"The Library of Borrowed Hearts" by Lucy Gilmore caught my attention with its title and cover. Reading the synopsis told me that it could be a great match & I was delighted to be quickly drawn into the story. I listened to the audiobook and I'm glad that I did. (More below.)

What I loved:
- bookish/literary themes
- the local library
- small town setting
- romantic subplot
- the curmudgeonly neighbor
- dual timeline
- multiple POV
- multi-cast audiobook

I'm so glad I took a chance and requested the audiobook - thank you #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for the advanced copy! Since this is a literary fiction book about literary works and the ways they connected the lives of the characters, there are components of the story that may be a little tough to follow on audio. I thought the narrators did an excellent job of conveying the various speakers (or in the case of notes written in the margins, the authors) with varying inflection and tones. I very rarely felt confused and that may have been because I had the speed bumped up to 1.25x. If I have one complaint about the narration, it was that it felt incredibly slow at the default regular speed!

I have not read Lucy Gilmore's other book(s) but I look forward to reading more of her work! "The Library of Borrowed Hearts" had me laughing and crying, so caught up on the lives of these characters that I felt elated, heartbroken, worried, bereft, and hopeful. This story transported me and I absolutely loved it.

Browsing through ARCs, this book jumped out at me because of the premise. A literary scavenger hunt reminded me of one of my favorite books, Possession by A.S. Byatt. It also helped that the protagonist is a librarian, as am I! So I was really looking forward to this one.

Unfortunately, I was let down. To begin with, the scavenger hunt in question was resolved fairly early on in the book. Personally, I would have preferred if the book took place more in the present timeline than in the past timeline. The inclusion of the past timeline detracted from the mystery of the present timeline. But what really frustrated me the most was the casual way the book spoils multiple classics. This is one of my biggest pet peeves in books, to the point where I almost did not finish this one. The fact that I was out and about and needed something to listen to was really the only reason why I continued. These weren't just casual mentions of plot points, either; the ending of A Farewell to Arms is spoiled in practically every flashback chapter, to the point where it'd be difficult to even attempt to forget what you just read. I don't subscribe to the belief that because a book has been published for decades or centuries, it's okay to rob people of the future experience of reading it. I'm fortunate to have read the other classics so brazenly spoiled, but the fact that there are a handful speaks volumes.

This also fell into a trap that I was praying it wouldn't, which was a contrived plot twist involving some of the characters being connected in a "surprising" way. It felt so unnecessary, and I much prefer when communities come together out of purely caring for one another, rather than there being surprise connection all along. It's much less meaningful and takes away from the overall heart of the story.

“People just didn’t hoard books like they used to.” I feel SEEN. Speak for yourself, sir. 🤪

“‘Plants are alive, and books aren’t,’ Jasper said. This was only partially the truth. In many ways, books were more alive than most of the people he knew. They were living, breathing entities that changed each time you picked them up.”

This was the sweetest story with a huge emphasis on all things book. The importance of them. Their necessity. How often they are an integral part of someone’s story. It’s like a love letter to books and book lovers.

With four narrators, one for each of the main characters, the audiobook was fantastic and really came to life in my ears. You can feel the emotion and angst of the characters through the narration. And there is A LOT of emotion in this one. Overall I just loved this sweet story of book lovers and found family!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, Dreamscape Media, and the author for the ARC and ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this is one of those books that appeals to a wide audience, it’s heartwarming, it has alot of great themes that are relatable to old and young readers and endearing loveable characters.

It’s a perfect book to come out just before Mother’s Day as I think it’s a great gift for the occasion.

A bit too sweet for me but happy to recommend it.

I liked The Lonely Hearts Book Club quite a bit for its found family themes. However this one just missed the mark for me. It's SO slow, and when I actually think about it nothing much happens really.

Set in two timelines--one the present day, where Chloe was forced to leave college because her mom abandoned her three younger siblings. She's now working at the library and raising them, while navigating their curmudgeonly older neighbor Jasper. Chloe finds a copy of Tropic of Cancer in the library basement and smuggles it out in order to sell it to help pay the bills. It's filled with notes between a young man and a young woman. When Jasper sees the book, he offers Chloe a blank check for it. As it turns out, it was the way Jasper and Catherine, his love in the 1960s, communicated with each other, their developing love story is the second timeline.

