Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free audiobook copy for exchange for an honest review!

One word I would use to describe this book is quiet. It’s mainly a book about finding yourself again, and spending time with family. I was able to read this so quickly as i was so drawn to the characters and their story. This book shows appreciation to book lovers, while showing how much loving books brings people together. The relationships between the main character and her uncle developed really well, and was nice to see developing throughout the first part. I just loved the descriptions in this book, and i really felt like i was in the bookshop with the caracters. While this book also took us to other settings it was nice and really expanded on the world that the character is living in. Overall the perfect cozy book to pick up this autumn!

'Days at the Morisaki Bookshop' is an enjoyable listen; well read and entertaining, the story of the characters as their lives become intertwined around this little used-book store is heartwarming and gentle. Lyrical and often funny in places, it was a refreshing read.

🛒📖 Days At the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (Translated by Eric Ozawa & narrated by Susan Mimoko Hingley).

If you've ever found solace in the peace of a bookshop then you'll understand the impact the Morasaki bookshop has on our protagonist Takako. Following a shocking turn of events, entirely out of her control, Takako is taken in by her uncle at his second-hand bookshop. While intially unkeen on this arrangement, as she meets a host of characters connected to the shop she has a change of heart and starts to feel inspired to learn their stories and begin making changes in her own.

During the novel, which follows a few years in Takakos life, she discovers family secrets, friendship, and the power of a good book... Which goes to show that sometimes the most unexpected change can be the greatest thing in your life.

I found the writing amusing, and as I tend to find with translated Japanese fiction the pace is easy going making this a calming listen, despite touching on painful subjects. Narration by Susan Momoko Hingley is enjoyable.

At times the characters are rather frustrating, but I suppose that is true to life - we all have our own ways of coping after all.

I am grateful to netgalley and Manilla press for the oppurtunity to listen to this ARC audiobook.

A short book that moves at a nice pace, a lovely story about life, growth and the power of stories. I'm not sure if it's the translation or the authors style but the language doesn't flow as well as it could making the reading experience a bit harsher than it needs

The author’s magical writing transported me to the street filled with bookstores. Can you believe it the main character lives in a bookstore? Isn’t it every bookworm’s dream come true?!
I loved, loved, loved the setting. The sights and smells are brought to life in this tiny volume. The bookstores lining the quaint lane, the cozy coffee shop, and friends who have known each other for ages contributed to a delightful reading experience.

Takako, Satoru, and Momoku are the main characters, and they are supported by a reasonable number of secondary characteristics. The narrative maintains a brisk pace, albeit with occasional disjointed moments.

Sadly, I couldn’t empathise with Takako. She is passive all throughout and doesn’t have the spark to be the main lead. Satoru, despite his eccentricity, is genuinely charming, with his deep affection for books clearly evident. As for Mamoko, she may be equally unusual, but she possesses a unique history. What stood out to me, however, was her admirable strength and determination.

The story lacks depth, as it is a short novella. But this deficiency is more than made up by the healing power of books.
I listened to an audiobook narrated by Susan Momoko Hingley. Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy her narration as much as I wanted to. Her pronounced British accent made it challenging to envision the characters in their authentic setting.



Days at the Morisaki Bookshop centers around themes of books, love, family, and self-discovery. It may have its mixed qualities, but it is undoubtedly a worthwhile read.


Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnier UK Audio, Manilla Press for the ALC.

I loved this book! I finished listening to it in one session because I couldn’t put it down.

I loved seeing her slowly fall in love with books and reading. Her growing relationship with her uncle and auntie in law was so inspiring to listen to. I fell in love with the characters from the first page.

I also loved how she was pushed to speak up for herself and how it helped her spark a new fire in herself.

Definitely a cozy, heartwarming read, and let’s face it, who doesn’t love a book about books!

Such an enjoyable read!

