Madeline's relationship with her Aunt Maddie, her namesake for being amazing, fizzled out when a disagreement occurs between her aunt and father. She never knew what the cause really was but she stood alongside her father nevertheless. She never knew her aunt was sick, let alone dying, until she had passed and left everything to her. Everything meaning her home, her book shop and her debt.
Having just quit her job as a lawyer, Madeline decides that selling everything for a profit would be more beneficial than at a loss and steps into the world of her late Aunt Maddie to try to raise the profit of the Printed Letter Bookshop before the sale. When she does that, her live becomes entwined with that of the community and the two employees Claire and Janet.Entwined in a way that slowly begins to make her question the things that she believed about herself and her aunt... that makes her begin to question how she wants the rest of her life to look, what she values.

This was an excellent book. It felt light and a bit like a warm hug. This book is about learning being brave enough to learn the truth and experience new things. To do things that maybe you aren't trained to do. How to forgive and the importance of community. So many good things.

I don't think that this book will become classical literature but it makes my heart warm to read about Madeline and her walk to understanding, forgiveness and friendship. Sometimes the best things for us are the things that we might not have ever considered.

I received a complementary copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.

In June 2017, I reviewed Veronica Henry's endearing How to Find Love in a Bookshop. My exact words at the end of the review stated that this book "is the novel that people need right now...period." It's no surprise to me that "bookshop" books are practically their own genre now. People long for an escape from negativity and derision to a place where the characters are like long-lost friends and there aren't really a whole lot of surprises. That, in a nutshell, is a bookshop book.

Katherine Reay's The Printed Letter Bookshop is all that and more, with three women brought together by circumstance and changed forever. Madeline is a young lawyer, and yes, she is making a lot of money but has all the stress that comes with it. When her aunt passes away, she leaves everything to Madeline, including the beloved bookshop that she owns. Madeline gives up her high-powered lifestyle and meets Claire and Janet, two women who work at the bookshop but who are far more than employees. Along the way, she finds what she has been missing all along -- love, as well as a sense of purpose.

I especially enjoyed that the reader sees many events from all three perspectives. While I didn't think the characters were as well developed as they could have been, I still devoured The Printed Letter Bookshop. Want to feel better after a bad day? Brew up a cup of tea, cozy up under your softest blanket, and read a bookshop book!

MY RATING - 3.5

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

A great book, full of emotions and engaging.
I loved the style of writing and the well written characters.
There's a lot of food for thought and it's a book I'll surely read again.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC

"Good characters let us live their lives vicariously, and bad ones tell us about the authors."

It's really true. I've always sensed it but i actually read it in this book. This story is all about books ,people and relationships and so much more. At first i wasn't that hooked. The lives of Madeline, Janet and Claire are so different from each other and yet as the story unfolds they intertwine together and it's so beautiful.

Some stories have so many twists and turns and yet they wouldn't affect you or your heart. But stories like this are different. This story is fictional but it has changed my views on so many things. And as the characters are all older than me and also going through different stages of life, it's like gaining experience or to learn something for me.

Maddie who is Madeline's dead aunt is so beautifully written i can always feel her in the story although she wasn't there directly delivering it. And another thing i really liked that the main 3 characters aren't perfect nor the author tried to force that. They all have their flaws and they are trying to be better persons which i really liked. Because we all know nobody's is perfect, not even fictional characters.

And yes! There is a great list of books (that are mentioned throughout the story) at the end. So thanks to the author for that!

( Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me the Arc in exchange of an honest review.)

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wonderful book about imperfection, forgiveness, and friendships. I hurt for all of the characters and their struggles with the pain in their lives. The ending brings redemption--very satisfying.

The Printed Bookshop tells the story of a woman who inherited her aunt’s beloved small-town independent bookstore.
I loved the idea of this plot, but it ultimately failed to hook me and I did not finish the book.

I was excited to get this ARC on my Kindle because this author's Dear Mr. Knightley will be on my yearly re-read shelf for many years to come. I love that book! Unfortunately, this one didn't come close to that feeling for me. I mildly enjoyed most of it and ended up liking it, but it didn't grab my emotions and make me feel like I was living every second with these women. I wasn't very invested in any of the 3 - once again, mildly liked them. However, Katherine Reay is an excellent storyteller and while I wasn't emotionally invested it was still very read-able and I wanted to find out what would happen to the characters.

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

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Katherine Reay's books always intrigue me, but this one surpassed several of her others in its plausibility and real-life issues..

The struggles her main character faces are completely relate-able, and I found myself hoping, struggling, wishing for her throughout the book. The setting is cozy and pulled me in as I read, leaving me wishing I could visit the town, look at the bookshop, etc.

There were a few times that the author's omniscience felt annoying..in that I wished I could have had a little more suspicion about the outcome rather than seeing where it was going. I wanted to see things even more through the character's eyes in those places rather than being able to see the clues and guess where things were going.

All in all, though, this is book I remember with fondness, that I'm sure I'll go back to read again, and that I look forward to seeing on shelves.

