Thanks to the Publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

After her relationship ends, Jo comes to run her uncles stationery shop, after he goes into a nursing home as he has dementia.

Slowly Jo, begins to enjoy working in the shop, ordering stock and meeting customers. There is two other shops in the alley along with hers, an optician and a tattoo shop. She becomes friends with Eric, Malcolm and Ruth, a vicar, currently away from her parish.

I recommend this book.

Thank you HarperCollins and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A cosy, slice of life novel exploring adult friendships, relationships, and new beginnings.

Jo Sorsby is hiding from her past. Looking after her Uncle's stationery shop, she gets to know the people in the local community. Jo meets runaway vicar, Ruth, and Malcolm - an elderly gentleman struggling to write his first book. The three become an unlikely group of friends, and we follow them as they share their own stories and help each other find a new beginning.

I really enjoyed how much storytelling there was in this book. Meeting different members of the community and learning more about them made for a really immersive reading experience. I also loved the focus on adult friendships - I think it's something we all come to struggle with at some point, especially as we head towards 30 and it can be more difficult to form new friendships.

This was definitely outside of my usual genre. I've struggled with slice of life stories before, but having heard great things about [book:The Keeper of Stories|59904786] I was really keen to give this book a go. I did really enjoy this book. It was a super cosy story, perfect autumn read as the weather gets a little colder.

My only issue was that some of the interactions between our unlikely friends became quite repetitive in their form and function. What was a really endearing and engaging format became a little too samey for me. I think if I had read this over time (rather than one sitting), it may be more enjoyable.

I would still definitely recommend this. If you're after something cosy to curl up and read I think you would really have a good time with this.

Thank you again to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the arc!

This is the second Sally Page book that I have read and it didn't disappoint. I like the way that Sally Page used Highgate Cemetery and the people who had been buried in the cemetery as part of her story and used their ghosts to help the characters face their own ghosts like Charles Dickens and his Christmas ghosts. I enjoyed finding out who had been buried in Highgate cemetery and their back stories, I like to learn something from a book and this certainly didn't disappoint.

I will certainly be buying copies of this book to give out as gifts.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC copy

Joanne Sorsby, Jo is in her late thirties. She thought she had her life and friendships sorted, but things haven’t turned out quite the way she had hoped.
Jo’s Uncle Wilbur has had a fall, and is in a residential care home, being cared for.
Jo heads to London to run Uncle Wilbur’s stationary shop in his absence.
Could this be the new start Jo needs in life?

I really enjoyed the different characters within this book, and how they connected, albeit being various ages, and leading totally different lifestyles.
What an interesting book, facts wise I found myself looking up a few different people, and I’ll leave it at that as I don’t want to give any spoilers away.
Friendship is at the heart of this book, making new friends and cherishing old ones, loyalty, empathy, hope, Joy, and funny.
A book that gave me warm feelings and happiness.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Publisher for an advanced e-book copy. Opinions about the book are entirely my own.

This is my first read by author Sally Page and I really enjoyed it. Having heard of Sally Page's novel The Keeper of Stories, I was super intrigued to read The Book of Beginnings.

My usual genre is crime/thrillers but I really want to venture into other genres and with this book, I am so glad that I did.

We meet main character Jo, in her thirties and recently single, she starts to look after her Uncles shop as he is not well and there Jo's life is changed for the better.

We meet so many amazing and funny characters in this novel. The characters of Ruth and Malcolm were brilliant, so relatable and fun and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about them. Jo is lonely, in need of some strong and real friendships she learns to open up herself and let people in.

A really beautiful story about friendship, and not knowing that you are missing something/someone until it presents itself.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Sally Page for a beautiful read in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a lovely read. Like sitting down in a comfy chair with friends. Loved the characters and would love to revisit them. Great plot and concept for a novel

For me this is a quite difficult book to review, not just a simple book on the unlikely friendship between three strangers but something more complex. Jo is looking after her uncle's stationery shop in London, far from her native Yorkshire, after he has a fall. There she meets a runaway vicar, Ruth, and Malcolm, a seventy year old straight-laced man with secrets. This friendship make Jo think back on her own friends that she lost due to a controlling relationship with her ex. Against this more somber background there are lighter moments, a succession of customers to the store, Eric the Viking, who isn't what she first thought and lastly, but by no means least, the ghosts of Highgate Cemetery. A book to make you think whilst you read.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Having read The Keeper of Secrets I was pleased to find her next book. It did not disappoint.

The characters were likeable and the authors intertwined the stories making them come alive and you wanting the minor players to come back in and tell more about their lives.

I loved the telling of stories about those in the Cemetery and was intrigued to find out more about well known and not so well known people.

A wonderful book and can’t wait for her next one.

If you’re looking for a heartwarming read to curl up with during autumn or on a cold winter’s day, then look no further. This beautiful book explores issues of love, loss, friendship, and new beginnings with great empathy, compassion, wisdom and tenderness.

The main protagonist, Jo, is in a period of emotional turmoil following a break-up with her former partner and distancing from her best friend. As she reels from feelings of self-recrimination and blame to regret, sadness and shame, a golden opportunity presents itself.

Her Uncle Wilbur is holed up in hospital and needs somebody reliable to take care of his small stationery/haberdashery shop. In her discombobulated state, Jo willingly leaps at the chance, not knowing how much it will help and change her.

She begins to get to know her local business associates, especially Lando and Eric the Viking, and she takes an active interest in the lives of her regular customers, learning to preempt their needs while she modernises and smartens up the premises.

In the process, Jo befriends Malcolm, a lonely, reclusive yet secretly flamboyant elderly man, and Ruth, the runaway vicar, who has been hurt by life but her daring, compassionate and vibrant nature, and simple way of sharing her faith, is utterly compelling to unbelieving Jo.

