What a great premise. Heroine Anne-Lise discovers a manuscript in the drawer in a hotel room. She reads, enjoys and contacts who she assumes is the author. The mystery evolves as the author writes back, saying they lost, but didn't actually finish that story. It is interesting as she tries to unearth the author of the second half, and the secrets that are uncovered along the way.

This is a charming, sweet ode to a love of reading and books, and to the incredibly important role books can play in our lives.

This quick-read novel is told entirely in epistolary format, comprised of letters between characters seeking to solve the mystery of a manuscript left behind in a hotel room.

There is, of course, more to it than just finding the original author, and the story details how the manuscript passed from one person to the next, how it impacted the lives of those who encountered it before the novel takes place and how it’s discovery and attempts to trace it impact the lives of those who encounter it thence.

It’s a good concept and the story is certainly a sweet, feel good one. It’s a bit thin on the kind of detail that allows you to truly find meaning in a book, which is a little bit funny considering the entire point of the story is about finding meaning in a book.

The chief issue is that we don’t really know the contents of the manuscript at the end of the story. Sure, we have a vague idea of what it might contain, but it’s tough to understand what all these readers found so special about it when we don’t truly know it’s contents in detail.

I also found the romantic aspect of this to be pretty schlocky. To be fair, I am no fan of the Romance genre in any capacity, but the love stories included here were unexceptional and (especially in the case of William and Maggie) fairly irritating.

I suppose the story just had too many simplistic elements for me to enjoy it to the fullest, but the concept was a good one and it’s amusing to follow the path of the manuscript.

An epistolary novel about a lost manuscript found by Anne-Lise in a hotel. She tracks down the mysterious author and everyone else that the manuscript touched. Set in France in 2016. This story is a series of letters between these strangers who become friends and unearth what is underneath.

I enjoyed this cover, the concept and the setting but it did not hold my interest when I was reading it.

Thank you to the publishers & netgalley for this arc.

I absolutely love epistolary novels so I’m always very excited to discover them! While The Lost Manuscript didn’t turn out to be a favorite, I still enjoyed my time with it and found it to be well-written and developed. Books about books and the magic they hold are always a delight to get lost in as a book lover, and that made this one extra fun to dive into!

Imagine finding an abandoned manuscript in the nightstand of your hotel! That’s exactly the unexpected that happened to our main character Anne-Lise Briard, and what ensues is her journey to discover the mystery surrounding it. Love stories and secrets are discovered and new friends and romances are made and lives are changed for the better over the course of this winding story told through letters.

I absolutely adored getting lost in France here and the rich atmosphere the author paints. The characters were also so wonderful to come alongside and made the experience of reading this one all the more lovely. While at times I found the pacing to be a bit too slow, I truly enjoyed how everything came together at the end, complete with an unexpected twist. This story really is a journey for the reader just as much as it is for the characters in the book. Definitely a memorable story that I’ll be recommending to lovers of contemporary romance!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted e-copy.

While I usually find epistolary novels interesting (with the noted exceptions of Pamela and Clarissa), this one didn't work for me. The mystery around the "lost" manuscript was a little dull, and the characters spent a lot of time passionately declaring their passionate natures. I just didn't find it a very interesting story, nor did I find the characters to be compelling.

The premise of the book intrigued me before I read page one. And I am generally a fan of epistolary novels. For a while, I found it engaging and entertaining, but before I got half way through, I was frankly annoyed with most of the characters. I read on, because I wanted to know who the author was, and why the manuscript had been left behind, but it didn’t improve my attitude towards the book. It may be a cultural thing, or maybe I’m well outside the target age for this, so I’ve given it 3 stars, rounded up from 2.5, because I though the author DID a good job developing the plot and made good use of the letter format, AND I thought the translation was very well done (not always the case).

My thanks to NetGallery, the publisher and the author for a complimentary copy to review.

I throughly enjoyed this epistolary novel, could not put it down. Imagine finding a manuscript in a hotel nightstand and them embarking on a journey to find where it came from and who wrote it! This wonderful story brings together an amazing group of people that find new meaning to their lives after reading the manuscript. Loved the format, loved the characters and loved the descriptions of France. I want to see it on the big screen!!

Thanks to St Martins Press and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

It was the perfect book to read for someone who is moved by words and believes that books have the power to connect us and change us.

This novel is written entirely through letters between the characters. I have never read a book like this before, and I believe it added a lot to the mystery to the manuscript and who the author(s) are. It was intriguing and I enjoyed piecing together the mystery along with the characters.

I found this novel to be lyrical, the words had such a huge effect on me. Having been told through letters added a nice layer to this story. I think if it were told any other way it would have lessened the impact the manuscript had on these characters, the bond they shared, and how they came to know each other.

I'm not a fan of this style of writing. DNF
I tried this book 2x and just couldn't hold my attention.

