💫 Book Review 💫
The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan

Jan 12,2021


A manuscript without an owner
A woman using it as an excuse to find herself as she heads out to find the author.
An unsolved mystery of said manuscript.

I wanted to love this one so much. It had all the mechanics for me to love it but it was confusing at times. I’m wondering if this was one that would have been better in physical form instead of audiobook as I couldn’t listen to the whole thing at once. That said the narrators were good. I really appreciated the multiple voices for each POV.

I think I just had higher hopes for it and while it was nice to thrown on while I was exercising or running around, I found my mind wandered to other things.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

This story is ENCHANTING. At first the accents were hard for my ear, but once I got used to the different accents I just fell into the story. I got pulled into these lives and with every revelation of the mystery I fell deeper under the spell. There is some romance - lost loves and new loves but mostly the books is a love letter to books and writing. More importantly it brilliantly paints a picture of how books can influence our lives, loves, and bring unexpected people into our world. The language and structure of the writing almost feels poetic and lyrical in nature. That probably at least in small part is because of the wonderful narration of this cast. I thought I wanted to read this book in a traditional manner - and at some point I probably will, but listening to it in this form made the story sparkle.

The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan is the perfect novel for someone looking for a feel-good read. Told through letters exchanged by different characters, it adds an interesting layer to the unfolding of the story. The book revolves around a misplaced unfinished manuscript’s travels and the lives of the people that have encountered it. The manuscript is the main character of this story and it is complex and meaningful. The audiobook was narrated by a cast and was lovely to listen to.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, the publisher, and narrators for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

What a great audiobook! Just the story I needed for my commute. I loved that it was set in letter format it was such a fun change from audiobooks I have listened to before.

Thank you for my copy in exchange of a fair review.

Title: The Lost Manuscript

Author: Cathy Bonidan

Genre: Adult Fiction/ Contemporary

Content Warnings: Cheating, drinking, robbery, character death, car crash

Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unspoilery Blurb
When Anne-Lise finds an abandoned manuscript in a drawer in her hotel room, she is launched into an adventure to find the creator. The plot thickens when she contacts the author and learns that the manuscript had been missing for over thirty years and that the story’s ending had a second, mystery author.

This book is formatted as a compilation of letters written to and from the people who interacted with this manuscript over the years. It tells a fascinating story about the power a good book has to change lives and bring strangers together. Full of mystery, fun, friendship, and emotion, The Lost Manuscript is a story for people who long to feel a connection with the written word.

Unspoilery Review
This was a fun, easy read full of friendship and mystery. It took me a while to get into the writing style of the book since the entire plot is composed of letters and emails between the characters. But as I began to follow the story and learn about the people who were impacted by the manuscript, I was swept away. I appreciated that I could tell a difference between the different writing styles of the characters, and the voice actors did a wonderful job narrating the audiobook as well!

The idea of tracking the progression of a manuscript that had been lost for many decades is a fascinating one, and I think the author did a wonderful job with the story. It was fun to embark on the journey through the past trying to discover the second author, and the end was so satisfying!

I appreciated that the book told a story of a manuscript, but it focused on the impact that the manuscript had on the lives of the characters. This connection to people and relationships made the book more personal and addictive. All these characters connected with each other and grew so much during this fun book, and I am so glad that I had the pleasure of reading it.

This was such a fun, easy book to read, and I blew through it! I hope you pick it up and enjoy!

I am trying to listen to more audio books even though it is my least favorite way to read to be able to get more books in while I do other things like exercise or clean or lay in bed with my eyes closed. Typically, I don't like novels on audio because I am a fast reader and I don't like slowing down to listen. The Lost Manuscript was an exception. I love hearing French accents so that probably helped. I also liked the epistolary style of the book, I think that, for me, having so many different voices via these letters really helped the audio seem more interesting. The actual book was also great. I loved the different actions of all the different characters and how each letter built up to create a great story.

