Lost for Words is a friendly bookshop in central York. Set during the height of the pandemic and everyone was scrabbling to find something to do during the lockdown. Bookshop owner Loveday starts to prescribe books to soothe the soul.

Throughout the book we meet a collection of customers and learn about what is going on behind their closed doors.

From the outset it is clear how much Butland adores books and her knowledge and empathy is admirable. If you don't come away without a list of new books to try I'd be very surprised.

I loved the interactions between the bookshop staff, I felt a close affinity for Kelly who takes a huge journey throughout this story.

There is no sugar coating of the pandemic here, but there was an overall feeling of hope.

I will be honest I really missed going to bookshops in the Pandemic and I had to feed my obsession by buying online and getting them sent but it just wasn't the same as going into a physical book shop so I was so intrigued by this book which really showcased the dillemmas faced by shops in this period. I really enjoyed it, it made me think, it broke my heart a little bit and I fell in love with everything about it.

Who doesn’t love a book about a bookshop? I loved this book, I really enjoyed the interwoven stories ranging from books and pandemics to escaping previous lives and relationships.

To be completely honest, I read the title and thought - yes, I want to read a book about a bookshop. I didn’t not read the blurb.

Basically, didn’t realise it was set during the pandemic, which is why it’s important to read the blurb! I will say that I really enjoyed the characters, both major and minor, they were well rounded and had great little stories all of their own. (There’s also a previous book that I’m going to have to go and read now)

The interactions and stories relating to their customers were excellent, and these snippets of life for some during lockdown were both relatable and heart warming.

Reading for escape. Reading for knowledge. Reading for refuge. Reading for pleasure.

There are lots of excellent book recommendations scatter around in there too - frankly, loads and my to be read list has increased greatly, which is always a bonus.

I throughly enjoyed the book elements to this, if you haven’t expanded your literature choices, here’s a book list for you. I enjoyed the attempt to deal with contemporary issues but it just missed the mark for me. I felt these issues were shoe Horned in and given the background it’s hard to enjoy this.

The most interesting take on life through the covid pandemic in a bookstore, the relations of those working there and how they adjust to make the shop stay afloat. Different recommendations on books suited to different people add a nice touch to a very enjoyable journey. I read this without reading first novel and found it excellent.

Emotional and quite painful story set in the pandemic, good concept for a book but hope it doesn't end up appearing in every book over the next year. Thank you netgalley for the advanced copy

This is a story set within the early 2020 portion of the covid pandemic and centers around a bookshop called Lost For Words (the title of the previous book in this series set several years before). The familiar struggles of a business having to navigate lockdowns and the little details of how everyone's lives changed or intensified during this time was written really well and I felt so much of the keyworker, carers, bubbles, NHS etc little snapshots so accurately captured the unimaginable shift that occurred. However, this wasn't the light and uplifting book I initially thought and I would temper this with a warning that if you're sensitive to the losses and grief of the covid pandemic then this is a raw and brutally honest book that delivers all those things. I suppose I wanted more of the salvation and restoration that books could offer during that time and it's perhaps just too soon for me to have the scales tipped in to a reality that was, and still is, so traumatic.

A gentle reminder of how we all suffered in different ways during the pandemic lockdown and how total strangers can become friends. Books always help and provide the escapism we need when times are hard. This book will make you laugh/ cry and reminis but acts as a reminder to all to never judge people/books by their cover

i’m going to make a bold statement here…. this is one of the best books i have read! its such a powerful read full of happiness, sadness, anger, fear, love and loneliness. there are so many elements to this story that will resonate with us all and how the pandemic affected us, the characters made me want to know them to be friends, to help them, to be there when needed. i can’t remember when a book made me feel like this i’m actually sad to have to have finished it
thank you Stephanie for writing this amazing story

I had not read the previous book in this series but as other readers have commented too, this can be read on its own. The idea of the bookshop continuing to run in the lockdown was great, and I really enjoyed seeing many old and new favourite reads of my own being recommended to the varied clients who contacted the bookshop for assistance in choosing books.
I do feel that the book was trying too hard with too many characters and I preferred to see much more of the stories of a few such as Rosemary and George. Additionally, the book sometimes drifted into educating us about the benefits of reading which I found incongruous with the story and not needed.
However, I did enjoy this book. Thankyou to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e advance review copy.

What a great concept for a novel - a book pharmacy. This is such an important book to hep us process the pandemic and everything we lived through. I found myself getting tearful a few times. Stephanie Butland has a skill to draw us into the characters and live their world within a world with them. Whilst some of the characters are also in Lost for Words, this novel works as a standalone. I love that the books that are 'dispensed' by the book pharmacy are listed at the end of the novel so I can go back and pick the ones I want to read.

I really enjoyed this read, despite being in tears for most of the book.

I haven't read the predecessor to this book and did not realise one existed until I had finished. So this can definitely be read as a stand alone story. Set in the pandemic of 2020 it captures perfectly for me a lot of the feelings I had at that time.

