Confessions of a Curious Bookseller by Elizabeth Green
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Genre: General Fiction (Adult) | Women's Fiction
Release Date: January 1, 2021

Confessions of a Curious Bookseller is a standalone novel by Elizabeth Green.

As an avid reader, I've dreamed of owning my own book store or being a librarian, so I was so excited about this book.

Sadly, I really struggled reading this book. The whole book is a mix of journals entries and emails from a struggling bookseller. To make it more confusing, her employees add in blog and social media posts.

There premise of the story could have been great. I think I would have preferred it from the competition's POV. At least then it might have been funny.

I'm so grateful to Elizabeth Green, Lake Union Publishing, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

I typically love books told through letters and emails. It's such a fun way to tell a story. But this one just didn't work for me.

First, I found the MC completely unlikable. And it wasn't just unlikable, she seemed to truly be an awful person. She complained about everything. She tried to hire professionals to repair her crumbling house and business and yet didn't want to pay them. She kept offering books or homecooked meals in exchange for the work. She would then become completely unreasonable and send nasty emails with snide remarks once they would explain that, unfortunately they were running a company too and would need to be paid.

She constantly lied to her customers. She would fully advertise and sell tickets to events with famous people that she just thought up in her own head. Then she would be surprised when whoever it was she wanted to arrive didn't respond or show up. She belittled her staff of teenagers for...just being teenagers. She bought them pizza and then honestly asked them to chip in money to pay for it. She tried to sabotage another book store by writing scathing reviews under false names on a local review site. Not even to mention the things she said and did to her family!

I kept reading thinking she would redeem herself. Then I kept reading thinking I'd get a butterscotch update. Then I was just reading to be done. I wish I had liked it this one.

With thanks to Netgalley and Lake union Publishing for allowing me to review this book

I wanted to enjoy Confessions of a Curious Bookseller but sadly I just couldn't get into this book. a DNF for me sadly.

Right off the bat I was interested in this book from the cover, title, and summary. Unfortunately I didn't realize it was epistolary fiction. I really tried to give it a chance because I like to read outside my comfort zone, but I could not finish this book. I did not like the main character at all. I will try again in a few weeks to finish this book but I just can't get into it.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-ARC.

I would actually give this book 2.5 stars, but I rounded up. I really thought I would like the story, since I gravitate toward anything set in a bookstore. I really wanted to like it, but in the end my reaction was just, "Meh." There were moments where I felt some sympathy for the main character, but she made such unlikeable, ridiculous decisions that I kept losing that sympathy. A number of times I just flat-out didn't believe that a person would do the things she did or perceive them the way she did. I did finish the book, but overall it just didn't do it for me.

This was a funny, weird, and at times baffling read. It wasn’t really anything groundbreaking, but I found Fawn delightfully ridiculous and enjoyed my time getting to know her.

I found this one quite hard to get into, although the characters are likeable they seem to jump around quite a bit at the beginning which made this quite a slow read for me.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for trusting me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Unfortunately, this book is not for me. While I did not mind the mix of epistolary, blog and diary style too much, I could not stand the main character. Fawn is way too annoying and there was not a thing I could relate with. She is bitter and simply nasty for the entire book, and it made the reading unbearable.
The final parts, were we see a sort of twist in the events, is quite sudden and underdeveloped, so that it failed to convince me and made it even more difficult to finish.

The author used a very different style in writing the is one and for me it worked. I enjoyed the difference in this book and it kept me fully engaged. The book struck home for me in the sense of the little guy fighting to know be lost in big corporate times. I liked Fawn and her struggle.

I would like to thank Lake Union and Netgalley for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was intrigued by this book by its cover and name, hence the reason for my wanting to read it. In the first few pages I realised that it was written in emails/messages and usually this is a format which I love. Unfortunately the main character Fawn is highly strung and quite honestly insufferable. If the story was from the perspective of one of her staff it may have been more enjoyable.

Sadly I have had to DNF this book at about 15%. The format was off to a great start but the strength of the main character's arrogance really let this book down.

This is fairly familiar territory - particularly for fans of The Shop Around the Corner - but it was still charming. Perhaps a little too charming. It did however have some very nice, sweet moments and will find a home with anyone looking for some escapism.