I was lucky enough to listen to the audio book and the narrator was fabulous, she really brought this heartwarming story to life.
Set in a bookshop in Tokyo the book follows Takako on her journey to healing herself after heartbreak through the magic of books. I thoroughly recommend this sweet cozy book to every book lover!

A young broken hearted woman goes to stay with her uncle to ‘recharge her batteries’. It is there in his second hand bookshop that she falls in love again, this time with books and reading. As the seasons pass she grows from a self centred fragile girl into a woman who knows her own mind. The book brought to mind The Alchemist by Paul Coelho with respect to the answers being within. However this read gave that idea of ‘a story with a moral’ in a more tender and gentle way making it much more relatable.

In the story the protagonist talks of books in only the way a true bibliophile can, referring for example to the smell of books, how she turned to a book when unable to sleep and also of reading through the night unable to stop and sleep; a combination of things all book lovers can relate to, making this a lovely read. I listened to the audible version courtesy of NetGalley. The narrator was excellent, I really could listen to her for hours with of course the bonus of hearing the correct pronunciation of names, places, foods etc. All in all a lovely read which I would recommend.

I really liked this one!

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop is a heartwarming tale of taking comfort in books and family when life gets you down and realising that life is a marathon and not a sprint. It is set around a used bookshop called Morisaki Bookshop, which is a family business and is now owned by Satoru, Takako's uncle. Takako ends up living on the second floor of the bookshop and reconnecting with her uncle, after losing her job and going through a really bad breakup.

The time she spends there changes her life and allows her to recharge her batteries, being surrounded by books, the nice people of the neighbourhood and the bookshop's loyal clients.

A few highlights in this book for me were the importance of family in times of need and how we sometimes need a break from everything to reassess how we want to move forward in life, even though we're always being pushed to just carry on with things no matter what.

I loved the audiobook's narrator for this one, Susan Momoko Hingley. I think she did a great job bringing this work to life.

Thank you so much to Manilla Press/Bonnier UK Audio for this ALC!

After a devastating and humiliating breakup, Takako uproots her normal life to go and stay with her uncle Satoru in his bookshop in Jimbocho, a small town filled with hundreds of bookshops.

This is a gorgeous book about the healing power of books and reading and a love letter to independent bookshops. I wish I had a town like this to visit. I think it was very realistic in how it showed Takako to be a reluctant reader at first and slowly find her love for it. I also really enjoyed how this showed not only a close family relationship but the friendship between Takako and her uncle, and how it focused on a that extended family situation. I enjoyed this book a lot, and recommend the audiobook version of it

The first part of this book centres on Takako, how she moved into the bookshop, met the patrons and neighbours, and became an avid reader. It was very charming.

The second part of the book introduces another character and takes the story into a different direction. It works seeing it as a sequel, but it wasn't as cosy and charming as the first part.

I received this arc in exchange for an honest . This book is translated from the Japanese version and whilst I was reading this book it gave off cozy reading vibes. However it did take me a while to finish as there wasn't much going on to keep picking it back up I did however like the ending.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Just, wow! I started reading this at 9.30am and was done by 12pm, I could not put this down!

I was kindly gifted the audiobook on NetGalley from @bonnierbooks_uk / @harpercollinsuk 🧡

Japanese Fiction is my absolute favourite genre and this did not disappoint at all. We follow the main character Takako, who discovers her boyfriend is getting married to somebody else. She quits her job and moves into her family’s bookshop.
You are taken on a journey through multiple peoples lives, where you follow their struggles and hurdles to overcome.

It is a really beautiful book that touches on taking a step back and truly finding yourself and your purpose. Trying new things to discover who you are and what you want to do with your next step in life 🧡

Can I now go and live in a bookshop please?

I would highly recommend giving this a read, if you would like something to warm your heart, make you really sit back and think, need a quick read to get you out of a slump or for the cosy vibes!

