A great heartwarming story with some mystery, heart, book love, and found family. A very sweet story I could easily recommend to anyone! Great on audio and digital- narrators were great as they changed with the characters! I also really liked the different POVs an time periods.

Thank you to the publisher and Net galley for the opportunity to read this book!

Happy Pub Day to this absolutely heartwarming book.

Thank you @netgalley, @dreamscape_media media and @sourcebookscasablance for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

Did I go crazy and listen to this book while reading it at the same time? Uh, yes I did.

Warning for a long rambling review.

The grumpy old character and a lively young woman who bursts into his life is a trope done to death. And while I've always loved the idea of it, rarely have I actually seen a good execution.

When I started this book, I knew I was in trouble. I knew I'd finish it in a few days even though I can't really afford to (I'm preparing for a very competitive exam). Then I saw that it was actually dual timeline, and I thought okay there's hope for me to read it at a reasonable pace rather than a starving man seeing food for the first time. I have a literal phobia of historical fiction, I guess. But it was written beautifully. And I found out I was in trouble after all and I read this book while I really should have been studying.

The characters were so lovable and quirky. They stole my heart in less than a page. This book will stay with me for a long time. And I'll change my mind every few days whether I loved the ending or hated it with my very being. Which is the only reason I didn't give this five stars

The Library of Borrowed Hearts was complex, yet had adorable characters with their own quirky characteristics. Chloe's ability to put aside her own hopes and dreams to keep her family together is admirable. Jasper has a huge heart, which he masks behind a cranky demeanor. The entire energetic Sampson family makes you want to dive right into their little crazy world. A book to suck you in and make you feel right at home.

A cute and quirky read for lovers of books, 'The Library of Borrowed Hearts' is a great find for those lazy afternoons or weekends.

Chloe is a delightful character who has not had an easy life but is doing the best she can for her siblings and herself. I enjoyed the first book by this author, " The Lonely Hearts Book Club" and was just as pleased with this story.
This is told in today and in the past. The past story involves notes made in a found book. Who left these notes and why?

A good bit of mystery and good old small town charm made this a winner of a read for me.


Thank you NetGalley for the advanced E-book edition in exchange for my honest review.

This book was so charming and delightful to read. I loved the story and the characters; the multiple POV and dual timeline was written so well. The audio version is fantastic! I loved the multiple narrators. Reading a book about books, book lovers, etc will always be an easy yes for me and this one did not disappoint. A cozy, heartwarming read.

I definitely went into this book thinking it would just be a light hearted tale about a lost love but it was so much more. Getting to see the 2 timelines for the characters was a great way to build up the emotion in the story. From banned books, to forbidden love, to creating a found family, this book has many layers that keep the reader interested the whole way through.

The story could have been so much better. First of all, I found it hard to believe that an 80+ year old woman was still working as a fierce top-of-the-field book editor in NYC. That job is rigorous and stressful. It would have made much more sense for the time span to be more like 40 years. Secondly, the way the MC's love interest ingratiated himself into the MC's life felt off-putting. And she forgave him pretty quickly. I didn't love the abandonment storyline and the way the mother just waltzed back into her children's lives with hardly a blink. And the young lover...the way she ended things with her sort of boyfriend was just shitty.

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The Library of Borrowed Hearts - Lucy Gilmore

A book about books, what more could a reader want. Having read Gilmore's 'The Lonely Hearts Bookclub' last year I knew this would be another great read so requested it immediately on Netgalley.

Chloe is a librarian who is taking care of her three siblings after her mother left them. It's hard and she struggles that put food on the table but she's not going to accept help from anyone. She thinks she had found a temporary bit of cash when she finds a rare book in the libraries pile of books that bin. However, when he grumpy neighbough offers to buy it off her for £5000 she is intrigued. At closer inspection there is writing in the margins, and not just one person's writing. The book was previously used to send messages between two lovers, one of whom is definitely her grumpy neighbour Jasper.

She begins to follow the clues in the book and realises this is one of many used by the two young people, over 50 years previously. Lucy is on a hunt to find them all, but she still needs to support her family. Even more so after Noodles fell and broke his leg, gaining support from the local survival instructor.

This was another great read about books from Gilmore. It's quick and easy to get into with some small twists and turns along the way to keep you interested. I can't wait to read the next on she comes out with.

I really enjoyed this novel, all the characters are so lovable. I wish there was an Epilogue so we could get a little more info after the story ends. But the writing style of Lucy Gilmore is so easy to read! Looking forward to more from this author.

Library of Borrowed Hearts is a good pick for book and library lovers. Told through dual timelines with multiple POVs, this book about found family has book references galore. I loved the characters and it made me rethink what a HEA really means.

Chloe Sampson, a librarian, faces an uphill battle as she shoulders the responsibility of caring for her three younger siblings—Trixie, Theo, and Noodle—after their mother's abandonment years ago. Exhausted from financial strain, Chloe stumbles upon a rare banned book from the 1960s while clearing out the library's basement, sparking thoughts of its potential value.

Living next door to the Sampsons is Jasper Holmes, a recluse known for his gruff demeanor. Chloe is taken aback when Jasper expresses interest in purchasing the book. As she delves deeper, she uncovers a hidden narrative within the book's margins—a tale of young love and clandestine communication between its previous owners. Intrigued, Chloe uncovers more copies of the book in Colville, sparking her curiosity about Jasper's past and his unresolved romantic history.

Themes of young love, unexpected friendships, overcoming barriers, financial hardships, and the value of diversity resonate throughout the narrative. With endearing characters and nods to classic literature, including references to Gilmore's previous work, "The Lonely Hearts Book Club," this novel earns a heartfelt recommendation and a five-star rating.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts was a heartfelt novel filled with found family, twilight/young friendship and literature. I’m grateful to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review the story of Chloe and her siblings, and of Katherine and Jasper and how these stories intersected and overlapped.

