Welcome! I'm looking forward to sharing my review of this new release today
and I hope you enjoy reading it and add this one to your list. Read on below...
The British Booksellers
By Kristy Cambron
Historical Romance, WWII Fiction, Christian
Paperback, eBook & Audiobook, 384 Pages
April 9, 2024 by Thomas Nelson
Summary
Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.
A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington…until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.
When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.
As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.
From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of World War II, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.
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My Review
THE BRITISH BOOKSELLERS is a story about second chances, redemption, sacrifice, new love, war, healing, and learning that some things are worth fighting for. It's set in a quaint British town with delightful characters and a compelling story that readers won't be able to put down. Highly recommended!
I adored the characters in this story! They were easy to relate to, especially with the humor, banter, and genuine friendship between them all. Each character had their own struggles. Some had regrets, others with purposes that changed as their hearts also changed. The words spoken with looks or actions and how, as a reader, I could feel all those emotions. I loved the different dynamics and types of relationships in this story: mother and daughter, husband and wife, friends, romantic interests, co-workers, gentry and lower class, volunteers, enemies. I also enjoyed how genuine the relationships as well as the romance comes across. I also appreciated the vulnerability of the characters and how they each had their own development through the story.
I loved this story from the start and that didn't change! There was such a strong connection between Charlotte and Amos and the author brings you right in from the first chapter. There was a lot that occurred in this story and much of it over time, and all of it flowed well. I loved all the book references and the competing bookstores with the wonderful resolution in the end. The author also did a marvelous job in building the emotion so that it's pretty intense by the time you reach the last couple of chapters. Some of Eden's responses I felt weren't quite consistent with her character and there was a bit more drama than I prefer, but that's pretty much the only thing that didn't work for me. It also didn't take away from my enjoyment of this story. The war aspects were fairly unfiltered without being grotesque or traumatizing. Those parts brought to forefront the terribleness of war and how atrocious the Coventry Blitz was. The feels in this story! I went through all the emotions and some of them were fairly intense. There were so many wonderful, poignant and sweet parts.
There were also some themes of redemption, forgiveness and healing weaved throughout that were inspiring. Here are some of the parts I highlighted:
"We all can use a reminder from time to time, that what we see and hear each week inside this cathedral is what people are actually living outside these walls. Benevolence, compassion, and love—bombs will never silence them when we put those virtues into action."
"Was that what made a man brave? Not in the stepping forward when you didn't know what you were up against, but in going back to the fray, time and time again, when you do?"
"To love meant to accept all—the grit and grief alongside beauty. To endure the harshness of life not with despair, but hope."
In the end, was it what I wished for? The author did a fabulous job writing complex characters who were vulnerable and lovable. Add to that a story that is an emotional roller-coaster, and you have a book well worth the read. WWII romance fans and book lovers will love this one!
Content: Clean
Source: I received a complimentary copy through Austenprose PR, which did not require a positive review. All opinions are my own.
About the Author
Have you read any of this author's other books? Do you like books that involve bookstores or libraries?
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