Monsieur Perdu is a fifty year old man whose heart has been broken for twenty-one years. He lives at 27 Rue Montagnard, Paris in a stark apartment. He has two towels, one cup, and the only furniture in his living room is a 1800 piece jigsaw puzzle. He threw away (or vandalized) all of his furniture after Manon left him without explanation. She was the love of his life. He has few friends, but remains quite close to his parents, who are separated. He has a unique bookshop - a barge moored on the Seine which holds eight thousand books, and two cats. He has the gift of transperception and is eerily able to diagnose just what book suits each individual customer. He prescribes books to his customers and fittingly his bookshop is called "The Literary Apothecary".

Perdu has a new neighbour in 27 Rue Montagnard. A woman, near his own age who too has wasted the past twenty years of her life after a disastrous relationship. Both very lonely, they are drawn to one another. The woman has little in the way of furniture, so Perdu donates a table from a sealed off room in his apartment. There is a drawer in the table which holds a letter from Manon, which he has never opened. When the new neighbour presents him with the letter he finally garners the courage to open it. What he learns by reading the long neglected missive, turns his life around and, for the first time, he unmoors the book barge and travels south. Accompanying him is a neighbour from his building, Max Jordan, a young author, and Salvatore Cuneo, a lovelorn Italian chef who they pick up on their way.

"What you read is more important in the long term, than the man you marry."

He prescribes books for people as he travels southward. As the motley crew have no money with them, it is a challenging and unique trip. The three men become confidants, and more importantly, real friends.

The book includes myriad literary references which many booklovers will enjoy. The language was quite flowery and almost sensual.

This is a story of love, of loss, and of friendship. Also, and more importantly, it is a book about books. How books have the power to heal, to give succour, and to bring joy.

One of my favourite quotes from this book: “Books are more than doctors, of course. Some novels are loving, lifelong companions; some give you a clip around the ear; others are friends who wrap you in warm towels when you’ve got those autumn blues. And some…well, some are pink candy floss that tingles in your brain for three seconds and leaves a blissful voice. Like a short, torrid love affair.”

"The Little Paris Bookshop" was at once a love story and a slow-paced literary novel. I did enjoy the read, though I found it quite verbose and perhaps a tad too long. Recommended to true bibliophiles the world over.

3.5 stars rounded up for NetGalley ; rounded down for Goodreads where the star values differ

I loved the blurb and premise of this book. I did not love the book itself.

I listened to this on audio book and thought the narrators did a beautiful job. The accents helped bring the story to life and set the scene.

I originally received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The idea of a bookshop whose proprietor "prescribes" books that cure grief, depression, boredom and other emotional woes is such a wonderful one, and George's development of it doesn't disappoint. The emotional journey of its (appropriately named) owner, Jean Perdu, is the thread that ties the novel together, and the writers' block of young author Max Jordan add contrast and richness. In addition to the delights this will offer to anyone who loves books, its descriptions of France are delicious throughout. This is a sumptuous and sympathetic journey that myriad readers will enjoy.

When this book first popped up on my radar, I had no idea how quickly it was going to turn into one of my all time favorite books (and one of my most recommended romance novels). If you are not familiar with Nina George and her captivating writing and compelling characters I absolutely suggest you start with The Little Paris Bookshop. And if you are an avid reader and a book-lover, you will love the way in which story celebrates readers and booklovers.

Jean Perdu owns my dream bookstore - the kind that floats on a river and has cats. His superpower is selecting a literary cure for a reader's emotional malady. He also lives in a building full of colorful, memorable characters. When an unread old letter from a long lost lover unexpectedly surfaces, Jean sets of on a river adventure, determine to go see Manon.

Prepare for a literary AND an emotional adventure with this one. Nina George has a way with words but she also has a knack for creating characters that you won't be able to forget because they will end up living in your heart rent free. if you are a fan of unusual stories about unusual characters, if you enjoy Fredrik Backman novels, I am certain you will love this one as well.

Grateful to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for gifting me a copy of this book (and introducing me to such a wonderful story) in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this book had me SO excited, but much of M. Perdu's obsession/heartbreak seemed ridiculous and hard to believe.

I DNF this book at about 50% as it just could not keep my attention. I know many others loved this book, but it just was not my cup of tea.

Delightful story! I am always a sucker for books about bookshops. This one was really sweet and enjoyable. Easy, fast read.

I feel like I wasn't in the right headspace to truly appreciate this book. It's a cute story and very sentimental, however it seemed to be just too much like that. It didn't feel very real to me.

This was an entertaining read but I felt at times it dragged. There are sections of the book that are pure joy but I have to say that I was glad to finally finish this book. The reflections seemed forced as well as the joy. I know everyone loves this book but it wasn't my favorite.

This one was hard for me to get into, and I didn't manage to finish. It was somewhat of a "set it down, never got around to picking it back up again" type of thing. I would like to give it a chance again in the future though, as the writing was good and the story showed promise!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the gifted book and opportunity to read and review it prior to its publication date! This in no way affected my review, all opinions are my own.

