The Bookshop Ladies by Faith Hogan

One sure way to entice us bookworms is to write a book about books and this one has all the warmth, friendship and female empowerment we would expect from a Faith Hogan novel. It’s like receiving a big warming hug, but in book form. Our central character is Joy and we meet her at a hugely traumatic point in her life. Joy lives in Paris with her husband Yves Bachand, a well-known art dealer who has made the career of many a new struggling artist. Joy has a very successful career of her own in public relations. Everything is turned upside down when Yves suffers a massive heart attack and in his dying moments manages to tell Joy he has a daughter. Over the next few weeks as Joy starts to comes to terms with losing her husband, she’s also trying to get her head around his dying words. Could he possibly have been unfaithful? The whole idea adds a new level of devastation because Joy and Yves couldn’t have children of their own. Their solicitor approaches Joy about an unusual request in his will, he has bequeathed a painting he owned to a girl called Robyn. When Joy returns home she goes into Yves’s office where the painting hangs and studies it, trying to see what he saw in this particular work of the Seine. Joy takes in the muddy coloured water, the litter and the green surroundings and thinks it could be a river anywhere. There is nothing to suggest this is the Seine that lovers travelling to Paris dream of walking along. Where are the honey coloured stones, the lampposts and the bridges? It takes time for her to notice anything about it she likes, but there is a streak of light that catches her eye in the top corner. The more she looks at it the more she wonders whether it was this glimmer that kept bringing Yves back to the painting. A promise that the grey cloud would lift and the sun would break through changing the whole scene to something altogether more hopeful. In this moment she makes a decision, she will travel to a Ireland and put this painting in the hands of Robyn herself.

We’re back in the gorgeous coastal village of Ballycove, where our other main character Robyn lives. Robyn has a small bookshop, with largely second hand books on various subjects from rare birds to trains. It’s been just ticking over for several years and while Robyn’s family own the building, including her flat above the shop, she has taken over the stock from it’s previous owner Douglas who has retired. To say the shop is a little tired is an understatement and it really needs some pizzazz to bring it back to life again. Yet it is lovely in it’s own way with it’s floor to ceiling bookshelves and their carvings of animals, little rooms for every subject and a darling little children’s section in a small nook. Although Robyn has put the stock onto online book sites she isn’t exactly turning a profit and she wonders if she’s made a big mistake. Her grandfather Albert suggests that she hire someone or find a volunteer to do a few hours in the shop to free Robyn up for business planning and working on her vision for the shop. Into this scenario walks Joy, renting the flat above Albert’s and hoping to stay for only a couple of weeks in order to pass on the painting. She can see that it belongs with Robyn as it was painted by her mother Fern. Joy both welcomes and dreads meeting Robyn and definitely her mother. If she can do it quickly, almost like ripping off a band aid, she can get the painting handed over and be back on a plane to Paris in no time. However, she hadn’t factored Robyn into the equation. She walks past the shop twice plucking up courage and when she does finally walk in she’s so taken aback by this girl who looks so much like Yves she could only be his daughter. Stunned into silence, Robyn’s chatter takes over and she assumes that Joy is there to apply for the position she advertised in the window. In her stunned state Joy doesn’t argue and soon she is Robyn’s new book assistant. Joy walks away wondering what on earth she’s done and how she’ll cope if Robyn’s mum turns up before she leaves.

I really enjoyed the women in this novel, especially Joy who is so resilient and generous with her time, her emotions and her heart. I felt like Ballycove worked it’s usual magic, but Joy matches it, bringing her enthusiasm and joie de vive to the bookshop. She’s using her professional skills of course, but there is just that touch of enchantment about her too. She’s like a bookish Mary Poppins, thinking up events and little touches to brighten the place including a toy train track which is one of my favourite parts of the brilliant Barter Books in Alnwick, Northumberland. Yet it’s the fact that she’s giving her time and expertise freely to her husband’s secret daughter that makes her all the more extraordinary. Yet I think she gets something special from Robyn too. Robyn allows her to spend time with someone with the characteristics and mannerisms of Yves and in a sense it seems to comfort her that he’s still here in the form of this shy, bookish girl. I also think Robyn balances some of the grief Joy went through when they lost their own baby who would have been a similar age. I was waiting to see what would happen when Robin’s mother Fern arrived. Would Fern immediately know who Joy was and what would it do to her relationship with Robyn? I felt sad that Joy might lose everything she’s built in Ballycove and the sense of family she’s enjoyed with Robyn and her grandfather. There’s a lovely little romantic subplot and a lot of personal growth on Robyn’s part, particularly the unresolved emotions around being bullied at school. The word that always best describes Faith’s writing is charming. It’s like making new best friends and although her stories are emotional and raise serious issues, they are always uplifting too. This felt like a lovely warm hug in a book and added lots of ideas to my imaginary future bookshop.

Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Bookshop Ladies.

When Joy is informed by her husband moments before he passes away that he has a daughter, she is hurt and shocked.

She later is informed that he left a painting for his daughter Robyn, she leaves Paris to travel to Ireland to locate her and when they meet, she finds herself being a volunteer at the bookshop.

I loved the setting, and the characters.

I highly recommend this book.

I loved this story, it was so heartwarming. Touching in places and gave me sadness and joy whilst i was reading. Loved the characters, I found the story very emotional, uplifting. I loved the journey that Joy took and how it all came together in the end

Shocked by her art dealer husband’s deathbed confession that he had a daughter – they were never blessed with a family of their own – there’s a further surprise when his will is read, and Joy discovers he’s left the painting on his study wall to a woman who lives in Ireland called Robyn Tessier. Might this be his daughter – or perhaps even his mistress? She needs to find out, and rather than sending the painting, travels from her home in Paris to Ballycove – where she finds the young woman struggling to run a bookshop. A misunderstanding sees her helping her out, their joint efforts beginning to change the bookshop’s fortunes – and, having grown closer to both Robyn and her family, it becomes increasingly difficult for Joy to make clear the real reason for her visit. Many of Joy’s questions are answered – but when her own secret is revealed, she knows that the deep friendships she’s made will never be the same again, and that her stay will be over.

The characters – all very real, and every one of them so sympathetically drawn – and the relationships between them made this a book that entirely won my heart. There’s Joy’s essential loneliness in the absence of a family of her own, and her increasing sense of belonging as her presence makes an impact on everyone around her – and the growth in Robyn’s fragile self-confidence as she sees small changes and a little friendly support making such a big difference. And other strong friendships too – Joy’s with Robyn’s wonderful grandfather Albie (he’ll be a real favourite with everyone who reads this book…) and her more unexpected and particularly touching one with Robyn’s mother Fern – and relationship issues as the younger woman endeavours to sort out her feelings about the entirely oblivious Kian.

There’s always something rather special about a bookshop setting – and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the transformation the women were able to bring about while working closely together, their mutual trust and respect slowly building. Emotionally, the book hits every single note with absolute perfection – with that lingering threat always in the background that once the real reason for Joy’s visit is revealed it will blow everything apart. There are a few other surprises along the way too – overall it’s a fairly gentle read, but completely compelling, and I felt entirely immersed in everyone’s lives and experiences. It explores, in some depth, the power of friendship – but also the importance of family, however complicated, and whether tied together by blood or the love between the individuals who become part of it.

I found the whole book absolutely captivating – and its perfect ending left me with a really warm glow inside. A new favourite from an author who never disappoints? Yes, I really think it might be – I loved every moment, and really couldn’t recommend it any more highly.

When Joy's husband dies his last words tell her he has a daughter.
She then finds out he has left a valuable painting to a woman called Robyn Tessier in Ireland.
She takes a trip to Ballycove where she finds Robyn struggling to run a bookshop. She finds herself drawn into the community but at what cost?

I was really lucky to receive The Bookshop Ladies as an ARC and what drew me to this book was that it was set in a bookshop. As book lovers, there is no greater pleasure that reading a book that is all about loving books and where better place to show that than in a bookshop.


This story features found family, secrets, friendship and of course, a bookshop.

Told through the three different perspective’s of Joy, Fern and Robyn. Three women who are connected in different ways and have to navigate secrets and betrayals. We start the story (no spoiler) with Joy who has just lost her husband in a tragic car accident. But with his dying breath he announces he has a daughter and in his will a painting has been left to Robyn. Joy, reeling from grief and the betrayal, instead of mailing the painting to Robyn, decided to fly out to Ballycove, Ireland in order to hand it over in person.

