape an arranged marriage to a man she has never met. She will first find refuge in Paris, where her love of rare books will earn her an apprenticeship in a bookstore called “Shakespeare and Company”, the perfect training ground for a young woman who is convinced that Bronte’ wrote a second book, which is waiting to be discovered.

But, her happiness will be short lived and she will have to flee again to Dublin where she will be given an opportunity to run her own book store in a building with an extraordinary past…..for awhile.

Present Day:
Martha is running from an abusive husband, and she will respond to an advert for a housekeeper, at #12, Ha’Penny Lane, placed by an eccentric former actress, who insists on being addressed as Madame Bowden. (I just adored her!)

Unexplainable things happen here but unexpectedly, it becomes the perfect refuge for Martha.

Henry is on a quest to find a book that was mentioned in a letter he found-a book that he needs to find for his PH.D research. IF he can find it hidden in a bookshop at 11 Ha’Penny Lane, he could make a name for himself and it could make his career.

He enters the shop but when he turns around, the shop has disappeared.

Buildings still stand at 10 Ha’Penny Lane and 12 Ha’Penny Lane but 11 Ha’Penny lane no longer exists. He seeks answers from Martha, the striking young woman at #12, and finds more than he bargained for.

Of course, Opaline’s story will be eventually be linked to the characters in the present day.

I am not a big fan of MAGICAL REALISM, but this time these elements of the book were actually my FAVORITE part!

The book is also labeled as HISTORICAL FICTION and it definitely reads as such-even the present day chapters read like they are taking place in the past-not the present-they lacked a contemporary feel.

Much was predictable with the exception of the magical realism elements, which is why this enchanting story earns 3.5 ⭐️ rounded down from me.

A buddy read with DeAnn-be sure to check out her amazing review!

AVAILABLE June 22, 2023

Thank You to One More Chapter for the invitation to read this one. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods is a charming and evocative story full of mystery and secrets. On a quiet Dublin street a lost bookshop is waiting to be found. The main characters of the story are Opaline, Martha and Henry who are all involved in looking for the missing bookshop.
The whole story evokes a magical wonder that such a place really exists and for people who love the wonder of books, it is a journey that they all look forward to taking until the end when hopefully they will find the lost bookshop
A magical, mystery tour for each of the characters undertaking and anticipating the wonder and magic of the journey.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and loved the magic and anticipation that the story evoked.
Highly recommended

This book was wonderful, it captured my imagination and my love for books. The story was magical and very special. I really didn’t want it to end. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This book is so beautifully written. Opaline is just one of those characters that you can't help but fall in love with. The story intertwines so well, a great page turner, will definitely listen back when the audio book is released.

This was a fun, quick read. I will say I enjoyed some of the characters stories a lot more than the others. Things seem to happen pretty suddenly, which can cause a little bit of whiplash but overall it was pretty good.

A creative and imaginative story, with a bit of magic. Interesting characters, although there were times that the back and forth between Henry and Martha grew a little tiresome. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. *3.5 stars*

What a lovely book. I really enjoyed this one. Written in dual timeline, current day and the 1920’s and largely set in Dublin. Told from the POV’s of three main characters; Opaline in the 1920’s and Martha and Henry in the recent past. The prologue introduces Martha who owns ‘Opaline’s Bookshop’. She invites a young boy into the shop and tells him Opaline’s story, from Paris to Dublin Opaline is a wonderful character who suffered so much but always followed her dream to find an unknown Bronte novel. This is a great story full of magical events and books and bookshops. With factual characters and detail mixed with the fictional tellings this was a fascinating historical novel.

Briefly, Opaline ran away to Paris to escape an arranged marriage and ends up working in the infamous bookshop Shakespeare and Co. However, her brother traces her there and this time she runs to Dublin and ends up running a shop which she gradually turns into a bookshop. Martha also ran away, this time from a violent husband, to Dublin and gets a job as a housekeeper to a faded and rather eccentric former actress. In Dublin she meets Henry, a shy student researching a bookseller called Opaline Carlisle and hoping to make a big literary discovery.

