A lot of my Goodreads friends have been reading Stephanie Butland's <i>The Lost for Words Bookshop</i> of late, and all of them have rated it highly.  I was so intrigued, particularly as I love books about books and bookshops.  It is also set in York, a city which I love.

I was pulled in immediately, and enjoyed the unusual and realistic characters which Butland has created.  The entirety is well written apart from, I felt, the poems which are interspersed between the prose; they felt a little lacking on the whole, and as though they were not stylised enough.  Overall, <i>The Lost for Words Bookshop</i> is an absorbing and enjoyable read.  At first, it feels like quite an easy and predictable book, but it soon slips into darker territory, which increases as it reaches the halfway point.  A well-handled novel, and quite a surprising one.

I could not put this book down! It's a fantastic read! 

Loveday owns a bookshop and enjoys her quiet life among the books. Until her mysterious past begins to haunt her. It's hard to review this without posting spoilers so I'll just say that I found the characters to be very real and compelling. I can't wait for more of Ms. Butland's work!

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

Well what is better than reading a book that speaks to you like a book and has so many references of books that is so easily relatable to? THE LOST FOR WORDS BOOKSHOP!

THE LOST FOR WORDS BOOKSHOP by STEPHANIE BUTLAND is a wonderfully charming, light, moving, and endearing tale that is set in the greatest place ever, a bookshop. 

Any books that have any indication that it is going to be about a bookstore or books, I’m in, no questions asked.  They are by far one of my favourite settings!  Also, I have to mention that beautiful cover!      

STEPHANIE BUTLAND delivers an absolutely lovely, appealing, and well-written read here that was more character-driven than plot-driven with wonderful, relatable and likeable characters.  Our quirky and snarky main character is Loveday (adorable name right?) and she is known to love her books more than people.  My husband has accused me of that many a times! LOL

This isn’t a fast-paced read by no means, it’s slow-moving and might have lost me a few times but as we follow along Loveday’s journey and learning the mystery behind her traumatic past, I found myself totally intrigued and couldn’t help but fall in love and identify with Loveday’s character. 

This book made me smile and was an absolute comfort for me to read!  I truly enjoyed the escape into Loveday’s life and found this to be an entertaining, quick and easy read.  Would recommend!

This was a Sister Read that I read along with my dear friend, Kris.  Thank you so much, Kris for reading and discussing this one with me.  You made it that much more fun!  

Thank you so much to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Stephanie Butland for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Unfortunately another one in my run of bad luck books.  I hate to review things i didn't enjoy but this is definitely one of them.  Nothing connected me to the story and it was just a bit dull.  For a long time it was just like i was pulling teeth waiting for something to happen.  Not for me. 

Thank you to the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The book cover first got my attention. Then I saw it was about a book shop which specializes in used books and it has a quirky main character who loves to just sit in a corner and read. What is not to like? Loveday Cardew is young girl of 25 who has been working at the bookshop since she was 15. We learn of course about her love of old books and she often gets the first line of a book she has loved tattooed on her body somewhere. Books are her companion and friend. 

Over time we see more and know that something very horrible happened to her when she was a child and she uses books and the safety of the bookshop to hide from the life she thinks she escaped from and no one knows anything about as it carries a lot of shame for her. Things begin to fall apart when some books begin turning up that remind her of her well hidden past. She has a lot of fear of anyone really knowing her or where she came from. 

It's a beautiful story and I liked Loveday and Archie (the bookshop owner) very much. Loveday has a lot of growing to do and many emotions to untangle. She is kind and compassionate. She tries to open herself up to dating but it's hard because she can't trust anyone. I really felt for her and rooted for her in her struggles. She's a great character. 

4 stars! I enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. Many thanks to Thomas Dunne Books, NetGalley, and Stephanie Butland for a digital copy to review.

A book set in my favorite place? I really enjoyed how this book was written with care and touched on many human emotions. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion.

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review. 

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people but someone has found out about her mysterious past. Will Loveday survive her own heartbreaking secrets?

A book about books, what's not to like? I found it too 'quirky' and disjointed. When the word emo-goth appeared I knew I truly had nothing in common with this book. This isn't exactly a YA novel but I would classify it somewhere in that region.

2.75☆ because I just couldn't connect with the book

The best possible way I can describe this book to you is that it's a book for book lovers. We get a lot of book references and a protagonist that both works in a book shop and has meaningful lines from stories she's enjoyed tattooed on her body. If I didn't already have several tattoos, I might steal that idea! It is a very charming story, but darker than the book cover and even the blurb makes it look. It's still a really enjoyable read, but more emotional than I was expecting. It's a book that I read slowly to savor more instead of devouring. I won't go too deeply into the story, because I think the blurb provided is purposefully vague. It's a story to immerse yourself into and can be very surprising at times. Four and a half stars from me for its beautiful charm, wonderful details, and intriguing story. 

