
Member Reviews

It's no surprise that readers gravitate towards stories about books, and I am no different. I LOVE when books are set in bookshops, libraries or just involve books in some capacity. This book follows two main characters, a librarian Chloe Sampson who is working hard to be able to provide for herself and her siblings who one day finds an incredibly rare edition of a book and her neighbor Jasper Holmes who wants to buy said book from her. The book has notes written on its margins that leads Chloe through a scavenger hunt to unravel the mystery behind the notes.
This was an incredibly fun book that takes place in dual timelines and I enjoyed both povs. The ending was a bit abrupt in my opinion and I kind of wanted/expected more?

3.5 stars
As a librarian, I was drawn to this book for obvious reasons. It took some time to for me to get into this book, but by Part Two I was hooked. This is one of the 1st books that I've read that I found myself not liking or connecting on any level, with our main heroine, Katherine. I found her extremely selfish and unlikable. The mysteries of the story are what pulled me into the book. I can appreciate the difference of choices made in the 60's opposed to how things would've/could've been different now. Maybe my dislike for Katherine, is because of my love and protective feelings for Jasper? Probably. I hated, for Katherine to be a strong, capable, driven women, she had to trample Jasper's heart. I wish this happily ever after didn't feel so sad. The ending was just that....just done, ended.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts by L. Gilmore, published by Sourcebooks,
is a fantastic read, following the previous book.
Chloe Sampson works hard to make ends meet. The librarian is the caregiver for her three siblings. When she finds a basement full of books that are to be trashed her life is about to change forever.
This is an heartwarming, sometimes hilarious, but always always beautiful read. Told in dual pov, charming and witty, the only critque, where's the end??? I was left with questions and I'd like to get some answers - maybe in a new book?

⭐⭐⭐⭐
"The Library of Borrowed Hearts" by Lucy Gilmore is a charming and heartwarming tale that will capture the imagination of book lovers and romantics alike.
Librarian Chloe Sampson's life is anything but easy as she juggles taking care of her siblings and finding her own path. When she discovers a rare edition of a book at a flea market, little does she know that it will lead her on a journey of mystery and romance. The discovery of notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers sparks a literary scavenger hunt that Chloe is determined to unravel, especially when it seems her neighbor, Jasper Holmes, may be connected to the story.
Gilmore expertly crafts a narrative filled with intrigue, romance, and unexpected connections. As Chloe delves deeper into the mystery of the two lovers, she finds herself drawn closer to Jasper and discovers that there's much more to him than meets the eye. Their blossoming friendship, intertwined with the clues left in the pages of old books, forms the heart of this enchanting story.
"The Library of Borrowed Hearts" is not just a tale of love lost and found, but also a celebration of the power of books to connect people across generations. Gilmore's writing is engaging and heartfelt, and her characters leap off the page with warmth and authenticity.

I liked The Lonely Hearts Book Club a lot so I was excited to see Gilmore doing more in that vein. I sped through this one and enjoyed it as well. I will say, the ending was quite abrupt and I would have loved to see more, however I feel like it also fit the story fairly well. It felt like the ending kind of underscored the possibilities to come.
As a fellow not-quite-a-librarian I really loved that bit of Chloe's character. And honestly, I just wanted to wrap her up in a hug and give her some hot chocolate. All the Sampson siblings, actually.
I'm not sure I would call this a romanee. There were two love stories that I enjoyed very much, and it was at parts swoony and tender, and romantic, but I personally wouldn't call it a romance novel.

I adored this book.
I absolutely adored how Gilmore crafted this with a dual timeline that is an interweaved, intergenerational story. The story weaves together these two timelines to give us a beautifully layered story.
The characters are real people with real struggles and triumphs.
The ending was perfect. It might not have been your typical "happily ever after," but it was happy in its own right. It was real, raw, and oh-so-satisfying. So if you're looking for a book that will sweep you off your feet, make you laugh, possibly cry, and ultimately leave you with a warm, fuzzy feeling in your heart, then "Library of Broken Hearts" is an absolute must-read.