This book was absolutely wonderful! I really enjoyed Janet, Claire and Madeline’s stories. I could really relate to the characters and their relationships. It's the sort of book that has you thinking about it long after you've finished it! I will certainly be purchasing this book for my library!

Three women, whose lives are intertwined by the death of another. Upon Maddie's passing, her estranged niece Madeline inherits her aunt's bookshop, and along with it, her two employees Janet and Claire. Janet, not known for being warm and fuzzy, and Claire, competent in the Bookshop but accused by Janet as being a bystander in her own life, yet somehow the women find ways to bond and heal through the legacy of the woman who brought them together.

There were so many layers to this book, that I hardly know where to start. First of all, I love the setting of a small town bookstore where the owner knows her customers well enough to recommend books to each person, and the town's love and loyalty to Maddie continue after her death. I love Janet's prickly personality and her journey to realizing what's missing in her life. Claire's family struggles and search for where she lost herself is completely relatable. Madeline goes through her own changes as she realizes that her relationship with her aunt could have been very different. I love all of the supporting characters and how they strengthen the main characters’ stories. Between the three women's individual journeys and their evolving friendships and external relationships, this book was deep and rich, and I waffled between wanting to speed through to discover everything about it, and wanting to slow down and savor it. I especially enjoyed the references to so many books within the context of not just recommendations to customers, but also Maddie's individualized book lists in her letters to the three women that played such a part in their growth.

I give this book 5 stars. I have enjoyed all of Katherine Reay's books that I've read, but this one stands out for me.

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

This book is Katherine Reay at her finest. Once I started this book, I couldn’t put it down. The characters are living and breathing and leap off the page. While the three heroines are very different people, and are at different walks in life, their lives intertwine in many ways between beginning and end. The story is layered with many twists and turns. And The Printed Letter Bookshop, a character itself, is as warm and inviting as any bookshop you can imagine. I’d love to spend a day at the shop. Nearly every emotion is portrayed in this novel. At times, it is heartbreaking, and at others, it will make you smile, sometimes even laugh. It’s such a rich and satisfying novel.

While not overt, the faith theme in The Printed Letter Bookshop is more noticeable than in most of Reay’s other novels, something I appreciate seeing. I love seeing the messages of grace and self-worth portrayed for each character in the book.

I can definitely see myself returning to this novel someday. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves literature and is looking for a prolific read.

All opinions expressed in this review are my own. Many thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of this wonderfully full novel.

Advanced Review of The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay: Coming in March 2019

I am a huge fan of books by Katherine Reay, so I was beyond thrilled when NetGalley approved an advanced reader’s copy for me to check out and review here. My top three favorite books that Reay has written, in order of how much I adored them, were The Bronte Plot, The Austen Escape, and A Portrait of Emily Price. What drew me to those three the most were the literary connections, travel, and the author’s vivid writing. She is very good at finding the nuances of human relationships; she also writes about aesthetic experiences, art, and history with a great sense of detail. As a creative and bookish person, I appreciate how she weaves art and literature into a lot of her stories. Her latest book, The Printed Letter Bookshop, is my fourth favorite of hers; Lizzy and Jane is at the bottom of my list, but even that book is great. I definitely recommend The Printed Letter Bookshop because it has a strong story line that is based in wisdom (without thumping you over the head with it), well-drawn female characters from a range of ages, plenty of bookish references for those of us who love literature, references to art, and a setting that is easy to imagine. Something that Reay did in this book that I absolutely adored was that she subtly brought in Sid McKenna Antiques and Design — a setting and character that were carried over from The Bronte Plot. I thought that was a pretty clever little wink to the readers who follow her books. I smiled when I read that! It’s hard to beat The Bronte Plot, but this is still a book that I highly recommend. The only book of hers that I have not read yet is Dear Mr. Knightley, and it’s only a matter of time until that one is checked off my list too.

https://biblejournalingjourney.com/books-that-inspire-me/

I loved this book so, so, so much...and on the one hand, that doesn't surprise me at all, because I've loved all of Katherine Reay's books. But on the other hand, I was surprised at how personally touching this story was...it could not possibly have landed in my life at a better time. I finished it weeks ago and I'm still thinking about it!

It's Katherine Reay, so of course the writing is lovely. I adored the bookshop setting ... and I especially loved the relationships formed between the three main characters—three women with their own hurts and haunts and hopes. Janet was honestly the most surprising to me...she's prickly and hard, but she ended up tugging my heart so strongly. Claire's story is one, I think, that many, many women will relate to. And Madeline was so relatable and so believable.

I feel like whatever I write in this review isn't going to do justice to how profoundly affected I was by this book. But suffice it to say, I will definitely be reading it again!

A novel about books, lattes, and friendship? Sign me up! The Printed Letter Bookshop by Katherine Reay is such a beautiful story about family, friendship, love, and self-discovery. It follows the lives of three very different women, Madeline, Janet, and Claire, brought together by their love of books and this fabulous little bookshop in small town Illinois. With alternating points of view throughout the story, I felt uniquely connected to each woman and her journey of finding her truth.

