This was an all-around fun book to read. I enjoyed the fresh storyline and was unable to predict what came next! I think anyone who loves suspense and a quick read will enjoy this book!

A cute little romance! As an obsessive reader, i thought the plot revolving around notes left in books was incredibly charming. The author did a fantastic job with her references, i cried more than once at a few particularly special moments. Unfortunately i lost the love a bit at the end, when they just
couldnt resist tying up a few ends *too* neatly and the book went from sweet to saccharine.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. Every once in a while, i get an advanced copy of a book that blows me away. This one checked so many boxes for me. The parallel stories of growing love-both the past mystery and the current dating experience of the main character after- were told well and came together in such a great way. I’m a lover of books and loved the quotes and way the lovers wrote to each other in books. The family dynamic was great. The friendships were everything you want read. The big sister stepping in to care for her siblings when the mother abandoned ship was heartwarming as well as heartbreaking. All the characters were likable, and I was rooting for everyone to get a happy ending. Along with that, I do feel the ending was not unrealistic or fanciful, and I appreciated that. I truly could not put this one down and found myself falling in love with this unique family and was so happy I got to be a part of their journey, if you love a feel-good yet imperfect love story, snag this one! FYI adult romance that was fairly mild but still had adult language in it

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A young woman who is raising her siblings while working in a library stumbles across a book that has old notes written in the margins by a pair of star crossed lovers. She seeks to find them and unravel the mystery behind the messages while simultaneously raising her rambunctious brood, dealing with a cantankerous neighbor, and navigating issues with finances.

I can’t put my finger on why I didn’t love this book, just that it didn’t really give me anything to connect to? I didn’t feel anything for the characters!

I also feel like there was a lot of prerequisite reading that needed to happen in order for you to fully understand all the references and I am not a fan of the classics so it went over my head at a lot of places.

There’s really nothing like a heart warming book with characters that you truly grow to love. I absolutely love books about books and libraries so the combination of the two was perfect.

The character development and adorable romance was fun to read. The atmosphere was so cozy and whimsical that I just kept finding myself wanting to ignore my responsibilities and escape back into the book.

The ending felt abrupt and rushed, but that’s my only complaint.

Thank you to Net Galley for my ARC!

3 conflicted stars

I really wanted to love this one, “Lonely Hearts Book Club” by this author was a strong 4-star read for me. I can’t quite put my finger on one thing that brought this one down, but I didn’t like it as much.

Chloe Sampson is a young librarian who is raising her siblings alone and struggling to pay the bills. I really liked her character and rooted for her to find her way and happiness. She comes across a rare book and is debating whether she can sell it to pay some household expenses. Her grumpy neighbor offers to buy it for a handsome price!

The book has lots of handwritten notes in it (something I would never do!), and the pages seem to be filled with young lovers writing messages to each other. There’s a mystery about who this pair is, and the hunt begins to find more books with notes.

I liked the grumpy neighbor who becomes more likable as the book goes on and even becomes a lifesaver for Chloe and her family.
Another character, Catherine, I struggled to like. She made choices in her life that I couldn’t resonate with and left me wanting more from her.

This one has many messy relationships and consequences for characters that walk away from situations (and whole lives). And I find it hard to believe a librarian would write in a library book. I did like the sibling connections and the book references. I know others have really liked it, so it might work better for you!

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an early arc in exchange for an honest review. How freakin' cuteeee was this book!! I needed something light hearted and easy to read.....this was it. Dual timelines with romance novels are my favorite. I loved the premise of the story and the magical efforts that was brought in. My only complaint of this book was the ending seemed abrupt. It was sort of a let down. Overall, would definitely recommend this cute story.

I really enjoyed this book! It was sweet and very well written. I love books about books and dual timelines! Definitely recommend. :)

Thank you NetGalley and Lucy Gilmore!

library of borrowed hearts 💘
pub day April 30th!