OK, listen up, movie producers! This novel, although termed “romance,” is much more than that. I can see this on the big screen, or at least a streaming service.
Anne-Lise Briard is vacationing on the Brittany coast. When she finds an abandoned manuscript in the drawer of the nightstand, she feels compelled to read it and simply falls in love with it.
Why was it left behind? The author’s name is nowhere to be found. Anne-Lise does find an address, so she sends a few pages along, and several days later receives a letter from the author, who lost the manuscript 30 years ago on a flight to Montreal, not because he left it at the hotel. And, he didn’t write the second half of the book.
Anne-Lise is on a mission to find the complete story of this lost manuscript, and her efforts bring out old love stories and secrets.

I really liked the premise of The Lost Manuscript - a woman finds a manuscript in her hotel room and reaches out to return it to the author. She learns from him that he lost it 30 years ago and has often wondered where it went. So she starts researching how it ended up in the hotel and where it’s been before.

I’m a fan of epistolary novels so enjoyed it was all told through letters. But very quickly it started to feel simplistic and repetitive to me. Ultimately I decided this isn’t for me and I’m going to stop here.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance reading copy.

There's something about epistolary books that I can't help but love.

'The Lost Manuscript' is an absolutely delightful novel told through letters about how the discovery of a long-lost manuscript brings together a group of otherwise complete strangers. The story is masterfully told through the letters exchanged by each person whose life was touched by the manuscript, as they discover the reach of the manuscript and who really finished the story.

I can definitely see this story being turned into a show or movie. The characters are compelling in that they felt particularly realistic to me. It's clear that they have a connection to one another due to the manuscript, and are invested in discovering who really finished the story, as they grow closer together.

That being said, the characters are really the winning aspect of this book. Although it was pretty interesting to follow along with how the manuscript passed between all the people, it was the characters who really make this book worth reading. Of course, knowing how affected they all were by the manuscript really makes me wish it were real so I could it read it for myself.

Overall, I would recommend this to anyone who's looking for an immersing epistolary read, or just a generally short but relatively fluffy book.

On the plus side: The novel is mostly set in France, and told as a series of letters. (I love France and letter writing.) The story was engaging and read quickly.
On the negative side: There were a lot of characters/names to keep track of.
Some of the backgrounds of the characters were hinted at for too long before they were revealed. Sometimes the revelations were less startling than I expected them to be.
Anne-Lise inserted herself in a lot of situations and relationships where she should have butt out.

I’ve been contemplating my feelings over this book for the last few days and i think that i’ve made up my mind about it.
in all honesty i don’t think that i love this but i don’t hate it. i think that the premise was interesting and captivating who wouldn’t want to read about a women finding a manuscript and going on a hunt to find the author? like doesn’t that just grab your attention instantly? it did me. but even after thinking about it for a few days i’ve had the same reaction as i did when i finished this and that was to just to feel “meh” it wasn’t something that i loved and became my absolute obsession but i also want people to check this out themselves because honestly i loved the way this book was formatted the letters were absolutely something that i loved and is the reason i was so engaged. i will confess to being a little disappointed because i was expecting to LOVE this. but take my review with a grain of salt and i still think everyone should read this.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher

The format of this book was very interesting, told through letters. The setting in Paris, couldn't love it more. I got to check out both the book and the audio; the audio is my preferred format for this one since it's rare to get multiple narrators doing different parts. It really makes a difference! The letter format may not be for everyone in terms of driving the story, but it's definitely interesting.

What a great book! I loved the epistolary style of the plot! the back and forth that connected all the characters was my absolute favorite aspect of this story. Not only was it engaging, but it made for a fast read as well. I can already think of a few friends/family members I will be getting this book for. Perfect if you are looking for something on the lighter side.

I have tried to stay with this book, it seemed to hold so much promise.

I just do not like the format of letters back and forth, very hard to follow.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book.

Due to illness review will be short. In a nutshell this book is worth reading. A woman's life is touched in many ways by many people through a manuscript. You can take my review as you will or you can always form you're own opinion by reading it anyway!

The Lost Manuscript is an epistolary novel, set in France, that spans seven months of time in 2016. Sylvestre Fahmer’s lost manuscript, that he began writing 30 years ago but never finished, is found by Anna-Lise Briard in a hotel nightstand. The return of the manuscript to Sylvestre sparks a friendship between the two and prompts a search for the author of the ending of the manuscript. The search extends through the many people that had ownership of the manuscript over the 30-year period it was missing.

I really wanted to like this book, but I found it difficult to follow the many characters who were introduced. The letters read as though they were all written by the same person due to the similarities in the writing and the lack of contrasting personalities. I did enjoy the story itself. It is, however, difficult to believe these people were writing snail mail letters in 2016.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced readers copy.

#netgalley
#thelostmanuscript
#stmartinspress

Beautifully written in letter form, this is the story of a manuscript that has been passed around for thirty years before being found by Anne-Lise Briard. Anne-Lise finds the manuscript in the drawer of a nightstand while on vacation. This starts a series of events that links her to not only the author of the manuscript, but all of the people whose lives it has touched. An enjoyable read from beginning to end.