Aaaaand, it’s official. I want to quit my job and go work in a bookstore. About 20 pages in, I actually put down my Kindle and headed straight to our local independent book store just to touch new books. There’s certainly some appeal to lying in bed in your jammies and buying books online, but there’s magic in roaming a bookshop and feeling pages in your hands.

As one might expect about a book about books, I found myself highlighting so many book titles referenced throughout the story to revisit and check out later - cookbooks, fiction, classics, young reader chapter books to share with my daughter. Pro-tip: they’re all listed at the back of the book.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves books, bookshops, and books about books.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher Thomas Nelson for this ebook ARC.

A great book for people who love books! Usually I don't read books in this genre but I venture outside my comfort zone once in a while when I see a book blurb that interests me, like this one. Really liked the story setting, Katherine Reay is a great writer. The story gripped me even though the characters weren't very interesting to me. Janet especially didn't interest me, I thought she was kind of rude and unlikeable. But it worked for the story and she too got her happy ending, sort of. I didn't really understand all the money problems that were pitched in the beginning of the book, those were hard to follow. Second half was easier to get into. So, in short, enjoyable book for the genre, just okay for me.

Oh. My. Gosh. What a great book! I am so happy the book list is at the back, it could only have been better if each character's list was there but., I'm so grateful we have it at all. It was a great story full of very real, likable characters set in a small, local, book shop very similar to my own. Delightful story that I look forward to hand selling! Thank you.

Despite the opening of the book being a funeral, the deceased is actually the driving force of the novel, alongside her beloved bookshop. A delightful novel focused around 3 women who in different ways all are unhappy in their lives. Any lover of books and independent bookshops will love this story of redemption, of loss and finding your way. There are faith aspects weaved beautifully into the book (not a main theme), which came as a pleasant surprise to me. This is the kind of book I was really wanting to read over the Christmas holidays, cozy and heartwarming.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC digital copy

This is the best feel-good book that I have read in a really long time! It is the story of Madeleine, Janet and Claire, the three women who work tirelessly to keep The Printed Letter Bookshop open. Told with empathy for each character, from the viewpoint of each woman, the story is one that will remain long in the hearts and minds of real devotees of reading books. Maddie, Madeleine’s aunt has died, and at the same time Madeleine needs a place to go, a purpose for her life. Enter the bookshop and the women who knew her aunt the best and who are more than a little leery of Madeleine’s motives. I enjoyed the development of all the characters, but none more so than Claire who was facing an empty next, an absentee husband and a teen who was determined to rebel at all costs. Having lived through that life myself, I was drawn to her story. The struggles in life and in keeping the business going are portrayed so realistically that I was immediately drawn into the story and mesmerized by each woman and her story of love, loss and life’s challenges. Readers of contemporary fiction will fall in love with this novel and it should find a place of honor in the circles of book lovers everywhere.

Is there anything better than a book about books? This story takes place in a charming small town where the main characters are trying to keep a bookstore afloat while grappling with the relationships in their lives and trying to find an honest view of themselves in the process.

*ARC provided by NetGalley

As a librarian I'm drawn to books about books, libraries, bookshops so of course I asked for an ARC of The Printed Letter Bookshop. I was delighted! The Bookshop is owned by Maddie and operated with the help of Janet and Claire in a small village outside Chicago. Maddie dies from cancer after keeping her illness hidden from the rest of her estranged family. She leaves the Bookshop, her house and everything else to her niece Madeline, who used to come stay with her during summer but hasn't been back since a big blow-up between her father (Maddie's brother). Madeline was shocked to learn of Maddie's death and her subsequent inheritance. At first, Madeline wants nothing to do with anything that will interfere with her plans to climb the corporate ladder within her Chicago law firm. As often happens in life, things don't turn out as she planned and Madeline finds herself trying to get the shop and Maddie's house in shape to sell to relieve the large debt that was also part of her inheritance. A she familiarizes herself with the shop and the people, Madeline gets to know Claire and Janet as well as more about her aunt, She learns more about herself, too, as she discovers the reason for her family's estrangement from Maddie and takes another look at her life.

The story is told from alternating points of view and goes into the lives of the three main characters: Madeline's, Janet's ( a lonely, divorced, gifted artist in her 40's), and Claire's ( happily married, mother of teenagers who are growing away from her). The three very different women find family in the quirky customers who visit the store and the people who Maddie loved and helped. Maddie left them each a letter including a list of books she recommended for each of them. As they work through their lists, they find common ground, and a new understanding of the woman who loved them.

I really enjoyed this book and the opportunity to read an advanced copy! It was a little slower paced then some, but the characters are well-developed. I found myself wanting to be a part of the Bookshop family and friends with the ladies in spite of their self-realiized flaws (also well-developed). Many will be drawn by the title, but the writing and story will keep them !