The preloved books of the Lost for Words bookshop are not being bought by anyone now the pandemic has taken hold and business are mainly shut. With few people venturing into York and passing trade non existent how will Loveday keep the shop afloat? That is when she hits on the idea of prescriptions for books, to help people through lockdown. People email in with what they are worried about or their fears and the bookshop staff suggest books and then deliver in York and surrounding areas or post them out.

I loved reading the suggestions of the books given and realised some of them are buried in my TBR. It was good to read a synopsis of why I was attracted to them in the first place. I kept stopping to research the books and worried I would not find them in the kindle version again. I need not have worried as at the end of the book they are all listed with a few more too.

We get to meet the people who have asked for the book suggestions and get a glimpse into their lives, some with a backstory before the pandemic. There's also some themes of abuse and of course death which are dealt with very sensitively but all the same are chilling at times.

If I had read this book before a lockdown I might have thought it was far fetched, but having lived through the reality this book and it's stories rang very true. For some it might be a time they wish not to revisit and then this won't be the book for you. It has some lovely highlights and even those made me cry! I liked the style of writing and will look out the predecessor novel.

This is a wonderful idea for a novel and the creation of a book pharmacy during the Covid pandemic works so well to introduce so many different characters, each with their stories and needs. The characters come from all walks of life seeking solace, comfort, escapism and direction. Loveday and her assistant Kelly soon find the idea of the book pharmacy so popular they need additional staff and the support of family and friends to fulfil orders and redesign the business at the Lost for Words bookshop. Personal lives and relationships form the backbone of this novel. What is equally impressive is the author’s knowledge of a wide range of different genres from which reading lists are compiled for individual customers. An excellent read, written with sensitivity at a time when people were scared and lost in an ever changing world.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers Headline for this advance copy.

While we will probably be seeing quite a few pandemic novels, I found this personally quite difficult to read. It was very well written and I loved the bookshop setting but it was painful to be confronted with the hardships of the pandemic. That said, I would still recommend this book. Thanks NetGalley!

This book is a follow up of the book Lost for Words, but stands alone as a read as it is. It feels really up to date as it is set during the years of the Covid pandemic. However, it also has a kind of historical and timeless feel to it as if it were relating to other points of history when we have gone through times of disaster and stress as a community.
I really enjoyed it and will spend sometime later looking up the many books referred to in the text to see if any would be of particular interest (although I know that I have read many of them as so many excellent classics, old and modern were recommended by the wonderful bookshop staff!).
If you appreciate reading, and I guess you do if you are reading book reviews, then you will have a good few hours of enjoyment with this novel.

The follow up to Lost for Words, Found in a Bookshop is just as good as it's predecessor. It brings back characters from the first novel and introduces us to new, interesting characters too. It takes place during the pandemic and is filled with fear and sadness, but also hope for a better future. There are some good book recommendations in it too.

Going back to Lockdown even via books is incredibly hard as someone who lived through it the first time.

The book captured the essence of the despair, the loneliness but also the hope and the camaraderie of being in Lockdown during 2020.

I really liked the idea of the Book prescriptions and for a Bookworm, book recommendations are a necessity to keep going.

Overall, this book fest with a lot of heavy issues in a very sensitive way.

The only annoying thing was too many characters who I found it hard to keep up with or care about.

My favourites were Loveday and Kelly and the way they grew and changed.

The deaths when they came were incredibly jarring and unexpected.

As soon as I realised we were back in the bookshop of ‘the lost and found’ I was very happy as I really enjoyed the characters and storyline.
I enjoyed this book too. Very relatable with COVID and the struggles we all had. Small business suffering and our own mental health.
Again lovely writing style. I love Rosemary and George’s story!
Would definitely recommend, grab a cuppa some biscuits and curl up and enjoy!

This charming sequel to “Lost for Words” is set during the pandemic. The York based bookshop is trying to keep afloat whilst doing its bit to support the community and raise the morale of its customers. The launch of a prescription service takes off with huge success giving the novel a series of mini stories whilst following the lives of Loveday, the owner, and Kelly, the bookshop manager. Written with humour and compassion, this is a warm-hearted comfort blanket of a book.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

Found in a Bookshop

At Lost for words Bookshop we are introduced to Kelly who is the manager of this shop. Due to the current circumstances of covid the shop is currently closed. Kelly receives a letter from Rosemary Athey, a retired headteacher from Whitby, one day. She encloses a cheque for £100 and requests that the shop locate some wonderful books for her and husband George to help them get through the next few months. This sparks an idea in Loveday, and she realises that there is something positive they can do to help people get through the crisis while also helping the business. They will offer to match books to the needs and requirements of their customers, which could range from loneliness to escapism or transporting them to another part of the world.

I really liked the characters Rosemary and George. I loved the concept of getting books as part of mental health and how they can help us through rough times.



This book is a little repeativie at times. It's a little bit of a slow pace for me and I got bored at times.