Loveday Cardew is most comfortable lost among the stacks of the wonderful book shop she has been lucky enough to work at for years. She's closest to the owner, a charming older man with endless stories almost too fantastic to be true. She certainly prefers books to people. Books are a comfort. A place to escape to. People simply cannot be trusted, a fact that has been proven to her again and again. This is the reason she clutches her books close to her chest and keeps almost every single person in her life at arm's length. She's been through a lot, and keeps a lot of secrets from everyone... but someone out there is ready to shine a bright light on her past.

I received a copy of this book from Net Galley and St. Martin's Press, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

I adored the story and the characters so much! It's such a lovely tale with memorable characters that feel like your friends and the progression of the plot is not too slow which was enjoyable. I loved watching each individual character grow into themselves.

This book shows exactly what I picture working in a book store to be like. It made me feel cozy while I was reading it.

The characters we’re jouable, if not a bit annoying at times.

Loveday had tragedy in her childhood and as a result loved her job at the Lost for Words Bookshop...... She could lose herself in books and much preferred this to people..... but what about the poet Nathan can he get through to her...... and where are the books relating to her childhood coming from?

An enjoyable book a bit slow but made up for by the great quirky characters

Loveday is a woman who seems to have her life together, however she hides things well. She believes her past is well hidden. Her job at the bookshop is her saving grace. When books from her past start showing up her life unravels. 
If you want a good read that really makes you appreciate life this is the book. Loveday has a sad upbringing, but she perseveres.


** I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I’m on the fence with this one.  I liked and sympathized with slightly psychotic  Loveday Cardew who works at the Lost For Words Bookshop and could totally relate to her love for books rather than people.  Loveday, for me, was simply someone who has lived a painful and dark life losing her sense of self along the way.  Book genres are used to symbolize characters and parts of her life (which I found quite clever) but her story was a bit much after about the fourth chapter  and I felt mental illness was used as a “scapegoat” too often.  

So The Lost For Words Bookshop is yet another tale of seeking redemption, hope,  and a light at the end of a very dark tunnel.  I don’t know, it’s not an awful read by any means,  and I’m sure there’s an audience out there for this one but I wish the characters had a bit more substance and didn’t feel so stereotypical

Thank you St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the advance digital copy!.

Loveday Cardew has been working at a bookshop in York, England, for about 10 years. It’s been her only job; she started there in the middle of her teens and has been there ever since. Since she first set foot there on a school trip, the owner, Archie, has taken her under his wing. Loveday, however, would prefer not to be under anyone’s wing, though she does enjoy working with Archie. Since a tragedy when she was 9, she lived in foster care, and the event that put her there made her someone her peers stared at and talked about. So she’s kept to herself, and she likes it that way.

Meeting Nathan Avebury upsets her carefully managed life. Despite herself, Loveday gets drawn into a relationship with him. And she’s happy. But she still holds important parts of herself back, like that childhood tragedy no one (she thinks) in York knows about.

The other change to her ordered life is the arrival at three different times of familiar books — ones she knows from her childhood. Are these just a coincidence, or has someone found out about her past, or has someone from her past surfaced? Loveday eventually is forced to talk about what she’d do anything to stay quiet about.

This is a lovely book; it’s set in a bookshop and has a few quirky characters (Archie is one who’s impossible not to find entertaining), but it’s mostly about Loveday and her past, about heartbreaks and secrets and coming to terms with painful truths. Loveday has created a hard-to-crack shell around herself, and she has a few really wonderful people around her; as a reader, you just want her to give in already and let them in, to stop putting up walls. Just as the story slowly reveals the details about her life and difficult past, Loveday very slowly lets some parts of herself open up. But the last bit of shell is the toughest, and it’s the most painful for her to let fall away. That is when the story is the sweetest.

You can't tell a book from its cover.  You have to open it, read it, digest it and then tell if you like it or not.  The same could be said about Loveday, a 25 year old who works in a bookshop that sells second hand books.  You could call her anti-social, you could call her quiet, but you don't know her,  You don't know her past, her hidden secrets and what has made her the way she is.  What you really don't know is the pages of her past and like a book, in between covers, she has secrets that have shaped her and you have to delve into those pages to know what lies there...and as you read the awful truth is revealed. 
Therein lies the story.  A bit slow for my taste, but nonetheless a good read.  However, what I liked about the novel, aside from the quirky characters, was Loveday's sharp mind,  her wit.  When I started this novel, I wasn't sure I was going to get into it, but then I got hooked and couldn't put it down.  I needed to know her secrets, I had to find out who she really is.
My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO PICK THIS BOOK BACK UP BUT I'M SO GLAD THAT I DID !)