There were way too many things going on in this book, but none of them were heartwarming. I mostly felt depressed and other than Chloe, I really didn't care for any of the characters. The mystery of what happened between Jasper and Catherine wasn't really a mystery, I found her incredibly selfish and full of herself. The story would have been more believable had it been set in the 1920s, but I couldn't believe a logger in the 60s was really that destitute.

The entire storyline with the mother of the four kids was just overall weird--it felt underdeveloped, but so did what happened with Noodle and the romance between Chloe and Zach. I don't know the entire book just fell totally flat for me.

I listened to the audiobook, and there are different narrators for various points of view, which was entertaining. But because so many of them were just brief snippets, it was all the more glaring that there were way too many points of view to make a cohesive story that reaches the reader emotionally.

There are lots of people who enjoyed this one, it just didn't work for me.

What an adorable idea for a story. Chloe, a librarian, finds a rare book at a flea market, she purchases it. When her older neighbor, Jasper demands he buys it from her for a lot more than she paid, she decides to look in the book. Chloe finds love notes in the margins between two lovers, one of whom is Jasper. How many more are floating around? I enjoyed the dual timeline between present day and the 1960’s. There is a lot of trauma that many characters have to overcome. I didn’t agree with all of the decisions and choices the characters made. Some parts of the story dragged on, while other parts I wanted longer. With all that said, who doesn’t love a story about books and love?

The Library Of Borrowed Hearts seemed like the perfect escapist book, the premise sounded so promising. I could not feel any attachment to the characters. It was hard for me to just feel attached to the story. I loved all the book references. I just wanted and needed more depth from this book. The beginning started off strong and I just felt the magic disappearing shortly towards the middle. Also, at the end the book just ended, no epilogue or anything so to me it did feel incomplete.

This book was ok. It just seemed to be lacking something but I couldn’t say what. The characters were interesting but it was a bit more depressing than I was expecting it to be. I really enjoyed the flashbacks and the character of Jasper.

I really liked the multiple narrators.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ALC!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casa and Dreamscape Media for my gifted physical and ALC's copies of this book!

After reading The Lonely Hearts Book Club I was so excited to read this one. While this one did not resonate as much with me, it was still a beautiful story and one not to be missed.

After stumbling upon a rare edition of a book from the 1960's, Chloe, is really intrigued when her cranky elderly neighbor, Jasper, offers her $5k for it. As she studies this book, in the margins she finds letters, obviously written between two lovers. What turns into a literary scavenger hunt will be friends and family together while answering some life changing questions along the way.

"His feet were planted on solid ground, but his heart roams free"

I think deep down, most romance readers love the tragic love story. Heath-Cliff and Catherine (Wuthering Heights), Fredric and Catherine (A Farewell to Arms) Romeo and Juliet. Gilmore portrayed this so well in The Library of Borrowed Hearts. Two young lovers who can never be. It was so fun to follow this story with Chloe.

Written in dual timelines between present day and 1960, Chloe learns a little about the man Jasper use to be and the woman who stole his heart. Gilmore has a way of including the best secondary characters with some great life affirmations along the way. A book about libraries, books, and the stories within the pages. A winning combination! This one tackles so many things including young love, forgiveness, financial struggles, and friendship. I am a true fan of Gilmore's writing. I can always appreciate a story with a good meaning.

The audio was narrated by a great cast! Leanne Woodard, Aven Shore, Joe Jameson, and Bob Ball brought heart, livelihood, and so much emotion to this story. At 11 hours and 31 minutes they made the time fly by.

This was a delightful hug of a book with alternating timelines and POVs and a beautiful love story told through margin notes in classic novels.

I went into this blind and proceeded to fall in love with this story. The narration and different narrators are fantastic! You should definitely pick this up if you’re looking for a feel good read that will pull at your heartstrings while simultaneously bringing a smile to your face.

Special thanks to @dreamscape_media for the ALC this book comes out on April 30.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca and Dreamscape Media for gifting me both a digital and audio ARC of the.latest book by Lucy Gilmore, and perfectly narrated by the cast of Leanne Woodward, Aven Shore, Joe Jameson, and Bob Ball. All opinions expressed in this review are my own - 4.5 stars!

