This was a gorgeous, light-hearted read with delightful characters and a fun premise. I really enjoyed this one.

I must firstly apologise for the amount of time it has taken me to provide me review of this book, my health was rather bad for quite some time, something that had me in hospital on numerous occasions and simply didnt leave me with the time I once had to do what I love most.

Unfortunately that does mean I have missed the archive date for many of these books, so It would feel unjust throwing any review together without being able to pay attention to each novel properly.

However, I am now back to reading as before and look forward to sharing my honest reviews as always going forward. I thank you f0r the patience and understanding throughout x

This is sweet and frothy and perfect for suspending your disbelief and enjoying a cosy couple of hours.

To start with the positives – the characters are really engaging and both Eloise and Valentina’s stories weave in and out well.

Valentina has always felt that she was abandoned by her mother, who returned to England, leaving her in America and never seeing her again. When she inherits the bookshop she has a chance to reconnect with her mother and catch a glimpse into the life that she made for herself. She also has the opportunity to understand why her mother left.

Eloise’s story is about a love lost and the choices people make. She heads to America to marry someone that she really doesn’t know, and while the promise of financial security and a sense of adventure are exciting, Eloise is extremely naive. Isolated and bored, her life in California is not what she thought it would be.

For me, the negatives were the Americanisms. I think this edition was written for an American audience as the grammar and some of the words and phrawes were really out of place for a book full of British characters. Never once in my life have I heard anyone call aubergines eggplants. We don’t really have closets and certainly don’t have tea kettles.

This book seems miles away from the reality of living in London, and feels more like a Londonish version of the Gilmore Girls’ Stars Hollow.

This is sweet, easy read and the cover is gorgeous.

Thank you to Netgalley for my gifted digital copy. It was perfect rainy afternoon reading.

Unfortunately this book didn't do it for me. I struggled to get into it and therefore didn't finish it

The idea of this story was good and I had heard good things about this author, from my mother, but it didn't quite live up to my expectations. It started out cute and I was curious how Valentina would get on in London and what reason her mother could possibly have had for leaving her when she was still young.

I loved how it was so clear that Valentina loved books and several other characters did too, but that there were also characters who thought the movie was just fine. The scavenger style hunt for clues in order to gain a better understanding of her mother was fun, but just like the romance in this story it all moved rather slowly for my liking. Overall it was a sweet story, but somewhat long and slow moving leaving me not all that invested in the story or crazy about the characters.

What a beautiful story.

Told through two different time lines, one for a mother and one the daughter, this was a joy to read.

Obviously the theme of books drew me to this tale but it was the content that really melted my heart.

There are two themes that were running side by side, the budding romance for both mother and daughter and then there was the long lost family feelings that were simmering throughout the pages.

I found the different points of view for mum in the past and the daughter in present times made the story so much more enjoyable. As the reader, I felt as though I was seeing them both grow and change with everything they were going through.

It all felt so honest, heartfelt.

A tender tale that shows us the importance of friendship and the love and support that they can provide when you most need it.

Of course the added romance made me swoon, I was rooting for a happy ending.

With a satisfying ending, I will definitely be reading more of Sarah's books in the future.

This book has a dual timeline, Eloise in the 60s and her daughter Valentina in 2013. Set around a bookshop in London and a treasure hunt ( Scavenger Hunt ! ) thrown in as well.
A great uplifting read if you can get over the Americanisms which spoiled it .
Thank you to Netgalley, and Orion dash for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review

Love Sarah Jim’s books always beautifully written.The bookshop setting the characters drew me in made for an emotional real story.#netgalley #0rion

As usual in my reviews, I will not rehash the plot - there are plenty of reviews like that out there already if that's what you are looking for!

This is a "light read with substance", rather than just a "fluffy read". I was drawn by the title as I LOVE bookshops! I enjoyed the fact that the book is written from the viewpoint of two characters - Valentina and her mother Eloise - in two timelines and multiple locations. The settings are beautifully described, and the main characters very well written. There's also a great cast of supporting characters, and a cat (always a cosy and welcome addition for me).

I loved the bittersweet romance of Eloise's story (though boo hiss to Frank!), she sounded like a lovely warm person and a strong character. I loved the "treasure hunt" aspect to the tale too, and the way it reconnected Eloise with Valentina. Other favourite characters included Eric, Millie, Liza and Edward.

My only slight niggle was that a few overt Americanisms found their way into the story ... which would have been fine if the characters saying them had not been English... For example "semester" instead of "term", "grade school" instead of primary school, "eggplant" instead of aubergine etc. I realise the book is intended for an international market, but...