Lucy Gilmore followed up The Lonely Hearts Book Club with the book just as sweet and heartwarming. In this story we meet Chloe Sampson, the oldest daughter of 4 who came back home from college to care for her younger siblings after their mom walked out. She works at the local library when one day during a basement clean out, she comes across a rare book. Upon further investigation she finds a love story between two people written in the margins of the book. The mystery of this love story has her down a rabbit hole — she becomes determined to find out who they are.

The first half of this book reminded me so much of TLHBC. A small town librarian befriending an old cranky man who is secretly a softy. However towards the middle of the book, the story becomes a tragic love affair between two people from opposite sides of life. It’s heartbreaking and sad, but delivers the perfect message of what it means to sacrifice yourself in the name of something bigger than yourself. I LOVED this book. The references to multiple classics and books throughout made me giddy, I was annotating like crazy. I can’t wait for you all to read this when it comes out April 30th! Thank you @netgalley for this ARC 💕

🏝️ Unfortunately, I did not find this one to be the charming, hilarious and moving story that it was advertised to be….

Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, after her selfish mother walks out one day and doesn’t return home.

Tasked with cleaning out the library basement, she finds a rare edition of a banned book from the 1960s and decides to takes it home with her-to sell it-but when she takes a closer look at the book and find notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers she knows it will not be as valuable as she had hoped and it won’t fetch enough money to get the new roof their home desperately needs after all.

But, for some reason, her curmudgeonly neighbor offers to buy it for more money than she thought its poor condition warranted.

She soon discovers that this isn't the only old book in town filled with the romantic marginalia that two lovers, J and C, wrote to one another. Chloe becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the tragic pair who corresponded in the margins of “A Farewell to Arms”, “The Haunting of Hill House” and “A Tropic of Cancer” in the early 60’s when lovers had to correspond by the written word, ✍🏻 instead of through text messages.

Sounds like a cute premise, right?

So what didn’t work for me? Quite a bit.

First, I found the lover’s correspondence to be melodramatic and boring. It definitely wasn’t the witty banter of a Rom Com.

Second, if you have any interest in reading the above mentioned books-especially “The Haunting of Hill House” this book could *spoil* a few things…

Third-ABANDONMENT is not OKAY. Nor is lying, manipulation, or taking books from your employer if the only way you can do so is to smuggle them out! So many bad messages here.

Let’s just say that I found more than one character to be “much more forgiving” than I felt they should be.

I did enjoy “The Lonely Hearts Book Club” by this author but this one, is a MISS for me.

As always, books resonate or don’t resonate with readers because of our personal experiences. Be sure to read a sample of reviews before deciding if this one will work for you.

Expected publication date: April 30, 2024

Thank You to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The epitome of cozy with a dash of history and a pinch of romance. I liked the multiple POVs and the dual timeline. While I was expecting a different style of book based on the marketing team saying it was like The Bookish Life of Nina Hill, I still enjoyed it.

A fun and lovely book that was hard to put down. I loved the intertwining lives of the characters. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced read!

If you like cozy reads, with a bit of mystery and a bit of romance, and dual timelines, this book is for you. I struggled a bit through the 2nd half of the book, but overall this is an enjoyable read, that is well written and delightful characters. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC. I read The Lonely Hearts Bookclub and absolutely loved it. However, this one just fell flat for me in many ways.

I loved the premise — a character chasing old books to uncover a doomed romance (very Notebook-esque) but there were so many plot elements that made this book SO unrealistic to the point of ridiculousness.

SPOILERS:

- Catherine becoming pregnant and then FAKING her death in childbirth to keep Jasper away? Absolutely horrible. And then he forgives her at the end? Learning he has a son and grandson etc? That’s just something that doesn’t happen in real life and isn’t heartwarming one bit. Catherine is a terrible person and Jasper doesn’t deserve her. The way he still talks about “my Catherine” after that is super cringy and normalizes red flag behavior in relationships (even though they’re 80).

- Zach is someone that should have the cops called on him, honestly. If a guy was that creepy to me like he is to Chloe I’d have him arrested. I think his character needed to be toned down a bit. There’s a difference between flirty and sketchy. And then, once again, Chloe forgives him too! I just don’t see how we can continue to make huge lies Ok in romances.

