What an inspiring book!! After reading The Book of Beginnings, it felt like I was given a warm and encouraging embrace, with its themes of friendships, fresh starts, hope and most important of all: being kind to one's self.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I heard good things about this book and was excited to read it, but I found the story dragged a bit and needed something 'more', despite there being several strands running at the same time as Joanne was looking for love and friendship and Ruth and Malcolm were also searching for the next thing in their lives, as well as the background of Highgate Cemetery and the ghosts that inhabit it.
What I did enjoy were the characters of Ruth, a runaway vicar and Malcolm, a grey civil servant type, both of who stepped out of the characters created for them and forged their own way through the story.
The message of the book - about the importance of friendship and that it's never to late to change your path in life - were hammered home a bit to hard for me, too.
Overall it was a well written and readable book, but not quite for me.
With thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this book, but I just felt like there was something missing. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but I felt like the author lost direction midway through the story. I wasn’t too sure whether it was meant to be focusing on the protagonist’s need to find her place in the world, the newly blossoming romance or the ghost story subplot.

The saving graces were absolutely the characters of Malcolm and Ruth whose stories had me laughing and crying.

Still, it was a pleasant read that took me away from my usual thrillers and mysteries and I did enjoy the underlying message of the story that we are never too old to change our path in life, or to take chances. We are always enough, it’s just about surrounding ourselves with the right people.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Sally Page for the ARC.

Firstly can I say thank you for using thr name Joanne. Being a Joanne for 52 is lovely to see this name used again. Interesting book proving that friendship comes in all shapes and sizes and when you least expect it. Love all the cemetery references. I really enjoy wondering round cemeteries and so need to go to the one in the book. Overall I enjoyed this book. Thank you netgalley for the advance copy

A heart warming book on friendship.
Jo is looking after her uncle`s stationery shop in a small alley in London after he got dementia and went into a nursing home. Jo had just finished a long term relationship and was upset it finished.
Two other shops are in the alley an optician Lando and a tattoo artist Eric and a friendship starts and also with two customers Malcolm who is writing a book and Ruth who is a runaway vicar.
The friendship between the five is soo strong and heart warming I just loved it and all the characters.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC and I give my honest review.

Joe Sorsby’s Uncle Wilbur has just suffered a stroke and is coming to terms with a dementia diagnosis and needs time to recover. Jo temporarily takes over running his stationary shop until a permanent decision can be made. She is nursing a broken heart after being dumped by her boyfriend James and is feeling very sorry for herself.

During her time running the shop, she meets some wonderful characters like Eric the Viking, The Runaway Vicar and Malcolm. They are all dealing with their hurts and secrets. It is through confiding in each other about their pain that beautiful friendships are made and their bond helps one another to start to heal.

This was such a touching, emotional story of finding friends in the most unexpected people and places. The characters were all so likeable and the short chapters and easy writing style made this such an enjoyable, comfortable book to read.

I haven’t read The Keeper of Stories, also by this author, but will be picking it up after enjoying this so much.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book.

What a mesmerising book of wonderful stories I love this authors books stories to last a life time..

This is a story about many stories, set in a small stationery shop which is part of a small row that includes an Optician and Tattoo artist. Hiding out from a failed relationship, Jo has taken refuge in her Uncles shop. Feeling alone, confused and friendless, what she actually finds is a group of patrons and a renewed passion for stationery that brings her back to life. There’s only one problem – there’s a schism between her and her best friend Lucy. If she can just get things ironed out there’s hope for a happy future.

This is such a charming story, and humanistic; headily evocative of school days, cases of sharpened pencils and notebooks, ink pens and rulers, those halcyon days we all end up missing. In a world where we are all trying to stay safe from the dangers that other people can bring into our lives, this story is about human kindness, caring and compassion.

P.s. I immediately started writing letters to my friends the old fashioned way with paper and an ink pen. Be prepared!

I highly recommend The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page.

A book that will sweep you up into a warm hug and rock you as you read!

I didn't know what to expect from this book. My first from this author but I loved the premise of an uplifting read and a tale of friendship and jumped at the chance to read this.

This book was so much more than that. Heartwarming, sweet, sad, and a gentle reminder of the importance of friendship, hope and it never being too late for new beginnings.

I loved the main characters in this book, each a little broken, totally different and yet coming together in friendship and healing. Relatable, enjoyable and heartbreakingly sad at times it was a beautiful written hug of a story.

I enjoyed the banter of the characters, the Cemetery ghosts plot and the romance aspects of this book. Skillfully woven together until the end, and that cute little epilogue!

Will definitely be going back and reading The Keeper of stories next.

