The British Booksellers is another engaging dual-time story from author, Kristy Cambron, covering the WWI and WWII eras. The characters have depth and reality and their emotions, strengths, and foibles resonate well with readers. It is a poignant story encompassing family devotion, history, and cultural divides. Readers who enjoy historical fiction as seen through several generations of characters will not want to miss this book. I was given a complimentary copy of the book through NetGalley and was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are my own.

The Forgotten Blitz inspired this story and spanned both world wars. It's a dual-timeline story, taking place during WWI and WWII, and takes place in Coventry, England. Amos and Charlotte are childhood friends. He's the son of a tenant farmer, and she's the daughter of an Earl. She's destined to become the wife of the future Earl of Harcourt. Twenty-five years later, she's a war widow who runs a bookstore in Coventry, named after her daughter Eden, and runs her husband's estate. Amos is a grumpy recluse, who runs a rival bookstore. When a solicitor arrives with unexpected news and the blitz terrorizing the skies and the city, they learn how to work together again.

I read this story in one sitting. It had me turning the pages to find out what happened next. It had romance, books, intrigue, the effect of war on people, and the forgotten blitz. The dual timeline storyline helped me understand more about what happened in WWI and how it affected those in WW II

Thanks to @thomasnelson, @netgalley, and the author of this ARC I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Friends who dreamt of building a bookshop together, separated by class and war, find themselves years later facing a second world war as they fight for their hometown.

A riveting dual timeline read set during both World Wars, following both Lady Charlotte and Amos Denby, their close friendship and the events that brought them to where they are. The nonlinear timeline really served this novel well, as we uncover the secrets of their past.

I really liked Jacob and Eden in the 1940's timeline, as well as getting to know the Land Girls. Amos was one of my favorite characters, and I really enjoyed seeing the man he was while in the midst of the first world war.

Overall, a captivating story of forbidden love in a time of war, with a well paced plot, and well developed characters. Highly recommend for fans of Downton Abbey era reads, with realistic historical settings and engrossing plots.


I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

**I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley. **

This was a really cute second-chance romance about two rivaling bookshop owners, Charlotte and Amos, a la the movie "You've Got Mail." It takes place in Britain during WW2 with flashback scenes to the start of their friendship/ attraction during WW1. In the WW2 scenario, we don't know why these 2 bookshops hate each other. Through flashbacks, we learn they were friends/ childhood love interests from different sides of the tracks and that Charlotte married an earl, while Amos went to war with her husband, and only Amos returned from war, badly scarred. When a young man arrives in Coventry, claiming half his fortune has been left to Charlotte's daughter, Eden, and they don't know why. The mysteries continue to build and the backdrop of the war only adds to the tension in the story. Who will survive? Will these two bookshop owners be able to put aside their past and find love with each other again? Will this group of townspeople survive the war?

I loved all the historical information injected throughout the story. Both storylines were super interesting and built tension as they went along. But I kept wanting to find out what happened next in one timeline of events then have to flip back to the other timeline, which got frustrating at times. I would've preferred the flashbacks be shorter or more frequent to hold my interest.

I know you are not supposed to judge a book by it's cover... but oh my!
This was a great book that weaved two World Wars. Amos and Charlotte, Charlie, were childhood sweethearts but couldn't get married due to their social status. They were separated by World War I. Then World Wat II starts raging and Charlotte's daughter Eden, is trying to save her father's legacy. An American lawyer arrives and they try to piece together a puzzle that can potentially save them all.
If you like historical fiction, this book is for you! I have never read a book by Kristy Cambon before, but I look forward to reading more by her. Many thanks to the author, Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

A wonderful dual timeline story that weaves both into a story of loss, forgiveness and love amidst the horrors of both WWI and WWII. Ms. Cambron skillfully weaves both stories into one seamless masterpiece. The secrets of the past stretches its shadow into the main story which is set in WWII on the British home front in Coventry, England.
Ms. Cambron's trademark attention to historical detail brings to life the events of the bombing of Coventry, seen through the eyes of well-crafted characters. Lady Holt and Amos Darby must set aside differences and work towards a united goal. Long held secrets are uncovered, threatening to hurt those they love most. The characters are realistic and well-drawn, ones I wanted to find a happy ending as the horrors of war come closer to home.

