True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop
True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop
By Annie Darling
Full of heart, humour and a joy for all fans of Jane Austen!
Published: 2017 HarperCollins and available in a range of formats.
Book review no spoilers I swear!!!
Welcome back bookish folk! It's been a long time since I last posted, to be perfectly honest with you, I've been in a reading slump. I've decided to read the books that I want to read, we're here to share the book love. So there will be more of a mixture of old and new books to reviewed on here. True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop has been on my tbr for a long, long time and it was a book that I wanted to read. Not only was it engaging from the start, it was fun, sweet and full of heart. But before I tell you more about my thoughts, how about we start with the blurb.
Blurb:
It's a truth universally acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a good job, four bossy sisters and a needy cat must also have want of her one true love. Or is it?
Another delightful novel from the author of The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts. Perfect for fans of Lucy Diamond and Jenny Colgan
Verity Love – Jane Austen fangirl and an introvert in a world of extroverts – is perfectly happy on her own (thank you very much), and her fictional boyfriend Peter is very useful for getting her out of unwanted social events. But when a case of mistaken identity forces her to introduce a perfect stranger as her boyfriend, Verity’s life suddenly becomes much more complicated.
Johnny could also use a fictional girlfriend. Against Verity’s better judgement, he persuades her to partner up for a summer season of weddings, big number birthdays and garden parties, with just one promise - not to fall in love with each other…
Thoughts:
Where do I start?
Verity and Johnny. Johnny and Verity. A match made in.... hmmm..... on paper maybe they're a match made in disaster. But off of the paper and in life, maybe they're a match made in romcom heaven.
I love stories like this, you know the type surely? The ones that from page one they have you smiling and by the time you get to the last page, you find that you are still smiling. You know exactly how this book is going to end but that's not always the important thing. No. It's the journey the set of characters go through, the growth and sometimes the decline of the character.
One thing I particularly loved about this book was that our main character, Verity is an introvert. Being an introvert myself, it was great to have the representation of an introvert done correctly. Many people have a misconception of introverts that think we are shy. In many cases it is, but most of the time, we just need time to recharge our social batteries after being part of the loud world for too long. I really enjoyed Verity, especially her down to earth character, not only did I find her relatable, she is also someone I think all bookworms can relate to.
Johnny on the other hand is not only a very charming man but also a man with a case of unrequited love. It was ever so refreshing to see a male lead in love with someone he can't have. Usually it's the woman lead who's in love with a person they can't have. Learning more about Johnny and the forbidden love made me angry, annoyed and most of all irritated at times. But the growth and seeing him develop to become a man coming to the realisation that the forbidden love isn't healthy for him was certainly a "GET IN" moment.
Overall I loved this book, it was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Also, I found out that this is the second book of a four book series!!
Rating: 4 out of 5*
After all tomorrow is another day for reading the books you love.
Till next time,
Phoebe x
True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop is available to purchase in many forms at Amazon.
However, if you are able to, support your local bookshop or World of Books.