Full of emotions, Joy turns up in this small Irish Village, worlds away from her home in Paris and finds something more and better than she was expecting. This story is about interlinked lives, finding family and forgiveness and ultimately finding home.

Having never read anything by this author, I didn’t know what to expect. These characters really grew on me and what I would give to be a part of Ballycove and the little bookshop. It did feel like sometimes something was missing and although by the end I really enjoyed it, I felt like I wasn’t fully satisfied in reading.

Heartwarming, poignant and well plotted. A novel about friednship, greed, communities and life
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Joy’s husband's dying words are that he has a child. Joy is heartbroken and when she finds he left his daughter a picture in his will, she embarks on a trip that will take her through a variety of emotions.
Robyn wants to run a bookshop in Ballycove, on the west coast of Ireland. She’s shy but knowledgeable. When a strange lady wanders into the shop, she offers her a job - a friendship is born, but there are secrets to be uncovered and truths to be unearthed.
A heartwarming, easy, yet emotional read. I was swept into the small town of Ballycove, into the lives of this slightly dysfunctional but loving and supportive family.
Great summer read.

The Bookshop Ladies by Faith Hogan

In Yves dying moments after a car crash in Paris he manages to tell his wife Joy that he has a secret daughter. Joy goes to Ballycove in Ireland to pass on a valuable painting on to Robyn, Yves daughter, but stays much longer than expected as she becomes immersed in the community. But what will happen when they learn who Joy really is?

What a wonderful book, I enjoyed it so much! Faith Hogan is a fabulous author and I loved the story, the characters and the setting... I'd like to move to Ballycove too! A fabulous few hours spent in fabulous company. Very VERY highly recommended.

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

A huge thank you to the publishers for sending me a widget for this book.
Another lovely read, in beautiful Ballycove, with characters you care deeply about from the first page.
Being back in Ballycove is a joy as is the cameo appearance of some characters we have come to know from the previous books.
In Paris Joy’s husband dies as a result of a car crash on the way home from his retirement party. If this wasn't cruel enough, his parting words to her make her question their whole life together.
Meanwhile in Ballycove in the west of Ireland, Robyn is struggling to get her lifelong dream of opening a bookshop off the ground, cope with her anxiety and social awkwardness and her unrequited love for Kian.
When their two worlds collide amazing things happen.
There are friends, there is family, and then there are friends that become family.

I hadn’t read any of Faith Hogan’s books before but I will certainly be looking out for others. A lovely, well written story, set in a beautiful sounding village in Ireland. I felt fully invested in the characters and wanted them all to succeed.

When Joy Blackwood’s husband died, just after his retirement she was distraught. More so, when just before he died he told her that he had a child – something he and Joy hadn’t managed to have together. After the reading of the will, Joy finds that he has left a very expensive painting to his daughter, and she decides to travel to Ireland and give the daughter the painting personally. When Joy arrives in Ballycove, she finds that the bookshop that Robyn runs is in complete disarray, and so far from profitable that Robyn may have to close it down. Robyn thinks that Joy has come to volunteer in the bookshop, and Joy doesn’t dissuade of that idea. Slowly, Joy comes to find something in Ballycove that she had been missing all her life – family. However, when Robyn and her mother Ferne find out who Joy really is, will her happiness come crashing down?

A really lovely story, which is wonderful for a summer’s afternoon, and will leave you feeling warm and happy.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6537069997

Enjoyed reading. Felt sorry for joy but pleased to see how life changed for her.

Love a book featuring the love of books in a bookshop. Plenty of secrets, new beginnings, potential romance and books!

Joy comes to a small West Irish town to solve the mystery of why her art dealer husband left a valuable painting to someone she has never heard of. Robyn runs a small rundown bookshop in a building that is owned by her mother, a famous artist. Joy goes into the bookshop intending to introduce herself to Robyn, but ends up with a part time job! The presence of Joy in the town starts to positively affect Robyn, the bookshop and the town. It becomes harder and harder for Joy to admit she is really there. The backstory of how the painting came to be in existence is told alongside.

This is a charming story, packed full of lovely characters, and I found myself rooting for them all. I would love to read another book about this cast of characters - they really stayed with me when I had finished the book.

Faith Hogan's "The Bookshop Ladies" unfolds like a warm embrace, inviting readers into the life of Joy Blackwood. When her French art dealer husband Yves dies in a car accident Joy discovers that he had a daughter by another woman.