The first quarter or so of The Lost for Words Bookshop hit me like a sloth. As in, it was just a l i t t l e on the slow side of the spectrum for me. I think it was due to a mixture of my general shrugs attitude regarding the author's writing and the mildly long period of time in which nothing really happened
––––but then I hit a reading breakthrough.

It turned out really well for me in the end, I think. Loveday's story was nice and mellow for the most part, and the rest swept me away like the tide. Quirky characters can be either make it or break it, and Loveday was pretty cool. She was written with this simple sense of displacement, for lack of a better word. It was like she was yet to be hardened by life, regardless of the fact that she of all people should be twisted and bent by the world at the present time.

The whole bookstore aspect and bibliophiles unite thing going on was wonderful. Book clubs, poetry sharing, and working in a bookstore. Seeing as the target audience is people who are into books, it's basically a reader magnet. 

Something decently interesting about this book to me was its narration, with this different mix between internal and external. Loveday was a fairly thought-orientated character, but there was enough going on around her that it wasn't overly internal monologue-filled, so it was still nice to read as a whole and thankfully not overdone.

As mentioned earlier, pacing was kind of an issue for me, and it took a while for me to even vaguely understand where the plot could possibly be. This may or may not be because I'm used to the fast-pacedness of YA. Nonetheless, the characters and their dynamics kept me intrigued and got me back on track after I picked the book back up again.

Overall, this was a very enjoyable and rewarding read. It has some pretty good themes, nice past-present timelines, and quite the unique premise. 

Many thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the fascinating ARC!

Beautiful cover that I was immediately drawn to. Plus, it's a book about books! What could be better?! 

Loveday Cardew tattoos the quotes from her favorite books all over her body. She prefers books to people and her employment in a used bookstore suits her perfectly. However, Loveday has a secret and traumatic past and someone has begun sending her suspicious items related to these memories that she has tried to suppress. 

I wanted to love this story. I really did. However, I had difficulty connecting to the characters and found the story to move slowly. I loved reading quotes from my favorite books throughout the novel, though.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley for free in exchange for an honest review. 
The Lost For Words Bookshop is filled with quirky, memorable characters and books - thousands of books. Loveday Cardew has been working at the bookshop for over ten years. It is her workplace and only real source of social interaction.
Loveday is extremely guarded because of the secrets she is keeping. They get in the way of her having any normal sort of relationship. And she is okay with that. She has her books, what else could she possibly need?
The answer to that question is Nathan - a magician with a few secrets of his own. 
The story unfolds at a gentle pace. Slowly, present day and past Loveday come together and we get to know who she really is.
The Lost For Words Bookshop is a wonderful, sad, and vibrant story about finding yourself and love and always the secrets we keep.

Loveday Cardew was always a shy, solitary kid who loved books.  Loveday liked being indoors in a cozy nook, maybe with her mom, reading the whole day and night.  She had the life she loved, but suddenly, in one day, she lost it all.  That tragic day was fifteen years ago. Today, Loveday is working in a second-hand bookshop in York.  Loveday's boss, Bruce, is a big burly garrulous man who loves talking with everyone he encounters, sort of the mayor of the corner where he stands outside to smoke his pipe.

Loveday trusts Bruce.  He looks after her and even arranged for her to have a lovely small apartment, fresh and painted.  Loveday has everything she needs, spending each day sorting out boxes of donated books and continuously organizing the shelves.  Most people are kind to Loveday in return for her kindness.  Her one mistake seems to be in agreeing to go out with a Ph.D. student, Rob, who turns into a nuisance when she tries to keep their relationship at arm's length.  Loveday has no interest in committing to a relationship and Rob is determined to get closer to Loveday.   He begins to be a real irritant which makes LD worry about how to get rid of Rob without hurting him.

The sky opens up when Loveday meets a charming poet, Nathan, in a local pub.  He isn't overpowering but offers her kind attention, and she finds herself becoming more attached with each Wednesday poetry night she attends.  Life is beginning to open up for Loveday, and then strange things start to happen.  First, she finds a box of books that are like the same set of books as she had when she was a kid.  Bits and pieces of her lost childhood begin to appear, and she is sure that someone she trusted is now taunting her and making her life miserable once again.

It was a joy to continue following this character's journey to find the resolution to her suffering and see how it all turns out for our dear, dear Loveday.  I enjoyed meeting all the caring people who came together as a loving family in the Lost for Words Bookshop.

wow! Emotional, charming and wonderful! Books are my passion, thus the cover grabbed my attention.  The story grabbed my heart! Loved it! I think most of you will also !  Thanks Netgalley for providing the arc.  The opinion in the 
 review are mine