booking_along's reviews
1878 reviews

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.

Keegan schafft es mit wenig worten große emotionen zu erregen. 

Fangen wir damit an zu sagen das das Buch wunderbar übersetzt wurde und der Text fliesend und angenehm zu lesen war und einiges zu dem guten Leseerlebnis beigetragen hat! 


Und jetzt das eigentliche Buch. 

Was mich besonders erstaunt hat bei diesem Bichw sr das es sich wie eine perfekte mischung aus altbekannt beinahe Klassischem Buch und eindeutigem zeitgenössischen Buch liest. 
Es hat die vertrautheit eines Klassikers aber die Geschichte selbst ist eindeutig Zeitgenössisch. 
Wir genau das geschafft wird - ich habe keine Ahnung aber der Autorin gelinkt es wunderbar. 

Dieses Buch selber war eine kleine Achterbahnfahrt der  Gefühle. Von dem Unverständnis wie Eltern ihr Kind einfach bei Fremden -für das Kind Fremde - lassen können ohne das Kind darauf zumindest vorzubereiten bis dahin wo die Geschichte endet - es war ein wesentlich Emotionaleres und schweres Buch als ich gedacht hätte. 

Schade fand ich -und daher nicht die ganzen 5 vollen Sterne - das es ein zu offenes Ende ist. 
Ich will genauer wissen was nun passiert und wie es weiter geht und nicht in der Luft hängen gelassen werden wie es dieses Ende tut. 

Ich verstehe wieso das Buch so endet und wo es beendet wurde aber mögen muss ich es trotzdem nicht. Eine oder zwei mehr zeilen um das ganze eine klares ende zu geben wäre perfekt gewesen. egal in welche richtung.


insgesamt war das Buch ein sehr gutes und ein perfektes Buch für einen langen dunkeln Abend, um es in einem zu verschlingen, warm und weich eingeknuddelt und sich von der Geschichte davon tragen zu lassen.


Auf jeden Fall wert gelesen zu werden.