A whole lot of characters decorate the pages of The Library of Borrowed Hearts, and all of them enchant and captivate the audience. In the end the novel provides a heart-tugging feast that extolls the importance of wrapping your arms around the concept of love no matter how impossible it seems.
Chloe Sampson has been caring for her three younger siblings, Beatrice, Theodore, and Aloysius since their mother abandoned them. Working as a librarian, she finds herself clearing out the library’s basement while on duty one day, only to discover a copy of Tropic of Cancer hidden among the detritus. It is moldy and the cover is damaged, but the edition is a rare enough one from the 1960s that she becomes determined to sell it.
Then she notices the margins are stuffed with notes sent back and forth between two figures locked in a romantic tumult – C and J. Chloe quickly realizes that because of the annotations, the book won’t pay for her new roof. But when she brings the edition home and tries to retrieve the kids’ frisbee from her neighbors, Jasper Holmes sees the book and offers to pay a tidy sum for it. She realizes quickly who the ‘J’ is – but what of the ‘C’?
Inspired by their story, Chloe finds herself scouring the town for more of J and C’s marginalia. But can ‘C’ be found? And will Jasper open his hearth and home and let the Sampson family in?
The Library of Borrowed Hearts truly reminded me of Cynthia Voight in a lot of ways, as it’s about found families and opening hearts more than it is about romance.
I really loved Jasper and C’s’ unfolding romance. Some might find the choice which rent them apart a selfish one, but back in the day it was quite the realistic decision.
Even better is Jasper’s relationship with the Sampson family, all of whom are lovely. The slow blossoming of connection is perfection. There’s also a potential romance for Chloe with local, Zach, but be warned - both this and the J/C storyline leave things open with no definite HEA.
The novel also has a strong love affair with the literary world – heavy allusions to Wuthering Heights, A Farewell to Arms and The Haunting of Hill House linger.
But this book is delightful for what it is – a wonderful little story about finding love and searching out your people no matter the time. The Library of Borrowed Hearts is pure magic.

As a librarian myself, this book was a journey into a different realm that I was excited to explore. I absolutely loved this book and I wanted it to never end. I loved it and I know my patrons will too!

Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling to make ends meet as she is the sole caregiver to her younger siblings. She finds a book in the library that has notes written in it, clearly between two young lovers. Meanwhile her brother has an injury, and she needs help with him. Can she unlock the secret of the notes in the book? And in the process will she find community so that she is not so alone? Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Chloe Sampson works at the town’s library, barely eeking out a living and taking care of her three younger siblings. The job falls to her when her mother leaves without a word and Chloe puts her entire world on hold. Her next-door neighbor doesn’t help, an octogenarian who steals her brother’s frisbees. But one day she finds a worn copy of Tropic of Cancer with handwritten notes in the margins and it becomes apparent that a grand romance that happened in the 60s right there in Colville with books as the messenger. Her life changes as she begins to unravel the decades-old romance, meets a new friend in town when her sibling Noodle has an accident, and is finally forced to confront her curmudgeon of a neighbor.
This story was so sweet and fun - I love all the characters and the intergenerational aspect of it. It truly shows how one decision can change everything down through the ages, and affect all of those around you. Chloe is a resilient person who does the right thing and she’s a wonderful protagonist, and with her mirror in Jasper, the grumpy neighbor, they just make good fiction. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of books where the main characters are suffering from poverty or near poverty, and I believe it is very telling of where we are right now as a society, as well as how readers perhaps need to read it. It was pretty cathartic for me to hear about others going through this sort of situation. Gilmore’s writing is good and experienced, and the plot flows so well that the reader is compelled to keep reading; it makes it a quick read for sure. The characters are in love with literature, and even with their dire circumstances, books pull them out of the depths and give them hope. It is a lovely novel, one that the ensemble cast stays with you after you’ve shut the pages.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I am not really a mystery reading but I will say this one drew me in and I actually enjoyed it! I loved the idea of finding love in the margins of library books however, I wish there was just a little more depth everything in the book kind of felt glanced over if this makes sense. I hated that the way Chole had to drop everything to raise her siblings because although it felt like a part of growth in her story at times it felt very forced. Jasper was relatable at times but again often it felt as though characters and overall plot were left unfished. The ending felt about the same but the story also had it good points .

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this arc. This book is a very sweet story about two couples navigating their respective relationships, sixty years apart. It is also a story about the relationships we have with our families, our community, and the responsibilities we shoulder for these relationships. This is not a romance, but definitely worth a read.
The story begins with the introduction of Chloe Sampson, a librarian in a small town in eastern Washington state, who is also raising her three rambunctious siblings single handedly. Chloe is cleaning out the basement of the town's library, when she finds handwritten notes in a bootleg copy of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. The notes are between Jasper Holmes, Chloe's grumpy next door neighbor, and Catherine Martin, from sixty years prior to present time. Chloe realizes the significance of these written notes when she finds other books with similar sentiments. The story switches from present time to sixty years past, and Chloe meets Zach, and they become the second relationship in the story.
The love of books is starkly apparent in this story, how books provide an outlet for varied emotions, and how books ease the loneliness some characters feel. I loved all of the characters, and the story was intriguing, but the pacing was slow for me in the first 25% of the book. It did take off quickly after that point, and I enjoyed it very much.

