A fairly typical historical romantic novel set in the late 1890s in York, but the tale is the reverse of poor to rich. Lady Evelyn Seaton’s family fall from grace and outcast from society, caused by her father’s secretive gambling habit, brings her and her mother to live on the hospitality of her great aunt. Romance is in the air, but only once potential suitors have been rejected. There is nothing remarkable about this novel although it provides a comfortable read, with a hint of humour and a smattering of curiosity to see how the story unfolds to its conclusion.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers HarperCollins for this ARC in exchange for an independent review.

Loved it!

If you're looking for a light-hearted historical romance where nothing too awful happens, this is it! Following a dramatic change in her family's fortune and position in society, Evelyn Seaton and her mother are forced to leave behind their stately home and move to a very different life in York. Left with no money and abandoned by both their father and society, Evelyn finds work in a small bookshop where she soon meets enigmatic writer, William Morton.

Imagine Elizabeth Bennet if her father has lost his entire home and fortune and abandoned her to live on the goodwill of a crotchety old aunt, and you'll be halfway towards the general vibe of this book. Evelyn is smart, opinionated and open-minded, albeit somewhat naive and sheltered, while potential love interest William has all the brooding Byronic qualities you'd hope for. Throw in a blonde ringleted mean girl to stir things up, plus a heap of family secrets waiting to be revealed, and you've got yourself an enchanting, witty read that you'll most likely devour in a a single sitting (well, I certainly did anyway!).

Hugely entertaining and just the book I needed right now,.

Thank you to the publisher, author and Netgalley for this Arc. An engaging read which is reminiscent of a few other recently released books such as The Lost Bookshop. Charming in places and imaginative in detail. Some of the character details got a little confusing but on the whole a good read.

I was beguiled by the lovely cover artwork and, not knowing the author, I requestes an early reader’s copy and saw that the author ‘can often be found at the turn of the century’ - I hadn’t realised that was the turn of the last century, not this.
I was 100 years out… I really enjoyed the writing style though and this was a far cry from Downton Abbey, with a historical daily life viewpoint that I wasn’t familiar with. I was familiar with the setting of York though so was intrigued to see how the story went.

I definitely enjoyed it and was invested in the character of Evelyn. I enjoyed the setting of the bookshop, although the character of the shop wasn’t explored again after the first reference.

Evelyn meets Will after an ill-fated ball hosted by the horrible Lady Violet (she doesn’t really redeem herself in my opinion!) and by a twist of fate, ends up running into him again after securing a job in Morton’s Emporium.

Will is an aspiring author but all is not as it seems and Evelyn can instantly tell something is awry…

There was a lovely cast of characters though, especially Naomi and Jack, Naomi befriends Evelyn on her first trip into York and Jack, the man she has a crush on, is Will’s best friend, so this throws Will into Evelyn’s path again and again.

Whilst this story wasn’t what i was expecting and I’m not sure it’s the story the blurb would lead you to believe, it is nicely written and enjoyable. Worth a read to expand your genres of interest if they don’t currently include historical fiction.

This book had the potential to be so much more than it was. Having read the introduction, I had the impression that I was going to be reading an engrossing tale of York and the lives of those living there at the time. However, once I started reading I found the book to be very flat with no real definition at all. The main character Evelyn seemed very immature at the beginning and didn’t seem to develop to her full potential throughout the story. I carried on reading the book in the hope of a change of mood and direction, but unfortunately I didn’t see any change. This is only my opinion of the book and totally accept that I may well have missed the depth I was expecting from the beginning. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.

This was a nice, slow read. Humorous at times, and wise too. The plot didnt keep me entertained as much as I hoped it would. The story starts strongly, but starts to drag halfway through.
Evelyn is a lovely character, I highlighted a lot of her wisdoms. The other characters are fairly standard.
I would recommend this to anyone who likes to read about this time period, because it was obviously well-researched.

Thank you Netgalley for this earc, all opinions are my own.

Wonderful, I love historical novels and this one ticks all the boxes. I totally lost myself in the story, it is so well written it pulls you in from the very first page. A great read.

An enjoyable historical love story. Despite the restrictions of the times Evelyn strives to make a life for herself and her mother. Some misunderstandings along the way, but eventually a happy ending is achieved.

This book wasn't quite what I expected; the title gave me some idea of a mystery around the shop. However, this is a nicely written novel, with some humour, dealing mainly in the complexity of the human ability to tell lies. Some lies are white, with no malice; some are defensive, some are mean and others are downright destructive. In the Lamplighter's Bookshop many lies of all kinds are unveiled. Some bring hurt that can never be repaired.

