"The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn" by Freya Kennedy is a heartwarming tale that beautifully captures the essence of pursuing one's dreams with courage and determination. Set against the charming backdrop of a small Irish town, the story follows Libby Quinn as she endeavors to open her own bookstore, weaving together themes of community, love, and the importance of following one's heart. Kennedy's writing is delightful, filled with warmth and humor, making the characters feel like old friends by the end of the book. The novel strikes a perfect balance between light-hearted moments and emotional depth, ensuring that readers are both entertained and moved. "The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn" is a feel-good read that inspires optimism and leaves a lasting impression of joy, making it a must-read for those who enjoy uplifting stories about life and love.

4 stars

I absolutely loved this novel!
Warm and uplifting brimming with books and romance ....what more you could possibly want?

This is a charming and easygoing read. We follow Libby Quinn who decides to take a chance and open a bookshop in honour of her grandfather. We get to watch as she turns a dilapidated building into the bookshop of her dreams. There are some great and captivating characters of all ages along the way and the plot is gentle and a great escape. This is a very feel good book that is charming and enjoyable

Really nice book with a lovely storyline and nice characters. Heartwarming. Didn’t want to put it down.

What a charming read! Delightful beach reading. I really enjoyed this frothy romantic comedy.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for my ARC. All opinions are my own.

The hopes and dream of Libby Quinn by Freya Kennedy

A beautifully written book about Libby Quinns journey to make her dreams come true and the unexpected people who help her when she least expects it.

It is a lovely story about the twists and turns in life when you least expect it and how love just creeps in whether you want it to or not. No matter how inconvenient.

Humour, sadness, smiles even a tear. Great read thoroughly enjoyed.

What a gorgeous and heartwarming story about realising your dreams. Putting your heart and soul into making that dream come true. Libby Quinn had always dreamed of owning a bookshop. When her beloved grandfather passed away, Libby decides it is time to follow her dream. So when the ‘dream’ property comes up for sale, she begins the process of making her dream a reality.

I really loved this story and I fell in love with the character of Libby – maybe because I saw so much of myself in her and wanting to achieve my own goals and dreams. We follow Libby on this journey throughout the story. Libby achieves her goals for the bookshop, but also finds out so much more about herself through the character of Noah.

The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn is a heartwarming story of love, life and knowing that you really can make dreams come true. The characters are so well written and the ending leaves you feeling warm and happy – a perfect read.

Sometimes 5 stars just aren't enough and this is one of those rare gems, it made me laugh, it made me cry and swept me along in the story.

Libby is a character after my own heart, she is trying to make the dream she shared with her Grandad come true and open a bookstore. This story takes you through the highs and lows of the renovations as she works tirelessly to make their shared dream a reality whilst trying to balance her relationship with her boyfriend and best friend.

Libby is a kind hearted character that you would love as a friend, as she would always have your back when the chips are down. She wears her heart on her sleeve and throughout this book I laughed and cried and felt the rise and fall of her emotions as she kept overcoming obstacles in her way.

My daughter had a really special bond with my Grandad and this story reminded me of that bond and just added to the magic of the story for me. I loved reading this book and found myself torn as I was desperate to keep reading as I loved it but also wanting to savour it as I was loving it so much.

An author I would 100% read again and a book that stole my heart and I will be shouting about from the roof tops.

Found this story very slow and pedantic, and the emphasis on sentiment at the start felt overly saccharine for me and the characters, especially the main character, thus felt too sweet and I couldn't see any conflict in the story which made it a hard slog and I just couldn't get through it. This might be the perfect read for someone who likes those slow-paced stories with almost-perfect characters, but sadly this wasn't my cup of tea

Loved this book. Such a good book to drift away with.
Libby Quinn is left some money when her grandfather Ernie dies and she is also made redundant. Libby decides to use the money to open a book shop in memory of her grandfather Ernie who got Libby into reading and books. Libby wants to have the opening on her grandfathers birthday. In putting all her efforts into the shop she neglects her best friend Jess they have words and fall out.
Her boyfriend Ant doesn’t seem to excited to help Libby with the shop. Things start to cool with them .
On the plus side the neighbours on Ivy road welcome her with open arms . Noah and Jo from the pub , Harry who owns a shop that sells everything. Libby’s father also is a great help as in the middle of getting the shop ready Libby falls ill.
Will the shop be ready on time?
Thanks NetGalley

I actually had fairly low expectations for thios book, expecting it to be a trashy romance chick lit style book which would be good to read and escape the worldly troubles. Not going to lie, it was what I thoguht it would be, but so much better. Perhaps my low expctations meant I was surprised, but this book was Good with a capital G.