I was totally lost in this story. Yes pun intended! It was a wonderful tale. I’m not a fantasy/magic reader but this was just a small part of the story and added a new dimension. Pun not intended! A fabulous piece of literary fiction, I loved the inclusion of literary greats such as Joyce and Hemingway but also it was important to remember the dreadful historical incarceration of women as insane and the stealing of new born babies of unwed mothers, under the guise of caring male relatives. Totally captivating, beautifully written, and a magical story for any book lover. Loved it.

I absolutely loved this book! I was supposed to read this as a read along but was so hooked from page one I devoured it over one weekend ~ it would have been a day if ‘life’ hadn’t got in the way! This has a dual timeline, a fabulous cast of characters and is totally enchanting. It pulls you right in and I found this a real page turner. Each chapter is written from Opaline, Martha or Henry’s viewpoint. It was fascinating learning how they were interlinked and how the characters and the story developed. Throughout this there is reference to other books, authors and events in history. It is a romantic, magical and at time tragic read that I would highly recommend. Evie Woods is definitely author I’ll be reading more of. Thanks to One More Chapter and Netgalley for the fantastic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

There's something special about books about books. It's hard to put it into words, but when I know a book is gonna be about books I'm already a little more excited to actually read it. Because it probably means the characters will love books almost as much as I do. Because it also probably means this is a story about the power of stories. When I got invited by One More Chapter to grab an arc for this book from Netgalley I therefore didn't hesitate and grabbed it right away.

This book was really intriguing and amazingly well written. Not well written in a flowery and a-lot-of-beautiful-sentences kind of way, but well written in a this-works-best-for-the-story kind of way. The chapters set in the past were at times really painful to read and yet we did encounter some beautiful moments too. The chapters set in our time also had that mix of hope and pain and trauma and future. And in between there were small bits of magic.

What I really loved about this book is that this book is in the first place about real people encountering real problems. Martha is dealing with an abusive husband, Henry is trying to find something he can't find and Opaline wants to be so much more than her time allows her to be. In a strange way all their stories are connected and the closer I got to the ending the more awed I was with how the author brought all three storylines together in the most perfect way.

And on every page you feel the love for stories, books and lost things. I can't imagine how many stories have been written, but never read. And this book loves them all. The book mostly focusses on the possible second novel by Emily Bronte but we feel that her story is only one of many. One thing I do know for sure though: It would be amazing to go to Dublin and to stumble upon this lost bookshop and to find that one book I need.

I will certainly keep an eye on this author and her future books!

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods is a wonderful enchanting story about finding your true place. In the beginning of this book, you find Opaline, a young girl in the 1920's, running away from her brother and the arranged marriage he set up, which she has no plans on going through with, to find her own happiness as a book seller. It then brings you to modern times where you met Martha, a women running from her abusive husband, who is looking to find a new life. You also meet Henry, a scholar who wants to find a mysteriously missing bookshop and a manuscript that may not exist. The extraordinary way these three lives intermix makes this story one of the best I've read this year.
This mix of historical fiction, romance, and magic enticed me from the beginning chapter. It has a mystery that you hope to solve, characters that you root for and cry for, and emotions that touch your heart. I laughed. I cried. I was angry at the injustices done to both Opaline and Martha. I rooted for them to find their happiness they deserved. I absolutely loved this book and it will stay with me. I recommend that you pick up this book if you like dual timelines, historical fiction, or romance. If you like stories about perseverance, this book is definitely for you.
Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins Publishing for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

This tells the stories of Opaline and Martha, separated by decades but somehow linked by a hidden bookshop. Initially very confusing, with jumping between their stories plus Martha's friend Henry's, it gradually started coming together for me. Very quirky and probably not to everyone's taste I finished reading it way past my normal bedtime, always a sign of a good book for me. Well worth reading if you want something that little bit different.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influenced my review of the book.

