The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres so I have read my share of books set during WWII, but never one from this perspective. The author did an amazing job researching and then weaving the historical facts into a story that is as timeless as it is relevant to life today.

This book is set in England during WWII and I learned so much about what the citizens of England were going through. I had no idea that children were separated from their parents and sent to the country for their own safety. This book really put me in the position of those parents and I felt all the turmoil that went along with the decisions they had to make. Apart from that there is an element of the story that reminds you that everyone has a story and that the bonds we create with other people can help us weather any storm.

A good portion of this book is set at The Booklover’s Library. During this time period libraries had very few fiction books available and purchasing books was expensive so individuals would buy memberships to these establishments and be able to check out books. (I looked it up and there are still some around).

Another interesting aspect to this book was that the main character is a widowed mother and learning how difficult it was to get hired for any job for women in that position was eye opening.

This book was extremely well written and really drew you in to all the characters lives not just the main characters. The author did an amazing job of relaying historical facts while weaving them into a story that you will carry with you.

Thank you @netgalley and Hanover Square Press for the ARC!!

I really liked this book. I had loved the author's debut historical fiction novel but did not like her second one. I decided to give her books another chance, and I'm glad that I did. This book was a charming story of WWII England, and a widow's struggle about how to care for her child during the bombings and air raids. Added to that, this is a book about people who love books, which any reader loves. The author does a great job of developing both her characters and community in which they live. A solid read for lovers of WWII historical fiction.

A good historical view of England on the cusp of the blitz by the nazis. Interesting point of view of issues single women faced and the issue of sending their children to the rural areas. The lending library was also an interesting place. Enjoyed this one and would recommend.

Madeline Martin's The Booklover's Library is a historical fiction novel about what a parent will do to keep his/her child safe. Emma, left parentless after her father's bookshop burnt down and widowed after her husband's passing, must navigate single motherhood during WWII. Wives and mothers are not supposed to work; however, Emma is offered a position at the local lending library: The Booklover's Library. With her new job and the imminent threat of war, she struggles with sending her daughter Olivia to the country to keep her safe. Olivia bounces between billeting locations and home, all while Emma questions her parenting decisions. When bombings being in Nottingham, will Emma's worst fears become reality?

I am a huge fan of Madeline Martin. She uses vivid vocabulary, builds main characters with depth, and always leaves you wrestling with what is right. This novel is much less a romance novel (although there is a romance as a secondary thread), and much more a mother/daughter novel of sacrificial love. I didn't find the romance very believable because Charles isn't a main character and not well-developed, but I loved the relationship between mother and daughter and the friendships with other women.

Demonstrating the importance of books is always a plus for me, especially when you witness a child find the book that makes her voracious readers (all the heart eyes). These scenes were probably my favorite part of this novel. And the cameo of characters from the Last Bookshop in London was perfection. A solid 4, but closer to 5 stars for me!

A special thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for sending an ARC for consideration. All opinions are my own.

In “The Booklover’s Library,” Emma, devastated over the tragic death of her widowed father in a fire that destroyed the bookshop she and her father owned, as well as the flat above the shop where they lived, marries Arthur Taylor, a solicitor she met during the probate of her father’s will. Their marriage was not a happy one, but they had a daughter, Olivia, who they both adored. When Arthur dies after being struck by a car, Emma tries to raise Olivia alone with the meager widows pension and inheritance from Arthur. Unable to meet even the modest rent on her flat, she takes a job at a Booth chemist’s book lenders library in Nottingham. The manager, Miss Bainbridge, hires her despite the company’s stricture on hiring widows with children, with the provision that Emma tell no one that she has a child. Soon afterward, World War II begins and Emma is forced to send Olivia to the countryside for her protection. Along the way, Emma obtains emotional support from her kind landlady, Mrs. Pickering, as well as her warm and vivacious co-worker and friend, Margaret.

I expected to like this book more than I did, as I love historical fiction books centered around the London Blitz; however, the characters felt somewhat two dimensional and the writing style a bit simplistic and formulaic . This impression might be due to the fact that I have read many excellent books on the same topic from such writers as Jennifer Ryan (“The Underground Library”), Annie Lyons (“The Air Raid Book Club”) and Julia Kelly (“The Lost English Girl”). Although I try not to compare writers, but instead judge books on their own merits, I couldn’t help but do so in this instance.

My inability to connect with the book or its characters may be due to my own personal preferences as I can see how others who love historical fiction might like this novel, as it has all the elements that should make for a good book, such as the love between a mother and daughter, as well as stalwart friends supporting each other in times of need against the backdrop of a country at war.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hanover Square Press for providing me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Lovely single parent romance with a lot of history mixed in. I loved how the author mixed in some history that was not as well known as related to the lending libraries and customs of the times for widows and single women.

The Booklover's Library by Madeline Martin is an enthralling tale of a widow and her daughter that starts just before Germany begins an attack on England in World War II. Readers are sure to fall in love with Emma, a young widowed mother, and her daughter, Olivia. I quickly fell in love with the characters in this story. The struggles of Emma are not so different than the struggles many young women in our current climate.

All of the characters are well developed and clearly have more to their story than we see at first glance. As the story progresses, we learn more about each of the characters and why they behave as they do. I think that it is a beautiful lesson for us to learn. Everyone has reasons for the things that they do, although those reasons may not be obvious to us.
I was very happy with the ending of the book as I was not left wondering "what happened to ___?" Ms. Martin did a love job of crafting a very realistic story that reminded me that history is more than we learned in school.

This book is a heartwarming slice-of-life story set in WWII Britain. Like the author’s other works, which I would also recommend, she does a fantastic job conveying the atmosphere and uncertainty of the time along with a host of details of daily life that really give you a sense of the time and place. The characters have real personalities and their dialogue is always believable. Those who like historical fiction that gives a sense of daily life with all its small moments and bigger dramas will like this one. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy. All views are entirely my own.