Again, thank you for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

It took me longer than anticipated to really get into this book, but once I did, I enjoyed it. It hinges on the discovery of a real life love story from the 1960s, played out through notes in the margins of classic novels. The present day story explores the difference between making good choices and HAVING good choices, how we define family, and how books can connect people in meaningful ways.

One of my favorite lines: “In many ways, books were more alive than most of the people he knew. They were living, breathing entities that changed each time you picked them up.”

The novel moves between dual timelines (the 60s and present day) and multiple points of view. I especially enjoyed the chapters told from the POV of Noodle, the (likely) neurodivergent youngest child in Chloe’s family.

There are tons of literary references to classic books and you can get a bit lost in them if classics aren't your thing. The book spells out the big parallels but I felt like I needed to brush up on my classics to catch all the symbolism.

This novel is more character driven than plot driven, and pacing is slow. It picked up for me about halfway through and I really warmed up to (most) of the characters. I found Catherine pretty unlikeable, although the contrast between her choices and those of Chloe’s mother would make for great book club discussion.

I received this ARC for free and am leaving my review voluntarily.

This was a lovely story about lost love, finding your “family”, and persistence. I loved almost all of the characters- Chloe, Jasper, Noodle, Penny, Zach. They are very real in what they are going thorough- their joys and sorrows. It is told from multiple POV- but done well as each person adds to the entirety of the story. It is also dual timeline between 1960 and the present.

I loved how books were used to start a romance, then continued in the present day.

I will say I wasn’t a fan of Catherine. I felt she made decisions, not really considering consequences, but simply to justify her wants.

I’ve seen many reviewers say the story ended abruptly. This is not your typical love story about a boy and a girl. However, there is romance in it- but I feel the main love story being told is finding love with people in your life who support you, and creating a family with them. It is also a story about forgiveness, and discovering who you are and that sometimes the sacrifices you make actually bring you joy in the long run. And throughout the book we know how Catherine felt about HEA endings, that she was a realist, and although I didn’t agree with her decision- once Jasper made a discovery and forgave her- seeing it through his perspective I was able to feel kinder toward her character at the end. I felt the ending was perfect. Like this story, and the novels used by the characters, it is not tied up neat and tidy in a bow. However, it is realistic because most people don’t jump into love/marriage after just a month! And because you can forgive someone, sometimes you can’t go back to the way things were. So the author gives us hints at what the future holds for all the characters. We know they have become a family, and because we see the direction they are going, we are left with hope.

"The Library of Borrowed Hearts" was a cozy read that combines humor, romance, and nostalgia with the charm of a small-town library in a heartwarming story of unexpected connections. Librarian Chloe Sampson finds herself in the middle of a literary mystery when she discovers a rare old book hidden in the library's dusty basement, leading her to her reclusive neighbor Jasper Holmes and a decades-old love story hidden in the margins.

Admittedly, I had to pause mid-read to check if this book was actually classified as Adult Fiction because it gave off some strong YA vibes. Not a deal-breaker, though! The characters, especially the Sampson kids, were delightful – they're quirky, full of spirit, and really bring the heart to this book.

"The Library of Borrowed Hearts" is a heartwarming, easy read that’s perfect if you’re into books about books and the unexpected situations and relationships that life throws at us. If you’re in the mood for something light and heartfelt, this one is definitely worth checking out.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC. This follows Chloe, a young librarian struggling to take care of her three younger siblings and make ends meet all while trying to figure out who she is. When Chloe finds an old book about to be thrown out with notes inside of it she never expects her grumpy neighbor to be the one to buy it. Sending Chloe down a whirl of mystery.

This book is a dual timeline story which was very interesting to read. I enjoyed this authors writing style a lot. And although I was not hooked right away when starting this book, by the end I was hooked. I laughed, cried and couldn’t put the book down. I can’t talk about it much more than this without spoilers but I absolutely recommend this.

Incredible. A powerful, family and independence affirming love story featuring different types of happy endings. There is an element of found family, some on finding your place after sacrifice, and a lot on beginning to understand yourself and your goals. I would recommend this or book clubs featuring multiple generations.