Shocked by the news, she travels to the small Irish town of Ballycove where she intends to hand over a painting left to her husband’s daughter. Instead, she meets his daughter Robyn who has taken on a chaotic bookshop with very few customers and when Joy gets drawn into her life, she can’t bear to disclose the truth about how and why their lives have become intertwined.

I love Faith’s writing style, she paints very vivid scenes of the Irish countryside and captures the essence of small-town life, drawing readers deeper into the world of Ballycove.

In summary, Faith Hogan's "The Bookshop Ladies" is a captivating tale that will leave readers feeling uplifted and inspired. With its engaging characters, picturesque setting, and heartfelt storytelling, this novel is sure to resonate with book lovers everywhere.

Another lovely heart warming read from Faith Hogan. Always lovely to return to Ballycove and bump into some old friends from her other books. A beautiful tale of complicated relationships, friendship and family.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Another top read from a favourite author!

Widowhood has brought many surprises to Joy Blackwood, not least of which is the valuable painting left to a young Irish woman, Robyn Tessier. Why does she know nothing of her? Determined to find out what the story is behind this bequest, Joy sets off for Ballycove, arriving to find Robyn running an unprofitable bookshop while suffering from unrequited love. Before she knows it, she is part of Robyn's daily life - and she still hasn't admitted to why she is there . . .

I have never been disappointed with any novel from this author; she has an understanding of the human spirit as well as relationships and every time I read I conclude that she is a natural successor to the late Maeve Binchy. This is a sparkling example of how to entwine lives and grab the readers attention and make them really care about all characters. An absolutely delicious read and one I'm more than happy to both recommend and give a full house of glowing stars.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Just when I needed a book full of joy, I found this one. I’m sure it was deliberate on the author’s part that one of the main characters was called Joy, although initially this seemed something of a misnomer.

When Joy’s husband dies she travels to rural Ireland to deliver a painting he left to a girl called Robyn, someone she’d never heard of before the reading of the will, but suspects is either his former mistress or his illegitimate daughter. Along with the painting she intends to deliver a piece of her mind, but events overtake Joy and she ends up working in Robyn’s bookshop, helping her to turn its fortunes around.

This book has a huge heart, wonderful characters you care about instantly, and a rich feeling of community. I loved ever minute of it and became completely lost in its world. A proper treat for any reader, which I wholeheartedly recommend.

5 stars – Bookshops; good for the mind and soul…

*sighs* as I’m sure The Bookshop Ladies can attest.

Humans… we’re complicated creatures, aren’t we?

Whaaa?! Don’t look at me like that! *shrugs* I’m not having an existential crisis; well, no more than usual *snorts*. This is just the consequence of my latest book hangover thanks to my second (only) trip to Ballycove. *looks off into the distance and taps fingers distractedly* I remember this feeling well from my first visit… *looks back* I’m just going to take a beat and let my feelings settle.

Joy, Robyn, and Fern’s story spoke to me in ways I couldn’t even imagine, let alone articulate. I was there; I was one of them.

TBL is a tale of secrets and truths, family, and friends, finding yourself, and most of all (to me, anyway) of belonging. Finding that one place, people and/or person, which has your soul screaming, ‘we are right where we belong!’ And if it takes your soul a while to admit it, hopefully we have an Albie to point out the obvious.

“…because sometimes, family is more about belonging together than anything else.”

Can I ask one thing of you before I go? Will you take a chance on my non-sensical mutterings and give TBL a go? Some stories come along just when you need them, like whispers on the wind, and I very much needed that warm embrace.

*slaps hands down* Och *wipes face*, listen to me prattling on. Away with you now and heed what I say.

This is the sort of book that leaves you feeling bereft when it’s finished, I’m going to miss Joy, Fern and Robyn. It took a little while for me to feel a connection with the main characters, but then I did and the book just took off. Starting in Paris then quickly moving to Ballycove, Ireland, this is a heart warming and very moving tale of friendship and love. I have no business experience so reading about building up a business is fascinating for me. I highly recommend this book.

A very enjoyable book. Loved the setting - who wouldn't want to live in a village like Ballycove! What a wonderful sounding place, with a community that really looks out for one another. And how fantastic to feel welcomed into such a family. I struggled with the writing a little at times but that could be me, rather than the story.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.