Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry to say this, but this is the most disappointing book I've read this year. I don't like writing negative reviews, particularly when the publisher was kind enough to grant my request for an ARC; however, I have to be truthful in my reviews, or they don't mean anything. I do not understand all the positive reviews for this book - and there are so many! To be honest, if I hadn't committed to reading it because NetGalley gave me a free copy, I wouldn't have finished it. The character behaviors, particularly from Martha, were very inconsistent. She goes from shrinking violet one moment to sarcastic and confident the next. The plot moves from event to event without nearly enough explanation or build up. Aside from when dates were specifically mentioned, I had no sense of how time was progressing. I would frequently forget that Martha and Henry's storylines were taking place in the present because, aside from an occasional mention of cell phones, those scenes felt just as dated as the scenes set in the 1920s-1940s.

The magical realism here means that random reveals happen with little explanation. For example, on page 70 of my edition, we learn, with no context, that a main character wakes up occasionally knowing lines from a story and then gets them tattooed on her back. It's been going on a long time, but also somehow her husband has never seen it. That's it. Then the story just moves on, not mentioning it again for a very long time.

There are some cool lines in here about loving books, but it felt more cliched and manipulative than a natural part of the plot. By the end, I was largely skimming chapters because I had lost interest. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.

I gave it 2 stars because the concept was good, but to me, this felt like a first draft of something that could have become a really cool novel. I wish it had.

This is the first book I've read by Evie Woods so I'm not sure if all of her books are considered magical realism. I found this one kept my interest as it's a story about books, obviously, something that always catches my attention. The book spans a few timelines, so it was a bit all over the place in my opinion, as it took me a while to see the importance to the character named Martha.

The book starts out by meeting Martha, who is leaving the US to move to Dublin for a better life. She finds a job as a housemaid for the wealthy Opaline. There is a vanishing bookshop and the search for a lost manuscript of Bronte'. Of course there is love involved as well.

"In a place called lost, strange things are found." This quote from the book is a great indication of what the book is about. I would say if you were new to magical realism, you would probably enjoy this story as I did. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360 for the ARC.

When I first started reading this book, I fell in love with the characters. What's not to love about Opaline, who's trying to build a life outside of the one her family enivisions for her, or Martha, who's rebuilding her life, or Henry, who seems to be trying to figure out how to live his life?

Unfortunately, I soon fell out of love with the characters, because they started to feel one-sided. The book was written in alternating view points, and at the end of each view point, there was such a predictable twist, that I audibly groaned. Because every chapter had a dramatic event, the pacing felt rushed; it felt like the plot was being rushed along at the expense of the characters - in some way, they were the side characters of this book.

An interesting premise, but unfortunately, it fell flat.

Magical realism is one of my favorite genres. This novel was a real treat – well-written with engaging characters and enough mysterious magic to keep it intriguing.

Written as a dual timeline approximately one hundred years apart, the storyline follows the lives of three main characters – Opaline in 1920s with Martha and Henry in contemporary times – and their involvement in a small, quaint bookshop with magical properties that transcends and simultaneously connects the two periods. Only one problem…in the contemporary time it seems to have disappeared despite its locale between two buildings.

There is plenty to like about this novel, as well as evoking feelings of outrage at the treatment of women in the early 20th century. Both Opaline and Martha are strong, courageous women who suffer at the hands of men who not only do not appreciate them but abuse them physically and emotionally as well. Henry, an awkward romantic, serves as both an intellectual partner and love interest for Martha, adding another dimension to the story.

There are many literary references as the characters pursue an elusive manuscript which adds color without being overwhelming for non-English majors. Overall, this was a well-crafted story that provided enjoyment as well as fantasy.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

I was really disappointed in this one. I was looking forward to magical realism, an adventure in finding what seems to be an imaginary bookshop and references to other books. But it fell short for me in terms of execution. Told from 3 POV’s I really don’t feel Henry’s was needed at all and that his POV took a lot away from the story as a whole.

Overall, I felt the writing was a bit choppy too and the overall pace was incredibly slow with some scenes not needing to be in the book as they added nothing at all. I feel like this needed to go through another round of editing. I also was disappointed with how things like domestic violence, alcoholism and grief were just brushed over and mentioned as a passing thought. I also feel the characters needed more personality and depth. They all read as if they were just passing through life with no real objective making the book a bit dry.

If this had been executed differently, I feel like this would have been an amazing read and had the premise to be something magical. Thank you to NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fascinating tale where magic can touch anyone. I enjoyed how the narrative shifts across different time periods, allowing us to see the contrasts in beliefs and lifestyles from one century to the next, as well as how the characters’ lives intertwine. It’s a truly brilliant concept!

