Published by Gallery Books Genres: Family, Fantasy, Literary Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Women's Fiction
Format: ARC
“But that’s the beauty of a book. It can take you places you can’t visit on your own, lets you meet people and see things you can’t in real life.”
Sarah Dove has a gift (all of the Dove sisters do!). Books speak to her, they tell her who needs to read them, they don’t tell her why, but they are never wrong. As the town librarian, she places books and readers together. Then one day a book tells her about the arrival of Grace Wheeler. The books whisper to Sarah that Grace will be the one to save the town and return it to its former glory.
Grace Wheeler and her sister Hannah bounced from foster home to foster home until they were placed with Mama G. There they found a home and Grace discovered the joy of reading and a connection with Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women. Now an adult, Grace has quit her job and moved to Mama G’s hometown of Dove Pond to care for Mama G and her niece. Both who desperately need her. Grace has no intentions of making this town her own. She plans to stay a short time before heading back to the city. But the books, Sarah and the townspeople have other plans.
I did not want to put this book down (so I didn’t). It had so many things going for it: a librarian who found the perfect books for each reader (actually the books choose the readers), a strong female lead who was strong and vulnerable at the same time, Mama G (man, did she have me crying), a wounded vet, a little magical realism and likable (even lovable) characters. This is the first in the series so here I am doing a happy dance.
This was the perfect summer read for me. At times light and fun, other times it touches on serious issues – PTSD, Alzheimer’s, and grief to name a few. But it also touches on finding a family, being a friend, love, human connections, being part of a community, starting over, taking chances and letting people in. I didn’t want to put this book down. I was absorbed in the story and even though it is a little predictable it did not affect my enjoyment of the book in any way. The Book is called “The Book Charmer” which is Sarah, but the book is more about Grace and her family. I have a strong feeling that Sarah will be the focus of the next book (fingers crossed). I wanted a little more at the end. It did feel as if the book ended a little abruptly but there was an epilogue which tied some things up. There will be more books in the series so I know there will be more to come with the quirky enjoyable characters.
*Plus, it has a beautiful cover!
Thank you to Gallery Pocket Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own