This is my second book by this author and I was not disappointed. Elodie or Ellie wants to escape her rich life and get a normal job following her dream as a Librarian. Great characters and written in an easy to read way which means you can’t put the book down.
Thanks to Rebecca and your publishers. Also thanks to NetGalley.

Unhappy and unfulfilled working in her family's business, Elodie escapes to Willow Grove to become their new librarian. She wants to prove to herself that she can have a life outside of her family, their wealth, and their demands. She uses her real name,instead of her public name, dresses down, and goes unrecognized.

Once in Willow Grove, Elodie meets a cast of characters that are so more than they seem. She sees it, but to help the rest of the community see (and to overcome they do not have enough money to buy new books), Elodie starts the People Library project.

As Elodie gets to know her new friends and develops a mutual interest in the local reporter, she is finally happy. But can it continue or will her happily shed notoriety catch up with her?

Having thoroughly enjoyed both Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop and Escape to Honeysuckle Hall, I knew this would be another fabulous book from Rebecca Raisin.

As always, the characters are very well written and the story line flows along like a gentle winding stream, making it a very peaceful and pleasant read. It’s a reminder to not judge a book by the cover but is guaranteed to make you smile.

While I do read gritty thrillers, sometimes it is nice just to relax with a book that is heartwarming and upbeat all the way through, and this is the ideal book for that,

Thank you to TBC Reviewer Request Group and HarperCollins for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

Elodie is the face of her family’s famous empire and as such, she is always on display, a puppet pulled by her mother’s strings. Her escape is books. So, when she learns of the pending foreclosure of a beloved library from her past, Elodie goes undercover to save the business and maybe, find herself in the process.

This is a sweet, uplifting book about second chances, friendship, and learning to speak up for what you believe in.

An enjoyable read!

I really love, love reading Rebecca Raisin's books, having read Rosie's Travelling Tea Shop and make sure to read each and every one of her books--so this book is no exception and I actually enjoyed reading this book!

Ellie Astor has it all--a lavish lifestyle and is set to become the female CEO of the family run media empire. However, Ellie is miserable and did not really want that kind of life. So by chance when she comes across an advertisement in the job posting looking for a librarian at a small town of Willow Grove, Elodie takes that chance and moves to downtown. But when Elodie reaches the library, she realizes that the library was about to shut down due to lack of people. As a result, Elodie hatches up a plan creating a People's Library with the help of the local journalist Finn. Will her plan succeed?

I actually read this book in two days. I really like the setting of the story and do like the community setting of the story as well. I do like how the author has managed to pull the reader into the story, making the reader feel like they are also the part of the story. This was actually a really cute story and I enjoyed reading stories about the people, such Alfie's story, Henry the homeless guy's story. This book also teaches us a lesson--never to judge a book by its cover which is actually a very important lesson that people should learn these days.

Overall, this is a sweet, heartwarming story that you would most certainly, particularly if you are somone who likes to read books--worth five stars!

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC. The review is based on my honest opinion only.

A fabulous book to bring a smile, and a tear or two, to your face - Elodie's story has many things that ticked boxes for me:
Set in a library with nods to books and book readers;
Thought provoking - it got me to think about how we judge people and how kindness and not making assumptions is a positive way to go; and
Great cast of characters, with Alfie and Harry being particularly endearing as their story develops.

You don't need to know much about the story as that will spoil it but what you will find is an endearing tale, great for a summer read, and a little more depth that the cover suggests - another appropriate case of 'Don't judge a book by its cover'!!

A new life for Elodie. Elodie comes from a wealthy publishing dynasty. Her domineering mother has made her the face of the company, forcing her to appear at prestigious events around the world to help promote authors and their books. This might seem like a life of luxury but Elodie feels there must be more to life, especially as she is expected to marry a man of her mother's choosing. One day she's had enough and escapes to a small town, where she becomes involved in keeping the local library from closure. There she meets various characters, including sulky library assistant Maisie, handsome local reporter Finn, Harry the tramp and young Alfie, a child with special skills. Love the way classic novels are mentioned throughout the book, even if I am Pilgrim is used as a doorstop!

Such a lovely feel good read, this was the perfect read while sat in the garden, with characters that grow in you, I will definitely be rwading more by this author.

This was a lovely easy read about one of my favourite subjects, books! Elodie Astor is the daughter of a wealthy family who wants to leave all the glitz and glamour of a society girl behind. He mother wants to carve her into the face of the Astor empire which is so far from what Elodie want for herself. After seeing an advert for a librarian’s post in a small village where she spent many happy hour and the fact that the library need saving from closure, Elodie applies for the job (under her real name and not the family/society name) and gets it.

Elodie throws herself into life and has an idea which may help save the library which actually involves the whole community learning not to “judge a book by its cover” and seems to be falling in love as well

I absolutely loved this book and can't praise it enough. I've read books before. about libraries and people trying to save their library, but this has a completely unique idea that I thought was brilliant. This is an absolute must read.

What a lovely gentle start to my summer reading! Mind you a romance set in a library that an innovative & sparky librarian is trying her hardest to save could almost have been tailor made for me to be honest but I'm very happy to report that this story didn't disappoint in any way and made some very valid points about not judging a book by it's cover and disregarding gossip. An enjoyable read , I'd love to visit a 'people library' and check out the 'books'.