Such a beautiful, magical read! I love anything written by Evie Woods so I knew instantly what to expect. And, of course, it was right on que! Fun, magical, love,

From the start of this story, you have to be willing to suspend your belief in black and white (if that's where you function). Because nothing in this story is black and white. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 main characters and how they interacted and how their stories were told. The mystical happenings just added to the enjoyment.

This was a fun read. If you like the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue- this is perfect for you!

I loved how the story did the flashbacks and tied it all in the end. I did not expect that ending!

This is a really interesting story where magic can find anybody. I love how the story jumps between time and we can see the differences in beliefs and life from one century to the next and how the story's characters connect together. Very awesome concept!

Lovely book with magical realism and a nice dose of hopefulness. Who amongst us readers hasn’t envisioned living in and being part of a wonderful, magical shop? Throw in Ireland and a missing Brontë manuscript and you have a delicious summer read.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

I loved this! Mystery, drama, setbacks, a love story—this story has it all. The characters are relatable and mostly likeable, except for the one who are deliciously unlikeable! The plot clipped along at a good pace and the ending was wholly satisfactory. I enjoyed the back and forth of the different timelines as well and feel it really helped the plot.

Thanks to #netgalley the publisher, #harpercollins and the author for this copy of #thelostbookshop to read. All opinions are my own.

This is a great book to read if you enjoy books about books, and books that pay respect to the book world. There are two timelines in this book: Opaline in the past, who does not want to marry and instead flees her brother and his plans and winds up working in a bookshop in Paris, and Martha in the present, who removes herself from an abusive relationship and goes to work as a house cleaner. There is also Henry in the present, who is an academic looking for a manuscript and ropes Martha in to help him look for this lost manuscript.

There is romance, magical realism, and sizeable character growth within these pages. The author did a great job of incorporating history with this book, and really made books themselves another character. This had all of the right balance and I enjoyed every minute of reading this. I even felt like I was within the story myself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper360 for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Summary
The lives of two present day people and a 1920s bookseller are intertwined through a bookstore in Dublin that's only there some of the time.
Review

I downloaded and read two ARCs at about the same time – this book and A Harvest of Hearts – and a very faint similarity of covers somehow made me consider them together. As it turns out, one had stronger writing, the other a stronger story. This is the one with the better prose.

The writing throughout The Lost Bookshop is smooth and assured. The plot is on the predictable side, but appealing. Unfortunately, while Woods’ prose is strong, the characters are less so. There are three principal actors – a woman in the 1920s, and a woman and man in the present day. While each have different backgrounds and motivations, I found their voices relatively indistinguishable. They appear in succeeding chapters throughout the book, and the chapters are short – too short, perhaps, to allow them to settle in, initially. Because we have so little time with each, and because they all sounded the same to me – in their approach and inner dialogue – I often found it hard to tell which chapter I was in – which decade and which gender.

The problem becomes more marked because the book leans a little more toward romance than fantasy, yet I tended to lose track of who was reluctantly falling in love with whom and why. The why is often thin in any case, and sometimes forced. The fact that the characters sometimes act inconsistently didn’t help.

While Woods has clearly done a fair amount of research into her true-to-history characters, there’s less attention to some of the practicalities. All three major characters seem to generate funds out of thin air; they’re often short on cash, but somehow the magic of economics allows starving runaways to pay rent, buy stock, and immediately make a profit.

The secondary characters are also on the thin side, and often fairly two-dimensional – especially the villains. I think the book would have been more effective and convincing had the bad guys had a little more depth.

One fairly central mystery is never really addressed at all; it’s set up, but then (as far as I could see) abandoned to simply exist unexplained as the book’s magic mechanism. It’s not a crisis, but I did find it disappointing that the story pointed us toward a revelation and wrapup and then failed to provide it.

There’s nothing wrong with this book – it’s a pleasant approach to a familiar but always appealing trope (special bookshops), the writing is good, and there are some intriguing and surprising elements to it. But I did feel that, story-wise, it didn’t deliver what I had hoped for.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

This novel has enough material in it to be the theme of at least three books. Magic, two World Wars, rare books, lost manuscripts, spousal abuse and cruel brothers.
It also has two timelines and connected women in both eras. I found it nearly impossible to separate the two, Martha in the present and Opaline from the twenties to the mid-forties There is so much odd stuff and also several characters who float in and out without explanation.
worst of all, I kept getting the two women mixed up.

I hate to give up reading when I have invested hours hoping that something will grab my interest and appeal to me. I persevered and that never happened. Yet there was enough promise in some quirky sections (putting tattoos of book passages all over your body? Really?) that kept me hoping. Sorry.

Thanks to Harper Collins and Net Galley for a copy of this book.

‘If you tilt your head,’ he told me once, ‘you can hear the older books whispering their secrets.’

This story is set in two timelines, and mainly follows three characters, although there are two main characters, Martha and Henry in the present timeframe, and Opaline in the past. What they share in common is a love of books.