Anyway, I enjoyed reading this novel - my first by this author, and I will happily read more of Sarah Jio's books in the future.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC. All opinions my own.

* Potential trigger subjects covered include divorce, bereavement and childhood separation.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was an absolutely charming read!! I love a book set in a book shop and Sarah’s writing style is exquisite!! A must read for every book worm

I was really looking forward to this one but it missed the mark for me. It didn't get a real sense of place as it didn't feel authentic. Also English people using Americanisms grated on me.

Told from dual perspective, one the daughter in present time and the other her mother in the 80's.
Veronica, a recent divorcee arrives in London after the death of her estranged mother to inherit a bookshop. Veronica heartbroken and lost finds the essence of her mother in that bookshop which is in trouble... On the other hand Young Eloise in the 80's is being courted for marriage and she meets what she thinks her is her soul mate.... Alas things don't go how she wants them too. Meanwhile, Veronica is on a scavenger hunt set up by her mother, to lead her to the truth behind her leaving Veronica as a child. While Eloise tries to find the Elusive Edward before she has to make a decision that would change the course of her life, Veronica is looking looking for the mysterious annotater who left left notes in her favourite childhood book.

This is a bittersweet book, I'm sure we've read and seen on screen stories just like this but it never gets old.
Its a book about second chances at life, about fulfilling your dreams not quite they you planned and that books are always there to rescue you.

Can a mother-daughter duo, separated and estranged, connect once more when one of them is no longer around? Two generations and two people, who were once dear and close to each other, separated by oceans, misunderstandings, and hurt, are finally reunited in one last mother and daughter scavenger hunt as Val begins to go through this last gift from her mother to piece together all the history she has missed.

This book is told in two perspectives: one of Valentina’s in the present and one of her mother’s (Eloise) in the past. In the middle of a nasty divorce after her husband left her for another woman, Valentina ends up as the new owner of a bookshop in London, England, one that she inherits from her estranged mother, after her passing, and one she did not anticipate on holding onto. Her plans were to travel to England and just sell the store; after all, she holds no feelings or attachments to the place, neighborhood, or even her mother who had disappeared when she was twelve with not a single peep since then. It isn’t until she discovers her mother’s final gift to her, a scavenger hunt, that she begins to fall for the neighborhood and its people and get to know her mother, once more, through the lens of these neighbors.

I adored the writing in this book. It was the first thing I noticed. The characters were well written and had wonderful voices to their distinct personalities. I adored both the different time pieces, the past with Eloise and the present with Val and her own newfound friends. The interactions between the characters were great too, and the prose was beautiful. Easy to read and flowing really well, the writing was full of emotions through the entire read, enough to have me crying through a good chunk of it.

The pacing towards the beginning was a bit slow. Things are just starting to get a move on with Val realizing she may be staying here, in her mother’s old flat, for good, and she settles into both her new home/neighborhood and the puzzle that her mother leaves her. All the same, Eloise dives into the entire history behind Val’s father as well as her own first love. Things really take off towards the middle, where both the mother and daughter are going through their own major crises, but slightly different times so that one story is just a little more nerve wrecking than the other, and you want to hurry through the less anxious one, so that you can see what happens next; of course, it repeats later when we go through the other major conflict in the other storyline down the road.

There are some wonderful characters from both sides of the story, but more from Valentina’s as she meets a community of folks who knows her mother more and better than she has ever known. Through them, her opinion of the estranged Eloise would slowly change, and it’s such a wonderful neighborhood of beautiful people. All sorts of customers stop by to tell her of the difference that Eloise has played in their lives, such as a character (around Val’s age) who knew Eloise all the way back to when he was a child listening to her during story time events that she would host.

Despite the disconnect between Valentina and her mother, the two are still able to communicate, albeit a one-way connection and via letters. On one end, the reader gets to know Eloise better as she tells of her tale of how she fell in love and how Valentina came to be. On the other end is Valentina going about her usual days, while occasionally coming across new clues for the next letter location.

This was a lovely book and though it felt a bit slow for me in the beginning, most of the rest of the book had me running through with tears in my eyes. I knew that there was something major and way more to Eloise than just “the mother who took off on her husband and daughter, never to be heard from again.” The ending is very sweet, and I’m glad that many of the characters, including Valentina herself, seems to eventually find some form of peace. With Eloise’s tale being one of tragedy and Valentina’s almost like one of closure, I really enjoyed how the book finishes off, especially given the multiple obstacles both mother and daughter run into throughout the book. This is a heartwarming story about family, a mother’s love for her daughter, and about community. The neighborhood is so tight-knit that I almost envy Valentina and would love to just live on Primrose Hill myself.