****I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher through Netgalley and was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

3.75. An interesting historical fiction that covers both WWI and WWII, that generally follows the lives of a tenant farmer and an aristocratic woman in Coventry, England. I always like historical fiction novels as I usually learn something, and I definitely did in this novel specifically regarding “The Forgotten Blitz” devastating bombings in Coventry which impacted so many. A story of love, death, injury, books, castes, familial relationships, and secrets, to name a few. It was a well researched novel, yet in some ways I felt I was a reading a Harlequin type novel and felt that that the plot was too slow in many parts as well as was extremely predictable. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an advance copy in exchange for a candid and honest review

In this dual timeline and multiple perspective World War II historical fiction novel, readers follow Eden, her mother Lady Charlotte Harcourt, and Amos Darby. Lady Charlotte, the widow of the Earl of Harcourt who died in the first World War, and Eden oversee the estate and run Eden Books in Coventry. A soldier during World War I and the son of a tenant farmer, Amos knows Charlotte from when she was Lady Charlotte Terrington, the headstrong daughter of another earl, and he now owns a bookstore across the street from Eden Books in Coventry. As World War II continues, so does Amos and Charlotte’s professional feud, and Eden must contend with this feud and a lawsuit from a strange American lawyer while holding down the home front. An incredibly complex historical fiction novel, readers will see how Charlotte and Amos’s relationship changed over the decades and uncover their hidden history with Eden. Charlotte, Amos, and Eden are fantastic protagonists, complex, lifelike, and intelligent, while the other minor characters are also complex with interesting backstories. As this fantastic historical fiction novel progresses and characters’ secrets are revealed, readers will become part of the bookstores’ community with stakes in everyone’s survival of the Blitz.

I don't always love multiple perspectives, but Kristy Cambron does a wonderful job with this book!

It's nice to read books inspired by real life, and still get a happy ending.
If you love WWII historical fiction, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for an arc. All opinions expressed are my own.

Okay, so, I WANTED to love this book. I mean, it has dual timelines. It delves into both WWI and WWII, two timelines that I have come to love reading about. There is a focus on the two bookstores, one run by Charlotte Holt and the other by Amos Darby who have this little "war" going on between the bookshops, instead of the bookstore they had once dreamed have having together. There is a second chance love story (definitely wouldn't classify it as enemies to lovers). Charlotte, an earl's daughter, and Amos, a tenant farmer were close as children, and had fallen in love once upon a time, back before WWI. Though they wouldn't admit the reality of that love as they knew a relationship would never be able to happen in that world. Charlotte indeed was wed to a man she didn't care for, a man who sort of had it in for Amos, partially because he was jealous of the relationship Charlotte and Amos had. During the WWII timeline, Charlotte has remained a war widow and Amos has been living as a recluse.
Though there IS also another love story developing that could possibly be considered “enemies to lovers,” as Jacob Cole, a solicitor from America, has come to England with a lawsuit that will impact their lives, especially that of Eden, Charlotte’s daughter. Yet he remains in England to help out and a relationship starts to develop between him and Eden.
I do love that as we go back and forth between timelines their history is slowly revealed and we see how it has impacted their present.
I loved learning more about WWII. One of the reasons I have started enjoying historical fiction so much is I get to learn things I don't remember learning about in school. I had never heard of the Coventry Blitz though I've learned that it was the "single most concentrated attack on a British city" during WWII. And there were Land Girls who came from London to help on the estate, several ladies who we hear about from time to time in the story, some of whom played a more important role than others.
There is also what seems to be an insignificant side story during the time Amos is a soldier during WWI that ends up playing an intriguing part in the story.
I would have to say my rating is really between a 3 and a 4. I didn't want to give such a low rating, but one of the things that will bring my rating down is if the book can not keep my attention and I struggle with wanting to pick it up, plus having trouble struggling to comprehend what I am reading without reading it over and over again to make it make sense.
But I also didn't care for the fact that the whole lawsuit angle of the story didn't really have a satisfactory conclusion. In addition to the fact that it sometimes popped up during the story, as if the author went, oh right, there was supposed to be a lawsuit going on here. That lawsuit didn't really have the strength behind it that the blurb made it out to be.
All in all, I did enjoy this story, it just took me so long to finish it and I had trouble focusing on it. And I can’t really pinpoint why. I will say my attention was grabbed a bit more about halfway through the story. And I loved some of the details that were revealed.

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

I enjoyed this dual time WWI and WWI novel that worked well to compare how both wars were alike but also different and how it affected the British people. Using a bookshop as the backdrop of what didn’t change.

