I love book shops and I love historical novels so I was looking forward to this book. You can read what I thought of the Last Bookshop in London Below.
The Blurb
August 1939: London prepares for war as Hitler’s forces sweep across Europe. Grace Bennett has always dreamed of moving to the city, but the bunkers and drawn curtains that she finds on her arrival are not what she expected. And she certainly never imagined she’d wind up working at Primrose Hill, a dusty old bookshop nestled in the heart of London.
Through blackouts and air raids as the Blitz intensifies, Grace discovers the power of storytelling to unite her community in ways she never dreamed—a force that triumphs over even the darkest nights of the war.
My Review of The Last Bookshop in London
Overall it was a quaint story of romance and sadness in the backdrop of war torn London. The two young ladies end up in London expecting excitement and joy at their new lives but then war breaks out.
Grace has been working in a dusty old bookshop but she works hard on making it more presentable taking inspiration from the bigger bookshops on the main street. She meets a young man and just as you think love might blossom he is called away to service.
It starts off slow and then we have the blitz and constant bombing. Grace’s reading helps people get through the nights of bombing. Things get a lot worse but it’s a story of a community coming together and helping each other.
But will Grace have a happy ending?
This really wasn’t my type of book. I was drawn in by the bookshop story and the backdrop of the blitz but the Americanisms were a little too obvious and the narrator was far too posh for a WWII Londoner. I found listening a little annoying, reading the book may have been better.
I listened to the book on Audible which you can purchase here (affiliate link)
Get a free trial from audible here (affiliate link)
The blurb had me quite interested, but your review suggests this probably isn’t a book I would love! So I will probably give it a miss.
It’s good to know which books are best avoided, as well as which ones are must-reads.
Anne, I read this too and it took me a few chapters to get into it, then I was hooked. I read it in a few days, as it was one of those I can’t go to sleep until I finish the book. LOL.