This story follows a woman called Jo, who has an uncle who owns a stationary shop in London. When he is taken ill, she steps.in to run it in his absence. She's just been dumped by her partner James, so she decides to "run away" to get some.space and have a long think about her future, as she'd been made redundant from her job at the bank too.
Jo makes friends with a few people who come into the shop who became very close friends, Ruth and Malcolm. They learn all about each other.
As the story progresses, there are lots of events that shape the story well.
I knocked one star off as It seemed to drag a little for me and I couldn't wait until the end! Although it was lovely!.
I received this free arc book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #Harpercollinsuk, #sallypaige.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I have enjoyed everything this author has written and this was no exception. Great storyline, great characters and a real good feel factor

There are some books that wrap up the reader and take them into a warm happy place and this is one of them. Beautifully written with wonderful characters. This is a book that makes the reader feel so many emotions but overall I just did not want it to finish. Thoroughly recommended.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Being a fan of The Keeper of Stories, I was very much looking forward to reading this book and it didn't disappoint.. I loved all of the characters. A really lovely, gentle read, and a well deserved five stars.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book for an unbiased opinion.

I have never read or heard of this author before and this story sent me on a journey. I both liked it and loathed it at the same time. I loved the characters and thought they were well thought out but the story was a bit "meh" at times. Some chapters it seemed like nothing really happened.

It all wrapped up nicely and the main theme of friendship throughout was paramount. I was totally gripped by the first page as I actually felt like I was in the room which is not something I find very often when reading books.

Overall I did enjoy this book, I just didn't love it.

Reading this book is like settling down with a warming mug of hot chocolate.
A gentle, uplifting story with the most delightful characters who pop into Uncle Wilbur's stationery shop in North London.
When Uncle Wilbur is taken ill, his niece Jo comes down to London to help out. She is at a low stage in her life and the friends she makes here, help her to find a new positive outlook and she sees that she has been used by her ex boyfriend.
The author creates intrigue surrounding the Runaway Vicar and we meet customers such as Eric the Viking and Caramel Toffee Clare. There is humour, romance and visits to Highgate Cemetery.
A lovely tale. Highly recommend.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

It’s a very rare event for me to score a book with 5 stars, but this was a beauty of a book. Its themes of friendship and love just spoke to me and it was truly a book of beginnings. The story line was fabulous - Jo is recovering from a broken heart that has impacted on her friendship with her best friend who let slip that she hated the man who Jo thought was the love of her life. The story sees Jo go to London to manage her elderly uncle’s shop. Here she meets new friends, and begins to rebuild her life. One of the best aspects of the story was Malcolm’s idea for a novel based on ghosts in Highgate cemetery and the penultimate chapter capped that wonderfully. I loved this book, thank you #netgalley

The Book of Beginnings is a lovely, gentle read - with hidden depths as it explores themes of friendships, loneliness, and grief in its many forms. The characters draw the reader in: Jo, the main protagonist who is mourning the breakup of a relationship; Ruth, the Runaway Vicar with a hidden secret; Malcolm, an elderly gentleman struggling to write his first novel; Eric the Viking; and Highgate Cemetery itself with its secrets and ghosts and statues. And stationery and in particular, fountain pens.

My great-grandmother, grandfather and great-uncle are all buried in Highgate Cemetery; I have my own collection of fountain pens and can't resist new stationery and notebooks; and I'm a Vicar. So naturally this book appealed! I also like a place for everything and everything in its place - a constant repeated theme of the book. So I guess I'm biased from the start. But having said all that, this is a lovely book to read, with feel-good factors as the plot is worked out and we're drawn in wondering whether Eric is The One, whether Ruth will reveal what happened to her, whether Malcolm will be able to write his book. Christmas Eve in the cemetery is a lovely scene and its descriptions make it easy to imagine oneself there.

Some of the most interesting parts of the book are the imagined conversations between historical figures who are buried in the cemetery, and the research that goes into this. We learn more about them and what happened to them, and I really enjoyed this. It had more depth than the rest of the book.

As friendships develop and the main characters share more of their own stories and learn to trust one another, it makes one grateful for one's own friendships but also invites thought as to how to develop and maintain friendships in these times when so many sadly feel alone and lonely. How we reach out to others and how we develop trusted friendships is an important issue in our current times.

With thanks to the publisher and to Netgalley for the ARC copy.

This book put me into a beautiful place, quirky and full of love.
Jo takes over her uncle's stationery shop when he is ill and she needs to make a new start.
For me this was a love story about friendship and about how true friends are important life partners. Jo uses her new life to find this out and it was a thought provoking read about how we treat our oldest companions who we may not see all the time.
Great.

A lovely story about the importance of friendship and learning to value yourself..

Wonderful characters and gentle tale that leaves you with a feel good glow at the end.'

I love books about friendship, and this must be up there among the best. Although it took me a while to settle into it, once the cast of characters began to build around ‘Average Jo’ I was enthralled, and wanted to know more about them.

When Jo’s uncle develops dementia and her relationship breaks down, she goes to London to look after his stationery and hardware shop. Isolated and lonely, her confidence in shreds, she meets some of the people living and working around her, including Ruth, the runaway vicar, and Malcolm, a retired analyst who buys a new notebook every week. And slowly, maybe a little too slowly, their friendship begins to form.

This book is rich in vivid detail; about the settings, the characters, and the ghosts who may or ma not walk on Christmas Eve in Highgate Cemetery. Although there were small parts of the plot I did not like, they didn’t detract from the whole and I was left in awe of the writer’s skill.