“The Library of Broken Hearts” by Lucy Gilmore is a charming, dual time-line tale that uncovers a mystery that begins when an old, banned volume of “The Tropic of Cancer” is discovered during a clean out of the library’s basement. What was even more surprising were the notes written inside the margins of the book—clearly a conversation between two of the readers. And then, a second old library book turns up—again with conversational notes between these two people. Exactly who are they? Well, library assistant Chloe Sampson doesn’t really have much time to spare to uncover this mystery—after all, she has her hands full being the legal guardian of her three younger siblings. Her dreams of becoming licensed librarian were shattered when social services were called when her mother walked off, leaving three young children alone. Chloe had no other choice but to return home and do whatever it takes to keep her family together. Even if it means having to deal with the mean old recluse next door who refuses to return any of her siblings’ toys if they happen to make it over the fence.

This is a book about love and family. It’s about the sacrifices people will make for those they love. And, it’s a book about books! What could be more perfect than that? Thank you Net Galley for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Well written book. A charming fantastic read with some twists you will not expect packed in it.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Chloe Sampson is struggling to keep her family going. Caring for her three young siblings as their guardian has been tough since her mom stepped out of their lives. Her librarian job helps her to just make ends meat. When she finds a rare copy of a book in the library, riddled with notes in the margins from two lovers, she's surprised to have it suddenly linked to her curmudgeon of a neighbor, Jasper. As she investigates his past, she finds this book is not the only one the lovers communicated through and slowly unravels their tumultuous and short love affair. Determined to see the scavenger hunt through, she builds a relationship with Jasper, as well as a local man named Zach who is determined to help her.
This is my first Lucy Gilmore book. I saw a ton of great reviews for her Lonely Hearts Book Club, which I now have to read! I really enjoyed her writing. It flowed easily and had great pacing. She easily built her characters and made me invested in them. And books written about books are always going to be on my radar. So it was not surprise for me to want to pick this one up and see what it was all about.
Chloe's character is tough but also somewhat broken. Having to care for your three young siblings when you are barely an adult yourself is difficult. And she's determined to ensure they are cared for even if it means she gives up everything she has always wanted to do. Her love of books is what really got me. It's what helped me connect with her and care about her. It's also what helps her connect more with Jasper, which I love. If I were to start my life over again, I would absolutely go for a degree as a librarian or do something in the publishing world.
Speaking of Jasper, he's definitely my favorite character in this book and has the ARC that progresses the most. He goes from a recluse who wants nothing to do with anyone, to figuring out there's more to life than stewing in your own thoughts. He's also a book lover, which helped me connect with him. I loved his love story, even if it was a little more sad than I would have liked.
My least favorite character was Catherine. I found her to be super selfish and it really bothered me. I wanted her to be so much more. But I also knew there wasn't a HEA coming for her and Jasper (you see this throughout the story so it's not a spoiler for their story ARC).
I do wish there was more about Zach. I loved him, and how he wanted to connect with Chloe, but I was also mad at him for how he went about it (no spoilers here, you'll have to read to find out why). Mostly I adored his connection with Noodle. And the fact that he took Chloe, siblings and all, even when many would run from a young girl who comes strapped with kids.
The story is told from five points of view, which I would normally be annoyed about but worked really well for this story. It wasn't hard to keep the points of view separate while reading as the chapters were titled. The author also chose to bounce between the present and the past to tell the love story of Catherine and Jasper and how it progresses and ultimately how it ends. There was no point in the book where this story bored me. I truly wanted to find out what happened between the lovers, and wanted Chloe to also get her HEA.
The idea of found family is very much at the forefront of this story and I really love that. Family is great but some don't always have one that is super supportive. So to be able to find the community Chloe did at the end, people who want to help her and watch her succeed, was heart warming.
If you are looking for a romance read, this one isn't it. It has romantic elements for sure because it does ultimately focus on the love affair between Catherine and Jasper. But it is not a romance as much as it is chick lit or contemporary fiction.
The story does just kind of end. I was hoping for an epilogue, something, anything to show me what happens down the line. Chloe is given a great opportunity, but does she take it? What happens with Zach? Does her mother ever come back? How do the children fair? What happens with Jasper? I just needed something to tie up all the loose ends and it wasn't there. This is why I didn't give it 5 stars.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would definitely read more from this author in the future.

