This was a fantastic read. It was my first by this author. I think the best word to describe it is charming. I liked the dual timelines and the chapters from different character perspectives. I fell in love with them all. I didn’t see that little twist coming either! Enjoyed the heck out of it.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘺 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 📚🩷

<is><b>”“You know, the thing I’ve always loved most about books is how they make it possible to live a thousand different lives,” she said, speaking as though my heart wasn’t leaking out all over my face and dripping onto her expensive purse. “Things in this world rarely go according to plan, and we often find ourselves on roads and in cities we never planned to visit, let alone stay in forever. I take comfort from knowing that I can always pick up a book—a new one, if I want to travel someplace unique; an old one, if I find myself in need of a friend—and make everything feel right again.”</i></b>

Books about books will always be an immediate buy. Add in a dual timeline that features a whirlwind romance with swoony note exchanges you have created the perfect book. Reading this felt like a like a hug for my soul. My mind enjoyed all the book references and there was so much to highlight/annotate it’s impossible to include all in this review.

💕<b><u>What to Expect</b></u>💕
🔖Fiction/Romance
🔖literary scavenger hunt
🔖Dual timeline
🔖Multi POV
🔖letter exchanges
🔖book references-mainly Wuthering Heights(which is one of my favorites)
🔖first child family sacrifices
🔖grumpy hermit next door neighbor
🔖found family

My only issue is that the book just ends. I’m going to complain and throw a fit every time a book ends with no epilogue. The book feels incomplete and my mind is left with too many unanswered questions.

<b>Overall thoughts:</b> I really enjoyed this story as you can tell and would recommend if you like women’s fiction that features romance and plenty of classic book references.

Another charming and book-centric offering by this author.

Chloe works at her local library and is often frazzled and overwhelmed as she takes care of her three younger siblings and struggles to pay the bills. She finds a welcome distraction when she unearths of copy of a rare book with love notes in the margins. Can she figure out who wrote the notes and what happened to their love story?!

This is a sweet read with a few twists (both surprising and not so surprising) thrown in.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

“The Library of Borrowed Hearts” by Lucy Gilmore without context: ✍🏼📚🪵🌱🚲🚗🎳🥏🐕🧑🏼‍🔬🎞️

My favorite character was Jasper— mainly because my grandpa loved gardening just like he does. Jasper is the opposite of him in that he’s cranky and grumpy. He reminds me of the old man in “A Man Named Otto,” the movie because I’ve never read the book. They are just lovable characters.

The beginning and middle of this book was slow and boring for me. It felt like I was just reading the book synopsis, but in much lonnnnnger paragraphs😭. There were also so many POV switches; I didn’t hate it but I also didn’t love it.

The romance is hardly there. It does “span decades” but not in a dreamy, magical way that it implies. Quite underwhelming. The references to classic literature was fun to read and I love the love-story-through-an-annotated-book idea, but it wasn’t it for me!

I truly didn’t expect to love this as much as I did! I’m not really big on the rom-com type romance books and I incorrectly assumed that’s what I was getting into. This book is so heartbreakingly beautiful. More than once, I thought I had figured out what was going on and I’m glad I was wrong every time. This is the first time I’ve read anything by this author and I’m glad I know where to turn when I want to get my heartbroken and put back together within 300 pages.

I can’t even begin to explain the love I have for this book! It was witty, funny, sad, and just so so good! I can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you for the advanced reader!!

Such a charming read! This was a delightful story about books! I instantly loved Chloe and how fiercely she cared for her siblings. The storyline about her befriending Jasper was perfectly done and it was endearing to see him go from a grumpy neighbor to a grandfather figure to the four kids. The chapters set in the past we also well done and spaced out enough that it didn’t feel like that part was taking over the whole novel. I see a big difference in the characterization of the characters between this newer novel and The Lonely Hearts Book Club. In The Library of Borrowed Hearts, everyone had a distinct personality and was multidimensional. You can’t not fall in love with Chloe’s siblings!! I also enjoyed the Zach storyline, although I wish I had gotten to know him more throughout the story. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel!