Chloe Sampson had to abandon her dreams to take care of her siblings when their mom abandoned them. Now she's working at the library instead of being an actual librarian since she didn't complete her degree. She's at her wit's end trying to do it all - work, take care of her three siblings, figure out how to make her money stretch. In the library basement, she finds an old book destined to be trashed that she recognizes has some value and takes it home with her. Then she discovers that there appears to be correspondence written in the margins between young lovers, and she figures out that one of the parties might be her grumpy next-door neighbor. She begins to investigate.

I love books about books; add in a strong family and I'm sold. You will find yourself rooting for so many characters in this book. I started reading it, but switched over to the audiobook and the cast of narrators was excellent. Told in many POV, they all did a great job portraying these many characters. The story goes back in time as we learn about the love story between the couple writing in the book. While I wish Chloe could have obtained the book in a bit more legal circumstances (maybe at a library book sale?) and writing in library books makes for a great story but let's hope people aren't really doing that!, it's fiction so we'll overlook all that! There are so many messages here wrapped up in a great story - family loyalty and obligation, different kinds of love and connections, and remembering that everyone has a story.

I absolutely love books about books and this one was enjoyable. It had a cozy feel to it which I couldn’t get enough of. Chloe was such a wonderful character to follow. She takes care of her three siblings and oh my gosh I loved them! They made the story so fun. My only complaint is that I didn’t love the ending of this book. It didn’t really feel complete. I wish there would have been just a little more to it. The audio was fantastic!

Librarian Chloe Sampson was struggling to make ends meet whilst taking care of her three younger siblings. She stumbled across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s and took it home with her, only to be shocked when her grumpy hermit of a neighbour offered an exorbitant price for it.

Taking a closer look at the book, she discovered it to have notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back in the day, one of whom was definitely Jasper Holmes, the cranky neighbour. This led her to investigate further and discover that there were more books filled with their love story.

The scavenger hunt gave her life as she tried to uncover what was seemingly a tragic love story that happened decades before. In the process, things seemed to unravel around her and unlikely friendships were formed. There was also charming Zach, who was definitely eager to help.

There were multiple narrators that did a wonderful job telling the story in dual timelines. I was hooked as the story drew to a close and loved how it all worked out!

Thank you to Netgalley and Publisher for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a story so full of heart and emotion! You'll meet Chloe Sampson, a young librarian juggling the care of her three younger siblings, financial struggles, and a job that doesn’t quite fulfill her dreams. But fate intervenes when she stumbles upon a rare edition of a book from the 1960s at a local flea market. However, this book holds more than just literary value - surprisingly handwritten romantic notes are found on the inside. Chloe begins to play book detective and sets off on a mystery and the discovery of a "found family."

What Chloe can't expect, is that the key to this mystery lies next door: her cranky neighbor, Jasper Holmes. Jasper, initially the stereotypical curmudgeon, surprises Chloe by offering a substantial sum for the book. It becomes clear that he was one of the lovers who exchanged messages in the margins. Together, they set out to find other books that hold similar secrets. As they delve into the past, Chloe discovers that Jasper’s heart is more complex than she ever imagined.

“The Library of Borrowed Hearts” weaves together two timelines—the present day and 1960—creating a heartwarming tale of love, friendship, and found family. Lucy Gilmore masterfully portrays characters with depth, including Chloe’s quirky siblings and the enigmatic Jasper. The absence of neatly tied-up endings adds authenticity to the story, leaving readers with a sense of optimism.
If you adore believe that love stories can blossom in the most unexpected places, this novel is a must-read. Lucy Gilmore’s writing effortlessly transports you to a world where books connect lonely souls across generations.

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the audio arc of The Library of Borrowed Hearts. Kudos to the narrators - Leanne Woodward, Aven Shore, Joe Jameson, and Bob Ball. Their narration allowed for the book to move so seamlessly through time periods. This book releases on 4/30/24 and if you enjoy books about books, you'll want to pick this one up!

The Library of Borrowed Hearts is absolutely a book for book lovers. I'm so grateful to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Sourcebooks Casablance for the audio arc of this book!

What I thought this book did very well:
-The premise. What's not to love about a romance that takes place in the margins of books.
-The chapters about Jasper and C were so romantic and engaging.
-Gummybear. I love that grumpy dog far too much.
-Chloe's relationship to her siblings
-Until the last 10%, I really thought the pacing was spot on (the last 10% felt kind of abrupt)
-Jasper. How could you not love him?

