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louiseelizabeth's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I liked the premise of this book, the book pharmacy making personalise reading recommendations during covid lockdowns to help people deal with it. I liked the main characters and some of the side characters' stories. I did feel there were probably too many side characters for them all to properly feature. I also liked the lists of books initially but felt it got a bit repetitive and interrupted the flow of the book after a few of them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Terminal illness, and Medical content
silkmoth's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Set in York in the first COVID lockdown, the book explores a variety of lockdown experiences through a book prescription service. Some characters just pop in via their requests and we don't meet them again. Others have larger or smaller narrative arcs. The staff of the bookshop are developed more fully. Unlike Lost for Words, Loveday isn't the main character, but we see how her story has evolved in the for years since the end of Lost for Words.
This book won't be for everyone as their COVID experiences will still be too raw. But I couldn't stop reading. And at the end I have a long list of suggested books to explore.
This book won't be for everyone as their COVID experiences will still be too raw. But I couldn't stop reading. And at the end I have a long list of suggested books to explore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Islamophobia, Dementia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
honeyfauna's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Infertility
sakisreads's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I knew that as a book lover, I HAD to give this one a go!
So many lovely life lessons (e.g. keep your loved ones close because you never know what may happen, thank your booksellers/librarians etc.) were scattered throughout which I appreciated 🥰 The quote about not having to finish a book (which I am notorious for trying to do, even if I hate the book with every fibre of my being!) was great too, I’ll put it down below.
‘Reading should be a pleasure and a joy, an education and a promise, a release and an escape. The books you choose for yourself should never, ever feel like a punishment or a chore’ got me good 🥲
I also really liked this quote too:
‘Books don’t care how many favourites you have. Favourite books love being in the company of other favourite books.’ ❤️
There were quite a few characters to have to keep up with; I felt like because of this, some of the time I was missing out on some very important characters’ storylines. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars ✨
Also including the (VERY IMPORTANT) content warnings below; this does cover some heavy but necessary topics. Thank you 🥹
So many lovely life lessons (e.g. keep your loved ones close because you never know what may happen, thank your booksellers/librarians etc.) were scattered throughout which I appreciated 🥰 The quote about not having to finish a book (which I am notorious for trying to do, even if I hate the book with every fibre of my being!) was great too, I’ll put it down below.
‘Reading should be a pleasure and a joy, an education and a promise, a release and an escape. The books you choose for yourself should never, ever feel like a punishment or a chore’ got me good 🥲
I also really liked this quote too:
‘Books don’t care how many favourites you have. Favourite books love being in the company of other favourite books.’ ❤️
There were quite a few characters to have to keep up with; I felt like because of this, some of the time I was missing out on some very important characters’ storylines. I’m giving it 4 out of 5 stars ✨
Also including the (VERY IMPORTANT) content warnings below; this does cover some heavy but necessary topics. Thank you 🥹
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Physical abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic
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