I really enjoyed this book. It was my first by this author and I got really sucked into Jo’s story. I could identify with her quite easily, feeling alone and desperate for friends, and the more you want someone to talk to, the more people seem to stay away. Loneliness is real and sometimes really hard to deal with. Malcolm and Ruth were in similar situations and they seemed to be drawn to Jo, and for 5 seconds of bravery Jo made some really fantastic friends.

The friendship dynamic between these three was brilliant, friendship through different age groups can be so rewarding. I loved how she and Ruth helped draw out Malcolm and get him to share his book research. And what a fantastic graveyard theory he had and what fun they had looking at graves and researching the people and coming up with stories.

Eric the Viking was great too. His friendship with Jo was different, almost separate to the one with Malcolm and Ruth, he spoke to a different side of Jo and filled her heart in a different way. It was interesting how it was as if there were two story lines running side by side and we got to see different aspects of Jo. It was quite clever and resulted in quite a heartfelt and moving read. I was totally captivated by it and I’m sure it will stay with me for a long time.

A short time ago I read The Keeper of Stories when it was recommended by a friend, and I loved it so much that I was thrilled to get the chance to read this, the follow-up novel.

When Jo Sorsby's uncles falls ill, she recalls many happy memories of playing in his shop as a child and how kind he was to her. With her own life at a crossroads, she is more than happy to take over running the shop while he is indisposed. Watching her customers come and go gives her much food for thought and distracts her from her recently broken relationship but, feeling rather alone, what she really needs is a friend or two.

Oh this is just THE most delicious read! I feel as if I've been gathered up and wrapped in a warm blanket with a hot chocolate and soothed. Not that it's at all schmaltzy - please don't get me wrong - but this author has her finger on the pulse of people and their inner thoughts, resulting in the most fantastic characters. Such a delight to read and, I'm sure, one I will read again along with her other novel. Love, love, love it and am so happy to highly recommend it and give it all five sparkling stars. *****

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

An unusual, thought provoking story peopled with lots of interesting characters. The characters come to life to the extent I was still thinking about them for quite a while afterwards.

When Jo Sorsby takes over her uncle's shop in London she is broken, unemployed and heartsick. A chance meeting with customers over the value of fountain pen leads to unlikely friendships that help Jo reconcile with the past, repair relationships and refocus her life.

The Book of Beginnings is such a delightful tale of friendships and joy. The cast of characters are vibrant and ull of life: the mischievous vicar, Ruth (who reminds me of Dawn French's Vicar of Dibley character); the formal and reserved Malcom, hiding a hippie heart under grey suits, Eric the Viking Optometrist, and all of the ghosts in Highgate Cemetery, just to name a few.

The main thread of the story follow Jo, Ruth and Malcom in their burgeoning friendships, laying the past bare before the others, and as they explore the cemetery ghosts they face the ghosts of their own lives. Through this solid,if unlikely, friendship, Jo learns the true value of the word and with their guidance rekindles the bonds of friendship with her best friend, Lucy.
Woven through this core of friendship are two other stories of relationships: the relationship with family, and of course, romance.
The filial relationships focus on Jo's reltionship with her family - from her uncle Wilbur, whose shop she runs, to her place in the family structure. We also see this echoed in Ruth's relationship with her own family, and Malcom's relationship with his late mother.
The romantic relationship sees Jo examining her relationship with her ex, and as she is undergoing this revelation, we have the sliding-doors style relationship of misunderstandings with Eric.

This was a truly delightful book to read - full of love,sadness, joy, despair, and humour . There was a lot of discussions about faith and religion,but that is just one aspect of one character.

I really enjoyed this book.

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy this book in exchange for an honest review ~

I'd been feeling unwell and this book was the perfect antidote.

I totally fell in love with Jo, Reverend Ruth and Malcolm and couldn't wait to read more each day to explore their friendship and backstories. The stationery shop setting pushed all my buttons being a stationery addict and I loved how the author included details on fountain pens, inks and notebooks and how these items introduced the cast of characters. The pinboard in the shop also made me smile.

I also enjoyed the exploration of friendship, beginning over and finding your place in the world and the repeat of a place for everything and everything in its place worked for me.

I'm heading off to read Sally Page's first novel now and will certainly look out for more from her.

This is a warm hug of a book. Comforting, reassuring and I don't mind sharing that I cried a little at the end.

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were interesting and a story of friendship and life’s different paths it can take you. I didn’t feel the story about the people in the cemetery was needed and didn’t add to the book.

What a delightful read!
At times funny, at times sad, at times thought-provoking.

Mix in some fascinating historical facts with a dash of romance, friendship, and the beginning and the end of relationships and you have a colourful story that will keep you entertained until the last page. This is the story of Jo and her mixed bag of friends who metamorphed from moths to butterflies, from the drab to the colourful. From ordinary to extraordinary.
This book dares you to open a new book and start writing your future.

"In the words of George Eliot: It is never too late to be what you might have been."

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

The book of Beginnings is a beautiful book of fun and friendships with people who you wouldn’t necessarily think you would be friends with. It starts with Jo who is needing an escape from a recent break up and so she escapes to her Uncle Wilbur’s stationary shop. There she comes across Eric and Lando who own shops alongside the stationary shop. There is also an assortment of quirky customers like Ruth the runaway vicar and Malcolm who is struggling to write his first book there entails the start of an unusual and beautiful friendship. It also includes Highgate Cemetery which has an array of famous but quirky characters and ghosts. In short this is a beautiful book of how friendships start with the most unlikely people but have the most amazing times and are there when they need each other.