The title and cover drew me to this book and I wasn’t disappointed.
This is a story about the magic of books and the effect they can have on people.
Henry stumbles across Martha when he’s looking for a bookshop that no longer seems to be there. There’s an instant attraction but it takes a while for them to spend time together.
The house where Martha lives is very special and Madame Bowden who is there is a wonderful character.
We also have chapters from Opaline and we learn about her life over a hundred years ago.
This is a heartwarming read that I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This book at me at: set in Dublin.

I loved it so much! I found it to be whimsical and beautifully written with a story line I was completely enveloped in.

This is a clever unusual read. It’s told from three different points of view and moves between dual timelines.
At times I found it a bit confusing, but it’s quirkiness is also it’s main joy

I'll be honest and say that the title and book cover alone made me want to read The Lost Bookshop, but then I read the blurb and it sounded perfect! I love Books set over different timelines and with different pov's. The book opens with a little boy entering a bookshop and the owner starting to tell him a story and then we move into the main story which is divided into chapters alternating between the main characters of Martha, Henry and Opaline. Opaline's timeline is from around a century ago and Martha and Henry's are present day. Initially it was Martha’s story that drew me in the most but they all grew in depth and interest and become inextricably interwoven. Martha and Opaline are both incredibly strong and independent yet their narratives are heartbreaking at times and I really like them both as characters, although they can be a little too independent at times! Henry is a bumbling, friendly type and I don't always agree with his actions (or Martha’s), but he grows in strength and integrity. I love Madame Bowden as a side character and the way she fits into the story. I adore the elements of magic realism in the book, they really bring the story to life and make it so compelling. Without giving spoilers the tree, the attic and the tattoo really caught my attention. There is just so much detail in the book and the different timelines and stories are expertly woven together. There was a bit around the middle where I wasn't quite sure about the timescale of events and I got a little confused,  but that was my only niggle. I thought about the characters and the book when I wasn't reading it, I wanted to read all the time and I had to stay up late to finish it. There are some serious themes in the book of coercive control and domestic violence; deprivation of liberty; baby loss; mental illness; death and war. There is also friendship; love; magic; recovery; triumph over adversity and of course books! The idea of the lost bookshop was really compelling and I will most definitely buy a physical copy and read it again. I loved the setting for the book and the references to other places. The Lost Bookshop ticks every box for me - great setting, fabulous characters, dual timelines, multi pov, interwoven stories, magic realism, social history and a little bit of love. And of course books!! I will definitely be looking out for more books by the author and I cannot recommend this highly enough!

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

In 1920s Dublin Opaline struggles to be an independent woman and book dealer, after escaping her controlling brother. A century later, Martha escapes her violent husband and takes a job as a housekeeper in an old house in Dublin. But all is not as it seems. Henry, a PhD student, is convinced there should be a bookshop next to the house.

Oh wow, I absolutely loved this book - one of my favourites of the year! I really can't do it justice in a review as it's that good... Fabulous dual timeline, great historical details of Paris/the Brontes/James Joyce, romance, feisty elderly ladies (Martha's employer and Henry's landlady), a touch of magic... all the things I love! I read it in one go and didn't want it to end. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and One More Chapter for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is not my usual kind of book but I knew I would get major FOMO if I didn’t read it as part of the One More Chapter Readalong!

The story follows two timelines and three points of views of Martha, Opaline and Henry. A vanishing bookshop helps the characters discover who they are and unlock hidden secrets.

It is sometime nice to deviate from the norm and read something out of my comfort zone. It is written so beautifully it has made me want to go back to Dublin!

It’s an historical fiction novel with some love interests intertwined. I very much appreciated that the romance parts weren’t too vomit inducing 😂

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a magickal book! It was an honour to read it.

This book takes you on a journey—on several journeys—thru the lives of Opaline, beginning in the 1920s, and of Martha and Henry, both living in present time.

All three must break free from the bonds that control them in order to move forward.

My thanks to Netgalley and One More Chapter HarperCollins Publisher for allowing me to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book for an honest review.

Evie Woods has written a beautiful immersive book. I thought it might make a change from my usual reading matter but I utterly fell in love with the characters and the story. A story of escape and redemption, it was a real delight to read.