Scan barcode
cherylc's review against another edition
5.0
This book was not what I expected, in the best possible way. What I thought would be a cute rom-com became a heartwarming raw and beautiful story of grief and finding your voice.
racheltanza's review against another edition
Needed an emotional reset after Tender Is the Flesh, and this worked just fine. Libraries are king.
ecp2115's review against another edition
4.0
I have a degree in library science. I had to read this one.
books_and_daydreams's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I disliked this book but that doesn’t mean someone else won’t love it.
My take away after finishing the story is that people left alone in isolation, even of their own making, forget how to live in the world. June’s story was more sad than inspiring. She had no confidence, high stress when it came to interacting with people (even children) when in large groups or public speaking, she felt completely alone, and she was blind to the good she put into the world. She felt herself to be unloveable and undesirable.
The author couldn’t really get me to love June in the last 10% of the book when I had spent the first 90% super frustrated with the lack of consistent confidence growth. Although, I was happy to see the positive changes in the side characters.
I guess this book felt like a more real take on life, how we travel through it, the people we encounter, and the situations we find ourselves in as individuals or as a community.
My take away after finishing the story is that people left alone in isolation, even of their own making, forget how to live in the world. June’s story was more sad than inspiring. She had no confidence, high stress when it came to interacting with people (even children) when in large groups or public speaking, she felt completely alone, and she was blind to the good she put into the world. She felt herself to be unloveable and undesirable.
The author couldn’t really get me to love June in the last 10% of the book when I had spent the first 90% super frustrated with the lack of consistent confidence growth. Although, I was happy to see the positive changes in the side characters.
I guess this book felt like a more real take on life, how we travel through it, the people we encounter, and the situations we find ourselves in as individuals or as a community.
begquilter's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Great book about a librarian figuring out who she is and a community trying to save its library.
jconn4's review against another edition
3.0
Reading the summary for this book, I was CERTAIN I’d fall absolutely head over heels in love with. A cute romance that also doubled as library activism? As an LIS student myself, sign me up!
But overall I found Last Chance Library very…underwhelming. I’ve been trying and trying to figure out a way to word my thoughts about this book, but every time I get close it seems to float out of reach—and maybe that’s the best way to describe this book overall.
It’s a perfectly pleasant story. I read it quickly and was never necessarily bored, or annoyed. June is a nice main character to follow, and her friends are nice, and her love interest is nice.
It was just all so….nice.
Nothing about this story ever got a deep emotional reaction from me. The characters and dialogue all felt a bit shallow—even June. In her case at least, I feel much of that could have been solved by writing the book in first person rather than third. She’s such an introverted character throughout the book that I feel like being in her immediate headspace would have made it much easier to grow attached to her and empathize. As it stood, everything felt surface level, and was just disappointing.
Also, don’t come into this book expecting a contemporary romance as I did, since it was shelved under romances at the bookstore I got it from. The romance between Alex and June—advertised in the summary, to boot—was very much a subplot to the library drama throughout the book. Which would have been fine, had the book not been presented to me otherwise. They’re cute together, but as other reviewers pointed out, I never felt any sparks between them, nor did their dialogue ever surpass plain and pleasant. (Honestly, all of the dialogue felt very cookie cutter to me.)
This was a decent effort for a debut novel, but felt very “eh” to me by the end.
But overall I found Last Chance Library very…underwhelming. I’ve been trying and trying to figure out a way to word my thoughts about this book, but every time I get close it seems to float out of reach—and maybe that’s the best way to describe this book overall.
It’s a perfectly pleasant story. I read it quickly and was never necessarily bored, or annoyed. June is a nice main character to follow, and her friends are nice, and her love interest is nice.
It was just all so….nice.
Nothing about this story ever got a deep emotional reaction from me. The characters and dialogue all felt a bit shallow—even June. In her case at least, I feel much of that could have been solved by writing the book in first person rather than third. She’s such an introverted character throughout the book that I feel like being in her immediate headspace would have made it much easier to grow attached to her and empathize. As it stood, everything felt surface level, and was just disappointing.
Also, don’t come into this book expecting a contemporary romance as I did, since it was shelved under romances at the bookstore I got it from. The romance between Alex and June—advertised in the summary, to boot—was very much a subplot to the library drama throughout the book. Which would have been fine, had the book not been presented to me otherwise. They’re cute together, but as other reviewers pointed out, I never felt any sparks between them, nor did their dialogue ever surpass plain and pleasant. (Honestly, all of the dialogue felt very cookie cutter to me.)
This was a decent effort for a debut novel, but felt very “eh” to me by the end.
sonshinelibrarian's review
4.0
This is a cute read. It's really focused on June's emotional growth and the library with a very side plot of romance, which was kind of refreshing. As someone who has lost a parent, I also appreciated the exploration of June's continued grief even years later and how she learns to move on while not being "fixed" from her grief or loss. I thought the ending was really interesting and I thought worked pretty well. A love letter to libraries and their impact and the ways that their role can't be easily counted or cataloged (pun fully intended).