This book was such a cute read! The meet-cute between two of the younger main characters brought forth an incredible twist that I did not expect at all. The mystery elements within this novel were well-written and had efficient pacing. It was not too slow nor too fast of a read, and I was able to get immersed into the story swiftly and follow along with the progression of the story easily. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, and I would highly recommend it to anyone that is looking for a cute and adorable rom-com to enjoy!

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the opportunity to read this early release digitial ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn’t love a love book? Well I do love it and this books is about Chloe and her family with a decades old mysterious love story discovered in notes left in library books. A whole flirting conversation between people on a book with some shocking revelations about past. This is the cosiest book ever, I love how charming and intriguing the plot is. Plus one of my favourite things to find in book is literaly references, my only trouble is I feel the ending to abrupt and rushed. But Lucy Gilmore is brilliant creating characters that feel real and relatable, thank you very much to NetGalley for the ARC of this book

This was such a sweet story. I love stories of found family and when they are bookish, it’s even better! Loved this light and sweet read ❤️

Any cover with books on it is going to catch my interest right away. I’m so glad the book lived up to the hype the cover gave me. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this and share my feedback.

I personally LOVE books about books or anything bookish, and author Lucy Gilmore has followed up her excellent "Lonely Hearts Book Club" with this latest title, "The Library of Borrowed Hearts", which is just as heart-warming & charming as the former. This is also a "found family" trope with quirky side characters, as we follow our MC, Chloe, on her quest to find the identities of two people who wrote in an old book from a library basement. This dual-timeline, multi POV novel is just chockfull of literary references & really fun. My sincere thanks to Net Galley & the publisher for the complimentary DRC, my sincere pleasure to review it.

In The Library of Borrowed Hearts, Lucy Gilmore weaves the story of Chloe and her family with a decades old mysterious love story discovered in notes left in library books. Chloe is 19 and has dropped out of college, abandoning her dream of being a librarian, to care for her 3 siblings when their mom leaves them. Chloe works as a library aide barely making ends meet but committed to her family. Her next door neighbor Jasper is as curmudgeonly as Ove and has not made Chloe’s family’s life any easier. I love how Gilmore redefines family in her novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

Dual timeline story.
While clearing out the basement storage of the library, Chloe discovers a bootleg copy of Tropic of
Cancer. Initially interested in what she would be able to sell the book for, she gets caught up in
the written conversation between a couple, flirting with each other. She is surprised to discover
that the man is her elderly grumpy neighbor. As more is revealed about the couple's courtship, the
hardships Chloe is facing with her siblings is revealed. She may have more in common with her
grumpy neighbor than she thought. Charming read.
#TheLibraryofBorrowedHearts #NetGalley

Chloe is a part time librarian at her small town library. She is raising her three other siblings on her own after their mother walked out on them. She is always struggling to figure out how to make ends meet. One day while going through the libraries old books to toss, she happens upon a rare old book. Although there is messages in thr margin, she can still get a nice amount for it. So She sees the opportunity in selling it and helping her family stay a float for a little longer. But her cranky, elderly next door neighbor, Jacob, swoops in and offers her more than what it's worth. Now, Chloe is intrigued why the grumpy old man so desperatly wants to purchase it. She goes through the margins of the book and realizes the notes are between two lovers. Chloe goes down a path of mystery and a literal book scavenger hunt to find out what happened to the two lovers. Along the way she will find more than what she expected.

What I enjoyed:
- absolutely a charming and cozy book! I loved the setting and I was intrigues by the plot from the beginning.
- all the book references! I love books about books. I especially thought it was clever to have a nod to the author's previous book in there.
- Multiple POV's and two different timelines
- We are thrown into a mystery along side our MC, Chloe, trying to piece together the past and lost love
- One of my favorite tropes, found family
- The dash of romance 💜🥹


I read the author's previous book, The Lonely Hearts Book Club and I really enjoyed that one. But this book is now my favorite by the author! I fell in love with this story for so many reasons. Honestly, it gave me the best warm and fuzzy feelings. The characters were realistic, and a bit flawed at times. But you were rooting for them and I loved how realistic the ending was. I do wish we got more of what happens in the future. An epilogue would have made this an easy 5 stars for me. So this one was 4 stars out of 5. Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review! I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

Thank you Sourcebook Casablanca and NetGalley for supplying this ARC.

If you like stories with dual timelines, literary references, family, and a touch of mystery (scavenger hunts) then this book may be for you. I found it to be charming and paced well enough. I appreciated the clear character descriptions and the tone. The story reminded me of Holes by Louis Sachar or the movie Now and Then (1995).