Between the not very well-known story of the Nazis bombing the Coventry countryside during the Blitz and the rich girl/poor boy love story of the main characters Amos & Charlotte, (plus a secondary love story of Charlotte's daughter Eden) The British Booksellers is a really interesting book.
Although the book opens during the opening months of WWII, the back story is a large part of the plot. Without giving too much away, both Amos & Charlotte love music, books, and each other, but Charlotte is forced to marry the soon to be Earl of Harcourt and give up Amos forever. The outbreak of WWI intervenes, and fate puts Amos under the command of Charlotte's husband, who has made it his life's mission to keep Amos down and possibly dead.
After the war, both Amos and Charlotte open bookstores -- right across the lane from each other -- but stay as far away from each other as they can in the years that follow, until WWII starts and a mysterious solicitor from the US shows up and events manage to push them together -- whether they like it or not.
There's SO much more to say about this story, class differences, the Land Girls, Charlotte's daughter Eden's love story, civilians involved in military subterfuge to defeat the Germans, all I can say is it's a riveting story and if you like historical fiction, this is a must read for you!

I really wanted to like this book but it just wasn’t for me. I felt like it dragged on. I thought a lot of the characters were unnecessary. I didn’t understand the lawsuit piece of it. Unfortunately it’s a no for me.

Loved this historical fiction book. A beautiful spin on life during world war 2 in Coventry. A different perspective about the Coventry Blitz which I wasn't familiar with. Lost lives, battling bookstores and a country terrorized by war.

I'm late in writing this review because I got shingles. But, I wanted to give my honest review of this book. Normally I love Kristy Cambon's books. She is a talented writer with great characters and story lines.

For some reason her newest book, The British Booksellers, just didn't appeal to me. I couldn't get into the characters. I thought the synopsis sounded good, but didn't feel connected.

I still like reading Kristy Cambron and I hope her next novel is better!

The British Booksellers captured me from the first page to the last. A dual timeline story, it begins in WW1 with a secret friendship deepening to love between Amos Darby, the son of a tenant farmer, and Charlotte Terrington, the daughter of an earl, then continues through WW2. The story in both time periods centers on Amos and Charlotte, but with so many twists and turns! This one tugged my heart and made me laugh.
Historical fiction is my jam and Kristy Cambron does not disappoint, I will be looking for more of her books.

My thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this wonderful book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Wow. This book is amazing! Sometimes I’m in the mood for WW2 romance, and this one did not disappoint. I loved the dual time story. I think those can sometimes drag, but in this case, the story flowed nicely.
The characters were perfectly flawed, and I fell in love with them. Multiple viewpoints, timelines and love stories, with a little danger and a plot twist or two make this book a new favorite!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

What a sweet story told in two timelines, 1914 and 1940, about a mother (Charlotte) and daughter (Eden).

You learn a bit about Coventry and the air raids that took place there in the 1940s. Most of the story is fictional and is a story of love lost and maybe found again, and the secret keeping two people apart. Clearly the characters (and author) love books, but they are not the topic of the story itself. I would classify this as a romance set in a historical time period, but not really "historical romance".

Recommended for light beach reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. #sponsored

This is a dual timeline story that jumps back and forth from the past(1910s) lives of Amos and Charlotte and the present (1940s) lives. This took me a little getting used to. I liked Amos and Charlotte and their love story however I wasn’t a huge fan of some of their interactions when she was supposed to be engaged to another man. Charlotte marries the man she was engaged to and has a daughter Eden, who is also in the 1940s timeline as an adult. Her love interest is Jacob and I really liked them. I did also like Amos and Charlotte finally getting their love story in the forties and that Charlotte still honors her deceased husband. There wasn’t really any Christian content though. Overall, a good story.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

"The British Booksellers" spans World Wars I and II, following the lives of Amos and Charlotte from their youth to their middle age. While they were childhood sweethearts, Amos was a farmer's boy and Charlotte was the daughter of nobility, so there was no conceivable way they could be together. And just as WWI was erupting, Charlotte was married to Will, the local earl's son. As Will and Amos head off to war, Charlotte is left behind to keep the homefires burning.

In the second timeline of this dual-timeline story, decades have passed since Charlotte and Amos were young and the country is bracing itself for an attack from Germany. The pair have had little to do with one another since Amos stood Charlotte up at the alter before going off to war decades before, but they own competing bookshops across the street from one another now and see the need to work together to support their community as fears increase.

And as the story weaves back and forth between the untold story of what happened while Amos and Will were fighting in WWI and the unfolding story of preparations for WWII, we start to see how all roads have led to where Charlotte and Amos are right now. The main question is, will they let old pain keep them apart or will they embrace the second chance they've been given?

I really enjoyed this story and all the intricate details that eventually are woven together to support one another.

Thank you to Kristy Cambron, Thomas Nelson, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.