Truly enjoyable book. This book takes place during the pandemic in a bookstore striving to survive the lockdown. It draws you into the lives of Loveday, her mom, as well as her guy, Nathan. We follow the relationship of Kelly, as she believes true love has found her. To Madison, their newest helper, to customers sharing their stories. You will meet lost souls, those seeking refuge through books, the workers, customers triumphs and failings, and the magic of books. So many amazingly wonderful books mentioned throughout the book to gather and read later. This is a bibliophile’s dream. Enjoy it all! ( )

As certain as I have always been that I can be alone without being lonely, opening the covers, turning the pages, I know that I will find comfort in reading a book. It is a certainty for me. The genre will not be the key to my selection; I will drift to choose a novel with a bookshop or library setting.

"To a book lover, a bookshop is not a place in the world, but a world in itself."

With that need, I selected a book waiting for my attention. I was immediately comforted by the 1st few words, "Welcome to the best bookshop there is," Kelly says.

Now, it is my turn to welcome you to discover this marvelous book. You will travel back a few years and be inserted amid the pandemic. I didn’t know if I could find comfort in thinking about that time. We lived through it. But, within this bookshop are people who love books, people who care, people who are going to work trying to keep a business afloat, missing their customers, thinking about the women who are not safe at home, and while wondering how to help themselves, they are wondering if they can help others through this difficult time.

The solution is exquisite—a book pharmacy.

"You know that books are safety and escape and wisdom and peace and the things that get you through."

The book recommendations throughout the story have a wide range of offerings, with a sentence or two to describe why it was added as a possibility of interest and intrigue to answer an individual’s request. Some of the titles and authors I recognized, and others I couldn’t wait to add to my tbr.

Each reader will discover life as it was during that time, and the hope that carries us forward. The next steps. The next connections.

"It’s the state of mind and heart of the person reading it that will make the book grow into something greater than the words printed in it."

The novel encourages us to remember that sometimes, to move forward, there are goodbyes, and many are goodbyes that we never want to say. But as we say those goodbyes, we carry the legacy of those we loved so dearly with us. Books refresh our spirits; we carry the words we read forward in our thoughts, hearts, and actions.

This beautifully written novel is a tribute to all independent booksellers who have always been creatively bringing readers and books together to comfort, educate, transform, escape, remember, hope, and dream. Thank you, Stephanie Butland. Thank you for finding the words to capture the feelings of readers about different aspects of a booklover’s life, bookshops, and books interspersed through this story. I will not hesitate to read this book again and again, but first, it becomes my book shopping list.

The author provides the list of recommended books and "Questions for Book-sharers" at the end of the novel. ( )

Bought on offer for my Kindle, and read mostly on a flight. Basically light women's fiction set around a bookshop, during the pandemic when customers can no longer visit.

Interesting writing style, and great characterisation even if there are many more minor characters than I could remember. Excellent from a social history point of view, this book covers not just specifically Covid-related issues, but other contemporary situations, some of them quite poignant.

This book is a sequel to 'Lost for Words' by the same author. It's not necessary to have read that first, but recommended.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2023/07/found-in-bookshop-by-stephanie-butl... ( )