This story was not good. The characters were under developed and the storyline was a little boring. There was one section of the book that was likable but it was maybe a few chapters. Would not recommend and I won’t be reading any other books by this author.

A new author to me. Wasn't sure what to expect but quite enjoyed the story - it didn't grip me but reasonably entertaining.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review The Readers Of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald This book is translated from Swedish to English by Alice Menzies.

Sara recently worked in a bookshop in Sweden until it closes. Now she finds herself jobless and has no direction in her life. She has been writing and sharing books for a few years, with elderly lady Amy from Broken Wheel in Iowa. Knowing her polite Amy invites Sara over to stay, so they can finally meet. Sara's parents thinks its a bad idea and thinks she should say put! But She decides to take the plunge out of her comfort zone. Only when she arrives Amy has passed away. The town people decide she should stay in Amy's house and they organise day's out to show her the town of Broken Wheel. Sara has heard so much about the people through Amy's letters and is intrigued by them. But Sara gets a frosty reception from Tom Amy's nephew, but the town involves him in keeping Sara company! As Sara spends time in Amy's house she is wondering where Amy's books are then she finds them and is in ore of the abundance of book Amy has collected.

On finding most of the shops at Broken Wheel are all shut up and there is no bookshop! Sara comes across Amy's husband empty old shop which sparks an idea! What if she was to open the shop as a bookshop selling Amy's books and it would be in Amy's honour and her beloved collection of books can be enjoyed; with the money going to charity. Sara puts her idea to the town people only for them to say it wont work but they decide to let her. The town pull together to make the shop in to a bookshop, but are still sceptical. She is determined to bring books to the reluctant residence of Broken Wheel.

Being in Broken Wheel Sara becomes part of the community and the residence become friends which; makes her realise how lonely her life was back in Sweden. She has some unexpected challenges that lay ahead of her at Broken Wheel, including Tom!!! Is he more than just a friend? Can Sara change the towns views on books? Will she return home? Can she deal with all the challenges that are put in her path?

Gosh what a book! I adored every single second of it and become really attached to all the characters of Broken Wheel. I really didn't want the book to finish which gave me a book hangover! It's a book lovers dream, but it's so much more than that. It's about finding and belonging, friendships, love and the joy of a small town community. I would highly recommend this book!!!!

THE READERS OF BROKEN WHEEL RECOMMEND - Katarina Bivald

A SMALL-TOWN VISIT - 4 stars

Plot - 4 stars - Sara has enjoyed a virtual relationship with her penpal friend Amy, sharing their love of books. When Sara travels from Sweden to visit Amy in her small town, she discovers that Amy has just died, so now Sara is at loose ends. But she soon caught up in the activities of this small town and its residents who take her under their wings.

Writing - 3.5 stars - The premise is good, but I'll admit that this book took a long time to get going. But by the 40% mark, I was all in. The characters had developed quirky yet appealing personalities, and a feeling of hopefulness began to grow.

Characters - 4 stars - This is a large cast of characters, although our focus is Sara, the visitor from Sweden. She has always lived a quiet, unassuming life, happy living vicariously through lives of the people in the books she loves. She's never developed many friendships, so her correspondence with Amy is more important to her than she might otherwise have expected. Amy, strangely, turns out to be a prominent member of the cast even though we never know about her until after her death. But we do get to share in the letters she sent to Sara, plus we learn a lot about her through the townsfolk who cared about her. Tom has deep roots in the town, with a strong yet quiet personality. But once he makes a decision, he sticks with it. And he finds himself unaccountably attracted to Sara. There are numerous other townsfolk who become important through their own stories....Jen, Grace, Andy and Carl, Carolyn and Josh, George. They each add a bit of color and personality to the town.

Title - 4 stars - The title makes sense as we get further into the book. It's one of the shelf titles in Sara's bookshop.

Cover - 4 stars - Simple, eye-catching, and it certainly sets the stage for a book-about-books.

Overall - 4 stars - This story built quietly and slowly, just as the town of Broken Wheel began to grow. This small and hopeless town is full of quirky people who are nice enough but just going through the motions. But when Sara arrives at such an inopportune moment, they feel the need to support her, thus bringing themselves together. I liked the sense of hopefulness that permeated the story despite the sometimes-unhappy things that happened to people. I liked that they rallied together when they had a purpose. I liked the unique bookshelf labels that Sara included in the bookstore, often reflecting what was happening in the town at the time. I liked Sara's sense of wonder with her new life in Broken Wheel, despite the fact that it was a broken-down old town. But she recognized it (and the people in it) as something to be grateful for rather than something to look down on.