i
Thank you to NetGalley for the audio version of "The Lost Manuscript" by Cathy Bonidan.
I rarely say this, however,I truly could not step away from this book once I started to listen to the story. I also had pre-ordered the book before I had been awarded the audiobook so I am going to do something else I rarely do, I am going to read the book when it arrives even though I have already listened to it in its entirety. Is their higher praise when there are so many great reads out there just waiting to captivate me.?
First , on the audio edition. I believe that the various narrators added to the enjoyment of the novel , esp . with it being an epistolary layout. The voices seem to match perfectly with the personalities gleaned from their letters. It also made listening so much easier knowing instantly to whom one was listening. For those who enjoy audio books , I think that this is an excellent selection.For those new to audiobooks, what a great place to start. Everything about the audio version was perfect.
On to the book itself. I must state that epistolary novels are one of my favorite styles of writing even though I find it difficult to discover new ones. .But when I do , I either love them or meh? This one was outstanding. Why has letter writing gone out of style when so much can be said in so few words. Each letter is a short story with a mood, tale, setting and questions to lead you to the next response. This book flowed so easily and carried you on with the investigations.
What would you do if you found a manuscript?How curious would you be? Enough to investigate its history.? What if you found that it had traveled from Montreal to Paris to Brittany and beyond over a 30 year period and that it had affected multiple people along the way? Right, you would have to know who , what, where, why? Anna-Lise was just the protagonist needed to tie these stories together. It is very clever and unique yet charming tale that exemplifies the love of books and how that love of books can unite us. It is love letter to books, letter writing, friendship and taking chances.It is nearly impossible to not be pulled in to their search and the mystery of the 'other' writer. I enjoyed getting to know Anna-Lise, Sylvester, Maggie, William, and David and others along this literary journey and hope that other readers will be as entranced as was I.

"I felt that slight shiver we feel when the lines we’re reading seem to have been written just for us."

The Lost Manuscript is a short, sweet, and charming tale of a 30-year-old abandoned, unpublished novel manuscript that makes its way across the world, passing through different sets of hands and touching several hearts along the way.

An epistolary tale (told entirely in letters), The Lost Manuscript offers varying perspectives from multiple characters, and the full audiobook cast offers a unique voice for each, which was a nice touch.

I struggled a bit with the heavy French accents on the audiobook - not necessarily a bad thing, as it did add a layer of authenticity and charm to the story; it just took some getting used to. I ultimately decided to slow down the listening speed, and that made it easier for me to understand what I was hearing.

I also felt that there was a lot more “tell” than “show,” which seems to be a common thread in epistolary novels. If you’re expecting it, I suppose it works.

Ultimately, though, I thought that The Lost Manuscript was a sweet ode to the transformative power of stories, and how the right words, spoken to a reader from the page, can motivate us to action, encourage life change, spark new relationships, and ultimately transform a life.

A 3.5-star read/listen!

——

Professional Reader

A huge thank-you to Cathy Bonidan, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

——

Follow @letteredlibrary on Instagram!

The Lost Manuscript by Cathy Bonidan
Pub Date: January 12, 2021

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins Press for this heartwarming ARC

I listened to the audiobook and I absolutely fell in love with this epistolary novel. the french accents of the narrators, they were flawless. It was such a delightful listen. In fact, they were my favorite part! They were engaging and did a great job telling such a charming & magical story. I found I had to slow myself down a lot because sometimes I got confused with the poetic letters and which character they were talking about but that did not take away from my rating. I enjoyed the mysterious journey of Anne Lise and it will stick with me for awhile!
5 star read for me!

I did not connect with this book. Off to a good start when Anne-Lise finds this old manuscript in her hotel room and deciding to go on a quest to find whose work it belongs to and who finished the story, I got lost in the many letters. It was a cute story but rather pointless to me. The story did not fascinate me. It did not draw me in. I am still giving it a 3-star for the emotions and the French-speaking narrators who made the story more believable.

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for this audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a 2.5 for me.

Something I usually enjoy about epistolary novels is that I’m able to get a lot of backstory pretty quickly and kind of between the lines. It usually helps move the stories along well and makes characters feel richer and fuller for me. Unfortunately, I found that that I was missing that in this book. Each letter was rather short and seemed to lack that between the lines backstory. If it was explicitly in the writing, it wasn’t there at all. So, when it came time for the next person’s letter, I found myself having to go back because I felt I had missed something. I understood the general relationships between the people, but it ended there. I didn’t really connect to their feelings for or memories with each other if they were shared. I was left wanting more at the end of each letter.

That said, I thought the ending was beautiful. There is also something so lovely about the idea that something that some creates can have an effect on so many people. So, even though my subjective opinion was that this was not my favorite book, it could also be a great book for someone else & that’s the best thing about art 🙂

The narrators of the audiobook were excellent. I’m not always a huge fan of multiple narrators, but it worked very well for this book. Each narrator captured the characters voice very well, and made the letters feel conversational. Because getting to see what other people are talking about is always exciting, it made the narration really come to life.

