Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
This review will appear immediately on Goodreads.
Many of my patrons (and I mean many) enjoyed Little Paris Bookshop. They will also enjoy this book.
For me, and to quote a song, ‘I must’ve got lost somewhere down the line’. I couldn’t really latch onto the characters or storyline. I’ve read other Nina George books and enjoyed them.
We will just say, it me, not you, on this one.
I will still recommend it to patrons who want something lighter than the historical fiction books I read. It might even be done in a book club.
I always round a little up on prepub, so it will be a 3 this time.

This book totally hit me on a different level than most do, the writing is excellent. This book was absolutely stunning. This is a must read!!
I just reviewed The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George. #TheLittleVillageofBookLovers #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

I received a temporary digital copy of The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George from NetGalley, Ballantine Books and the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Marie-Jeanne's adopted father gets an idea to start a book bus and share novels along the mountains in the south of France. Marie-Jeanne has a special ability to see love and connect others, and desperately wants to experience being in love for herself.

I loved the writing in the first half of The Little Village of Book Lovers. Chance, Fate, Wonder, Time, Pragmatism being characters was extremely interesting and Love being the narrator was excellent. The story itself fell short. It must have been realized that half the novel was written and there was no actual story, so drop the beautiful writing and exchange it for an actual story line, which was incredibly predictable because by that time everything needed to have an ending and tying it up perfectly would be the fastest way to do so. For such a short book, it took me so long to read as I keep putting it down. Too many characters and a mess the reader has to get through -- for what, a few beautiful descriptions in the beginning? I would have stopped reading, except I felt the responsibility to finish for the review.

3.5/5 stars
The Little Village of Book Lovers is a must-read for fans of Nina George’s The Little Paris Bookshop. If you are curious about the book which Jean Perdu always recommends, this is that book! Narrated by Love, the story follows a wide cast of characters and how books have the power to change their community and bring love into their lives.
The Little Paris Bookshop is one of my favorite books and I love how it balances a lively plots with little bits of wisdom/life lessons. However, this spin-off book relies too much on the later and leaves very little room for plot. It felt very slow with little to no conflict, until the very end of the book. I really liked the concept and getting to know each character but I was left wanting more!

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

In the beginning we return to Jean Perdu, from the first book “The Little Paris Bookshop” who described himself as a literary apothecary. He sold books from a barge on the Seine river, where he would match a book to his clients, to give them what they needed.
In this novel, Perdu gives us the story of a book that healed him, brought him happiness and helped him get on with his life.
The main character was Marie-Jeanne an orphan, who as she grew was able to see Love in different ways through a persons “light”. I must say for awhile I was a bit confuse with the story line, because an Olive tree could talk as well as other virtues, with the main one being love and how to achieve it.
Once I got into the story and realized who was an actual person and how they all related to the virtues presented, it became a fascinating story, with Marie-Jeanne being the conductor, who could help channel the feelings of people who needed it.
It still had the love of books and ways to get people to expand there lives by reading, mainly in the small rural areas where people thought reading was a waste of time, or their wives or children might be influenced by it.
I will probably re read it in the future, and see how I interpret it then.
I have loved this authors books and look forward to her future stories.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine

I had to DNF this book. The story was tedious and I did not like the book. I could not relate to the story.

The Little Village of Book Lovers was such a great book. It tells the story of a girl who can see a glow on people. The glow is the mark Love has left on the people around her. So she ( and Love) try and get soulmates together. What I really loved about this was the style of storytelling, especially when after a character spoke, in italics would be what they really wanted to say. It really made the book easy to relate to and kind of magical. The book did take me a bit to really get into, but once I got used to the narrator's style and figured out what was going on, it really grabbed me.

This was a cute idea and I really wanted to love it, but there was too much going on and I felt the book blurb was misleading.
I liked the idea of Love as a being, and all the others. How we are touched by one at some point in our life and effected. There could have been a more epic tale to tell, but this wasn't it. Which is why I'm giving this read a two star. It wasn't my kind of story, but that doesn't mean it isn't someone else's. I hope this review helps. Happy Reading and Blessed Be.
Lily Ashtree

Go into this book with an open mind and heart and you will be rewarded.

The narrator is untraditional, which takes some getting used to. Once you fall under the narrative's spell, this is a delightful story about the nature of love. The village is charming, and the author definitely made me want to visit this part of France.

I let the narrative wash over me and felt enveloped in love. This is a charming and heartwarming read.

The Little Village of Book Lovers was a very different kind of book for me. A book where Fate Love, Death and talking Olive Trees peaked my curiosity. Marie- Jeanne who as a baby lost her parents and who then was raised by her grandmother who then also dies and leaves the child on her own. Until a lovely couple Francis and Elsa raise her as their own. The one thing Marie- Jeanne lacks as she grows up is a true love of her life. You see Marie Jeanne not only has a love of books, but she can also bring people together in love. She can do this for the people in her village except for herself. Or can she?
While Marie Jeanne is growing up her foster dad brings together her love of books which some people think is foolish, by putting together a traveling library to the mountain areas of Nyons. As they travel the regions Marie Jeanne finds herself bringing love and togetherness to the many people in the area. Bringing "The Glow" as she calls it to everyone but herself. Why can't she find someone ? Even talking to her sacred olive trees doesn't seem to help. So Marie Jeanne throws herself into the mobile library, expanding it and bringing happiness and love to the people she has come to lover herself.. Even her foster parents get in on this love frenzy and hope they can find their way back to each other.

All and all I loved the way this book was written. Read through the eyes of Love, Fate Death and even Olive Trees made it a very interesting read. Roaming through the regions of Nyons made me feel like I was with Marie Jeanne in her mobile library. Ms. George brought the book to life with her descriptive writing. I just felt it to a long while to get to the point of the story, but I loved the characters and especially Marie Jeanne. Seeing how she grew into a young women with a purpose, and her love of books and making sure all in hervillage was exposed not only to love but to the joy of reading.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and Ms. George for a beautifully written books. Looking forward to more from Ms. George.