I was pleasantly surprised by The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. I don't know what I was expecting it to be, but this book wasn't what I thought. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sara comes from Sweden to visit her bookish pen pal, Amy, only to discover that she has died. The town where Amy lived, Broken Wheel, is a very small town that has fallen on hard times. Since Amy was so important to many of the Townspeople, they decide to take Sara in and welcome and provide with her. Sara begins to make friends with the quirky cast of characters. This book contains romance, humor and a fun group of people. If this was a TV show I would definitely watch every episode.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! A cute, light (and bookish) read. I loved the pace and characters and overall had a great time reading this book.

Heartwarming and sincere exploration of friendship, and entrepreneurship, in a small rural community.

Sweet book with a good ending. Characters are fun and made me laugh. Easy, quick read. I liked all the books that were mentioned.

A young Swedish lady, Sara, who is addicted to reading and has never before left Sweden, visits an elderly pen friend in a run-down town in Iowa. When she arrives she is dismayed to find the friend she has never met has died. Her world and that of the small community is turned upside down as her love of books seeps out and influences those around her, bringing back hope where there was despair. Beautifully written, “The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend” is a very pleasurable read.

I was really looking forward to this book but unfortunately has a hard time connecting to the characters. I loved the small town USA vibes, the influence of books, the main character being from Sweden but something just didn’t work for me. Maybe it was not having more backstory. Maybe it was never being able to see the two friends interact besides in the letters (which I really liked!). Maybe it was all the names were really common and seemed to blend together. I don’t know. I just struggled with this one and seemed to slog through it, unfortunately.

Full review to be posted soonish.

I would like to thank the publisher and netgalley for providing me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book well enough. It was uplifting and sad at times. I didn’t enjoy that so many scenes in the story seemed rushed.

Sara travels to meet her book loving friend, basically her pen pal. Upon arrival, she realizes her friend is dead. I got bored about halfway through, realized some of the characters that had previously been present no longer were. It is not my intention to tear apart this book. Authors work hard, and I’m certainly not one, I just think this book had more potential than it shows.

An entertaining and easy comfort read for lovers of books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher.

from the publisher:

Once you let a book into your life, the most unexpected things can happen...

Broken Wheel, Iowa, has never seen anyone like Sara, who traveled all the way from Sweden just to meet her pen pal, Amy. When she arrives, however, she finds that Amy's funeral has just ended. Luckily, the townspeople are happy to look after their bewildered tourist—even if they don't understand her peculiar need for books. Marooned in a farm town that's almost beyond repair, Sara starts a bookstore in honor of her friend's memory.

All she wants is to share the books she loves with the citizens of Broken Wheel and to convince them that reading is one of the great joys of life. But she makes some unconventional choices that could force a lot of secrets into the open and change things for everyone in town. Reminiscent of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, this is a warm, witty book about friendship, stories, and love.

A cute book that’s an easy read but definitely has some distracting flaws. The main character has relatable insights about books and people who read a lot, but overall she’s very average and doesn’t really give the other characters a reason to socialize with her. The romance scenes also come out of nowhere and really don’t lend themselves to the story as a whole - they come off as cheesy and take you out of the narrative. Something was missing, though, and I'm not quite sure what it was. I think that the characters weren't as defined as they could've been, and that prevented me from picturing them and being able to understand them.

I absolutely adored this book. Such a cozy read than made you want to be real life friends with the characters. I loved the small town vibe

Unfortunately I couldn't really get into this. I found it a little boring, which is a shame. Thank you for approving my request.

The book just didn't deliver what I expected it to. The characters were flat, the story seemed to open the door to some idea and then close it. Sure didn't seem like any little Iowa town I'd been in.

This charming, book-loving story captures reader’s hearts from the very first page. Sara Lindqvist is a beautiful soul, putting others before herself in a way that not only uplifts each individual person, but all those around as well. She is the perfect person to bring hope to the dying town of Broken Wheel, Iowa; doing so in a way that is not imposing, but empowering to those who have roots there. This is a must read for book lovers who enjoy a touching, witty, feel good story that goes beyond the surface.

This is a great story about a woman who saves a bookstore and, in doing so, revives a town. The writing is wonderfully descriptive, making the reader feel a part of the small town of Broken Wheel, Iowa. The town is full of lively, memorable characters that you feel you know personally, or wish you did.

And of course, the books - the talk of books, the reading of books, the sharing of books. What's not to love?

This was such a charming book! I absolutely love The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which made me want to pick this one up. I loved the small town setting and the cast of characters.