Feel good Christian fiction at its finest! The imperfect protagonist has you rooting for her till the very end. Great read.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay takes readers to Eagle Valley, Illinois. Madeline Cullen is a lawyer in Chicago on the track for partnership when her Aunt Maddie passes away and she inherits her home and beloved bookshop, The Printed Letter. Madeline remembers spending three wonderful weeks with her Aunt Maddie and Uncle Pete nineteen years ago when they opened the bookshop. Aunt Maddie made The Printed Letter a haven for children and adults. She had a way of picking out the right book for each person. While she was ill, the shop suffered and has been losing money for the last two years. Madeline needs to get the shop profitable and then she wants to sell it in the spring. Janet Harrison is a bitter woman who turns people away with her attitude. But she has an amazing talent at creating unique displays for the shop. Janet finds The Printed Letter to be a sanctuary where she can hide from her troubles. Claire Durand feels unneeded at home with her husband busy working and her teen children on the go. She finds her niche at The Printed Letter and a good friend in Maddie. Neither Janet nor Claire want the bookshop to be sold. When things do not work out as planned for Madeline at work, she finds her life on a new track. She begins to see what draws people to The Printed Letter. Madeline also meets Chris McCullough who is struggling with his career path as well. Madeline finds herself drawn to Eagle Valley, Claire, Janet, The Printed Letter and especially Chris. With the three women’s combined talents, The Printed Letter can be brought back to life. But are their efforts too little and too late? Join Madeline, Claire and Janet on their journey in The Printed Letter Bookshop.

The Printed Letter Bookshop is told from Claire, Janet and Madeline’s point-of-views. Each woman is struggling and a letter from Maddie along with a book list acts as a guide. As the story progresses, we find out what has happened to each woman, how Maddie entered their lives and how the bookshop made a difference. The story is nicely written with mild pacing. I was not immediately drawn into the story. It became more interesting the further I progressed into The Printed Letter Bookshop. The at first unlikeable characters began to grow on me, and I like seeming them come together. The ending is smile worthy. The descriptions of Janet’s window displays and artwork were enchanting (I wish this was my local bookstore). I enjoyed the numerous book references (bibliophiles will be thrilled) and quotes. Aunt Maddie’s description of The Secret Garden was delightful. There are two quotes I want to share with you. The first is “. . . you could lose yourself in a book and, paradoxically, find yourself as well” (very true). The second one made me laugh out loud “my hot flashes last longer than that service”. The Printed Letter Bookshop is for those readers who love all types of books, Hallmark movies and happy endings.

I read this book back in June. Somehow I missed shelving it. I think I liked it enough to give it a 4 star rating.

The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay, tells the story of 3 women in different stages of life, who are joined together by the passing of Maddie the beloved owner of the Printed Letter Bookshop. Although the book was a bit predictable at times, the story was really sweet. I loved getting to know each character and see their story unfold.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchanged for my honest review.

It took awhile to get into, but once I did I really liked it. The story and characters took a bit to develop, but I appreciated the faith aspect, the Scripture, and no curse words/open door. Will read the next one.

Gathered at her funeral, Maddie's friends and family all wonder what will become of her beloved bookshop. Her two employees, Janet & Clare, keep things running temporarily but they won't be able to for long. Madeline, Maddie's beloved but estranged niece is now the reluctant owner of the failing bookshop. As the three ladies try to limp the business along, they also read the list of books that Maddie left for each of them - and learn something about themselves in the process.

This book started off quite slow but had me weeping by the end. I loved how these three, messed up ladies grew and changed so beautifully throughout the course of the story. Their transformation - and how they sharpened and challenged one another - was incredible. Each storyline was filled with hope, even despite the hard places they start. The writing was beautiful as well: I especially loved how Clare's narration changed as her story progressed. All in all, it was a lovely story of broken people being restored.