The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

Amy      
Lynnie   

fantasy, historical fiction

In 1921, Opaline runs away from her British home to avoid being forced to marry a man she doesn’t know. She sells her prized possession—a valuable book that had been a gift from her father—to get the money to travel to France where she finds a job in a bookshop.  A century later, Martha escapes an abusive marriage by fleeing from her small Irish country town to Dublin. She meets Henry who is visiting Dublin in search of a lost bookshop he believes once existed. The Lost Bookshop weaves their three stories together.

Amy's Review

I was charmed pretty quickly by the three protagonists who each were trying to improve their situations. The fact that there is a lost bookshop to be found was icing on the cake. The magical realism imagined by Evie Woods was delightful…both Martha’s special skill and, especially, the wonders of the bookshop.

This story lost a little of its luster when, around the 2/3 mark, one of the storylines really upset me. I had to step away from the audiobook for a while until I could drum up the nerve to listen again. This upsetting section was a surprise, vicious attack in this otherwise fun novel. But, the more I read, the more I came to understand that this difficult aspect of the story was an important part of it.

Overall, this novel brought me joy and I listened to the audiobook every chance I got. The book magic, especially, was fun and creative.

The audiobook was narrated by three people: Avena Mansergh-Wallace voiced Martha, Olivia Mace voiced Opaline, and Nick Biadon voiced Henry. They all had nice vocal repertoires and a couple of them also displayed various convincing accents. One even sang a few lines. I’ll give the ensemble an A.

Lynnie's Review

Taking place over a century, The Lost Bookshop weaves the stories of Opaline, beginning in 1920s London, and Martha and Henry beginning in modern Dublin, into a compelling story. I was immediately interested in the three main characters who alternate narration.

As the stories unfold and we learn about what binds these characters together, I wanted to spend more and more time reading. Magical realism is threaded throughout the story and I actually felt that Woods could have gone further in that direction several times.

I had a lot of empathy for Opaline and Martha - both stuck in terrible situations they had little control over. Some of the situations they find themselves in are truly heartbreaking and desperate and I am impressed at how Woods was able to get me invested enough to keep reading. I suspect some of my thoughts had to do with women's rights in modern times but I needed to find out whether or not Opaline and Martha were able to persevere.

I was able to go back and forth between reading the Kindle version and listening to the audiobook and enjoyed both experiences. The voice actors Avena Mansergh-Wallace (Martha), Olivia Mace (Opaline), and Nick Biadon (Henry) brought the story alive and were soothing to listen to, even when the book was at its most heartbreaking. I think I enjoyed Biadon's Henry most of all - but that may be because I enjoyed the character, Henry so much. Like Amy, I give them all an A.

This is the first book I've read by Evie Woods (no matter the name she's publishing under), and I hope it won't be the last.