As someone who has never read a Lucy Gilmore book, I found this to be quite a treat! I quickly and wholly fell in love with the characters in this book who just jumped off the page and straight into my heart.
The Library of Borrowed Hearts introduces us to Chloe, a young woman, who took on the responsibility of parenting her 3 younger siblings, Trixie, Theo, and Noodle, after their mother walked out on them 4 years prior. They live next door to a curmudgeon of an older male neighbor named Jasper, who is less than neighborly.
In her role of not-quite-a-librarian, one day Chloe comes across a rare book from the 1960’s with notes scribbled in the margins by two people sending messages back and forth to each other. It soon becomes obvious these are notes from two people falling very much in love. When Jasper finds out that Chloe is in possession of this rare book, he offers an exorbitant amount of money to buy it from her. Following the clues leads Chloe on a wild chase to discover the authors of those messages and the many books that they are scribbled in, learning the love story of the individuals involved and her neighbor who holds the key to the story.
This story will break your heart and then put it back together again. PLEASE read this book when it comes out on April 30th, 2024. You will laugh. You will cry. You won’t want it to end.
Thank you to NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca for the opportunity to read this beautiful story.

The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a sweet story that unites two solitary hearts through the love for books and surprising finds in the margins. When protagonist Chloe Sampson finds a rare 1960s book at the flea market, she cannot care for her three younger siblings. Curious about the notes between two young lovers written in the margins, she discovers one of them is possibly her cranky neighbor, Jasper Holmes.

This sends Chloe on a mission to discover the names of lovers who wrote in the margins of library books more than half a century ago. What became of these two unfortunate lovers? And what does it concern her lonely, miserable neighbor? In addition, as Chloe continues the literary scavenger hunt, she also keeps befriending Jasper, who turns out to have a deeper personality than one would think.

This delightful, funny, and touching tale connects the unlikeliest people through a shared love for books. The marginalia mystery gives the story so much energy; while trying to connect with Jasper, it is full of heart. Therefore, Chloe discovers that some love stories start in places she never imagined. Humorously and emotionally, Gilmore tells a romantic tale that transcends generations to show the book’s ability to unite people far apart and heal. The Library of Borrowed Hearts is a book that every reader will relate to.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I always find Lucy Gilmore's writing extremely charming, and this was no exception. I thought the start was a little bit slow because we don't get into the fun of the notes and the mystery until there's a good bit of backstory, and I wish we had jumped in a little bit earlier. But once we get the split narrative and get to follow along with Chloe as she learns Jasper and Catherine's story, I really got into it and enjoyed it a lot.

I will also say I wish this had not been billed as a romance. Again, I thought it was lovely and charming, and I read and enjoy more "women's fiction"–type books. But I found this looking at the romance category and I wouldn't call it that, despite the romantic plots within.

I really enjoyed this book and finished it within 2 days. It’s one of those books that will have you up all night because it’s such an easy read that keeps you hooked so by the time you’ve finished reading it’s been hours and you don’t even realise it🙈

I really enjoyed the characters, excluding Catherine, and the plot itself I thought was really captivating and I appreciate that although it was marked as a romance it wasn’t completely centred around a main couple and there was an actual plot behind it.

Overall I rated it 4 stars and was so glad I chose this as my first ever ARC to read🫶🏻

Such a fun read for folks who love the library and all of the magic they hold! Chloe is struggling to support herself and her three siblings who were abandoned by their mom, all she works at the library. At work, she finds some handwriting on an old book. Curiosity leads to Chloe looking into other books for more information on the strangers conversations. While putting the pieces together, she realizes she is connected to it all! Such an easy and fun book!

This book was a family oriented story and it was interesting to read it.

It seemed slow paced, which I normally don’t like as it doesn’t pull me into the story as much I would want.

Thank you for letting me read a copy before it’s published.

This was a lovely read, and I’m always a sucker for stories about family — found or otherwise. The cast of characters are a lively bunch, and though the story seemed to have a very predictable ending at first, it was anything but. The flashbacks between past and present provided a lot of insight into curmudgeonly Jasper, and developed his character in a much more meaningful way than any other. It also informed his growing relationships with everyone else in the book, though sometimes this was at the expense of others (looking at you, Chloe and Zach). If I had one piece of feedback, it would be that I wish the author had delved more into Noodle and the Incident, as I felt that thread was left a bit undone (especially for Chloe). But it’s not a major complaint, as the Noodle chapters were hands down my absolute favorite.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it at its release. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.