June 2016, Orion Publishing Group, 10 hours 54 minutes long, Audiobook (& Paperback) Review copy
Summary from Veronica's website
Nightingale Books, nestled on the high street in the idyllic Cotswold town of Peasebrook, is a dream come true for booklovers.
But
owner Emilia Nightingale is struggling to keep the shop open. The
temptation to sell up is proving enormous - but what about the promise
she made to her father? Not to mention the loyalty she owes to her
customers.Sarah Basildon, owner of stately pile Peasebrook Manor, has
used the book shop as an escape from all her problems in the past few
years. But is there more to her visits than meets the eye?
Since
messing up his marriage, Jackson asks Emilia for advice on books to read
to the son he misses so much. But Jackson has a secret, and is not all
he seems...
And there's Thomasina, painfully shy, who runs a
pop-up restaurant from her tiny cottage. She has a huge crush on a man
she met and then lost in the cookery section, somewhere between Auguste
Escoffier and Marco Pierre White. Can she find the courage to admit her
true feelings?
Nayu's thoughts
Initially I wasn't fond how the point of view regularly
changed; having memory issues makes this type of read/listen a bit
tricky. I don't overly like male povs, but was surprised by how
quickly I cared Emelia's father. He certainly had an interesting
life, one that makes a huge impact on Emelia. It sounds idyllic
to take over a bookshop, but it is far from as simple as that, no
least because one character wants Emelia to fail. He gave me the
creeps! I don't care for people who have affairs, or do drugs, which
meant 2 key characters were clearly in my dislike pile. I was scared
that Sarah's daughter wouldn't learn the truth about her fiance in time,
she doesn't but it's a good end to taht plot thread.
As
for Emelia, she makes some good friends, but is worn down by grief
and other emotions and considers going away from what is a painful
mess. Then there's Thomasina, well she positively blossoms throughout
the novel, which was such a delight to see happen. I promise it's a
hapoy ending! I loved watching Emelia work
through her grief, how she learnt more about her father's life
through the people he knew divulging information to him. I loved the
strength of Sarah's daughter whose name escapes me right now, how she
coped with a major plot twists that
eventually reveals her fiances true colours. And of course there's
the bookshop, what isn't there to love about one!
Definitely going on
my relisten pile-yes, this is an audiobook review request! The
narration is excellent, a voice I can happily listen to for hours
which nails the sentiment in the stoey perfectly. The only reason
this didn't get full marks was because of my initial confusion with
so many characters, but that's a personal problem rather than one
most readers would have.
Find out more on Veronica's website.
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