Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

If you are a reader that loves books about books and books about bookstores then run don't walk to grab this one!

Madeline Cullen loved visiting her aunt and uncle who owned a bookstore in small town near Chicago. When drama impacts her visits and they stop, she is taken back to that small town and this little bookshop will change the direction of her life. This book had all the things I love, books, bookstores, family drama and a character that has to revisit their past in order to move forward. Madeline Cullen was such a great character to watch grow and change during this story.

Writing books about book lovers, for book lovers is a particular kind of challenge. It's so personal, and therefore, these books tend to be judged against a highly subjective standard. Reay, however, has been down this road before, and does a fine job weaving together a tale of three women in small Chicago suburb all on different paths in life, but united by a common bookshop. Alternating between three points of view, two of the perspectives are first person limited while the third is third person limited. It was jarring to me at first, but there is a reason for this that is actually explained in the text (for those who are picky about those kinds of things, you have been warned!) I enjoyed getting to know these women, though at times I wish the pace would have picked up or that a few secrets characters were keeping were revealed to the reader sooner because I had predicted them long before.

I received a copy of this story from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

I want to kick myself for waiting so long to read this! It's like comfort food, fuzzy socks, a roaring fire, and an amazing hug all rolled into one amazing package. The characters are incredible, the setting is lovely (made me a bit homesick for that small-town life), and it moves at exactly the right pace. Everything is really well done.

It's told from three different women's points of view and at first, it annoyed the crap out of me. Not because it was being told by three different characters but because two were in first person and one was in third. It was weird. But I kept going because I couldn't resist and my annoyance faded away. The description was so rich I could see the scenes playing out before me. It's like I was there and I haven't felt that magic in a while.

I don't love the cover. It almost cheapens the story, I think. It's part of why I put it off for so long. I thought it was going to be a lot more chintzy and a quick surface read. But with the way I was drawn into the story, the depth of it all, it deserved something more in kind. Though I suppose the cover is very Maggie, so I can't entirely hate it.

Thank you, Katherine Reay for your lovely work!

I'd happily recommend this book to anyone who:
- needs a good hug
- loves books
- needs a reminder to slow down
- is breathing, really

This book was a friend I didn't know I needed. Reading the story felt like I had someone who understood exactly what I was going through and offered words of assurance, and I am so glad it did that. :)

I would give this at least a 3.5. Really enjoyable women's fiction filled with obstacles and tribulations but they take care and lift each other up and end up forming strong friendships will also supporting each others dreams.

3.5 ✨

listen. LISTEN. listen.

did i agree with the writing choices? not always!
do i think this should be labelled a romance? absolutely not!
was it scintillating, thoughtful writing? not particularly!
was it a focused, deep book on one character? nada — sometimes i thought, “why r u taking me down this road?”
would i recommend this book? maybe not!

but did i cry in the last 20 pages?

…survey says yes.

3.5

Imagine inheriting a book shop, a beautiful home, a car ... That's what happened to Madeline Cullen, corporate lawyer, thirty-three, on her way to a partnership in a downtown Chicago law firm.

This is a story from rich to richer, albeit in much nicer ways, as one wins new friends, meaning and love. If only real life was like that. I guess that's one reason for reading fiction.
The characters were well-drawn and very realistic. Life with its mundanities, relationship problems, mothering, marriage, divorce, miscommunication, middle age and its new challenges are some of the issues that are approached, while also trying to make a bookshop survive and prosper.
This was pleasant enough, albeit predictable, but I had predicted that already and that's why I chose to listen to it. ;-). It was so lovely to listen to Hillary Huber again.

NB: How terrible is this cover?

First, the cover is gorgeous, and I pretty much bought the book for that reason alone. :)

While it may seem odd to start a book with a funeral, it works well in this book as it gives an inner glimpse into the three MCs’ minds. Yes, this book is told from 3 points of view. And unfortunately that was my main complaint. More on that later.

Enter Janet, Madeline, and Claire. Three women who couldn’t be more different from each other band together as unlikely friends and allies. I liked each of these woman as characters, and they felt relatable, which I appreciated, even though they are all older than I. The plot was a roller coaster of ups and down - occasionally a bit too much drama for my taste, but that’s just personal preference. I absolutely LOVED the tie-ins to Reay’s other books: Alex Powell from Dear Mr. Knightley and Sid McKenna from The Bronte Plot.

Back to the POVs…Janet and Madeline both have first person POVs, and Claire’s is in third person. HOWEVER, Madeline’s is 1st person past tense but abruptly changed to 1st person present in the last chapter. Janet’s is 1st person present tense; and Claire’s is 3rd person past tense but strangely changes to 3rd person present tense. Some of these shifts were significant and done for a reason, but at times, I really struggled to keep the ever shifting perspectives in focus. Again, that’s just personal preference.

Content: innuendo; mentions of affairs; underaged drinking (not condoned); making love is mentioned; dealing with adultery and divorce; wayward teen issues

Quotes:

“Blood might be thicker than water, but both were thinner than money.”


“‘Who said forgiveness was supposed to be easy?’”

Katherine Reay's books all have a love of literature present, whether she is writing a new take on a classic or whether, as in The Printed Letter Bookshop, a bookstore is front and center and quotations are offered or titles are mentioned or alluded to.

The narrative fluctuates among three women who are lost and overwhelmed in the world, whether they realize it or not -- there's Madeleine, the high achieving young woman striving to become the next partner in her law firm; Janet, the divorced mom whose grown son sided with the father and keeps his distance from her; and Claire, the mom whose husband is often out of state for work and who is disconnected from her children, who opt for friends' homes over their distant mother.

The Printed Letter Bookshop is what brings these women together; it is a beloved location, but when Maddie, the newly deceased owner, fought sickness, the bookstore struggled, to the point where its continued presence in the community is in doubt.

At the center, our three protagonists have been given a book list from Maddie, each a curated list of titles that, when read, have a common theme demonstrating a way each woman can enhance and improve her life; "Maddie's books provided a trail, like breadcrumbs, leading me to who I want to be or maybe back to who I once set out to be..." Slowly, each character takes steps to change their lives for the better.

I have found Reay's work to be uneven - for example, I adored Dear Mr Knightley but found A Portrait of Emily Price lackluster. However, I was pleased with this title; it was a read that was a pleasant, light-hearted accompaniment for the close of this school year.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)