Utterly charming! My first read by this author but it will not be my last. I really enjoyed the dual POV of this title as well as the dual timelines.

Librarian Chloe Sampson faces challenges in caring for her three younger siblings, searching for her identity, and making ends meet. Near the end of her tether, she stumbles upon a rare 1960s book at a flea market, interpreting it as a stroke of luck. However, her cranky hermit neighbor surprises her by offering an exorbitant sum to buy it. Intrigued, Chloe examines the book and discovers notes between young lovers, one likely being her neighbor, Jasper Holmes.

This discovery propels Chloe on a quest to unveil the identities of the lovers from decades ago and understand their fate, intertwining with the mystery of her lonely neighbor. As she delves into the literary scavenger hunt, she forms an unexpected bond with Jasper, revealing a deeper side to his personality.

In this delightful, humorous, and touching tale, unlikely connections blossom through a shared love for books. The marginalia mystery infuses the story with energy, and as Chloe befriends Jasper, the narrative brims with heart. Gilmore weaves a romantic tale that transcends generations, highlighting books' power to unite distant souls and heal. "The Library of Borrowed Hearts" unfolds love stories in unexpected places, offering a relatable and captivating read for every book enthusiast.

I extend my gratitude to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it as a lighter read with a combination of romance, multiple points of view, family, as well as found family. I like the cover art and the literary references as well. As a high school librarian it isn’t a title I would buy for our library, but I would recommend it to older students looking for this type of book. It isnt a title that is wildly inappropriate or would raise eyebrows..

NetGalley ARC --

This is my second Lucy Gilmore book and I love her writing and character development. It was a great story about found family and the love of books - highly recommend!

“They don’t get to walk away and then come back like it doesn’t mean anything. We’re human beings, Chloe. Real, live, goddamned human beings. Not just some side characters who disappear the second they decide to turn the page.”
......................
Fantastic read. From start to finish, perfection.
The book was a true rollercoaster. It made me feel a lot of things in different measures.
At the beginning, I was so enthralled with Chloe. She had a dry sense of humor that made me laugh many times, and her banter with Zach was funny to read.
Her story itself was compelling, leaving college to suddenly be a mom to her three younger siblings, who each has their struggles, and also the loneliness she felt despite being surrounded by people all the time.
The way she latched onto the love story of Jasper was heart breaking to me. I understood the need to be able succeed in something, she wanted to conclude the story, to put an ending. It felt vital for her existence.
Moving on to Jasper, let's just say I shed tears over this man.
The depressing existence he had, one that wasn't even completely his, combined with the fragile, sensitive heart he had, it was a combination that I was fascinated by.
To be quite honest, I didn't like Catherine and Jasper together. Although Jasper truly loved her, I felt that Catherine was more taken by him, his rough exterior and the gentle way he dealt with her, he was a breath of fresh air compared to her father and his subordinates.
The story was woven so strongly, especially in the second half. It was a struggle to keep from sobbing, let me tell you. I absolutely loved how realistic the author was about how love isn't the only factor to consider when in a relationship, the realistic view was refreshing to read.
I also liked the highlighted difference between Jasper and Catherine's love story and Zach and Chloe's. While it was hinted that they were similar, in the end it was apparent that they weren't the same.
I loved it so much and will definitely look out for any new releases by the author.
*I received an ARC of this book through netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

