This was a covid throwback book that I didn’t mind reading. I thought it really understood the problems of the early days of covid. And who doesn’t love reading about a bookshop. I did get a couple of you’ve got mail vibes with the bookshop. It was a little bit repetitive at some points.

I loved Lost in a Bookshop and was excited about returning to these characters. However, I must admit I found it hard reading at times, not because the writing is anything other than brilliant, but because of it. Perhaps if I read it again in 10 years time the sting of the pandemic would be less raw, but at this still recent stage, the author's uncompromising and accurate portrayal of the awful, heartbreaking aspects of the pandemic cut right to the bone. The tiny cross section of some of the stories, so familiar to many people across the country is incredibly powerful and at points utterly destroys you, but for all the pain, there is also so much hope, connections and joy through the little acts of kindness that can make all the difference. Highly recommended and totally worth the emotional rollercoaster.

Found in a Bookshop

Absolutely loved this book and couldn't put it down. The bookshop is set in a local area to me and the trips to Whitby are fabulous.Fell in love with the characters and their stories that happened in a time that I turned to books as well. Great books recommended and the list at the end is great which means more to add to my tbr pile and some I already have.


With thanks to netgalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I really love books about books! I absolutely loved the characters of Rosemary and George and their storyline was incredibly heart warming.
The book was filled with some moving and heart breaking moments but also happy and the ending was satisfying. I enjoyed the concept and found it nostalgic to read as a book lover — I also lost myself within books during Covid and I found the idea of prescribing books as a form of medicine to help people during this time a wonderful idea.
My only criticism was that I felt there were too many characters and some weren’t as established or developed as thoroughly as other.

I truly loved this book; it made me laugh out loud and also had me choked up a few times too.

Anyone who loves books will be delighted with this book; Loveday runs a second hand bookshop and is forced to not have customers because of the pandemic. How to keep the business going??

If the readers can't come to the bookshop, then let the bookshop come to them! Her assistant in the shop posts something on social media and then the first letter comes in with a cheque from George and Rosemary who are staying at home but miss their books.

So Lucy recommends books to her readers, depending upon the situation they find themselves in; provide books to help to heal, to distract, to help pass the long hours etc.

The books are delivered to their readers or the readers can come to collect from the shop. The requests flood in and the stories attached to each request are delightful.

You will love this book - I gave it 5 stars and need to read more of Stephanie's books.

I got to the end of this book with very mixed emotions. I think a part of this was because the story is driven far more by the characters than by the plot and I'd be hard-pressed to define exactly what the plot is. The way it's structured means that it's far more like little vignettes - insights into the disparate lives within a community, all linked through the bookshop. It gives the reader total immersion into the world, but makes it quite difficult to describe what happens. At various points, I had to take a break from reading it because it brought back memories of lockdown and the sense of claustrophobia, frustration and fear I experienced and that was quite hard to deal with. I don't think it helped that I've had respiratory issues for the last six months and the descriptions of people fighting for breath were a little too familiar!

This is definitely a book to make people think and it also reminded me of the power that books had to alleviate some of the anxiety brought on by the pandemic and brought back happier memories of book swapping with my friend and how much our friendship developed because of that mutual reading. It also brought into sharp clarity the ease with which it is possible to put someone in danger, quite unintentionally, because of naivety on our part. The story is as much a social commentary as it is a work of fiction.

I loved the concept of the book pharmacy - so much so that I am trying to figure out if there might be a way of putting into practice something similar in our local library! The choice of books contained within were also excellent. I'd read many of them and completely agreed with their inclusion.

This is not an easy read, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it. I absolutely did and will be recommending it to people. I didn't realise before I read it that there was a book that came before it, but I have now bought that to read as well, as I think it will fill in some of the gaps and Archie was talked about so much that I want to know more about him. If you're looking for a book to make you think more deeply about life, then this would be an excellent choice.

Can a book mend a broken heart? Loveday thinks so - she’s the owner of the Lost for Words bookshop that features in (and is the title of) one of the author’s earlier books.
But while Found in a Bookshop revisits some characters, it’s a standalone story.
The characters of Stephanie’s novels are wonderfully familiar and instantly recognisable: they’re our friends, parents and neighbours - people who are easy to love and some less so. But all are treated with compassion, and we see the nuance of relationships, challenges, quirks, and secrets kept.
This is the first novel I’ve read that covers the coronavirus era – the characters in Ian Rankin’s latest are emerging from lockdown, but are not actually in it. Found in a Bookshop is set during the onset of the pandemic and doesn’t swerve the trauma of that time.
I read Found in a Bookshop in the weeks following the death of a loved one and found a great deal of comfort here. Stephanie’s stories are thoughtful and warm, written with much humour, and most importantly care. I’d recommend them to anyone, and especially those recovering from a broken heart.

It feels strange to admit to enjoying a book that features the pandemic, but it was so well written & is a interesting reminder of a time we may have forgotten just how awful life was. I definitely recommend reading this book.

I was a little apprehensive about reading a story set back in the pandemic but this story was so beautifully written and really hit home about some of the situations we faced and got through.