I love an unlikely friendship and a mystery, but I wanted a little more depth out of this one, which came too little too late for my taste. Chloe is working at the library doing random jobs, having had to drop out of college to raise her siblings after her mom took off. She comes across a mystery of a love affair written in the margins of library books and sets about to find out who they were. Jasper is the crotchety next door neighbor who keeps frisbees that have landed in his yard until Chloe's brother breaks his leg and she has no one else to turn to except Jasper. I really loved the premise and the writing was great, but I wished the characters had been developed more, or maybe less characters to need to develop. Still a good one for those looking for a light Man called Ove readalike.

3.5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The book was not what I expected from the premise, but it was a wonderful discovery.
I enjoyed the somewhat parallel lives of the forefront characters, but I especially loved the side characters — Noodle, Theo, and Trixie!. ♥️
The story was interesting. I thought it was purely romance when I started reading it. But it was so much more.
I’m still not sure how I feel about the ending tho. But I think that it’s the author’s way if never fully closing the stories of the characters. ♥️
Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

This was a lovely sweet story full of characters that I couldn't help but root for - from the curmudgeon to the rumpled librarian, they may have technically fallen into the categories of tropes, but the way that Gilmore fleshed out their lives and quirks made me love them nevertheless! With a thoughtful plot that takes delightful and painful twists and turns, the story takes readers full circle on a trip through the ups and downs of family (found and biological), and the tragedies that so often underpin the greatest love stories. With an easy style that draws readers in and tugs at the heartstrings without ever devolving into melodrama, the book brings past and present together in a way that is endearing, funny, and charming.

10/10 YES. I fell in love with Lucy Gilmore's first book, The Lonely Hearts Book Club, and had high expectations for her second. The Library of Borrowed Hearts did not disappoint.
The characters were loveable, dynamic and fun. You felt as if you were in their world and experiencing and I thoroughly enjoy the mystery aspect of the love story, the found family relationships and how much of an impact books can have on your life.
Highly recommend!

Chloe Sampson works at the local library in her small town in northern Washington. After her mother left Chloe's three younger siblings alone and never returned and a neighbour called social services Chloe had to leave college to look after them. They are living hand-to-mouth on her pitiful salary and she tries to make a little extra by selling unwanted library books.
One day while clearing out a basement storage unit she finds what she thinks could be a very valuable copy of Tropic of Cancer only to discover that the copy has been defaced by readers writing in the margins, but not just comments on the writing, two people appear to have been conducting a romance. More intriguing, when her cranky elderly neighbour Jasper Holmes catches a glimpse of the book in her possession he offers her a blank cheque for the book, it seems he may have been one of the people writing in the book. Assisted by her BFF and a young man called Zach who runs wilderness/survival courses, Chloe starts a literary scavenger hunt for other library books which have been similarly defaced. The head librarian (whose wife is a believer of tall tales) tells Chloe that rumour has it Jasper killed a young woman (or maybe several) and buried them in his garden, which is why his flowers are so beautiful.
Intertwined with this modern story is the romance between a nineteen year old Jasper and Catherine Martin, the daughter of the Major who runs the 760th Radar Base in Colville. Like all good romances, Jasper is dirt poor, sending half his wages home to his mother and younger siblings, while Catherine lives in a big house and is expected to marry an officer (and a gentleman). Despite her father's authoritarian attitude and her mother's acquiescence, Catherine is a free spirit and a rebel. She alone seems to be able to goad the normally taciturn Jacob into expressing his feelings.
This story is broken into five sections. At the end of each section is some kind of revelation, some of which were more of a shock than others. Its a romance, but maybe also women's fiction, and a mystery.
<spoiler>This didn't go the way I wanted it to, but what it did do was make me finally understand that film <i>The Way We Were</i> and why it has to end that way.</spoiler>
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

Lucy Gilmore has a way of capturing your heart and smashing it in her books. A great and witty rom com that will leave you wanting her next book already.

Not what i expected but i really enjoyed this book. I love a book about books.
Loveable characters, great plot. I really enjoyed.
Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read and review this book!

The Library of Borrowed Hearts was a delight! I loved all of the characters except Catherine. I really loved the dual timeline and how both stories were centered around books. Books truly bring people together.There is a fantastic array of books that are discussed throughout the story.
Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of the book. The book will be published on April 30, 2024.