Marie-Jeanne is an infant orphan who is taken in by Francis and Elsa. Francis is good natured and kindly, Elsa...is not. As Marie-Jeanne grows up she starts to see a "glow" on people, on first on her best friend Loulou's older sisters, then on Elsa, and then when Loulou and Luca interact with each other. She becomes more and more curious to know what this glow means and documents when she sees it, on who, and so forth to understand the pattern.

When Francis starts a mobile library, Marie-Jeanne helps him with deliveries and in the process tries to learn more about the glow wherever she notices it. She eventually comes to the understanding the when people have been touched by love, they glow. She uses this information to bring the lovers together, attempting to match make.

I enjoyed this novel. The pacing was good to me, though it did pick up more when mobile library story line started. The writing flow was good, and the characters had depth and showed growth as the story progressed. I enjoyed reading how Francis worked hard to convince locals of the need for a mobile library. It was very fitting how receptive women were to this idea while men were resistant.

I'd like to Netgalley and Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read this amazing ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book sounded fascinating and I know the author is very well known for doing an amazing job. However, I couldn't get into this story. There was way too much conversations to the side by Love and Fate. It interrupted the flow of the story for me and once the story got rolling it improved but it just didn't live up to the description for me. I did appreciate the author's lyrical style and the carefully selected words at the beginning to paint a picture in your mind. Unfortunately after that it just lost it for me.

I was very hopeful for this book when I read the description. However, I could just not get into it. The point of view and the sideline narratives were distracting to me and made it hard for me to connect with the characters. I’m sure many will love this book because of the author, but unfortunately I did not.

I’m appreciative of the opportunity to review this book, but unfortunately I could not get into it. I thought it would be great by the description, but there were too many names, too many voices and conversations between life and death, and not enough story to keep my attention.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the ARC for this book. I loved "The Little Paris Bookshop" and looked forward to reading this. I enjoy it when there are connections among multiple works by an author. This book had a slow start, but it was more enjoyable once the mobile library began traveling throughout the countryside and the literary references started to emerge.

A story about a girl who can see love and a bookabus that brings books to people who need them. Theoretically, these are things I'd normally find interesting. But somehow I couldn't get into this story. I don't know if it was occasional narrators like Love or Fate (among others).

Unfortunately I had a very hard time getting into this book -- it felt like the author was really enjoying writing it but it didn't transport this reader into anything near the advertised description.

My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, this book and I did not connect. As difficult it is for me to admit, I did not finish the story, something I very rarely do.

Thank you for choosing me to be a recipient of this ARC. I thought I would love this book about relationships, love, family, and longing but it dragged on. To confuse the matter it was told in numerous voices. Sorry, but I can't recommend this book.

After reading the description, I was really excited to start this book and see where the story was going to lead me. Unfortunately, I just couldn’t get into it. I was hoping that if I got past the beginning it would be one of those books that grabbed my attention & I couldn’t put down but such was not the case. I’m more than willing to give the author another try but this one just didn’t do it for me.

I have a love hate relationship with this book at this point. While the story is "nice," the book itself is scattered and disjointed - especially the beginning! I wasn't sure I was going to make it to the end of the book after after the rough start, but I'm glad I did. The book itself is worth a read, even with its issues.

The concepts and ideas of the book were incredible, but the book, let itself down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read Nina George’s latest novel, the Little Village of Book Lovers. Nina George writes beautiful stories, this one may be her most beautiful yet. Possibly not for everyone; but those who appreciate magic, magical realism, the beauty of words, and the art of storytelling will find it hard to leave this lovely book.

Reminiscent of the writing of Alice Hoffman and Joanne Harris, this poetic little book is a treatise on love, death, literature and olive trees. It is more like poetry than prose, being about a little orphaned girl, Marie-Jeanne, who can see love as a golden glow on parts of people. And Love is actually the narrator of whatever this piece of writing is.

When Francis (how come not Francois?) decides to buy books and deliver them to small villages in the French countryside, he brings new life to many people. Each book mentioned by title has its own descriptive phrase.
Everyone from young children to old people learn about life from these books. And little Marie-Jeanne collects what has been left inside the books in a little box.

So here we are at a crossroads: Is this a novel? Not to my way of thinking. It is beautiful and thoughtful but is is slow going and requires an effort of will continue reading it. Perhaps I require a bit more storytelling, a bit more action, a bit less of airy-fairy characters. I waited to be gripped, but unfortunately never was.

Thank you to Net-Galley and Ballantine for an early copy of this book. I regret that I could not rate it higher.

had me with the title of Book Lovers. hooked and hooked some more. Loved all of this and couldn't put it down. I was like oh my. I need to know more. Read it.

I was really excited to get this book. However, it was too hard to connect with. Told from the perspective of Love, Fate, Death, etc. at the beginning, I thought I could get into it. It just didn’t happen. The setting was beautiful, however, I just did not connect to the words.

This was such a special little book, full of magical realism and deep thoughts about love, fate, and curiosity. The book is a short read at just around 200 pages, but it is definitely meant to be read slowly and savored while you think about how love touches each person in the world.

In the story, Love is the narrator, telling about how it touches all people but in different amounts. Love cannot show you the person to love, it can only pour a certain amount of itself in to each person and hope they find their match. One special little girl is able to see Love as a sparkle on each person-sometimes on their heart, sometimes their fingertips or their shoulder. At the same time the story is about a love for books and how books can expose you to so many thoughts, places, and people.

The book is extremely unique. I did struggle a bit to get into the story, as the narrative was just so utterly different from anything else I have read. I did enjoy the messages in the book regarding books and love, and there were many sentences I highlighted for the way they made me think or feel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House- Ballantine for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am such a huge Nina George fan, I've loved every single one of her books and The Little Paris Bookshop is on my top 100 list of the last few years. This book has new magic all it's own and I was entranced. The idea of being able to see the marks love has left was inspired and George pulls it off with charms and sentiment and a sure hand. A wonderful addition to the Nina George shelf -- I can't wait to recommend it to everyone.

Another sweet easy read by Ms George. Again I loved the setting, the characters and the writing. The book was a great one sitting beach read.

What a wonderful, love story! The choice of making love itself as the narrator was interesting. I loved watching the characters grow throughout the story.

Nina George’s latest novel, the Little Village of Book Lovers, brings the reader into the book mentioned (and beloved) in the Little Paris Bookshop. To be honest, it has been years since I read Little Paris Bookshop, and I can’t remember much beyond the general premise and that I really enjoyed it. Even without remembering the backstory, I loved the Little Village of Book Lovers.

Most of the book is narrated by Love and follows the character Marie-Jeanne, who has the unusual ability to see Love’s touch on people. The writing is beautiful. The pages are meant to be savored and the story unfolds slowly, which may not be for everyone but worked well for me. Read with a cozy blanket on a rainy afternoon.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.