A fantastic book to which I have bestowed a rather cryptic review that will hopefully inspire people to pick it up and see for themselves: This was a darling little book with a sinister underpinning.

There is only one way to describe this book. Brilliant. To see what love and courage can do,amazing.

Loveday works in a bookshop in York. We first meet her as she picks up a book she finds in the street and sets out to find its owner. Loveday had a troubled childhood ending with her being placed in foster care and as a result finds it hard to let people in...especially after being treated badly by her only boyfriend up to now. We learn about Loveday’s life in bits as she gets to know Nathan (the owner of the missing book) and opens up about her life...to the reader first, to Nathan later. Hesitantly she lets him in, but then books that remind her of her past begin to turn up and she wonders if Nathan could be more than he seems.
It took me a while to get to, but I really enjoyed this book. I quickly learned to love Loveday and could see something of myself in her,,,bit of an introvert, would rather spend an evening with a book than in the pub! I was eager to know more of her story and of Nathan’s true intentions and the book kept me guessing nearly to the end. I liked him when Loveday did. I became suspicious of him when she did too. This book made me life and cry, which for me is definitely a sign of good writing.

I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was absolutely riveting, and I was hanging on every word. I was completely fascinated with the story, and o genuinely loved everything about it.

I really enjoyed this book and the story it had to tell - how books can make an impact on our lives and how a family can be formed without the commonality of blood.

I loved this read. It reminded me of an Eleanor Oliphant and would appeal to an booklover anywhere. I felt a connection immediately to the love of books I felt radiating from every page! Heartache, forgiveness, truly engaging, and an emotional read for me.

Highly recommend to any book lover!

This book was an absolute joy to read! It really took me by surprise because I had heard it compared to AJ Fikry and Eleanor Oliphant, which are big book shoes to fill in my opinion. But it is completely deserving of both of those comparisons, yet stands perfectly on its own. The story is told so beautifully in the present day, with visits to the past to help us understand Loveday. I found Loveday to be a lovable, complex character that I truly felt honored to read her life story. The supporting characters were well developed and all played important parts in Loveday's journey. Stephanie Butland will now be on my list of authors to seek out when looking for my next read. If you are looking to for a book that gives you a character to root for and learn from, please give this book a chance. I don't think you will be sorry!

I loved the idea of this book but just couldn't get into it. Only managed to get to 10% which is a shame given it has such positive reviews.

Where do you go when your heart is broken, when you have lost everything that is precious to you? Where do you find solace? Where do you find escape and comfort? For Loveday Cardew, that place was a bookshop, the place where she can remain hidden behind the pages of a book, a quiet place where the memories are kept at bay. In the lovely poignant book, Lost For Words, we meet a grand assortment of characters who are bigger than life and there to help the fragile Loveday find what she needs and what she is searching for.

Loveday has faced much in her young life. She had what she thought was a safe, loving family life, until her dad lost his job and life turned bitter. The family beset by the loss of income now faced something dark and evil within the dad. He was still loved but not understood and when tragedy happened, Loveday is separated from her mother, lives in foster care, and retreats into a shell where books are her sole companion.

However, Loveday is not alone. She has Archie, the owner of the bookstore where she works and she has Nathan, a poet, a magician, a man who understands Loveday and tries to make her once again happy, to once again know love. She has love surrounding her, but she just does not know how to allow it into her heart.

This was a lovely story, so heart warming with a bit of whimsy that Ms Butland puts into her characters. They have a flair for living, a joy for the way in which life has taken them and in Loveday, she has created a character that moves the reader into rooting for her and standing with her as she faces the challenges of a life that has dealt a number of blows to her soul.
Recommended to those who love books, (and who among us doesn't) and to those who love a charming story about the loss of love and the finding of it once again.

Thank you to Stephanie Butland, St Martin's Press, and NetGalley for a copy of this lovely book.

Loveday Cardew has the perfect job for herself. She's not a big fan of people or large social settings so working at a used bookshop is just the right fit. Loveday has been on her own for a while, being in the foster system most of her life. So when books from her childhood start showing up at the bookshop, she's not sure who she can trust. Who knows about her past and who is trying to get her attention? But who could be behind this, Rob, the guy who can't take no for an answer; Nathan, the new man in her life; or Archie, the eccentric bookshop owner?

Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Loveday has the job, I believe most of us as book lovers would like to have. The opportunity to work surrounded by books all day, every day. Getting to discover new things and get to know old favorites all over again.

But things start to get weird when books that used to be in her childhood home appear at the bookshop. At first, it seems like a coincidence, but when the books start to get more personal, Loveday starts to question everything in her world. On top of the books, there is also a new man in her life, Nathan. Nathan is very different from any other man that Loveday has been with, although there haven't been that many. He allows her to be herself, while at the same time, trying to gently push her out of her comfort zone. Loveday isn't sure whether or not she is able to put herself out there like that. Along her journey she will discover things about herself that will help her to grow into the strong woman her friends already know her to be.

This is a joy to read. The writing is easy and comfortable. The characters are believable. There's a homey feel to the whole thing. I docked a star from the rating because there were a couple instances toward the end when the story just didn't feel right. I stopped believing and felt a bit robbed. Despite that, it was a good reading experience. I will be reading more from this author.

