I loved this story and the characters were so real. A good mixture of events in the book to keep the reader interested. Wonderfully written

This is quite a short book, easily read in a weekend (and i'm a slow reader). The main character is a young, confused, kindof lost teenager called Loveday. As the story unfolds we come to understand Loveday's past and why she acts the way she does. I did find her a little annoying at times I have to admit, but I did like her as a character. The story is well written, and it does keep you on your toes, I was swept along by the story, and was quite upset at one point near the end if i'm honest. A good read overall.

A great story which I found compelling to read. The main character is portrayed as being slightly off-beat and quirky compared to most young women, who immerses herself in the environment she feels safest in - surrounded by books. Her job, at a York bookshop she has worked at since she was a teenager, is her sanctuary. This is a delightful read which flips between the current day and her childhood, growing up in Whitby. I loved the way that the author described all her characters and dealt with the topic of domestic violence sensitively.

Just gotta love loveday. I love York, I love books nd all things book related. The book is centred around a fun, quirky, sensitive,charismatic character. I loved it nd would recommend to all. Such a fab read nd delivered way more than I expected.

Loveday's life is a small one, a job in a second-hand bookshop, a small flat, a huge collection of books and a body that is used a a canvas for her favourite literary quotes. She does not want to step outside her comfort zone till one day two things happen: she finds a poetry book on the street and a collection of books appear in her life. The poetry book brings a young poet Nathan walks into her life and the collection of books spark a series of memories that Loveday has worked hard to forget. As more books arrive which open up more memories, Loveday begins to worry who is behind the strange arrival of books that are forcing her to face her past.
Poetry and Nathan become a way for her to confront her past but there is someone who doesn't want Loveday to move on.
This would be a good book to use for with book groups as it does explore the issue of foster care. It woould be a good summer read.

Love Day is a closed book tightly shut and keeps herself to herself, after a terrible tradgedy on childhood that led to Loveday being in foster care she has shut herself away from people not daring to trust anyone with her dark secret. Loveday met Archie when she was 15 and has worked on his bookshop since, it is the only place she feels at home and comfortable until she meets Nathan and slowly unfurls. A beautiful book that will make you think, cry and laugh.

"I turned the pages, carefully - they weren't brittle, but soft, almost bruisable, and they felt as though they could have come off in my fingers, like petals tugged from a daisy."
This is the first Stephanie Butland book I have read and I will definitely be looking for more books her, it was a pleasure to read it. It was well written, well researched and I thoroughly recommend it!

Beautiful. A pleasure to read. Loveday has come through a lot. The events in her childhood are tragic and more than anyone should have to endure. She finds love with Nathan and still keeps her childhood secret. This book is really well written. I got totally caught up in the characters and their lives. I laughed and I cried and read this book in one sitting. I would definitely recommend this book and I am looking forward to reading more books by Stephanie Butland.

Loveday Cardew tries to remain in the shadows; she keeps herself to herself. She is happiest with her books which is why she is glad to be working in a second hand bookshop with her eccentric boss. I really loved this book with glimpses into Loveday’s story and the events that have shaped her. No ordinary romance, I really felt for Loveday and really wanted things to work for her. Highly recommended. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Loveday is a big fan of books. Books dominate her life. After all she works in a bookshop in York. This is a delightful read which chops between the current day and the past when she was growing up in Whitby. I loved the way that Butland described all her characters. They were all most believable. It does deal with the topic of domestic violence which is treated with sensitivity.

What a fantastic read, I loved it. The setting, the characters, and a wonderful plot kept me up until the early hours to finish it. This was a big change from the crime novels I usually read but I'm so glad I did. Highly recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley, Bonnier Zafffe and Stephanie Butland for an ARC of this lovely book.

Very enjoyable. Love the bookshop setting and the literary references throughout. The central character is interesting and complex and her backstory, and how it comes to collide with her changing life, is handled in an engaging, always believable, way. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Loveday Cardew, who is absorbed by her job in a York bookshop, has a secret past which gradually unfolds as you read. She is initially portrayed as a very strong independent young woman but it becomes clear that she has tried to shelve her traumatic past life. She is then forced to face up to things as she begins a romantic relationship. The story takes you through her struggle to open up about her life so she can be honest with her friends, but she is frightened of how they will react. This is a beautifully written portrayal of a young women who has kept much hidden and seeks to find a way through with the help of her friends and her books. I thoroughly recommend it.