I did feel that the first half of the book was stronger than the second half. I was comfortable in Chloe’s POV. So the shift to others was a bit jarring. There was no indication that the story would be told in multiple perspectives in the description. It would have been more than ok if we remained in one POV and flashing back to the alternate timeline… obviously with finishing the book, it wouldn’t have worked out that way since we get scenes that couldn’t have been narrated by Chloe. Also there is one chapter that switched to first person. Didn’t like that at all to be perfectly honest. Once the multiple POVs were introduced, the story felt more like writing exercises that were weaved together to make a book.

The plot itself didn’t wow me in any way and I found myself getting frustrated with a lot of it. I also think the ending was a little abrupt.

Overall the story was fine. It’s an easy and quick read albeit a bit forgetful.

Lucy Gilmore has crafted a novel that feels like the memoirs of five characters. It pulls the reader into the pages, just as two of the protagonists found literary and emotional homes in the books they shared. "The Library of Borrowed Hearts" is a mystery, several love stories, an unfolding of hearts and minds, and it is delightful. I couldn't put it down. This will be a wonderful addition to my book group's list and I'd recommend it to anyone who will get a chance to discuss the many themes and questions it so beautifully gifts its readers.

This is my second Lucy Gilmore read and they have both been really great reads! It was also a nice touch to see the name of one of the grumpy characters from her other book mentioned within this one.
The library of Borrowed Hearts follows Chloe, who is raising her younger siblings following her mother walking out on them some years ago. Chloe works in the local library and when sorting out some old books in the basement finds an old rare edition of a banned book that has secret notes (love letters) written in the margins. When she finds another book with the same secret notes, she becomes determined to find the rest of the books that form the rest of their love story, especially when she discovers that her grumpy neighbour is one half of that love story.
An uplifting, although perhaps somewhat predictable, read about family and friendship and of course, books 📚

Loved this book so much! It should be read by every reader no matter what your favorite genre is! One I will recommend to all!

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this arc. It was a delightful story that celebrated the joy of books and how they can connect and bring together even the most unlikely of people. This was told through a dual timeline that ends up weaving together pretty seamlessly, and I really appreciated how the lives of Chloe, Catherine, and Jasper all end up connecting. Not exactly a romance, but not exactly NOT a romance, this was just a really light and warming story filled with a cast of quirky and likable characters. My overall rating is 3.5 stars (rounded up), and I would recommend this book to those who love libraries, small towns, and mysteries with a touch of whimsy.

What a sweet and heartfelt story! There was so much to unpack in these pages. I loved that we got multiple pov from different characters that really helped the story come alive. This book is perfect for book lovers with all the literary references. Readers will also enjoy this story for the found family elements, plus there are quite a few surprises along the way! I definitely recommend this book for fans of Freya Sampson books. Definitely one I'll recommend!

The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a heartwarming and charming story of lost love, found family and best of all, bookish romance. Chloe is working in a library and caring for her younger siblings when she stumbles across love letters written in the margin of a book. Her bookish scavenger hunt uncovers a 60 year old love story, a cantankerous neighbour, and an outdoorsy love interest.

I loved the layered relationships in this story, and the many stories lines the author wove together. The alternating POV was cleverly done, and I found that I was able to really understand the motivations of the characters. I really enjoyed the alternating timepoints and the way that books acted a as a catalyst for the found family. Catherine and Chloe were wonderfully strong and resilient characters, and I loved Jasper’s character development. On top of a great story, I loved the warm and bright cover, which helped me to discover this wonderful read.

Thank you Sourcebooks Cascablana and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed are my own.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts is heartwarming and charming. I fell in love with the characters, especially the relationship between Chloe and her siblings. This novel highlights just how books can bring people together. I loved the storyline of the mystery of the young couple who was in love writing messages to each other in books. There is a mixture of mystery, romance (old and new), and unexpected friendships. This is such a feel good story and high enjoyable!

Thanks to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca, Sourcebooks Casablanca for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First, thank you to Net Galley for this ARC. Second, everyone read this book, stat!
I loved this story from the beginning to end. I related to Chloe’s borderline obsession with the book hunt and her just wanting to know what happened. I enjoyed how her and Jasper’s stories aligned and how certain details fit together at the end. I love Zach’s character but I knew something was coming and when it did, I was so upset for Chloe. But Noodle, he has my heart.
While this story isn’t necessarily a romance, I highly recommend this book for the self diagnosed hopeless romantics.