An uneven love story, love of Books and love of each other. Jean Perdu has a cool boat bookshop and he is a master at finding the books that someone should be reading rather than what they want to be reading. Loved the literary references and wished there were more. Jean decides to set sail once he reads an old letter from his never forgotten lover, 21 years after it was written and he last saw her. What comes next is where things get a bit sidetracked while adding some colorful characters all while Jean tries to reconcile his lost love and possible love for another.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

Fun, little story, set in one of my favorite cities. This is a light hearted read sure to be enjoyed by bibliophiles and francophiles alike.

When you are able to prescribe a book to help every reader except yourself, how do you heal from heartbreak? It takes a long undiscovered letter to begin the process of healing. The journey of John Perdu to his beloved Manon is one that is sweet and touching. Readers who enjoy books, romance, second chances, and long to travel the Seine will adore this book.

This book is amazing, and I am so glad read it! This book takes place primarily on a barge that has been converted into a floating bookshop, owned and run by Monsieur Jean Perdu, a 51 year old bookseller- who is quite astute at knowing just which book to put with any of his customers.

It may be that he has had a broken heart for 21 years, he lost the only woman he ever loved, and has never moved on. However, he considers himself a literary apothecary and books are the answer to any problem! Grief, brokenhearted, death, lust, loneliness, love lost, unfulfilled dreams, writer's block, you name it and Perdu has the perfect book for you. He just needs to find the book for him!

Twenty one years ago after his girlfriend Manon left him, she sent him a letter. but he was too bitter to open it and to see what she had to say. Now here it is he is stuck in the past and he decides to read it and when he does he is horrified at the contents and the mistake he made not opening it then.

So off he goes on his barge with a young man that insists on going with him a brilliant young author with writer's block. Perdu did not ask Max Jordan to come-Max saw the barge pulling away on the Seine River in the heart of Paris, and so he swam and pulled himself on board! Max begged Jean to let him go and so he let him. They stop in several places which is how p Salvatore Cuneo, wound up going with them. Cuneo is also looking for a lost love.

This book was so good and it has everything you want in a book, a good plot, wonderful characters, crazy situations and a trip to remember. Do yourself and go with Perdu, Max, and Cuneo on this life altering adventure! I guess I liked the idea also that most of the characters were older than their 30's and 40's and so it held a lot of appeal to me. I will read this book again it was that good!

I gave this book 5*****glorious stars and am so glad I read this!

The Little Paris Bookshop: This just seemed the perfect book for me. What’s not to embrace? A bookshop on a boat — in Paris — and just look at that cover. But I found it just too whimsical and sticky-sweet. I struggled on, actually reaching chapter 28 – as the bookshop owner pilots his boat away from its long-time berth in Paris. But, just as the bookshop/boat meanders down the Seine, so too the plot – to the point where I practically fell into a sugar-laced coma.

A lovely concept and atmospheric writing, but I just couldn't connect with the characters in this one.

I absolutely adored this book. It has become one of my all-time favorites. Beautiful writing, richly developed characters, and a heart-wrenching love story. I'm not typically a sap when I read, but this one had me. It is one that I will read over and over again. It gave me all the feels...

VERDICT: Books as medicine. A hymn to the love of reading and books, but bogged down in the murky waters of emotions and feelings.
The book started really well, with all kinds of really cool ideas and reflections on books and reading.
Imagine: Jean has a bookstore on a barge in Paris! And he is a really cool bookseller, as his specialty is to “prescribe” a book for whatever ailment you have. He is also good at diagnosing the people he meets!
We often speak about book therapy these days, so it was neat to have Jean so adept at it.
With one big exception: self-diagnostic! As his name hints at, Jean Perdu (perdu means lost in French), he can’t go beyond a major loss in his life decades ago, and what he did or didn’t do back then. So he finally decides to take off on his barge, accompanied by other broken and interesting characters.
The descriptions of the landscapes as they follow the French canals to go to Provence are beautiful. And they meet all kinds of colorful people!
But really, I could have slapped the guy and told him to turn the page. It got really too bogged down, self-focused, too oriented on his past, and too much on feelings.
Well, I’m realizing only now that it was classified partly under romance.
Note to self: do pay more attention to the genre specified by the publisher…
So I ended up being quite disappointed by the book, and unless you manage to convince me, I don’t think I will try Nina George’s new book.

Thank you for the opportunity read and review this title! I didn't enjoy it as much as I"d hoped, and rather than post a negative review, I chose to not feature it on my blog. I look forward to seeing what new releases you have in store!

I am in agreement with many of the other reviewers. I liked this book, but I wanted to love it. When I read about a bookseller who personally matches books to the reader, I was intrigued. I enjoyed that part of the story."T he soul seer" was one description of Jean Perdu as he tried to get to know his customers before selling them a book. He was a lonely, sad man who opened like a flower in this book. He realized that life must go on and it is okay to forgive yourself and others and to love again. With that said, it took a long time to get there. I did love many of the descriptions of places, feelings and books in the story, but there were so many. The characters were very well drawn and you get to know them as well, some I liked, some I did not. I really enjoyed the relationship between Jean and Max as they got to know each other and became the father and son neither of them had. Overall this was a good story, just a bit long and more of a romance/drama/rebirth story than what I was expecting. Nina George's writing is beautiful and poetic, and I do look forward to her next book.