Review: The British Booksellers

Title: The British Booksellers

Author: Kristy Cambron

Publisher: 9th April 2024 by Thomas Nelson

Pages: 384 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction | Romance | Women's Fiction

Rating: 5 crowns

Synopsis:

Synopsis:

Inspired by real accounts of the Forgotten Blitz bombings, The British Booksellers highlights the courage of those whose lives were forever changed by war—and the stories that bind us in the fight for what matters most.

A tenant farmer’s son had no business daring to dream of a future with an earl’s daughter, but that couldn’t keep Amos Darby from his secret friendship with Charlotte Terrington . . . until the reality of the Great War sobered youthful dreams. Now decades later, he bears the brutal scars of battles fought in the trenches and their futures that were stolen away. His return home doesn’t come with tender reunions, but with the hollow fulfillment of opening a bookshop on his own and retreating as a recluse within its walls.

When the future Earl of Harcourt chose Charlotte to be his wife, she knew she was destined for a loveless match. Though her heart had chosen another long ago, she pledges her future even as her husband goes to war. Twenty-five years later, Charlotte remains a war widow who divides her days between her late husband’s declining estate and operating a quaint Coventry bookshop—Eden Books, lovingly named after her grown daughter. And Amos is nothing more than the rival bookseller across the lane.

As war with Hitler looms, Eden is determined to preserve her father’s legacy. So when an American solicitor arrives threatening a lawsuit that could destroy everything they’ve worked so hard to preserve, mother and daughter prepare to fight back. But with devastation wrought by the Luftwaffe’s local blitz terrorizing the skies, battling bookshops—and lost loves, Amos and Charlotte—must put aside their differences and fight together to help Coventry survive.

From deep in the trenches of the Great War to the storied English countryside and the devastating Coventry Blitz of WWII, The British Booksellers explores the unbreakable bonds that unite us through love, loss, and the enduring solace that can be found between the pages of a book.

My Thoughts

I first came across Kristy’s writing a couple of years ago with The Italian Ballerina and found it to be wonderful. Therefore I was quite excited to read her latest, The British Booksellers and I found this to be even more remarkable. Of course there were many things that readily ticked the box for me - historical fiction, two timelines, romance and it involved a bookstore! So imagine my delight when it was all of that and so much more!

‘I was willing to give up my entire world for you, Amos. I thought you were too. Weren’t we to make a new world together, you and I?’

Kristy’s books are special in that they are so detailed and intricate in their plotting (mind blowing if truth be told) but also provide twists and turns that kept me hooked until the last page. She keeps dropping little ‘crumbs’ that will have you following the trail to a fitting conclusion. Charlotte and Amos are in both WWI and WW2 timelines, so the narrative jumps back and forth for that. However, the greater part of the story is dedicated to the WW2 timeline and the focus being the ‘forgotten blitz’, the deadly Coventry bombings. 

“Perhaps days like this are exactly why we have books in the world. To remember that not all is lost, even if we find ourselves in the unknown. I like to think we provide a haven for the wanderer. And help him remember he has a place to call home.”

This is the kind of narrative to just lose yourself in for it certainly has it all and I am now a firm fan of Kristy’s writing. It is deeply emotional and pulls at the heartstrings - two wars, two romances, two ways of living (before and during war) that make this book memorable. I think perhaps Kristy’s secret is the little things that are memorable like a book, or a cello, or a pocket watch. 

‘… things she’d loved once. The cello, books, childhood dreams, and a farmer’s son who’d shared them.’

This book is not only rich in historical details but equally rich in storytelling with characters that will long be remembered. Kristy Cambron is a wonderful storyteller weaving this epic tale of family drama across the decades.

“War does not change everything; it cannot change secrets of the past.”

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This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.