How To Find Love In A Book Shop by Veronica Henry read by Julia Barry (Contemporary, Romance, audiobook, 9/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

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.