booking_along's reviews
1872 reviews

not only is that a pretty perfect way to end an authors note but also a perfect way to sum up this little story. 

for me it’s a representation pf the horrors some women have to surprise in with men so obsessed with a woman’s purity, selflessness and virginity that the men should be locked up in psych wards and heavily medicated to keep the rest of society save.


the story is beautifully written a great mixture of whimsical and horror -which yes is a bit of a strange thing to say but fits the story and the myth too. 

it’s a great way into the author as well  mythical retelling of the more feminist or honestly just women point of view - since as the author also points out: in the original texts most women didn’t speak many didn’t even have names because why would they need those things?!


highly recommend this!

a good story about knowing what you need and not letting people that don’t accept that stay in your life. 


but this story itself wasn’t that great. 

it all feels too rushed to be believable -or i am just a person that could never share personal things with a stranger - and not because of the age difference or even because both women clearly had some issues they should work through by themselves before pushing their stuff on others but the overall how it all came to be and how fast it all build was utterly unbelievable and unrealistic for me. 

it maybe i just didn’t like the characters and because of that i had issues. 

i don’t know. 

i do think it’s not a bad story, but it wasn’t for me. 

for a book that is under 200 pages this felt longer. 
it was a slow paced and slightly dragging story about a woman wanting and opening a bookstore in a small town in an older building and woman that tries her best to put everything she can into stopping and closing the store - why? no idea. 

i found this story a bit too petty and while i would have liked the story about a store that has a hard time and struggling mostly because it’s owned by a woman, but having this manipulating character in this just made it a very strange story for me. 


it was fine but i didn’t really enjoy it overall and sadly think there are a lot better books and stories especially about bookstore out there now and if you don’t absolutely love the author and want to read everything published - i don’t think this is worth it if you don’t love petty characters.

this was not at all what i expected or thought it would be. 

it’s a book following different women in different times and horrendous men in their lives and the love for books. 

i was told this is a cozy read - it’s not. 

it has a love for books and stories and a great respect for strong female characters BUT cozy it is not. 

it handles some tough topics that should be looked up if you have some triggers for example <spoilers> forced institutionalization, forced adoption (when the child is tanken from the mother without consent from the mother), abuse both verbally and physically, some stalking or that’s what i would call it anyways, accidental murder snd coving that up, name calling of all kinds of things… and a lot more so if any of that sounds triggering? look it up.  

i personally find it a bit stupid to put things there could trigger people into a spoiler box but this story does build a bit up on those hard hitting moments and follows one after the other in a „oh come on it gets worse for that person?“ kind of way.
so i guess in this book it’s actually a bit spoilery which is why i used lt. 


this book also has magical realism in it that i did not see coming and honestly wish someone would have mentioned to me beforehand but i guess that was where the „cozy“ talk about this book came from? 


this all might sound as if this book wasn’t to my liking - clearly the rating suggests i did like it. 


it was just not at all what went into the book expecting it to be in both positive and negative ways. 


i did really like reading about those strong women doing what they need to have a life they want to live and trying to find their place and happiness almost against all odds. 

i also love drive book elements of this story and kind of wish the kind of bookshop of this book would exist because how cool would that be. 


i wasn’t prepared for the men in this story and while i wouldn’t call it a trigger for me i prefer reading books that are not with or about  abusive men - it’s realistic and horrifyingly real with how it it’s shown in this book and how little others around the abused do to help even in todays time and how much power men still have in situations is frightening - and was even more frightening 40-80 years ago (i think in some countries even longer of not still today) and while it was horrible to read about it was realistic and real and well written. 
but as i said not my personal favorite - readers preferences and all.


all in all this book is worth the read and the type of story that isn’t easily forgotten simply because of the characters but also just because how the story is told and how it drags the reader in and grips you almaty too tightly and makes specific sections and phrases unforgettable. 

so if you look into something that might be a bit of a harder hitter but is incredibly well written and has fantastic female characters and gives you rage against most men and a good dose of book love? go for it. 


if you want a cozy little story about a bookshop told through different time lines and just paddled along and gives you a nice quiet time? this is not that.