Heartwarming and easy-going story of relationships, loneliness and friendship.

Jo, 38, has stepped in to run her Uncle Wilbur's shop in London while he recovers from illness. She misses her friends and family in the north, especially her best friend Lucy as they have drifted apart somewhat, but is glad in a way for some space from her ex-boyfriend of 6 years who split up with her out of the blue.

During her time running the shop, Jo makes some wonderful friends, including runaway vicar Ruth, and Malcolm who's project is researching the ghosts in the mearby cemetery. Over time, they help each other come to terms with their regrets and discover the lives they really want.

This is a really fantastic story about a young woman who has recently broken up with her boyfriend, and his uncle has been taken sick. She travels from her home in the north of England to London to work in her uncles, stationery shop.
This is essentially a story of self discovery, possibilities of different futures than you had imagined, and the importance of friendship.
Joe meets two interesting people whilst working in the shop and becomes very good friends with them.
There is a lot of interaction with Highgate Cemetery, and Malcolm (one of Jo’s new friends) is writing a book about some of the characters who are buried there. This gives a really interesting dimension, to the general storyline, and adds intrigue and interest, a story within a story.
Thanks to #NetGalley For The Opportunity To Read This Book Ahead Of Publication. I Really Enjoyed It. I think I will be remembering the characters for quite a long time.

What a perfect Autumn into Winter read this books was. Sally again pulls off the delightful story within a story which is a lovely testament to friendships, community and love.

The characters which Jo comes across in her wonderful Highgate, London stationery shop are all so relatable and heartwarming. Jo, Malcom and Ruth really do show the meaning of friendship and what it’s like to actually be able to count on someone after loss, break ups and running away from life.

Then there is the love story woven effortlessly into this too. This was the story I could and will read again and again.

Thank you so much to @Netgalley and @harpercollinsuk for allowing me to read this novel in exchange for an honest review.

To begin...this is one of my favourite books of the year! It's not a thriller or based on historical facts, both my usual genre. Indeed it is a gentle tale about a sad young woman Jo and the friends she makes as she moves to London to take care of her uncle's shop. I loved it! The characterisation is wonderful and so realistic. I wanted to step right inside the story and join in with them all. Highly recommended!

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for approving me for an ARC of this book. I buddy read this with my lovely friend Wendy. After enjoying Sally Page’s debut I was excited to see what this one was like.

👩🏻What Sally Page does very well is create characters with depth and empathy. Whether it’s Jo; a person in search of a new beginning, Ruth; the runaway vicar or even Malcolm; who has such a low opinion of himself. Every reader will find someone they can relate to within the pages.

✒️I feel that reading and stationery go hand in hand with each other or maybe that is just me. Seeing the different notes, scribbles and drawings being added to the noticeboard was a brilliant way to bring all the stories together. It’s made me want to dig out my old fountain pen and get practising!

💓For me this book wasn’t just about beginnings it was also about healing. Our three main characters have their own secrets and reasons for finding each other, I loved the comradery between them all. They brought out the best in each other and improved one another’s lives for the better.

🌟Sally Page has delivered another beautifully crafted story, littered with emotion, insight and wisdom.

I loved the keeper of stories so was really
Excited to try this one! I think it’s possible I loved it more? Sally Page writes beautifully and creates characters that I just can’t help but like, relate to and want to find out about. This book is perfect for when you’re feeling a little low and I promise it will pick you right up! So heartwarming, great book!

Following on from Sally’s sensational book, The Keeper of Stories (which I just adored) comes another heartfelt and endearing tale about friendships and new beginnings.

‘It also occurs to her that when you feel most in need of new friends, is often the time when you feel least capable of making them.’

This book is a gentle story around the themes of friendship, loneliness and a search for meaning. Yet, at its heart, it's all about forms of friendship - new friends, lost friends, reconnecting with friends, finding friends in unexpected places. It’s about what it takes to both develop and maintain those friendships particularly when people may be feeling sad or alone. How it is important to see others, reach out to others and trust others especially in the world we face today. This book is like a warm drink on a cold night and will more than likely remind you to check up on your very own friends.

‘You have made me feel that I should do things differently in my life. That I should be braver. I cannot thank you enough for what I hope isn’t presumptuous to call our friendship.’

There is also a story within this story. The trips to the Highgate Cemetery are both eventful and enlightening. Interesting inclusions of facts and imagined conversations between historical figures found in the cemetery help to highlight a range of topics as well. Sally undertook a substantial amount of research on this.

‘I think of it sometimes; all over the earth there are these unacknowledged love stories, making the world a better place. I personally think it is one of humanity’s best-kept secrets.’

The Book of Beginnings is a slow, gentle read that delves deep into all aspects of friendships with moments of loneliness and grief components that can accompany it at varying stages. Not quite in the same league as The Keeper of Stories but still a solid read.