Perhaps I'm not the right audience for this book. I don't want to tare it apart, but I will say I was just very confused. This novel has multiple different forms of story telling, social media tweets, emails, posting blogs. Also the protagonist is very hard to like.

I chose this book due to the picture on the cover because it looked fun. I am grateful to have access to the story, but i was not an overall fan of this book. I walked away from it several times, which i felt guilty doing because I enjoy reading. I did like the emails format of the book, but I wasn't a fan of Fawn's character. She seemed obnoxious and was rude to several people she had communications with. She lied to her family often throughout her emails which only solidified my feelings toward her. The writing of the book was great, it was just hard not liking the main character.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publishers for allowing me access to this story for an honest review.

I would like to thank the author, publisher and NetGalley for trusting me with an advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Without question, Fawn Birchill knows that her used bookstore is the heart of West Philadelphia, a cornerstone of culture for a community that, for the past twenty years, has found the quirkiness absolutely charming. When an amicable young indie bookseller invades her block, Fawn is convinced that his cushy couches, impressive selection, coffee bar, and knowledgeable staff are a neighborhood blight. Misguided yet blindly resilient, Fawn readies for battle.

But as she wages her war, Fawn is forced to reflect on a few unavoidable truths: the tribulations of online dating, a strained relationship with her family, and a devoted if not always law-abiding intern—not to mention what to do about a pen pal with whom she hasn’t been entirely honest and the litany of repairs her aging store requires.

Through emails, journal entries, combative online reviews, texts, and tweets, Fawn plans her next move. Now it’s time for her to dig deep and use every trick at her disposal if she’s to reclaim her beloved business—and her life.

Okay, so as an avid reader any book that has "book" in the title I have to read. This book was utterly rubbish in my opinion. There was no substance to any of the characters. There was no fixed storyline. The characters were not well developed at all. I read the whole book to see if it changed any, but unfortunately, it ended the way the whole book went - with no remarkable ending. I would advise anyone to steer clear of this book. Apologies but it was really bad.

Ok I was torn over this book. I enjoyed it and it was a fast read but I really didn’t like Fawn’s character. She was obnoxious, loved the sound of her own voice and was very rude. This may be on purpose and if that’s the case, it’s a very good book haha! In terms of feeling for characters, my heart definitely went out to her employees. They put up with so much. I’d say that it’s clear Fawn is an unreliable narrator. As we see in her emails to her family, she is a pathological liar. I did enjoy the format with emails and texts interspersed through the diary feel text. The last few pages redeem her slightly but not enough to make me like her as a character.

I really wanted to like it, and I liked the premise but I just didn't enjoy it.

Fawn, the protagonist, is highly unlikeable and even though I suppose that's the point, there is not enough room at the end of the novel for her to redeem herself.

I found myself skipping through lots of the long letters she wrote to Geoffery too.

The writing is good, but the characterisation made it hard for me to read.

I may have not been the target audience though and an older reader may enjoy this.

I love reading books so I thought I would enjoy reading about Fawn trying to save her bookstore. However, I couldn’t connect with the character, and found the plot fell short and did not intruige me as much as I hoped it would. Potential was there but execution fell short unfortunately.

Only got a few pages into this book until I decided to DNF. Had so much hope for this one, it sounded cute! Instead, it was written in the format of emails from a bookstore owner to employees/customers. I could not get into it and could not even make it in a few pages.

I was really disappointed by this book--so much so, that I couldn't finish it. I read about 40% before finally giving up. It consists primarily of emails between the bookstore owner (who clearly qualifies as a spinster) and other people. The short descriptor of the book calls it "heartening and uproariously funny" but I found it tedious and depressing. The protagonist feels sorry for herself a lot, and seems to get on the bad side of everyone. I could not like her, and had no hope for her by the midpoint of the book. I also didn't seem to find much humor in it either. If anything, I felt sorry for her. Cats are promised in the description, but are clearly just ornaments to the story line and really aren't involved in any way.