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa
Translated by Eric Osawa

Set in the province of Tokyo, Morisaki, that has 170 bookshops and numerous coffee and tea shops, this short book is the tale of a girl who is heartbroken and escapes to her Uncle's bookshop, where she sleeps a lot and then starts to rebuild her life.

The relationship between them is so sweet, and I loved seeing them get to know each other better and to have conversations that bonded them and healed them both in many ways.

This is a cute, heartwarming novel that gave me all the cosy vibes.

I listened to this as an audiobook, and my only criticism would be the choice of narrator; it felt like she was almost talking like you would to a child, which I found a bit grating!

Thank you to @netgalley for the audiobook of this book, I really enjoyed it

A beautiful cosy story which was a pleasure to listen to. It is very wholesome and is a very comforting read. Whilst it didn't blow me away, it was so enjoyable and I will definitely recommend it to other people who need a nice easy and cosy book. I love books about books, and this story is about a woman who is falling back in love with her life, and in the process, falls in love with reading. It's written in a very accessible way, I thought the language was brilliant and easy to read, and it's told in the first person past tense POV. There aren't that many characters to keep track of either. Rating: 3.75.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for the audiobook version in exchange for an honest review.

A short book set in a bookshop in Japan. This is a calm story about how books and reading are important and about simple pleasures in life.
Like a lot of Japanese translated books it has its charm to it touching on deep heartfelt topics. The main character Takako has been dumped by her boyfriend who she has found out has been dating 2 women at the same time. She has had to leave work as a result of her situation. Feeling stupid and lost, she gets a call from her Uncle Satoru, who runs a bookshop in the Bookshop District of Tokyo, who offers her a room to live in and a job.

A great audiobook, the reader gives great personality to the characters and really help you immerse yourself in the story. A great short read to build up your book goal. Similar feeling to Toshikazu Kawaguchi style,but Before The Coffee Gets Cold is definitely better and grabbed me more than this, but this was still good and unqiue.
I will say some triggers for divorce, long-term illness and heartbreak.

A heartwarming story written in cosey prose this was a love book for a quiet few hours on a Sunday evening.

This was such a lovely, lyrical story with some wonderful, poignant moments that really tugged at my heart. It's very much a slice-of-life story, focusing more on characters than plot, but it has a gentle nostalgia to it that gives the narrative a sun-drenched, "hazy days" in Japan quality, which I loved. Bonus points for how much it made me miss Tokyo and the fact that I thought we were heading towards a sad ending, but instead we got a hopeful, uplifting one.

This started out strong but didn't remain so, unfortunately.
I lost interest during part 2 when the MC goes back to the Morisaki bookshop.
Nonetheless, it was still an enjoyable read and I would recommend it.
Actual rating: 3.5

Translation/cultural differences made this fairly forgettable.

2.5 stars, rounding up to 3.

It may have been 'lost in translation' somewhat, but both the plot and characterisation of this were, to me, rather bland.

The audio version didn't help either, making Takako so unassertive and shrinking I was annoyed. Takako is 25, with a boyfriend, working in a fairly dull job. Her boyfriend announces to her he is getting married... but not to her. To his girlfriend. Which would bring out at least a smidgeon of fury in most women.

Takako, whether through cultural pressures or due to her own character flaws, stands up for herself not one jot, instead falling into depression and losing her job and life. It's only through an invitation from a barely-tolerated uncle to come and live/work at his bookshop that she can escape the spiral. If not the low mood and inability to move on.

Or can she? As you may expect, the joys of literature, an 'unexpectedly' charismatic uncle and interactions with others might do their work on Takako to have her looking inward and forward. You'll have to read it to see.

I couldn't identify with Takako at all really, she's too passive to really empathise with (though of course I did sympathise with her situation). I also felt the translation was either a little off, or Japanese speech is very, very different to that in the UK, it felt stilted and speech patterns were so very formal and basic. It jarred for me listening.

For those trying this, I hope it brings you more joy than I was able to take from it.

With thanks to Netgalley for providing a sample audio copy.