There is a sprinkling of magical realism as this story proceeds, a journey from Paris to London and Ireland, as well as a love of books, but there are also moments of darkness that seem to get a bit darker as the story progresses, at least for a while.

Somewhat recently I read Evie Woods ’The Story Collector’ and so when I saw this one was still available, I quickly grabbed a copy, since I had enjoyed that one so much. I’m so glad that I did. Overall, a lovely read.


Published: 07 Nov 2023

Many thanks for the ARC provided by Harper 360 / Harper360

Every bookworm knows the definition of a good book is when it’s 11:30 p.m. and you’re dosing off while reading, BUT you have to find out what happens next, so you skip ahead a little bit—JUST TO MAKE SURE that said character(s) are okay.

That being said, this is one of the best books I have ever read.

Our story begins with three main protagonists: Opaline (from the 1920s), Martha, and Henry (from present times). Opaline’s brother wants her to marry, but she wants freedom and to share her love of books; Martha has left an abusive husband; and Henry is trying to find a lost bookshop. No, really. The bookshop is gone—poof, missing in action. Readers are taken on an epic yet whimsical adventure that eventually connects all three protagonists’ stories.

Highlights:
⭐️ Dual POV chapters from all three protagonists, always in the same pattern (i.e., Opaline, Martha, Henry, repeat, repeat). I personally enjoyed this because no character was more fleshed out than the others.
⭐️ All the characters. I love Opaline. I love Martha. I love Henry. I love Madam Bowden. I love them all.
⭐️ The pace of the plot and the writing flow. It had a nice leisurely pace without being dull or boring. There wasn’t a moment when I was overwhelmed with a ton of information or plot twists, nor was I ever bored.
⭐️ The plot.
⭐️ The twists. I did not see that coming.
⭐️ Everything else I didn’t mention.

Pitfalls:
❌ The fact that I can’t actually go to the lost bookshop. I’ll be okay, though.

If you are a bookworm, you will absolutely adore this book. Go read it. Now.

Thank you, NetGalley and Harper360, for a free copy of this book for my honest review.

This book, “The Lost Bookshop” by Evie Woods was published on November 7, 2023 by Harper360. That was strike one for me, I requested this book because I was under the impression that it was an ARC of a book that had not been released yet. I was sorely disappointed to see that it already has so many reviews.
This is getting a one out of five star review from me, which entails that I had to DNF it. I just couldn’t do it. The writing was incredibly juvenile and underdeveloped. It felt like someone had a great idea for an amazing book, but absolutely had no idea on how to actually write it.
I could make an exceptionally lengthy review about all of the things that I didn’t like, but I don’t want to waste another minute thinking about this book. I definitely do not recommend.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper360 for this e-copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The magical realism is what drew me to this book. And it was amazing… but it wasn’t my favorite part.

At first, I couldn’t tell where the book was going. We have Opaline narrating in the 1920s and Martha and Henry narrating in the present. All three have their own issues at the beginning. Opaline is about be forcefully married to a man she doesn’t know. Martha just ran away from an abusive marriage. Henry is a scholar on the hunt for a manuscript that doesn’t even seem to exist. But how are these three people connected? Parts of the connection are very obvious and revealed right away. Others aren’t revealed until much later in the book, providing beautiful twists and narratives. But all we know starting off is that Opaline, Martha, and Henry are all connected to the lost bookshop.

Like I mentioned earlier, the magical realism was great. There’s magically lost bookshop that was run in the 1920s, but in the present-day, it’s as if the bookshop never existed. And there’s multiple things that bookshop seems to do by itself, in both the past and present, with no human intervention. The magical realism plays a large part in pushing the plot, allowing the story to unfold in the way it does. However, there doesn’t seem to be much logic behind the magical realism. It just happens, and we never know how.

I didn’t mind the lack of logic with the magical realism because to me, it wasn’t the star of the show anyway. My favorite part of this book is how the three narrators feel like real people with real lives. For the first half of the book, I just kept reading because I was invested in the characters’ lives; I wanted to see them solve their problems and achieve their happily ever after. That isn’t to say the characters were perfect. They had their flaws, but it just made them more realistic and easy to connect with. The book is written in first person perspective from the three main characters, yet all three voices felt distinct the entire time.

Then, the latter half introduced us to so many different reveals and twists. Opaline, specifically, goes through so much. Her story was heart-wrenching. As I kept reading, many of the questions I had throughout the book were answered. At the ending, we can really see how these characters and their stories are connected. However, I felt the ending was rushed. There was so much happening in the last few pages that it actually created more questions for me. I wish the ending had tied everything together better.

I had no issues with the writing; it was simple and easy to understand. It worked well for this kind of story. My favorite part about the writing is definitely how distinct the characters’ voices are. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It has one of the things I like best in any media: conveying emotion in a way that makes me feel the same emotion. This book made me feel like I was experiencing the characters’ lives with them.