NB: Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for providing me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Out 5/14/19!

The Printed Letter Bookshop has a promising premise - who doesn't love a book about inherited small town bookshops? Unfortunately, I feel like I have read other iterations of this story (for instance, How to Find Love in a Bookshop) that were a little more successful. 

I can't quite put my finger on what didn't really work for me in this one. The constant changing between perspectives left me consistently disoriented and flipping around trying to figure out who was speaking. This made it hard to connect or get invested in any one particular character. The main romance of the book was quite contrived, and was almost all "told" instead of "shown." We didn't get to see many interactions or opportunities for growth of feeling - I guess we were just supposed to take it for granted that they liked each other? The only reason they weren't together to begin with is because they were dating other people and also they "disliked" each other(? again, I never saw any actual evidence to support this). Also, it was pretty unbelievable to me that 20 years worth of estrangement with her aunt went unquestioned and unchallenged by Madeline because of strong loyalty to her dad, who she doesn't even really seem to like that much?? Again, pretty much everything that happened in this book was told instead of shown - I felt like I was reading a summary of events instead of watching them unfold in real time. 

Also, this isn't a negative point necessarily but something worth noting - I guess I missed the fact that this was published by Thomas Nelson (of Harper Collins Christian Publishing), but it took me 100% by surprise that this was a Christian fiction book. I enjoy some Christian fiction and didn't find it offensive, but I was very surprised that it was unmentioned in any of the promotional materials. I have read two previous books by this author - Lizzy and Jane and Dear Mr. Knightley and while both of those books were "clean," I would say this one has gone much further in the Christian fiction direction. 

What worked in this book was the interesting person and plot of Janet's character - I liked that she had really messed up, but had played her life as a victim, until she realized she had to make a change, stop blaming others for her problems, and try to salvage what she had broken. That is some real life stuff there, and I appreciated this storyline, as it is not often one we see in a character we are supposed to like. 

All in all, I can't say that I really recommend this book, although I know this book has already received positive reviews from other readers who enjoyed the simple storyline and sweet plot.