This is one of my favourite books of the year. I love the blend of history, intrigued and romance plus it's set in York which is a favourite place of mine. With great characters and a gripping storyline this has sure-fire hit all over it. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed this book. I love a period drama anyway but this felt different in that Evelyn was not going to lay down and accept the hand that had been dealt her. She was not afraid, even as a Baron's daughter, to work and set about improving her life herself instead of looking to marriage to rescue herself. I thought the variety of characters was great, from Morton to the friends she makes unexpectedly on her walks through York. It was great to read about her building her life for herself amidst the car crash that was her father. He was quite infuriating so it was reassuring to see even her mother realise what an awful man he was! All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable read and would definitely recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and HarpercollinsUK for the ARC copy!

This book was interesting for me as it was the first time I read something that wasn't present or in the future, it took me awhile to get into it because of it as the language, mention of women working etc was appropiate for this time era.

Evelyn's family infuriated me the entire book honestly, manipulative and blindsighted mother. ABSOLUTELY living for the aunt though, she was my favorite side character out of them all.

Will was such a grumpy sweet heart and I did enjoy the ending much more than I expected.

But with this, I'm giving it a 3.5/5 stars, mainly from my own taste that I found the plot lacklustered, it was bad communication between the characters mainly (but it's still warranted as family respect etc so I understand why but I struggle with this in books in general) and the last few chapters when they kept going around eachother drove me nuts.

Editor notes: There are many places in the book using the justified editing field that drags big spaces between the words, I think it would also be easier to read the conversations between the people if it was breaking down with space on the pages as I found myself re-reading at times to figure out who said what.

This isn’t a genre I would normally choose but I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. Not only were the lead characters captivating, but so were the supporting characters, especially Jack and Naomi. Following Evelyn find herself and in turn help her mother do the same was enjoyable and I would read more from this author.

3.5 stars rounded up.
With thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the arc
Historical romance is not a genre I’m normally drawn to, but this was described as being set in a bookshop and the plot sounded intriguing so…
I thought this was a fairly low-stakes, enjoyable read. It tries to do too many things (dealing with class/class mobility, and race for example) and loses it’s grip on most of them in the process, but if you ignore those attempts at serious social commentary and just take it at face value as a light-hearted ‘enemies to lovers’ type of scenario, then it’s a fun, quick read. The writing style is good, though better editing could have made it tighter and closed some of those plot holes that other reviewers have mentioned. I would have liked the titular bookshop to have featured more, and for the suggestion of the store being magical (that was hinted at in the beginning of the book) to be developed more - it’s like the author started with the idea but then got so carried away with the romance part of the plot she just shelved the ‘magical bookshop’ theme.
A solid effort.

The Lamplight's Bookshop by Sophie Austin.
3.5 stars.

Set in York in the late 19th Century, this is a story following Evelyn as she navigates a big change in lifestyle. She starts working in a bookshop where she meets William, an aspiring writer recently back from living in London.

I enjoyed this book, the main storyline was good. I would have liked a bit more fleshing out of the more minor plot points, such as more background to what happened with Lady Violet. That felt a bit rushed at the end.

The characters all have secrets from each other which built tension well throughout the book but my goodness did I want the characters to have a good conversation and sort out their problems sooner! Then we could have had more time seeing the relationships develop which I felt would have been nice.

Overall I liked the historical fiction side of it but it needed a bit more detail to some of the plot points.

As a big fan of historical fiction, the comparison to two other excellent books in the write up, the title and the lovely cover, I was really looking forward to reading and reviewing this debut novel. The book started well, I liked the bookshop description and hoped the author would develop the ‘magical’ side of it that was hinted, but unfortunately this did not happen and the plot developed into a very predictable romance and ending. Other readers will enjoy this easy to read book, but not one for me. Thank you to NetGalley for the review copy.

I enjoyed this story of class, betrayal, false appearances and love. When the bailiffs come to Evelyn's home to collect possessions to cover her father’s debts, Evelyn and her mother are forced to move to York and live her great aunt Clara, who is an interesting character as well. Along the way, Evelyn learns to make her way in the world, not rely on her father and to realise that she has choices. There was a diverse cast of characters, a delightfully quirky bookshop and gentle story that life is what you make of it. I look forward to reading this author’s next book. Thanks to NetGalley for an opportunity to read this book..

If you are looking for an easy read with a romantic twist, then consider "The Lamplighter's Bookshop" by Sophie Austin. Set at the end of the 19th Century, this book is a light historical fiction read. More character based, you get involved with the lives surrounding the bookshop. I'd happily read another book by the author.

Set in York in Victorian England, the author paints a picture of Society of that time and the huge difference between the upper and working classes. Evelyn has been brought up as gentry, but when her father loses his money and their home, they find they are snubbed by their so called friends.

An interesting debut novel, I liked the premise of a woman like Evelyn doing everything she can to help her mother survive the disgrace of her husband’s actions and of Evelyn’s growing relationship with William. Nicely paced and written, I’ll certainly look out for,the authors next book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I very rarely read books set in the past but the detail in the email sent to me was appealing and I liked how the book flowed. I liked the characters and how they gelled together. It is a beautiful read and I can well recommend.