Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: The Bookseller’s Secret
Author: Michelle Gable
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 1/5
Recommended For…: historical fiction, WW2
Publication Date: August 17, 2021
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended Age: can’t recommend, DNFed
Publisher: Graydon House
Pages: 400
Synopsis: In 1942, London, Nancy Mitford is worried about more than air raids and German spies. Still recovering from a devastating loss, the once sparkling Bright Young Thing is estranged from her husband, her allowance has been cut, and she’s given up her writing career. On top of this, her five beautiful but infamous sisters continue making headlines with their controversial politics.
Eager for distraction and desperate for income, Nancy jumps at the chance to manage the Heywood Hill bookshop while the owner is away at war. Between the shop’s brisk business and the literary salons she hosts for her eccentric friends, Nancy’s life seems on the upswing. But when a mysterious French officer insists that she has a story to tell, Nancy must decide if picking up the pen again and revealing all is worth the price she might be forced to pay.
Eighty years later, Heywood Hill is abuzz with the hunt for a lost wartime manuscript written by Nancy Mitford. For one woman desperately in need of a change, the search will reveal not only a new side to Nancy, but an even more surprising link between the past and present…
Review: I had to DNF this book at 23% in. The book is just really unbearable for me. It’s slow in a lot of places and the main character is not likable at all. There also seems to be a lot of plot points in the book that don’t seem related to the story whatsoever. I also didn’t know about the main character’s ties to Hitler (through her sisters Unity and Diana) before looking into the book and I don’t think I’ll be making another attempt at this book.
Verdict: Not for me but maybe for you.
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