Full review will be posted on goodreads, storygraph, and instagram then linked here shortly!

This story was beautiful, wonderful, funny, heartwarming, heartbreaking, sad, crushing, and hopeful all in one. I loved the different POVs and dual timelines. I think those aspects REALLY added a lot to the story. I think this would be an amazing limited series on netflix or prime video.

I inferred from the summary of this book that this was going to be an emotional read. What I didn't anticipate that I would be totally emotionally gutted. Some of the twists of this one (particularly those in the last quarter) were honestly too much for me to handle. I know there is challenge and struggle within the human experience, and I knew there would be given the set-up of the story. However, the level and nature of the ones in this story just made it a really, really hard read for me. I did like the story built around the mysterious messages in the library books, but as the progression of plot happened and secrets were revealed, it just wasn't for me.. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this April 2024 release.

There's library books with secret messages. But there's romance outside library books, too.

I love how the book plays with the different timelines. And the plot twists in both timelines are amazing!

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a fun romance read with an intriguing cast of characters.

Also love the reading group guide and the book list that are included!

Includes:
Library books
Secret messages
Romance
Heartbreak
True love

Chloe Sampson's is raising her three younger siblings and struggling to make ends meet. Her mother walk away from them and left Chloe with no choice but to move back home and care for them. She is working as a librarian and struggling to make ends met. While working she comes across a rare edition of a book - the book is filled with writing. The writing leads her on a scavenger sort of hunt as she wishes to discover the life story of the individuals corresponding in the margins of a book that wasn't just rare but also banned.

Imagine her surprise when she discovers one set of the handwriting belongs to her cantankerous neighbor, Jasper who has offered to purchase the book from her. Chloe ends up searching for additional books that tell the story of two lovers in order to find out what happened to them.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a story told in different narratives and time periods. The points of views are distinct. The story within the story appealed to me the most as I found those characters more interesting. The build is slow but if you push through it you'll find the read worth it.

A charming, if a tad oversweet, story of families given and made that centers around a book-related mystery in a library in rural Washington State.

Chloe Sampson’s situation is dire. She was at University but when her mother, their only parent, walked out on her younger siblings, she was forced to abandon her studies and try to keep her family together. Chloe works at the local library where she finds a copy of The Tropic of Cancer with a conversation written in the margin by two lovers and realizes that one half of the couple is her grumpy elderly next door neighbor, Jasper.

In a second narrative strand, it is 1960 and free-spirited and strong-willed Catherine meets rough but book-loving Jasper and romance ensues as they leave each other notes written in the margins of A Farewell to Arms, The Haunting of Hill House , and, aha!, The Tropic of Cancer . But, Chloe finds out, Catherine died a long time ago.

Though both 1960 Jasper and present day Sampsons live in near-poverty it is of the we-were-poor-but-we-were-happy variety. The characterization of all the cast is pretty heavy-handed; they are each given a distinctive trait which is reiterated every time they appear. The exception is Chloe, who feels authentic in a way that makes you root for her and wish the other characters could have been a little more nuanced.

When things go from bad to worse for the Sampson family, things move towards a crisis and Chloe has to make some tough decisions. There are a few surprises along the way and Chloe and Jasper realize they are similar in many ways and can find their way out from the depths only by opening up to other people.

Not the most original conclusion, for sure, but pleasantly and satisfyingly arrived at.

Thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley fpr the digital review copy.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore was a perfectly fine book, but not one that made too much of an impact. The story occurs in two timelines. In the present, Chloe is raising her three siblings after their mother left the family. She works in a library and is trying to solve the mystery of love notes she found scribbled in the margin of a scandalous, banned book.

In the past, Jasper, a logger, meets Caroline, the daughter of an army officer. The story takes us on their relationship journey in the 1960s.

While the story kept my interest, it dragged on for a bit too long. The characters were fairly forgettable and some just downright unlikeable. My favorite character was actually the curmudgeonly next-door neighbor, but most of the other characters just felt underdeveloped.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and Lucy Gilmore for an eARC copy of The Library of Borrowed Hearts via NetGalley.

My gosh this was such a sweet read. I loved everything about each plot line of the story. Lucy finding the different books that were written in by the "mysterious" couple was immediate serotonin boost. I was obsessed with Catherine and her free spirited nature that went against the status quo of the time she was born in. Lucy tenacity and willingness to put herself aside and create a stable environment for her little siblings, and the turmoil that caused for her life as the story progressed was a poignant example of a reality many face when their birth parents are less than stellar caretakers and they decide to change the pattern going forward.

The relationship between Jasper and Lucy, and the parallels of their lives was a beautiful example of a friendship that spans generations, and I wish we would see more examples of a friendship like this in real life. I think the parallels of Jasper/Catherine's relationship against Lucy/Zach's was fascinating however, I am not someone who loves an open-ended result in a book though, so it was hard to accept when it ended with Lucy and Zach's relationship being up in the air, and Jasper and Catherine didn't run away from their respective lives together. I like everything packaged in a neat box with a bow, though that's not reality (unfortunately), so I will acknowledge that ending the book this way caused me to think about how the story progressed after the pages and made a longer-lasting impact. It was also a good example that "happy endings" aren't always what we think they are.

I want to re-emphasize that this was such a good read. I found myself emotionally tied to the characters, and it was such a good illustration of found family and how those we choose to have in our lives often make even more of an impact than those we are born into family with. I would recommend this book to romance-lovers and non-romance readers alike, it's a beautiful story.