This is a book about someone who loves words, and books. Loveday had a tragic start in life when her mother kills her bullying father, and goes to prison. She is placed with a foster mother, and struggles to adapt to life outside her own family. Eventually she finds her way into working in a bookshop, called Lost for Words, and the owner, Archie virtually adopts her and looks after her.
At a poetry evening she meets Nathan, who seems to be her ideal man, but their relationship is troubled by the attention of a man with psychopathic problems
The ending of the book is bittersweet, but eventually Loveday reunites with her mother, and alls well that ends well.

I really enjoyed this book and thoroughly recommend it. A lovely story with some dark twists and turns within the tales.

Yuck.
This was to much like hard work with the characters being dull and the the actual story feeling like it was in reverse.
A waste of my time and anybody else's.
Sorry I just did not like this

Although I enjoyed this book I found the story a little drawn out. It was a very interesting subject and I felt that the characters were well defined and you were drawn to them.

What a totally wonderful book!!!! I could not put it down! I really loved this book! Excellent story with brilliant main characters. I would recommend this book.

When the misanthropic Loveday Cardew discovers a tatty copy of Grinning Jack by Liverpool poet Brian Patten carelessly abandoned on the ground, she cannot foresee that her actions to reunite it with its negligent owner will provoke a sequence of disruptive events in her carefully regulated life.

I wasn’t at all sure that Lost For Words by Stephanie Butland was going to be my sort of book. The promotional write-up was tempting, describing it has having the “emotional intensity of The Shock of the Fall and all the charm of The Little Paris Bookshop and 84, Charing Cross Road” – the latter being a great favourite of mine – but it was categorized as chick-lit and romance on Goodreads, which are probably my two least liked genres (i.e. I wouldn’t normally bother to read the blurb after making such a discovery). However, something compelled me to give it a shot, and it was worth the effort.

The author lives by the sea in Northumberland, where she writes in a studio at the bottom of her garden. She once worked as a bookseller, but now trains people to think creatively, and is an occasional performance poet – a topic that plays a major role in this novel.

Lost For Words is a fictional book emporium in the historic city of York, owned by Archie, an endearing, loquacious, well-upholstered rascal who keeps a paternal but discreet watch over Loveday, his reticent but dedicated assistant. She has worked for him since being in her teens (she’s in her mid to late twenties when the story begins) and is perfectly content to continue doing so indefinitely.

Loveday may show every outward sign of being a sulky, uncommunicative emo, but she’s actually quite a compassionate character, it’s simply that she prefers books to people. This is unsurprising once you learn that her life has been difficult, and she has a past she would rather forget. I felt an instant warmth for her because (like me) one of her special books is A.S. Byatt’s Possession, which is partly set in her home town of Whitby. Byatt’s famous work is of course a romantic novel, but I somewhat ridiculously prefer to think of it as pure literary fiction.

Butland’s book isn’t the sentimental mush I half expected it to be – nor is it a particularly cosy read – it’s more a warm at heart mystery novel which sneaks domestic violence, stalking, trauma and mental health issues in through the back of the bookstore.

While there’s plenty here to keep us book fetishists happy (lots of literary name-dropping, for instance), there is also a romance of sorts, as well as humour, remorse, love and shelves full of second-hand volumes.

The principal characters’ poetry is heartfelt but not terribly good, although I don’t think it was meant to be. Butland’s novel is, however, an ideal read for the tome-weary bibliophile looking for something undemanding but intelligent to fill a relaxing evening.

Loveday Cardew was content with her quiet life, working in a second-hand bookshop in York, letting the eccentric owner (and something of a substitute grandfather) Archie be loud enough for the both of them.

Then she finds a lost poetry book on the bus.

Can Loveday come to terms with her fragile family past and personal tragedy to let her enjoy the life she deserves?

Lost For Words by Stephanie Butland is a charming, heart-warming story that combines all your favourite parts of an easy holiday read with the pace and thought provoking themes of a consuming drama.

I admit when the characters were introduced, Loveday with her nose ring and tattoos, and Nathan Avebury, poet and magician, my brain did scream “manic-pixie girl ‘fixes’ jaded male interest’ but thankfully that was not at all the case! As you read and understand more about Loveday’s history you see the see why she is presented, both physically and personality, as prickly and standoffish. All the characters are richly written, the good and the bad, and leave you wishing you knew more about them once the story is over.

I imagine people will be tempted to write this off as chic-lit but not only would that be a disservice but a complete mistake. It is a deeply human story and it’s set in a bookshop, what more could you want?