Things become complex at times, with mishaps and mistakes, secrets and their eventual revelations, budding romance, and misunderstanding followed by greater comprehension. It’s a life-affirming, soul-encouraging book to savour. Grateful thanks to Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction and NetGalley for the ARC.

I usually enjoy reading Sally Page books but unfortunately this one does not appeal to me. I have read almost half of the story but I do not like it so am not going to continue. I am sorry this review is not what you would be hoping for.

A warm and emotional story about friendship and new beginnings. Though the narrative was a little slow and predictable, I liked the storytelling and the entwined elements of the ghosts of Highgate cemetery. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Jo is having a hard time moving on after the breakup with her pretty awful ex. He didn’t deserve her, but that doesn’t matter as she is truly shattered. When the chance to get away and at the same time help out her uncle she jumps at it. And so she begins watching over his sweet little shop, she meets a few of the other local shopkeepers. Though all so very different, they bond and become friends and wonderful support for each other. It’s a sweet, gentle and ultimately a feel good story filled with wonderfully good and kind people.

I absolutely loved this book, so thought provoking. It’s amazing how some friendship last and last while others are transitional and how important it is to hold onto some but be ready to let go of others. It’s a 5 star for me

Such a lovely book with well drawn, sympathetic characters.
Jo emerging from a relationship which has made her feel so much less a person than she really is. Malcolm whose shyness and fear of friendship had made him lonely. And, of course, the "runaway vicar" whose heart is almost too full of compassion for her fellow man.
Set in the unusual hybrid of a tiny stationery and hardware shop, this is a novel about finding yourself and finding friends and finding your way.
Sally Page has a lovely light touch and her books are full of gentle wisdom A pleasure to read.
Thank you Nef Galkeg and Haroed Colluns for an e arc of this title.

Jo is looking for something and reflecting on her life in the wake of a failed relationship when she agrees to run her uncle Wilbur's stationary shop while he deals with health issues. Fans of the "it takes a village" genre will enjoy this one for the well rounded characters such as Ruth. a vicar with a secret, and Malcolm, a tight older man. But don't miss Erik the Viking and others! There's not too much angst and there's a lot of positivity. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Occasionally you come across a story that is quiet, mesmerising and totally addictive. The Book of Beginnings is just such a book, it is beautifully written and one that completely wraps you up in the story of the characters.

Jo is taking over the running of her Uncle's stationary shop, it has a mix of stationary and other odds 'n sods. Jo loves stationary and spent many happy childhood days in this shop. With her Uncle being diagnosed with dementia she decides to turn this shop into a proper stationary shop. She gets to know her two neighbours, a tattooist and an optician and also meets some interesting characters. The two main ones are Ruth and Malcolm, both very different in their mannerisms and the way they look at life.

Jo soon finds herself becoming friends with them and together they embark on a journey. Not a journey in the physical sense as such, but one that leads them to make some wonderful discoveries about themselves. In the process of this, Malcolm has a side project and this is a brilliant idea and involves some of the people buried in Highgate Cemetary. In bringing this aspect into the story, the author not only provides a historical slant but also gives the characters something to bond over.

This is a stunning story and one that captivated me from the first few pages. In some ways, this story is about people who come together and get to know each other. But it is also so much more than that, the author has created such a warmth within her characters. There is a bit of mystery to all of them and some honest advice is given when needed. This trio are simply brilliant together given the differences in age, past histories, beliefs and life experiences. But together they just work and they work so well.

There are family and friends that come and go, this is more for Jo rather than Ruth or Malcolm, but again with having two good friends beside her Jo is able to see things from a different perspective.

I adored this book so much and it was one of those books that just wraps you up in its pages. Stunning story, with memorable characters and an absolute pleasure to read. I would highly recommend this one.

I enjoyed The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page so was looking forward to The Book of Beginnings.

When I started to read it, I felt it wasn’t going to live up to its predecessor as it seemed a little slow, focussing on the protagonist Jo. Once the secondary characters were introduced though, it really came alive as they are so well written, being both relatable and likeable.

A warm and uplifting read about blossoming friendships, self-worth and fountain pens! 4*

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

A lovely heartwarming read, touches mainly on themes of friendship but also loneliness and loss.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Wonderful story of friendship in unlikely places and … looking beyond people’s back stories to see that they are more than your perceptions. Absolutely loved the main characters - Jo, Ruth, Malcolm, Lando , Eric the Viking! All the elements knitted together so well without any complexity.

Another gem from this really great author. That’s 5/5 for both her books now, she’s gone onto my automatic list!! Can’t wait for her next book!

I quite enjoyed this book, it is a fairly good example of its type.

I quite like the main character Jo although sometimes she was a bit of a drip, Malcolm is just slightly more than a cipher - lonely older man with a lifetime regret who blossoms through new friendships - but the aptly named Ruth is vibrant and funny and unusually for many books, shows Christians/religious people in a good light, just ordinary, fallible people trying to live in a kindly way and make the world a bit nicer.

Anyway, the pace is reasonable and the writing is good - the descriptions of Highgate Cemetery are excellent although I cannot help but wonder how wise it is to wander about what seems to be a wooded and overgrown place at night. I suspect we have an idealised version of North London. A lot of things in the book "glow" and some points are hammered home but these are just mild irritations.

The plot is a bit women's romance/chick lit and it is predictable and without any twists or surprises but it would be a nice read for winter nights or a holiday. There's not much to ponder and nothing contentious. I am not entirely convinced by the success achieved by a fancy stationery shop and the plans to open one elsewhere but then i suppose it's different in a city.

I thought the book got weaker towards the end - for example, why not just phone Eric rather than drive 400 miles through the snow to London - and the fates of the friends was too neat.

3.5 really, made up to 4 because it had promise.