What I didn't love, but could move on from:
-The ultimate "mystery" was pretty easy to see coming
-The narration from Noodle's perspective felt overly infantilizing and I could've done without that
-Zach. I thought his overly optimistic perspective was kind of nauseating.

Overall though, if you love reading about stories coming together and books about books, add this to your TBR!

A heartfelt bookish novel with a historical romance that hits all the right emotional beats.

Chloe Sampson, a library worker looking for a new sense of purpose since becoming the legal guardian of her three younger siblings, discovers that spark in a long lost book with more than one story to tell. With the book filled with handwritten notes exchanged between long lost lovers, Chloe finds herself on the hunt to discover the truth behind this forgotten story, along with a new determination to support her family when the past comes knocking.

I loved these interesting and eclectic characters that bring this decades spanning story to life, especially Chloe’s younger brother Noodle. His relationship with their grumpy elderly neighbor Jasper is one of the highlights, which readers of A Man Called Ove will find familiar and charming.

The audiobook was great with different narrators for each point of view chapter. The stand out sections are the flashbacks, where we learn the truth behind the notes left behind in the library books.

While some of the plot points were a bit too coincidental and predictable for my taste, the story still has enough heart and meaningful moments to win most readers over. There are also enough twists and turns at the end of each chapter to keep you listening and curious about which point of view you’ll follow next. A solid story of unlikely friendships and second chances.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this ARC of the audiobook.

I am such a sucker for an intergenerational friendship, and then you add all of the literary references on top of that......how can it not be a win? I absolutely LOVED how the relationships between Jasper and all of the kids developed. I'm not sure that I loved the way the relationship between Catherine and Jasper was handled on so many fronts (both early on and later in the book), but the rest of the plot more than made up for it in my opinion.

Chloe works at the library in Colville, WA and is raising her three younger siblings.. One day she finds an old book in the basement of the library that has notations in it. As she reads the notations she realizes the messages are between two lovers from long ago. Setting out to find who the people writing notes back and forth are leads to a search of the stacks and her best friends' grandma's bookshelves. The answer to the riddle is closer to home than Chloe would have ever thought. It turns out her crotchety old neighbor was once in love. A wonderful story of love, loss, finding home, and all the emotions that go along with this.

My heartfelt thanks to the talented author, Lucy Gilmore, for crafting this captivating story, and to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to experience it through this audiobook.

There's nothing like a historical romance to flutter the heart and mind. I immediately felt a kinship with Chloe and the Sampson siblings. This story is one of love and family -that can be found outside the typical constraints of society. It sparked reminders of when women were not afforded choices and paralleled the current societal norms with those of the past. For instance, historically, there have been expectations of women to be the perfect housewife and mother, following the lead of the husband/father in all things. While I disagreed with Catherine's choices, I acknowledge that she followed her own path through life, and I can understand wanting to live that way.  
I quickly fell in love with Jasper and enjoyed witnessing his character grow and change with his views on family as the story unfolded. I'm glad the story opened paths for him to find the family he needed without bitterness, forsaking all possibilities after a broken heart. I truly felt deeply for his situation. The story (I felt) ended precisely as it should.

<b><i>“You were the whole story as far as I was concern.
The beginning, the middle and the end.
I didn't need to open another romance when I already had the perfect one written down.”</b></i>

Wow this book was such a page turner and one huge emotional roller coaster ride!
The narrators also did a fantastic job of delivering this beautiful story as well!
I laughed, smiled and cried throughout the story while listening about Chloe's family situation and Jasper & Catherine's love story.

The story was told in multiple POVs and alternating between 2 timeline - present and 1960s.
I have to admit I was more intrigued listening to present time of Chloe and Zach in a scavenger hunt trying to find what makes Jasper becomes such a grumpy old neighbor when he used to be a romantic sweet man.

All the characters are well developed, likeable and also relatable.
Zach, Noodle, Theo, Trixie, Chloe and Jasper will definitely remain in my memories for a long time!

Overall, this was a splendid story about young love, found family, friendships and financial distress from a young age.
Listening to Chloe and Jasper's story in particular, was heart-warming and also heart-breaking at the same time.

I recommend this book if you like to read stories related to books especially classics and women’s fiction.
I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book by this author in the future!

<i>I received an advanced audiobook copy for free through Netgalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Huge thank you to the author and Dreamscape Media!</i>

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: abandonment, grief, injury, classism