Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although I did not enjoy this novel as much as Nina George's previous ones, I still thought it was heartwarming.

I was relatively confused through the first portion but as the story progressed I eventually caught up. I believe this is what brought down my reading experience. Possibly on a second read, I would enjoy it better.

Set in Provence
At the heart of the story is Marie-Jeanne, an orphan.
The novel opens as she lies in a crib beneath a magical tree.
Her grandmother is dead and luckily she is found raised by people through whom her love of books grow.
She accompanies her step-father around the French countryside, in a mobile library, introducing readers to the transformative power of storytelling - she has a special gift.
A thoroughly enjoyable reading journey.
Love the idea that books allow a magical alchemy and the perfect reminder of the love of reading.
A fabulous lyrical novel.
Thanks @ninageorge, @michaeljbooks & @netgalley for the eARC

A really nice read. With some really nice characters. The book is uplifting and will definitely put a smile on your face. You will also be transported to France.

A brilliant read and one I really enjoyed. The characters are loveable and varied, the plot is one that is engaging and medium paced. I found myself completely drawn into the story and enjoyed the writing style.

Having loved her previous book - The Little Paris Bookshop - I was eager to read this and it has that same wonderful and magical feels, although it was a bit of a struggle to start off with! The flow just felt all wrong and it felt a bit messy but I soon got into the flow and was swept along by some amazing characters.

Marie-Jeanne is at the heart of the story and she has a very sad start to life but is brought up by a foster family where the father, Francis, runs a mobile library so she is surrounded by a love of books! Francis is eager to spread the love of books especially amongst women and girls, but is met with resistance.

As he, Marie and Valerie team up they begin to lend books out that could help people with different problems in their life, and it really explores just how powerful the written word can be to so many of us, no matter what we're going through. That connection to a storyline or the characters we connect with, and how it can spark imagination and hope and change the outlook of the reader.

This is a lovely bookish book with a lovely magical twist that just added to the warmth of the characters. This is a book that reminds us why we all love to read!

I reviewed The Little Paris Bookshop, also by Nina George back in 2015. I adored the story of Jean Perdu who ran a bookshop from his restored barge and thought the book was masterful and memorable, which I can confirm eight years on the story most certainly is memorable.

So when I heard that author Nina George had written a book that connects back to The Little Paris Bookshop, a kind of prequel I had to read it.

This story features Marie-Jeanne who has a gift. Her gift is using books to bring soul-mates together via her father’s travelling library, though she can’t seem to find a soul-mate for herself.

I have such a fondness for the first book that I jumped into this one presuming I was going to love it just as much but I found this story quite heavy going. I struggled with the slow pace and that it takes a long time to actually get the story moving. Artists and poets will probably love this book for its whimsical wordy passages that cross into the magical/fantasy world. We have characters such as death and time, etc who interact and show their hands now and again and the story itself is narrated by love.

The Little French Village of Book Lovers is by no means a bad book. It is intriguing and has some amazing quotable sentences and makes you think. It just took me quite a long time to read it as I had to go back over parts to fully understand them, especially in the first half of the book. I also struggled to connect with Marie-Jeanne who doesn’t come across favourably. However, I can see this being a big hit with readers and book groups who will have a lot to talk about and analyse.

The Little French Village of Book Lovers was well written with a magical slant on Love and how it affects people. It wasn't what I expected but was interesting and captivating nonetheless.

This was a good read, I did enjoy it, by not as much as the first book. There were minimal references to the first book, which I thought was a nice tie-in aspect. This book shows that books hold the power to open your mind and imagination and enable you to escape to different worlds

This is a love letter to books and to France. Plenty of books, popular and classics, villages and well known places, a pinch of magic.
I enjoyed this heartwarming story and it made me wish I could travel with the characters
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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

The story is set in France, it has a bit of magic, love and is mainly about books.

You are hooked from the beginning, wanting to know what comes next and how the story ends.

I recommend this book.

I enjoyed the story . It is set in a village France with books as its main element with the magic of fate, lust , love etc. The glow of love at it hits a person. Very hard to review but it draws you in . A good read.