***3.5 stars***
I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I want to start off by saying I love all the literary references peppered throughout this book! And I appreciate the author putting a list of all the titles in the back of the book. There are many I knew of and some I want to look up! Of course the beautiful book cover grabbed me and the setting of a family-owned bookstore drew me in.

But it was a struggle to get into and feel out the characters. About the halfway mark they finally hit their stride and the story started coming together. I compare it to starting off slowly on a roller coaster but once the ride gets started it’s great to the end. I found myself cheering for Madeline, Claire, and even Janet! I loved how redemption was shown in a true-to-life situation and that forgiveness is messy but yields the fruit of peace.