From the description, I was afraid that this book would be exactly like the thousands of other books I have read about a woman finding herself through opening some type of business. However, this book somehow stands above it's competitors. There was a realness to Libby in her interactions with her family, friends, and neighbors that really struck a cord with me. The relationships and characters weren't overdone which made for a wonderfully delightful read!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Really enjoyed this book. Steady paced, great characters, I was absorbed throughout. Will be reading more Kennedy books in the future!

It has been a long while since there was a book that I couldn’t put down! “The Hopes and Dreams of Libby Quinn” was a dream - one that I’ve had for myself more than once! A refurbishment of an old building to turn it into a bookshop and café?! Sign me up! A delight from start to finish - had just the right amount of romance and drama, too!

Oh what a good book! I love it so much! I didn t know what to expect as it was the first time i was reading a book by Freya Kennedy and I am so happy that I gave this book a try. First of all for those who love to read, you will love to follow Libby in her preparation before opening her bookshop... and all those little paragraphs where she talks about her love of reading that her grandpa infused in her. It was so lovely to read. Secondly the romance in this book is so cute and lovely, i want more books like this! I highly recommend this book, you will not be disappointed!

This is one of those comforting, pleasing reads that take the reader away into a world where love always wins, friendships triumph, and there's always a happy ending.


Libby Quinn dreamed of owning a bookstore with her grandfather. But when he dies, the onus is on her to make that dream come true.


This story is about how she accomplishes that with strength and stubbornness. She's a woman who learns to stand up for herself and what true relationships are. And that those who really love you will always support your dreams instead of standing in the way of them.


As a lover of books--the idea of owning a bookstore was just so much fun to read about! I loved this story and the growth of Libby Quinn!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this book! The review will be available at the given link on 5/29/20.

A fun and pleasant read which I have enjoyed. Haven’t wanted to put this down and found it to be a fun and easy read.

I just loved this book so much! A book about a book lover, what's not to like?

I think I've read all of Clare Allen's books. She started off writing really super women's fiction, then had a change of genre to the most gripping psychological thrillers, which I also loved. Now, Freya Kennedy is her pseudonym for some more excellent women's fiction.

Libby is a marvellous character. She's funny and she's determined. She loves books obviously, but what I really loved about this story was her wonderful relationship with her grandfather. Although he's no longer around when this story begins, he's still a major character in the book, through her memories of him.

Libby's descriptions of how books transport you to another world, I'm sure resonates with all of us who love reading, and that's just what this book does. It's a joyous and uplifting read, and just what we all need at the moment.

Such real characters, a highly entertaining plot, and that wonderful Derry sense of humour, make this a pleasure to read.

I could really cut this really short and tell you not to bother reading my review, just get yourself a copy of this book and read that instead! However, although I really do suggest you do just that, I’ll tell you more about why just in case you want to know . . . .

This story starts with a child sat on her grandfather’s knee having stories read to her. I don’t usually include quotes in my review but this time I can’t resist . . . it is something Grandad said to Libby and it is so pertinent to our current situation:

“Books will always be your friend, Libby,” he’d said. “They will transport you to a thousand different worlds. Different times. Mythical creatures, magical mosters, good and evil, scary and funny. There’s no situation so bad that a book can’t help you feel better, even if just for a little while.”

This is a great story to escape into whatever is happening in your world at the moment. It is a glorious story of following your dreams, daring to try to create your own reality from them. In this case, Libby and her Grandad had dreams of owning a bookshop and Libby is taking steps to make it true. It is a story of family and community, new friendships, looking after each other, finding out who you are, what you are, what you want and who will support you. It is also about facing the truth, being honest with yourself and others and always striving to do your best. It is an inspirational yet fun read. The characters are superbly portrayed, the whole book totally engaging and I absolutely loved reading it. I’ve never been to Derry, but if there are areas like Ivy Lane it sounds a brilliant place to live. I really hope this is the start of a series to be set in that community – I’d love to read more about them all in future books! It is a lovely calm, relaxing but totally engaging read that I have absolutely no hesitation in highly recommending. I’ll definitely be looking out for more by this author in future!

I requested and was gifted a copy of this book and this is my honest review after choosing to read it and finding it a totally fascinating, fun read.

A very cute book about the dream of setting up a bookshop. Lighthearted read but a bit teary at times! Highly recommended