Found in a Bookshop is set during the pandemic and takes place in 2020 before a vaccine was discovered. The Lost and Found Bookshop is struggling as people are reluctant to come out book shopping so the owner, Loveday, hits on the idea of a book pharmacy. People can email their problems and the bookshop staff will try to find books that will help.
As well as this major plot line, we also have Rosemary and George whose lives we see in snippets from when they first meet in the 1960s right up to the present day when George has become ill. We also meet many other characters who get in touch with the bookshop. At times the number of different characters and storylines became a bit overwhelming but the author mainly did a good job of keeping them all on track.
I found the book quite hard to read in places as it really brought back the difficulties of the first lockdown and how frightening it was to read the numbers of people dying every day. There were also some moments of real sadness in the novel which I didn’t see coming although maybe I should have.
I liked the listing of the books that were prescribed for each character at the end of the novel and the brief synopses of each book were really helpful too. I was less keen on the occasional paragraphs from the author about how good for us reading is and found them jarring as they interrupted the story lines.
Overall, I did enjoy the novel despite the sadness and memories of an unhappy time.

I absolutely loved this book, it spoke to my soul! Set in a bookshop during covid times, it related the struggle that people found lockdowns and how the kindness and thoughtfulness of others helped people survive in that dreadful time. It made me laugh, it made me cry and left me with a feeling of community spirit - I will definitely be recommending this to others, it is a fantastic read.

Meet Rosemary and George, married for fifty years and living their lives on a bench in the back garden with a mutual live of books. When time together looks to be cut short, they just need a helping hand to find some books.

This was a must read, not just because Lost for Words was a triumph of a book, but because of the Global pandemic that nobody saw coming in early 2020. The author has cleverly captured the goodwill and support some people freely gave to one another in that first year, where everyday life was the frontline of a war that affected and continues to affect us all (2022).

I highly recommend Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland.

What a wonderful, comforting and life affirming story! I very much enjoyed the idea of a book pharmacy and the fact that the story was set during Lockdown allowed me to revisit and explore my feelings about that terrible time without it being too upsetting. That's not to say the book lacks pathos - it certainly doesn't and my hankie was pretty soggy by the end but the tale is also hopeful and has much to say about the support of strangers and the way that communities pulled together during Covid. The interspersed discussions on the importance of reading are just superb and this book is going straight on my list of top ten books - I will be buying several copies for friends as gifts as well as treating myself to a copy to keep and love.

The book is set during the pandemic around a bookshop in York. Loveday the owner of the store wants to keep the shop working after inheriting from the previous owner Archie. The bookshop is a place where customers come to not just buy books but to get away from life’s worries.

The staff there are “doctors” with books helping those in need even if it’s just a free cup of coffee. As the pandemic bites Loveday with the help of Kelly the shop assistant comes up with the idea of Book Prescription where customers can email or call the shop and the staff will finds books to suit them.

I liked the premise of this as it’s basically how our libraries operated during the lockdowns, choosing books for people rather than them coming in to browse. It was easy to get into and I really liked the main characters. I felt that it managed to work in some interesting issues within a very basic plotline, looking at preconceptions, acts of kindness, the importance of community, and essentially how different people handled the pandemic at its height.

The linking of books to mental wellbeing was a really positive message and I loved the smattering of book recommendations throughout. There were quite a lot of different characters and scenarios in this, which occasionally slowed things down a bit, but generally this was a really enjoyable read.

What a lovely book based on people's goodwill and humanity.
Set during COVID, the main character Lovely tries to figure out how to run a bookshop as lockdown begins to lift. Can she afford to keep her staff? Can she make it relevant after everyone has started shopping online? Is there a place for local book shops to remain.
She comes up with a novel idea of having a bookshop pharmacy which stretches among many different groups of people.

A really beautiful read.

It was ok - I preferred her previous book, an entertaining book anyway and good for a cosy weekend read.

Loved this story set in the early days of the Covid pandemic, focusing on a bookshop that offers book prescriptions to address various moods of different characters introduced in the novel. Anyone who loves reading will find this to be charming.

I absolutely loved Stephanie Butland's previous heart-warming novel ' Lost for Words' and eagerly looked forward to reading and reviewing 'Found in a Bookshop'. The story is once again set in the bookshop in York, this time during the so uncertain times of the first Covid Lockdown. As like other non essential retail outlets the bookshop has had to close. Amidst the fears and worries of covid and no money coming in Loveday and Kelly start a book prescription service. Through this online service we are introduced to many people and their lives. Stephanie has captured the essence of everyone's hopes, fears and worries of 2020 and turned them into a well written, uplifting and hopeful book. (but sadly there are some heart wrenching and tearful moments too) I definitely recommend this as a book for book lovers everywhere. I enjoyed the reading 'prescriptions' that the girls made up and was pleasantly surprised at how many of the books I had read and enjoyed myself.....and how many I now want to read. Thank you to Stephanie Butland for letting me catch up with old friends Loveday and Nathan and also introducing me to new members of the book shop family. Thank you also to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc of Found in a Bookshop.

A totally lovely and delightful book, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I love books and what could be more perfect? Set in the pandemic and capturing the very essence of the lockdown this book really warmed my heart, filled me with a sense of loss when deaths rolled in and reminded me of the despair, loneliness and depression that swept along behind the pandemic, the utter sense of loss (not just through death) during that time was overwhelming.

The book prescriptions I'm semi familiar with as they've something similar running in my library but I would love to have access to that in a bookshop or book pharmacy where there just is so much more access to books that the library just don't stock. I did love the mention of them here in this book.

This would have been a brilliant book to have at the start of the pandemic, it would for sure have helped a lot of people especially those who had to shield and have had to shield months after.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Was a really great read! Well written and delightful. I found it to be a very moving read and was just what I needed.