This book.
I didn't expect to love it so much.
But I would say, this is a book that is a must read for everyone who is a reader, and you'll need to at least read this book once in your life.

Its heartwarming. Its relatable. Its heartfelt. It made me sobbed super ugly tears.

Personal Ratings: 4.5🌟

This book is somewhat a hidden gem that you find amongst the stack of your books. You didn't expect it to turn out as good as it would; and mainly, being a reader, you'll relate to the characters so much, in how immersed we are in the characters, how we're somehow living the characters lives, and how each character felt like an imaginary friend. The author somewhat translates the feeling of a reader to a book that I felt, for a debut work, its one that its just a read that I will remember for a very long time.

The story is set in two POV's , of Aleisha, a girl who is secluded due to her family's conditions, with a mother who is a bipolar and Mukesh, a 90+ year old man who has just lost his wife. A very unexpected friendship that turned out to be heartwarming, that is connected through a series of Reading List that Aleisha had found in one of the library books she is working as a librarian. The story of venturing out into places through characters, in living lives through pages, in making friends through the book community and in handling grief; in going by the pages through the lenses of someone we loved.

Personal Thoughts
Being someone that has been saved from the Book Community when I started my bookstgram account a few years back, this book is somewhat a resonance to what I felt at the time. Its so magical how books can make you feel so many things. Its the words through pages that can make you not only livid and angry, we actually felt that we're living through another person's lives, or looking through from their lenses. Miss Adams here had exactly captured the feeling of being a reader, of being stuck in a story, and how sometimes, books can translate our grief and sadness by channeling it from the characters that we met in books.

This book felt like seeing a mirror. It reflected every reader and how some books had saved our lives and how the stories had impacted us so much that it felt like the story just came to life. I loved The Characters in this book. Both Aliesha and Mukesh led different lives, but had met through a place that connects lonely and searching souls, a place of sanctuary for all ; The Library.
I loved how their friendship developed to be so wholesome and I loved that both Aleisha and Mukesh had different takes from the books that they've read, but they somewhat had saved them from agony, from their lives and brought the people that they love closer together.

The author had touched on very serious topics such as depression, the seriousness and handling someone that suffers mental illness, handling grief and going through the death of your loved ones. Its how the book is so relatable to the world that we're living in, that books became a coping mechanism to some of the characters; that had made me loved this book so much. It felt like hugging a friend that had consoled you. It took me awhile to go through some of the journey of the characters (mostly I think because of the writing style); but for a debut work, Miss Adams definitely has a lot of potential and this book is one that you will relate to at some point of your life.

This is a story that I won't want to spoil as much, but I would say, I liked going through the characters lives. I appreciate how the author had shown that books are not only a form of escapism or a mearless hobby that is a waste of time; its also a part of a person's life and how someone relates to it is a bit a reflection of someone's soul. A book that I felt that everyone should read at least once i their life. Highly recommended.

Thank you so much to Times Reads for this copy! I love it :)