The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George follows the story of orphaned Marie-Jeanne, who can see the marks of love on people's faces and hands. The novel is set in a small town in the south of France and follows Marie-Jeanne's life as she grows up, helps her foster father start a mobile library, and tries to find her soulmate.

While the idea behind the novel is intriguing, this reader needed help to follow the narrative and fully engage with the characters. Although the setting is vivid, and readers who have traveled through France will recognize many of the visual elements, it often felt lost in the story.

While it was a decent read, it lacked the emotional resonance one expects from a story that centers around love and soulmates.

As a bookseller, I love any book that is based around book stores, the love of books, etc. So this title of course caught my eye. While it was not my favorite literary book, I did like this and will recommend to customers. It's really a middle of the road for me, was goo, enjoyed, but wasn't amazing.

Courtesy of Penguin Random House Publishing and Netgalley, I received the ARC of The Little Village of Book Lovers by Nina George. This lyrical, poetic, and creative novel describes the influence of literature and love on the people of a small French village. Guided by Love and a young girl, relationships are revealed by glowing lights and influenced by matchmaking powers. This story transported me with every chapter!

I am blown away by the beauty captured in this book. This read deserves each of these 5 stars and more. It is not for the adventure or drama seekers, but for book lovers who want to lose themselves in absolutely captivating writing that transports you to charming Nyons, France. I felt like I was there, drinking in the lavender fields, feeling the warm sun warming my cheeks, and smelling amazing French cuisine and wines.

This book reminded me of The Book Thief and The Island of Missing Trees in that they all have nontraditional, personified narrators. This book is narrated by Love and an Olive Tree who are both so sage, doting, and maternal for our young protagonist, Marie-Jeanne. Marie-Jeanne was orphaned as a child and when Love visited the side of her cradle, the child grasped onto Love's hand, taking on the ability to see love in the people around her in the form of magical, glowing lights. This magical gift reads almost like a legend or fairy tale and the reader is captivated by the magical realism.

Marie-Jeanne is adopted by a kind couple who almost remind me of Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gable's guardians) in their kind generosity and dynamics as a couple. The three become a team and put together a mobile library that brings the community together in such beautiful ways. The way Nina George explores the strings that connect each character and the unique ways in which books and literature open their eyes and hearts is just so perfect.

Through Marie-Jeanne's observations, interactions, and experiments in match making, we learn of all the different forms of love. Reading these different and unique experiences with love made me tear up, smile with joy, laugh out loud, and have to put the book down just to reflect. I am not one to read books a second time, but this one is tempting.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Nina George, and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Books for this advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book to be so lovely and beautiful that it brought me to tears, not from sadness but from the overwhelming presence of Love. In fact, the narrator is Love, and it tells of a village of people whose lives are changed by books and whose lonely, stubborn, or scared hearts were filled with Love. Marie-Jeanne is a girl who could have seen the world as cold and bitter, but instead saw it sparkling with something she didn’t understand at first and later understood but eluded her. Marie-Jeanne uses books to help lovers find their loves. This book is perfect for anyone who loves books and loves people and loves love. Full disclosure: I have not read The Little Paris Bookshop, but I have already added it to the top of my TBR pile.

A very well written beautiful poetic book!!! I very much enjoyed this read!!! At first it was difficult to read; it did not grab me... but further down it started to gel and I was hooked!! It was very enlightening, and for a book lover, it did not dissapoint!

I read and fell in love with Nina George's 2016 book, The Little Paris Bookshop, so I jumped at the chance to read this upcoming release when I saw it on NetGalley. This book was just as touching, meaningful, and magical as The Little Paris Bookshop. This story follows the life of Marie-Jeanne from cradle to adulthood in the small French mountainside village where she lives. While her life may have begun with much difficulty and sadness, she always finds joy and things to love in her life and she spreads that joy and love to all she meets. Her adoptive parents, Elsa and Francis, are wonderfully complex characters who you cannot help but care for immediately. The village she is from is filled with interesting characters whose lives may seem full but are still somehow lacking and Marie-Jeanne and her father are there to help enrich their lives through a novel idea her father has one day that brings change and enriches so many lives. Charming characters one and all and a story that makes you believe in love and the power it yields when we are ready to accept and recognize it in our lives. Do not pass up this beautiful book that made me laugh, cry, and feel grateful that I had picked it up. This was one of those books that found me reading more and more slowly so that I could savor every delicious word and spend more time with the characters who were so vibrant, real, and endearing. I love a book that makes me simultaneously happy that I had read it and sad that it is over ... this was definitely one of those special books. I cannot wait to see what magical tale Nina George brings us next.
*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I looked forward to reading Nina George’s latest novel. It turned out to be very different than what I expected and I was disappointed. It was hard to follow with the multiple voices and I had trouble connecting with the characters. In the end, I found the whole story to be a bit odd.

It's an interesting concept - to write a book after it's been featured in a previous book!
As a fan of magical realism, I enjoyed the more fantastical aspects of the story. The characters are well rounded and I loved the setting.
My favorite thing about this book, however, was the humor - sometimes subtle, sometimes biting. I love the funny asides slipped in.

read 15% of this book and just couldn’t get into it. It’s like a French adult version of the movie inside out. The emotions are talking back-and-forth about what they’re goingbto do to the humans and how they make humans do things. And then you read stories about a baby and a mother and then you have a story about a child and a foster parent and her husband…and it’s a little too garbled for me. Emotions are talking, trees are talking and then you get stories about humans. I just wasn’t into it.