Book Review: The Lost for Words Bookshop

I didn't fly through this one with as much gusto as I usually do but I'm really happy I read it because it was an unexpected delight.

The Lost for Words Bookshop - Stephanie Butland

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look closely, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are things she'll never show you.

Fifteen years ago Loveday lost all she knew and loved in one unspeakable night. Now, she finds refuge in the unique little York bookshop where she works.

Everything is about to change for Loveday. Someone knows about her past. Someone is trying to send her a message. And she can't hide any longer.

This book came in the mail a few weeks ago and I was able to squeeze it into my review calendar faster than usual because I'm kind of on a lightening streak right now with reviews. But I loved the cover right away and I read that it was "witty and irreverent" so I wanted to start it right away. I guess I thought there would be more humor in the book than there was but I really enjoyed it anyways. 

In this book we have Loveday, who throughout the book, tells us about her really tragic home life that was once a picture perfect family but became one where she's in foster care, one parent is dead, and the other in jail. Loveday changed as a person and is mostly kept to herself but she comes alive inside of the little bookstore run by her friend Archie, who becomes a mentor/father figure. We read about her failed attempt at a relationship with Rob, who isn't the person her portrays himself to be, and her reluctance to start one with Nathan, the good guy who really adores her. It all comes together on poetry night, which Loveday reluctantly goes to, where she starts to come out of her shell and be a little more honest with those around her.

The first half of this book is kind of slow and threatens to land it into the DNF pile but it's around the halfway mark that things start to take off, the plot picks up speed, and things start happening. I didn't actually care for Loveday's character, for me she was TOO much of the cliche introvert. I don't understand her fear of her childhood and how that would affect how people treated her but to each their own I guess. I really loved Archie's character, and I liked Nathan's character, too- he's such a great guy with his own issues but he tries so hard to be patient and come around. I loved the story line about Loveday's parents and how she ended up in foster care. It goes to show a child doesn't really always see all the moving parts around them, and remember things the way they want to. It was a really interesting way to talk about domestic violence in the home and it was well done.

I'm giving this one a solid 4.5 stars- I'd give it a full 5 if it just weren't so slow in the beginning. If you are a bibliophile or dream of working in a book store you will adore all of the book references throughout. This was a delight to read.