From the beginning this was a lovely story, I thoroughly enjoyed the characters and the plot. It was an absolutely adorable idea and hope that this actually becomes reality. For a book lover this hits all the feels. Greatness indeed.
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and HarperCollins for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
I just reviewed Elodie’s Library of Second Chances by Rebecca Raisin. #ElodiesLibraryofSecondChances #NetGalley

A warm and cosy read dealing with being who you are, accepting others and risking change. With a Library at it's heart and an engaging group of characters with stories to tell and relationships to be made - what is not to love? I completely identified with Elodie as I too spent much of my childhood devouring books and visiting the library to acquire yet more; reading about this one felt a bit like home!
Rebecca Raisin is the Queen of a book to curl up with and I enjoyed this one just as much as I have enjoyed her others.

I loved this book. Its the ultimate feel good novel and makes you think about how quick we can all be in making snap judgements about people which ultimately turn out to be totally wrong. I loved the sentiments in the book where Ellie works hard to save a library and its books. I can't imagine a world without books in it and would certainly fight to save my library if it was threatened with isure as so many have been in recent times. Make sure you read this.

A delight. If the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” were a cozy little English novel set in a small town library. A sweet and uplifting story that encourages you to look beyond gossip and first impressions.

The first chapter was a bit choppy, but quickly reveals itself to be a well developed story with no shortage of heart. I absolutely loved Ellie aka Elodie. Her dialogue was smart and witty, and you could not help but root for her.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Elodie Halifax, or Ellie Astor, as she’s publicly known, is heir to her mother’s media empire (Astor News and Media), a job she does not enjoy. When book-loving Elodie sees a job ad for head librarian at Willow Grove, she grabs the chance to escape Astor. Willow Grove’s library is on the brink of closure. To increase membership, Elodie decides to loan out “human books” with the help of local journalist, Finn Ford. From “Homeless Harry” to “Pilferer Pete” to autistic Alfie, to ostracized Sofia who just wants to make friends, many in Willow Grove have a personal story to tell if only someone would just listen. As the library’s success grows, will Elodie’s own secrets be revealed too?

Willow Grove is a small village and its residents, a little closed-minded and resistant to change. It was very heartwarming to see change finally come about when people decided to just listen to each other and find out what really happened.

I found the romance in this book a little lacking and felt that the focus was more on saving the library, getting the residents to open up to each other, and effecting change in Willow Grove. Elodie and Finn seemed to fall for each other rather pretty quickly, but I couldn’t really feel the chemistry between them, nor was I particularly invested in their relationship.

Overall, the story felt a little unexciting, although I did enjoy hearing about the stories of all the human books. I appreciate the message of this book, which was really not to judge a person especially when you don’t know what they’ve been through. Everyone has their own story and you don’t know why they’re in the situation they’re in now. 3.5/5 ⭐️

Thank you HQ and NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Like watching a Disney film, everything is lovely and even the nasty people are just waiting to be saved from themselves. Escapism, romance and a library! What’s not to love?

When Elie Astor applies for the job of librarian in peaceful Willow Grove, she’s sees this as her getaway from her lavish life as the daughter of a media empire and away from her overbearing mother. Until then her every move had been watched for years, and she longs to work with the thing she loves most: books.

When she arrives in Willow Grove, Elie works with local journalist Finn to try and resurrect the failing library. She gets to know a group outsiders that she feels deserve a chance to be heard without being judged, With them in mind she creates a scheme where members of the library can 'borrow' a person to learn their story.

I loved this idea! I loved reading the backstories of these people, and how the scheme helped them connect with each other and the other villagers. All wonderful characters to get to know together with Elie and Finn.

A heartwarming and uplifting story!

Thank you NetGalley and HQ Digital for my copy in return for my honest review.

Loved it!! A cute and fun story. How could I resist a book about a library?? The only thing that would have made it more perfect was if there was a cat living amongst the books. Willow Grove sounded like a beautiful and lovely place to live, except for some of the villagers being extremely judgmental. They refused to go to a pizza shop because it was remodeled!!! I could understand why Elodie wanted to get away from her mom and the company. Her mom was extremely overbearing. Loved getting to know the characters and their stories. Maisie was the only one who i didn't know much about. She was a hard person to like, especially with the constant attitude towards Elodie and her refusal to change the library.

Definitely recommend the book. Loved the characters, story and writing style. Look forward to reading more books by the author. Loved the cover of the book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from HQ through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is a really delightful Romantic Novel that also sheds light on how we often judge people in the same light as we would a Book by it's Cover . Elodie gets a job at Willow Grove Library to save it by raising the number of it's membership before the local Council will provide funding for New Books & improvements . One of the idea's she comes up with is Human Books ! Also their is the romantic Journalist Finn Ford can she have a relationship without her own secrets coming to light ! I will say no more you need to read the Book , which is a wonderful Summer Read . #NetGalley, #GoodReads, #FB, #Instagram, #Amazon.co.uk , #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/358a5cecda71b11036ec19d9f7bf5c96d13e2c55" width="80" height="80" alt="100 Book Reviews" title="100 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.