I would highly recommend this book as it is very heartwarming and charming. I would like to thank NetGalley very much for letting me review this book.

I read the lovely Keeper of Stories’ Sally’s debut and was delighted to read this next book, which I thought was even better. Wonderful characters and it runs the gamut of all the emotions. A real tribute to friendship, especially those in unlikely places. I really enjoyed the stories of Highgate Cemetery - a place I would have loved to visit myself. Just delightful and highly recommended.

Thanks to Harper Collins and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an unbiased review.

I loved this book - thought I admit it felt a little slow to start, I soon fell in love with some of the characters (a real range of personalities through the customers who enter the shop). Eric and Lando were my favourite.

A real fun and heartwarming story about friendship - After Jo's relationship ends, she takes over her grandfather's stationary shop because he goes in to a nursing home. Jo begins to enjoy working in the shop and friendships blossom with her and the customers and other business owners nearby to the shop.

Such a lovely warm story focused around friendship. I have not yet read the author's first book so I am definitely going to read that now.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author who kindly allowed me to read an advanced copy of this book.

I really enjoyed the general story, exploring the stories behind the gravestones and the hidden secrets of those around them. A story of friends and family... and how friends can quickly become family, a lifeline in times of need.

What a great book - I really enjoyed it! After taking a little while to get into it (which was probably more to do with me being too tired to take it in rather than the book itself!), I then couldn't put it down. A story of a wonderful friendship borne out of the most unlikely combination of people, which helps Jo to come to terms with the break up of her relationship, whilst running her uncle's stationery shop after he becomes unwell. Although she has a strong love for all things stationery related, being in London now, she is far from her Yorkshire home, family & friends, which makes her new friendship with Ruth and Malcolm even more important to her. She also has shop neighbours she gets on really well with; in fact, there is one in particular she is very interested in! Does something happen with this - you'll have to read it yourself to find out!

A really good book, which I would highly recommend. In fact, I'm going to go and read the author's first book!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review, which is what I have given.

This is lovely heartwarming read about friendship.
Jo has moved from the North down to London to run her Uncle’s stationery shop as he has been moved to a home.
Jo is recovering after a nasty breakup and the change of scenery is just what she needs.
She is very much alone until she gets to know some customers and strikes up a great friendship with some people who she didn’t think she’d get on with.
We have Eric the Viking who is actually an optician. Ruth who is a run away vicar. And Malcolm who is retired and is writing a book about the residents of Highgate cemetery.
This is a lighthearted read about friendship which I really enjoyed.
Thanks to Harper Collins UK and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

loved this book so much loved the characters their stories just loved everything about it easy 5 stars would have given more if possible

I enjoyed The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page so to have a chance to read The Book of Beginnings was super nice!
Page writes her stories with a stunning vividness. Her writing just flows beautifully and it’s so easy to get lost inside the page’s.
The characters are likable. And I found myself so engaged to Jo’s story.
Once again Sally Page has written a delightful contemporary novel.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and HarperCollins for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

Never read any books by this author before but this was an enjoyable. I found it a bit slow to start with but as I progressed, it grew on me.

The Book of Beginnings by Sally Page

Jo looks after her uncle's stationery shop in London whilst he is ill and meets Ruth, a runaway vicar, and Malcolm, a pensioner writing a book about the ghosts of Highgate Cemetery. Their friendship helps Jo to deal with her breakup from James and problems with her friend Lucy.

Wow what an amazing book - lovely characters, funny and poignant, great storylines! I loved that the book really celebrated friendship - a refreshing change from the worship of romance! I was so sad to leave these characters behind and can't wait to see what Sally Page writes next. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Jo is looking after her Uncle Wilbur's stationery shop in London after the breakdown of her relationship when she meets the runaway vicar, Ruth and a man called Malcolm who is writing a book about famous cemetery ghosts. Lando and Eric (the Viking) work in the shops beside her and help her to settle into her new life. The Book of Beginnings follows Jo as she embarks on new relationships and faces the truth about her old ones.

I was looking forward to reading this as found Sally Page's first novel a lovely heart-warming read. I loved the descriptions of the shop and the people that Jo encountered there. Eric and Lando were wonderful characters but I grew quite frustrated with the storyline about Clare. I wanted to shake Jo and found it irritating that she couldn't see what the reader was able to.

Overall, it was a pleasant book but I would have liked more on Eric and could have skipped over the cemetery ghosts parts.

My first thoughts on finishing this novel were it was a gentle, relaxing read. It was very easy to get in to and flowed at a steady pace. No great excitement but I kept wanting to know more. The segue into the characters in Highgate cemetery was unnecessary padding and added nothing to the plot.

Jo steps in to run her Uncle Wilbur's stationery and hardware store in Highgate when he has a fall and goes to a home to recover. He is her favourite uncle and growing up she loved playing in the store. Aside from helping out with the shop, she has another reason to travel to London from North Yorkshire. She is recently heartbroken and needs to lick her wounds. She also doesn't feel as close to her best friend as she was and although she is happy for her, when Lucy fell pregnant, Jo was devastated as she would really love a family of her own. As time goes on, she meets some of the customers and fellow stationery enthusiasts. She also meets the optician and the tattoo artist that share the alleyway.
Nothing can prepare her for the friends she makes through the shop and how she learns to think about herself. She has a family nickname of average and has always though that she is nothing special, just average. Her new friends help her in the same way as she helps them.
This is is a lovely book, well written and charming. I was rooting for Jo, Ruth and Malcolm all the way through.