This was a different take on Historical Fiction, fictional characters mixed with real life characters. This provided an interesting take for me. I really enjoyed learning more about Spain during the 1930’s, something I haven’t read much about. This was very well done and I learned a lot. I would recommend this to any others who love historical fiction.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A great story of a young woman and her love and dreams of the safety she finds in books. It is WWII and the threats are all around. I loved every word!

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for the ARC of this book. I devoured this is 2 days! It is a story of Barbara Spiers, a German woman who wants to open a bookstore. Due to all of the unrest in Germany in the 1930’s, she heads to Madrid. Barbara opens her shop, but encounters several dangerous encounters as the Spanish Revolution emerges.
This is a story of survival and the will to fight for your family. Although the main characters are fictional, many of the others are not. They are people who actually lived duress this time.

It is such an amazing story written by Mario Escobar. If you liked “The Women” by Kristen Hannah, you’ll love this book as well. I can’t recommend it enough!!

Thank you NetGalley for ARC! The Bookseller Of Madrid by Mario Escobar is a historical fiction novel about the Spanish revolution in the 1930s. Life in Germany was hard then Hitler came to power and it got a whole lot worse. After Barbara has a couple of run ins with the SS while working in a bookshop in Berlin, she decides to flee to Madrid where she dreams o opening her own bookstore. Meeting Juan one fateful day in Berlin left her wishing she could see him again. What better way than to meet him in his own country which he so readily raved about. After several years of tension things get much worse in Europe and the Spaniards try to overthrow the government. Wow! I learned so much through this story. I always thought Spain was a mostly neutral country during the Second World War but my notions were, quite obviously, not correct. Though the main character in the novel was fictional, the majority of supporting characters were real people who lived through the events which made it a much more sensational story. Overall, one I would recommend to others who would like to learn more about the development of Spain’s political turmoil throughout the 1930s.

This story fallows a German bookseller who escapes Germany before World War II only to end up in the middle of the Spanish Civil War. I couldn’t put this book down. The intense story full of hope, strength, and love kept me reading long past my bedtime. I highly recommend this book to everyone; it is a true testament to the women of the time and the strength they had to carry on and fight for their families and friends.

A BOOKSELLER IN MADRID by MARIO ESCOBAR is an extremely well written and well researched historical novel which takee us through both WW11 and the Spanish Civil War as we follow Barbara Spiel who leaves Germany in 1933 moving to Madrid to follow her dream of opening a bookstore there. She marries Spanish parliamentarian Juan Delgado, who she met in Germany.
Barbara, together with her friends, loves books and feels literature has the power to change the world. I like to see her loyalty towards her friends, her energy in following her dream and her bravery when she is forced to spy for the Nazis whilst already doing so for the British. There is also a strong Christian message of hope running through this war torn period of history, where hatred and murder seem to be the norm.
The story is fast paced and exciting and as I got into it I could not put it down. I cannot recommend this interesting and inspirational read strongly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Harper Muse. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

Oh my gosh this book needs to be on the list for everyone’s 2025 book club reads! It was so good! I could not put it down and I just fell in love with the characters.

Mario Escobar highlights the importance of embracing the power of resilience. His main character digs deep within herself to give wings to her dream, not knowing that it’ll involve resilience and perseverance that she’s yet to develop. Despite relocating, the world around her is in chaos and limitations surround her; it’s in this environment that she needs to learn to trust.

Not only did I deepen my understanding of the Spanish Civil War, but I was also reminded about the power of words and the value of a dream.

I was gifted this book by Harper Collins Focus/Harper Muse and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.