A very touching read, Sarah Jio is a new author to me, and I’m eager to read more. Her writing is beautiful, her characters warm, and the story engaging. I really enjoyed this book and if you love family books with a bit of romance and mystery (a scavenger hunt), this may be a good book for you to curl up to.

This book made me feel really emotional! I honestly had tears in my eyes 13% of the way in. It is a very moving story and it was so well written. The book has a wistful, reflective energy and the lingering shadows of what could have been is the core of this story. This is what got me about this book. It manages to be both positive and sad. It shows you the tragedy and regret of the past while presenting a hopeful and bright future.

We learn about Eloise's life, her struggles and her great love and there are moments that are so romantic and it's so bittersweet because we know how it all ends. We know the path she chose. As th story unfolds, you find yourself feeling increasingly sad for Eloise and the lost time between her and her daughter.

This is a book for book lovers. It's a dual narrative and both of those characters live and breathe books.
Their love for reading is what carries this story and there are moments in it that book lovers will just feel an instant connection to. I got completely lost in the pages.

The only thing that bothered me about the book is that British characters were using American words and language such as "candy", "she lives three blocks from here", "grade five". It's a little thing but it really sticks out.

Although I was able to predict what was going to happen, I still enjoyed the lovely story and watching it all unfold.

When I first saw the cover of this book I assumed it was just another run of the mill chicklit, a fun yet predictable love story not too dissimilar from all the rest. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that yes, it is a love story but not in the way that I thought. There is a bit of romance and that's fine, I love a soppy romance, but the focus of this particular story was more on other types of love--the love of books, the love of a friend and most importantly of all, the unwavering love of a mother for her child.

This story is told in alternating points of view between Valentina, a newly divorced 30-something and her estranged mother Eloise. Valentina receives notice that Eloise has passed away and has left her failing bookshop to her daughter who decides to relocate to England and start her life over. Through a series of clues found within the pages of her beloved books, Eloise tells her story to her daughter and Valentina not only finds a new purpose in life but also a deeper love that she thought was long gone.

Reading this book made me want to hug my daughter tight and then open a bookshop immediately. Highly recommended cozy read for any book lover.

I am like a magpie to stories that are bookshop based, and this one was gorgeous. I loved the Primrose Hill setting and the dual timeline was perfectly executed. A beautiful, touching read and one I would highly recommend,

Love stories that take place around books or bookshops

Valentina Baker was only eleven years old when her mother, Eloise, suddenly fled to London, leaving Val and her father on their own in California. Now a librarian in her thirties, Val is fresh out of a failed marriage and utterly disenchanted with life.

One day, Val receives word that Eloise has died, leaving Val the deed to both her mother's Primrose Hill apartment and the bookshop she opened twenty years ago. As Val jets across the Atlantic, she wonders - could this be her chance at a new beginning?

In London, Val finds herself falling in love with the pastel-coloured flat and the cosy, treasure-filled bookshop. When she stumbles across a series of intriguing notes left in a beloved old novel, it's the start of a scavenger hunt that will take her all over London and back in time... but most of all, bring her closer to the mother she lost twice.

The Bookshop on Primrose Hill by Sarah Jio

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Orion Dash and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Valentina Baker was only eleven years old when her mother, Eloise, suddenly fled to London, leaving Val and her father on their own in California. Now a librarian in her thirties, Val is fresh out of a failed marriage and utterly disenchanted with life.

One day, Val receives word that Eloise has died, leaving Val the deed to both her mother's Primrose Hill apartment and the bookshop she opened twenty years ago. As Val jets across the Atlantic, she wonders - could this be her chance at a new beginning?

In London, Val finds herself falling in love with the pastel-coloured flat and the cosy, treasure-filled bookshop. When she stumbles across a series of intriguing notes left in a beloved old novel, it's the start of a scavenger hunt that will take her all over London and back in time... but most of all, bring her closer to the mother she lost twice.

Valentina is recently divorced and finds herself inheriting a bookshop in London from her estranged mother. This is one for the booklovers - who will race through this book trying to discover the truth. A cute story, that I raced through.

Rating 4/5

Heartwarming and easy to read. Chosen to read as it was about a book shop. I wasn't disappointed. The characters.became friends and I didn't want it to end. Well worth.a read.