As someone who has never read a Lucy Gilmore book, I found this to be quite a treat! I quickly and wholly fell in love with the characters in this book who just jumped off the page and straight into my heart.
The Library of Borrowed Hearts introduces us to Chloe, a young woman, who took on the responsibility of parenting her 3 younger siblings, Trixie, Theo, and Noodle, after their mother walked out on them 4 years prior. They live next door to a curmudgeon of an older male neighbor named Jasper, who is less than neighborly.
In her role of not-quite-a-librarian, one day Chloe comes across a rare book from the 1960’s with notes scribbled in the margins by two people sending messages back and forth to each other. It soon becomes obvious these are notes from two people falling very much in love. When Jasper finds out that Chloe is in possession of this rare book, he offers an exorbitant amount of money to buy it from her. Following the clues leads Chloe on a wild chase to discover the authors of those messages and the many books that they are scribbled in, learning the love story of the individuals involved and her neighbor who holds the key to the story.
This story will break your heart and then put it back together again. PLEASE read this book when it comes out on April 30th, 2024. You will laugh. You will cry. You won’t want it to end.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the opportunity to read this beautiful story.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a sweet story that unites two solitary hearts through the love for books and surprising finds in the margins. When protagonist Chloe Sampson finds a rare 1960s book at the flea market, she cannot care for her three younger siblings. Curious about the notes between two young lovers written in the margins, she discovers one of them is possibly her cranky neighbor, Jasper Holmes.

This sends Chloe on a mission to discover the names of lovers who wrote in the margins of library books more than half a century ago. What became of these two unfortunate lovers? And what does it concern her lonely, miserable neighbor? In addition, as Chloe continues the literary scavenger hunt, she also keeps befriending Jasper, who turns out to have a deeper personality than one would think.

This delightful, funny, and touching tale connects the unlikeliest people through a shared love for books. The marginalia mystery gives the story so much energy; while trying to connect with Jasper, it is full of heart. Therefore, Chloe discovers that some love stories start in places she never imagined. Humorously and emotionally, Gilmore tells a romantic tale that transcends generations to show the book’s ability to unite people far apart and heal. The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a book that every reader will relate to.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I always find Lucy Gilmore's writing extremely charming, and this was no exception. I thought the start was a little bit slow because we don't get into the fun of the notes and the mystery until there's a good bit of backstory, and I wish we had jumped in a little bit earlier. But once we get the split narrative and get to follow along with Chloe as she learns Jasper and Catherine's story, I really got into it and enjoyed it a lot.

I will also say I wish this had not been billed as a romance. Again, I thought it was lovely and charming, and I read and enjoy more "women's fiction"–type books. But I found this looking at the romance category and I wouldn't call it that, despite the romantic plots within.

I really enjoyed this book and finished it within 2 days. It’s one of those books that will have you up all night because it’s such an easy read that keeps you hooked so by the time you’ve finished reading it’s been hours and you don’t even realise it🙈

I really enjoyed the characters, excluding Catherine, and the plot itself I thought was really captivating and I appreciate that although it was marked as a romance it wasn’t completely centred around a main couple and there was an actual plot behind it.

Overall I rated it 4 stars and was so glad I chose this as my first ever ARC to read🫶🏻

Such a fun read for folks who love the library and all of the magic they hold! Chloe is struggling to support herself and her three siblings who were abandoned by their mom, all she works at the library. At work, she finds some handwriting on an old book. Curiosity leads to Chloe looking into other books for more information on the strangers conversations. While putting the pieces together, she realizes she is connected to it all! Such an easy and fun book!

This book was a family oriented story and it was interesting to read it.

It seemed slow paced, which I normally don’t like as it doesn’t pull me into the story as much I would want.

Thank you for letting me read a copy before it’s published.

This was a lovely read, and I’m always a sucker for stories about family — found or otherwise. The cast of characters are a lively bunch, and though the story seemed to have a very predictable ending at first, it was anything but. The flashbacks between past and present provided a lot of insight into curmudgeonly Jasper, and developed his character in a much more meaningful way than any other. It also informed his growing relationships with everyone else in the book, though sometimes this was at the expense of others (looking at you, Chloe and Zach). If I had one piece of feedback, it would be that I wish the author had delved more into Noodle and the Incident, as I felt that thread was left a bit undone (especially for Chloe). But it’s not a major complaint, as the Noodle chapters were hands down my absolute favorite.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it at its release. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.