Author: Susan Wiggs
I am usually enticed towards any book which has a “shop” in its title. So, when I was asked to review this book, I got carried away. The blurb also led to a misconception that it is a romance read.
This book is not a romance book albeit there is a little bit
of romance in it. It is about love, loss and family with some history and
romance woven into it. Natalie Harper is heartbroken when she realizes that her
mother and her boyfriend died in a plane crash. Her mother Blythe, a carefree,
fiercely independent woman, ran a bookshop, along with her grand father Andrew
who suffers from dementia. Leaving her lucrative career, which incidentally
never appealed to her, Natalie returns back to San Francisco to take care of
her grand father and resurrect the struggling book shop.
Natalie constantly worries about the finances to sustain the
book shop and the decline in her grand father’s health. She hires a local
contractor Peach Gallagher to do the necessary repairs to
the book shop. His daughter Dorothy comes as a ray of sunshine in Natalie’s
troubled life. Peach Gallagher becomes an integral part of the book shop finding
some historic artifacts in the walls during renovation. The romance between
Peach and Natalie blooms, slowly and steadily.
How Natalie copes up with all
the trouble and finally heals, finding love and acceptance is the crux of the book.
It is a very slow read with a
predictable plot, but the characters are etched out pretty well. Natalie,
Blythe, Andrew, Peach, each of them have had a difficult life and try to cope
up with their past differently. The immense inner strength they display when
they set out to gather the shattered pieces of their past and take charge of
their lives is very inspiring.
I am not sure if I will
recommend it. As I said earlier, I set out with different expectations and it
backfired on me. But to be fair to the book, if you are looking for a heartwarming
read which will lift up your spirits, it is not a bad book to choose. It did
remind me of the movie “Chocolat”, the hero’s description so matches Johnny
Depp in that movie. So, see, after all, there is a reason to celebrate!
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