Nina is looking for the kind of crazy love and passion that Cathy and Heathcliff had in Wuthering Heights but so far she has only found losers and bad boys who are interested in her looks. Noah, a nerdish business analyst with his nose always in his iPad, visits the bookshop where she works but Nina dismisses him as not her type at all. But soon she finds out that not only Noah is sweet and nice but he is also someone from her past, and the more time she spends time with him, the more she likes him.
This is the third book in the Lonely Hearts Bookshop series and, like the previous two novels, it is entertaining and romantic. Once again, the author has created engaging and lovable characters and I liked reading more about the characters from the previous novels. Featuring a bit of family drama, a few secrets, loyal friendships, and new love, this is a sharp, funny, and captivating novel that you won't be able to put down.
(NP)
Verity Love is an introvert who prefers to spend an evening with a book than out socialising and talking to people. She doesn’t like to interact with anyone she doesn’t know, she doesn’t like to be hugged or to hold hands, and, contrarily to what her friends think, she enjoys being single. But since her friends seem to want to couple her with every single man they know, Verity creates an imaginary boyfriend who actually turns real when she meets handsome Johnny who needs a fake girlfriend to get his own friends off his back. Verity and Johnny agree to pretend to be together to go to parties and weddings and show their friends that they are happy. Their fake relationship soon turns into a good friendship (and something more) as they share their darkest secrets and meet each other's family.
What I enjoyed most in this novel is Verity’s family. With four chatty, hilarious and very loud sisters, her family is a modern version of the Bennet family in Pride and Prejudice (a book that Verity has read many, many times and that she can quote by heart). Verity seems reserved and lacking social skills (she doesn’t like to speak to people on the phone) but I found her engaging and honest, not afraid to speak her mind and stand up for herself and I love that when she is in a difficult situation she thinks of her heroine and asks herself “What would Elizabeth Bennet do?”. Full of colourful characters and witty dialogues that made me laugh out loud, this is a refreshing and vibrant novel about love, friendship and family. (NP)
When Bookends owner Lavinia Thorndyke dies, she leaves her bookshop to her employee and friend Posy, who looks forward to changing the shop into a romance-focused bookstore. Unfortunately, along with Bookends she has also inherited Lavinia’s arrogant and gorgeous grandson Sebastian who doesn’t take “no” for an answer. I read this book in two days: it’s funny, entertaining and romantic and it could turn into a good rom-com movie. The setting in London’s Bloomsbury, the hilarious exchanges between Posy and Sebastian, family and friends ready to help at a moment’s notice, these are all the ingredients for an enjoyable read. (NP)