This book has so many problems, and so few things it did right. First off, I did not like this book. It reminded me way too much of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine which I also did not like. Check out my review of that to see the issues I pointed out there. The main character Fawn is similar to Eleanor in every bad way possible. As I pointed out in my other review, the character of Fawn is seemingly written to either be autistic or mentally ill, but at the same time this is never acknowledged. Her behavior is rude, out of line, dangerous, neglectful, and often unhinged. And yet this never comes up! Fawn mistreats others constantly, and yet she never faces any consequences for her rude behavior. Even her lack of relationships with others comes across as being more that she doesn’t value the potential for these relationships, rather than that others are punishing her for her poor behavior. In the beginning of the novel, she berates a poor man that she went on a date with because he spilled soup on himself. Meanwhile, she lives in a building that is literally rotting around her, which she doesn’t (or can’t?) do anything about.

Next up, let’s tackle my issues with the lesson the reader takes away from this book. In the last 5% of the book or so, Fawn has a revelation that suddenly her abusive childhood wasn’t that bad. She should really just forgive her neglectful and cruel father actually because he really wanted the best for her and just move on with her life. This is such a toxic, horrible mindset for anyone to keep perpetuating. Additionally, it’s boring. This is no revelation. Everyone who acknowledges their abusive childhood (as Fawn does) has been told a million times that they should move past it, it wasn’t that bad, your parents were really doing it because they love you, etc. At best, this message is boring, at worst it is directly harmful to those who have experienced abuse (particularly at the hands of their parents).

Now let’s talk about the fact that death seems to be used in lieu of plot. First poor Butterscotch the cat dies. Then Fawn’s father dies. Lastly, Fawn’s elderly tenant Jane dies. This was a lot of death in a book where none of these deaths were really central themes. Also, we’ve already established that the lesson we learn from the book is toxic, so the deaths don’t even work in the book to further a point really. Next, lets talk about these relationships, because Fawn is bad in all of them.

Fawn is responsible for the death of Butterscotch the cat. She doesn’t really seem to blame herself much, even though he dies because she let him get into Jane’s apartment where he ate rat poison. If this were portrayed any other way, I would not blame her. But Fawn actively brings him into Jane’s apartment and encourages his visits. She sees and comments on the open rat poison, so it’s not as if she wasn’t aware. And she knows that Jane is suffering from some sort of dementia due to her old age and therefore can’t really be held responsible for watching her cat or maintain a safe environment. I find it hard to believe that someone who purports to love cats as much as this would be so irresponsible.

I can’t really blame Fawn for the poor relationship with her father, as the book portrays him as abusive.Though the author doesn’t state this, it is clear that he is neglectful and harmful to Fawn and her family. He is controlling, bad with money, stubborn, and negligent. However, I do blame Fawn for letting this negatively impact her relationships with other people. Her past abuse does not give her the right to harm others in the present day. It is her responsibility to fix herself and grow as a person. It’s not on others to have to tolerate her maltreatment of them. While I don’t know if Fawn’s situation makes therapy untenable, she doesn’t even try to become a better person and rise above her abuse.

Finally, Fawn abuses Jane. Jane is elderly and confuses Fawn for her daughter who lives far away. Fawn uses this to manipulate Jane. It is revealed at the end of the book that Fawn was actually stealing Jane’s possessions to sell for petty cash because her personal finances are allegedly that bad. This is elder abuse and is criminal. Fawn’s relationship with Jane is one of the few she maintains, and thinks it’s appropriate to steal from, lie to, and abuse an elderly woman who is clearly disabled.

The last thing I’d like to point out in this review is the structure of the book. This is an experimental epistolary novel. It’s told through written works online. This includes: email correspondence, store reviews, social media posts, etc. There are no chapters or section breaks in this book, which is an odd choice to me. I read it on my kindle, so at least seeing the progress there helped me. I disliked how much the book jumped from one format to the next. I also found it difficult to keep up with which character was writing these entries and which character was receiving them at times.

Ultimately, I’m not sure who the audience for this book is. Perhaps I’m wrong, but I’d assume most of the people into humble, quirky bookstore owner tropes would be into romance novels. This was most definitely not a romance novel. Someone who places emphasis on relationships between characters will be disappointed because Fawn is wholly unlikable and ruins all of her relationships. Someone interested in the main character’s personal development will be disappointed because that doesn’t come until the last 5% of the book, feels very rushed, and is very unsatisfying. I really wanted to like this book, but I just felt that it fell very flat.