I would like to thank NetGalley, DreamScape Media, and Cathy Bonidan for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very sweet and cute novel that touched on some deeper messages I was not expecting. I found the characters to be easy to remember and follow, especially since there were so many. The interweaving webs of people, places, and times was not confusing; it was clear and easy to follow. I loved the style this was written in. The letter writing format of this novel added to the sweetness of the novel and the depth of the characters. I enjoyed how topics such as love, loss, and frienship were all covered in this book. The revelations and comments were not necissalry nuansed in any way, but it was nice to have in this light contemprary. This would be a great book to pick up in between big, heavy novels or while sitting on a beach, just enjoying life. This is a book about following threads and following one story that brought so many random people together. I enjoyed my time listening to this novel, and I recommend it to people who love books about books and who are looking for something light hearted in such troubling times.

Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced audiobook copy.

I really wanted to love this book, but it ended up just being okay for me.

It's comprised of letters back and forth between the characters to get to the bottom of where the manuscript came from and there are A LOT of characters. I honestly couldn't keep track of all of them. Also, since there were so many characters I couldn't really connect with any one of them.

This might be a good book for someone who enjoys reading through letters and piecing together a story, but it wasn't for me. I'm still giving it 3 stars because I can see the beauty in what the author was going for with the book.

Sweet and charming feel-good novel. Narrated by a cast. The narration fit the story and worked well for an epistolary novel with each character a distinct voice.

"I know that a story can monopolize our summers, and our autumns. I know that a novel can transport us far, penetrate and transform us forevermore. I know that characters on paper can modify our memories and remain forever at our sides."

The Lost Manuscript follows the journey of Anne-Lise, who discovers a manuscript in the drawer of a hotel room she is staying at. Through charming, obstinate determination, Anne-Lise begins tracing the manuscript's journey over thirty years to determine how it lost its original author. Over several countries and several characters, the manuscript travels through heartfelt journeys that feel whimsical in their tragedies and triumphs. The manuscript inspires characters to reconnect, take leaps of faith, and change their lives for the better.

Epistolary novels are hit or miss for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one! I loved getting to peek into the world of so many interesting characters who were facing hardships. Anne-Lise was a fun protagonist to follow, and I loved her "meddling for the better" persona. The characters of Sylvester, Maggie, and William were also darling to get to know. There was so much romance in the sense of friendship, family, and love interests that really created a beautiful atmosphere in this novel.

I'm a sucker for any book that hails fantastic reading and writing for bringing people together and inspiring them to take leaps in life to get what they truly want. The Lost Manuscript was a great adventure that I felt highlighted the power of words to bring people back to life in the face of adversity.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was delightful, fresh and charming. I loved the letter format going back and forth and the story about the lost manuscript.

I really enjoyed this and loved how strong, bossy and driven Anne-Lise was! She was hands down my favorite in this book.

My only problem was the audio file. I used the NetGalley app and every female portion of the book sounded very mechanical/robotic, like the file was incorrectly uploaded. It was hard to listen to, but the male portions sounded normal. So odd! This in no way changed my rating of the book - but I thought the feedback was necessary.

This book immediately played on my love for the written word and pulled me into a literary adventure richer then I ever expected. The experience was made even more enjoyable with the book being written as a collection of letters moving between strangers who become bonded in friendship as they seek to uncover the mysteries of The Lost Manuscript.

Anna-Lise and the myriad of other characters you come to know will quickly find their way into your heart as you watch the profound impact these letters have on their lives.

A book I will come back to time and again and recommend to many friends over the years I am sure.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Five stars for this breath of fresh air with a G rating for all readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for sharing this beautiful ARC with me in exchange for my honest review

I loved the premise of this book but I got lost along the way, the story development did not engage me as much as I would have liked.

I received an advanced copy of this audiobook from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. The narrator's did a fantastic job reading this book. I enjoyed how this book is written in letters to each other. It is a delightful listening experience. I can't wait to listen to more books by the narrators of this book. I enjoyed the writing style by this author and can't wait to read more books in the near future by her. I highly recommend this audiobook to anyone and everyone it will be in stores on January 12 for $24.99.

Quick and sweet listen. I liked the accents, although it made it harder for me to multitask like I do when listening because they were so strong. Otherwise was a really cute story.