I don't think that I requested this book to review, but it's no biggie. I have a weak spot for books and bookstores, or perhaps I should say a bookshop since the setting of this novel is England. Therefore I checked a copy out from the St. Louis Public LIbrary. But it's my love of books made me do it. And I loved the second sentence on the dust jacket: “If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels [Loveday] loves most tattooed on her skin.”

“What a quirky character this Loveday must be,” I remember thinking. “I’m gonna love this book!” Ah, but once again, I was wrong, so very wrong. I’ve tried several times to read what others are referring to as “a gem of a novel,” but honestly, I don’t get it.

Loveday has been working at the bookshop for ten tears, since she was fifteen and a product of the foster-care system. She loves books all as much as I do, and like me, prefers books over people. There is a childhood tragedy that she wants to remain hidden from the few people in her life. When trying to find the owner of a lost book, she meets magician/poet Nathan. He saves her from an awkward encounter with her ex-boyfriend, which, to me, seems to really go against the notion that she prefers books to people.

Unwelcome emotions begin to rear when Loveday’s mother’s old books begin mysteriously showing up in the bookshop, and she is forced to confront her past.

I found “The Lost for Words Bookshop” boring and predictable and that is why it receives 2 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

Beautiful book. I was in tears at the end, because this is so much the story of family--and family is not always the traditional one we are born into, but one that can be cultivated and created.
I absolutely adored Archie and all he did for and meant to Loveday throughout this story. Loveday's journey is a rough one, but it is so real. What she has to work through is universal, whether we have the exact circumstances she does or not.
The words she puts on her skin are just the icing on the cake with the beautiful prose of this story. If you love words, books, and people who love both, this is definitely the book for you.

Here I am again, in the outlier club. Did I read the same book as everyone else? Or is it just me? I picked this book up because I'd heard it described as a book for booklovers, and a charming book for fans of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.

I didn't find it charming, nor was the comparison to Eleanor Oliphant fair or accurate. What that book had was humor, warmth, a quirky, funny main character I won't soon forget, and charm. In Lost for Words, the character is snarky but in a mean-spirited, annoying way, the pace is slow, and, while there were some heartbreaking circumstances, I was left unmoved. I read 2/3 of the book and skimmed to the end. Honestly, I didn't care what happened to her by then.

Perhaps this would be a better book for fans of contemporary romance with a side of darkness. In my opinion, this plot has been done before, and done better. I recommend reading Eleanor Elephant instead.

But there are plenty of 4 and 5 star reviews so it's probably just me. 2 stars because I did finish it.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this free E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

“A bookshop is not magic, but it can slowly heal your heart”.

The Lost for Words Bookshop is an endearing novel about Loveday Cardew (I adore her name) & her dark past. She works in a bookshop where her love of books provides her refuge and a place of solace to escape heartache. Thankfully this bookshop has also bought her Archie, the store owner who looks after Loveday in almost a father figure way. As this story progresses she encounters a mystery and people along the way that make her face her past and embrace the good in who she was and is.

I think story is a good palate cleanser for anyone. There are elements of romance, mystery, some abuse but it’s all done in a tasteful manner and subtle. I recommend this book to anyone looking for an easy heartfelt read.

I got the book because the story takes place in a bookshop and I’m a book worm but my goodness the main character Loveday is dreadful. She has ZERO personality and the story is so slow. Certain parts overly explained things that didn’t even pertain to the story. The main highlight of the story is the store owner, Archie. Archie has a booming personality and he gave me depth. This is my first time reading this author and I love discovering “new to me” authors but sometimes it doesn’t always work out the way I plan. I did stop reading at 23% and I know there is a will not leave feedback section but I feel I should leave feedback as to WHY I stopped reading.

I really enjoyed the story of Loveday Cardew. The characters in this book will stay with me for a long time, particularly the patience of Nathan, th protective nature of Archie, and the transformation of Loveday.

I enjoyed this story about a quirky young lady named Loveday Cardew, with nose ring and first sentences of novels tattooed on her body, who has worked in a bookshop in York since she was fifteen years old. This book will appeal to all book lovers! From the setting in the delightful second hand book shop... to the book quotes tattooed on Loveday.I'm going to think about this story for a long time!

This book drew me in and, once I was hooked, I tried to savour it. I didn't want it to end and kept reading other books in between. I knew deep down that I would love this novel and would never be able to read it for the first time again.

It's a novel about finding yourself, becoming comfortable in your skin, comfortable enough to open up to others. Finding your roots.

I don't want to give anything away. Just let me say, if you like a winding story that lets you in on the protagonist's secrets one chapter at a time, then this is the perfect story for you.

Loveday, a tattooed young woman who would rather be alone with a good book than surrounded by friends works at a used bookshop, Lost for Words. She's surrounded by a cast of unusual character... Archie, the store's eccrentric owner, Rob, a treacherous bad-boy ex., and Nathan, a handsome and bookish poet.

This book's chapters that flip from past to present and are organized by genres... Poetry, Crime, Travel, History, and Memoir, each corresponding to the character that's the best fit. This is a must read for any book lover!