This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

When I finished the final chapters of this delightful book, the first thing that sprang to mind was that it felt like a hug in a book. This is a lovely story of friendship, with a few broken hearts and missed opportunities along the way, which ends on such a heart warming positive note that you can’t help feeling happy. I loved the wonderful mix of characters, their quirks and secrets, and I especially adored Ruth the runaway vicar and Malcom! I loved the setting in the little shop hidden in the alley in London and then Highgate Cemetery. Overall, this is a super gentle story that is perfect for curling up on the sofa in front of the fire with as we move in to the winter months.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for a review.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for this eCopy to review

I thoroughly enjoyed The Book of New Beginnings. It was a feel good novel about the power new friendships and how they can help you change your life.

Jo Sorsby flees the North East after the breakdown of her relationship to run her beloved Uncle's stationary shop whilst he recovers from a fall. Here she meets a variety of interesting characters who become friends and research a number of people buried in Highgate Cemetary. Through their research and new friendship they are able to make decisions about their lives and see what it is they are meant to do.

I loved all the characters and felt like I was there with them, I wish Malcolm's book was real it sounds very good.

The romance element was just right and added to the feel good vibe

This book was advertised as being 'charming and endearing' and I was absolutely endeared and charmed! It's a beautiful, gentle story of family commitments and recovering from heartbreak. and all set in a stationery shop, which is really the icing on the cake! It's not at all schmaltzy, but is like a warm hug on a cold evening.

Jo has just split from a long term boyfriend in Northumberland. Her Uncle Wilbur has had an accident and is in a care home near Jo’s mum, with no one to look after his hardware/stationery shop in Highgate. Jo quits her mundane banking job and goes to London to keep the shop open until decisions can be made. A rural, farm girl, now in her late 30’s and in London!
Jo wonders how to find friends in London and quickly realises she’s lost touch with her friends from home when she starting seeing James.
This is a book about friendship, how important friends are - long term and short term, some are for a scene in a play, some last much longer.
A place for everything and everything in its place.
Took a little while for me to get into the book, but once there I couldn’t put it down. Great heartwarming read.

A wonderful Story about friendship(s) old & new across many generations, this is a book that will resonate with many just as it did me especially after the Pandemic ,long term medical issues that prevent me from going anywhere that has large crowds due to a low & suppressed immune system, so friendships especially those continued through Letters has been profound. It has a festive feel, Ghosts & a famous Cemetery, I will say no more but get or borrow a copy & enjoy !#NetGalley, #GoodReads,# FB, #Amazon.co.uk,# Instagram, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 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"/>.

Jo escapes her life in Yorkshire after she breaks up with her partner by running her Uncle's stationary shop while he is ill. She becomes intrigued by the customers and their back stories. As she learns more, it helps her explore her life and to make some changes. The characters are beautifully depicted and i really wanted to visit the stationary shop and hang out with them,
The shelves are awash with romances set in cafes, and a variety of shops but this is a refreshing change and has so much depth. Loved it.

An enjoyable read about Jo, whose boyfriend dumped her & she finds herself running her Uncle Wilbur's stationery shop in London. New friends are made from an unusual mix of people who enhance her life. Where will Jo's life go? What's in stall for her future?
Read & enjoy!

This was the book that I didn’t know I needed. A story of the importance of friendship and the impact on our lives. I loved Jo’s story and her love of stationery plus the friendships that she makes along the way plus the existing ones that she nurtures. Such a heartwarming story that just made my heart feel full!

I was hooked on this from page 1 and I was so sad when I finished. Sally Page’s Keeper of Stories has just been bumped to the top of my TBR list.

anyone who has dreamed of either running a bookshop or a cute little stationery shop needs to read this! It’s bliss!
Jo moves to take over her Uncle’s shop when he is taken into hospital. Her own relationship has finished so it is an ideal time for a fresh start. As she meets the people around her, she is led to question whether what she believed to be true in her own relationship, actually was.
Excellent characters and a lovely storyline makes this a must read. .

This is a book about friendship and people coming into each other's lives exactly when they are needed. The story is interesting and unique, and it holds your interest throughout. It is full of kind, caring, extremely likable characters. There is a hint of romance, but not enough to satisfy the most ardent romance fans. However, if that doesn't bother you, it is still quite a lovely satisfying story.

Thoroughly enjoyed this story and all it brings. The characters are great and this book leaves you wanting that little bit more...

The Book of Beginnings by @bysallypage @harperfiction is a beautiful book about unlikely friendships and a problem shared is a problem halved. What I particularly loved about this book was the simplicity but the effectiveness of the ending.

#thebookofbeginnings #friendship #sundaychillday #stationerygirls #bookrecommendations #NetGalley

Given my previous experience reading this author's work, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to review their latest release. 'The Book of Beginnings' is a highly recommended read!

The characters, including the secondary ones, are well-constructed and intriguing. The narratives of a few characters were so captivating that I hoped for their more nuanced depiction.

The narrative exhibits an impeccable flow and a suspenseful quality that imbues readers with excitement, rendering the book a page-turner. While the conclusion was somewhat foreseeable for my liking, the overall reading experience was exceptional.

I look forward to perusing additional literary works written by this author in the future.