Rating: 4 Stars
Source: NetGalley
Description: Maggie is a little restless after becoming "involuntarily separated" from her job at a Silicone Valley start up. She fills her days by hanging around her neighbor's used bookstore - Dragonfly books - inhaling book after book. Desperate for a chance to get her job back she agrees to join the book club that is run by a board member at her old company. The book - Lady Chatterley's Lover - doesn't hold her interest. Not nearly as much as the margin notes in her beat up copy between 2 people getting to know each other and falling in love.
Genre: Fiction
Why I Picked This Book: I'm not going to lie. I mainly picked this book because of the cover which I think we can all agree is pretty great. The used bookstore premise also attracted me but the cover was what had me breaking my "No more NetGalley requests" ban.
My Impression:
Pro: I loved the bookish feel of this one. This is really a book about people who love books. To me the best part of this one is that Maggie, despite having studied English literature, isn't really a literary reader. When we first meet her she's downing historical romances at the rate of 2 or 3 a day. There's lots of book talk and casual mentions of lots of different authors. It also made me want my own bookstore just so I can organize the shelves. The characters are fantastically real. You have Jason, the grumpy guardian of the science fiction section who resists any kind of change. Dizzy is full of boundless enemies and lots of ideas and is really in truly a good friend to Maggie. Then there's Hugo who is kind of like a vague benevolent fairy godfather with a bit of a womanizing habit. Also, if you've ever known an engineer the scene where the two Mikes and John fix the bookshelf will crack you up. Or at least it did for me and I'm the daughter of an engineer, married to one and kind of was one!
Cons: I didn't love the romance aspect. I was far more interested in Maggie and the bookstore and felt that the romance aspect took too much time away from that. The first physical scene especially really left me cold.
Overall: I thoroughly enjoyed this bookish read. The setting is wonderful and the characters are so realistic it doesn't feel like fiction. I would love to revisit Dragonfly Books.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author?: Absolutely!
Would I Recommend this Book?: Yes, this is a really fun bookish read.
I'm sorry the romance didn't work for you, but it sounds like everything else did. And you're right; the cover is adorable. Given our tastes, if you liked it, I probably will! So I'm adding it to my TBR list (my groaning, bursting-at-the-seams TBR list!) and asking my library to get it.
ReplyDeleteThe romance was a minor element so it definitely wasn't a deal breaker! The story itself was really fun. I hope you enjoy it. Those TBRs are definitely getting crazy. One day we'll get everything read right?
DeleteThis sounds wonderful! I'm off to check to see if my library has a copy. I do love a good "book about books"! Nice review!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I really enjoyed this one - definitely one of my favorite books about books!
DeleteI want to read this one and, yes, it's because of the cover! LOL
ReplyDeleteThat cover is seriously hard to resist! There's a cat in the books as well though that one has a mind of his own!
DeleteI love the cover and the used-bookstore aspect. A bit of unlikely romance is okay for me if the rest of the story is good. Thanks-- sounds like a good read for me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this one! It was really fun and while the romance aspect didn't quite do it for me there was so much other great stuff in the book it didn't matter too much.
DeleteThe cover of a book is the thing that gets you to open it up, if you don't know the author, and it clearly lured you! Nice that what was inside got a thumbs up. Thanks for the review, balanced as usual.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I definitely did enjoy this book. I'm looking forward to seeing other books from King!
DeleteI love the sound of the sitting and the setting is divine!
ReplyDeleteThis one is really lovely!
DeleteThis sounds great and I expect I will pick this up. I like the cover too, and the part about it being "about people who love books" really appeals to me. It sounds like a great store to read about- and I love the name Dragonfly Books. Glad this one is as good as it sounds!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is indeed great and the bookish feel is attractive :) Thanks for sharing !
ReplyDeleteThat is a pretty awesome cover. :-) I love finding books with notes in the margins. I learned so much about my grandfather from the "footprints" in books he left behind. This sounds like a great book,even if the romance was on the weaker side.
ReplyDelete