Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods

19 reviews

jijirich's review against another edition

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mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Based on the cover and title (specifically the Amazon Kindle title which called the book "charming and uplifting"), I expected a cozy novel. The mystery aspects were fun, but I wasn't prepared for graphic violence against women. I rated it as highly as I did because I think if my expectations were different, I would have liked it more, but even still the characters felt flat and the plot had several gaping chasms.

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tiamia1084's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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lochnessvhs's review

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emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Oh dear...perhaps this would be easiest in bullet form:

  • I adored Opaline's story. It was the standout. Had the entire book been Opaline's story and thoroughly fleshed out, this may have been a 4-star read.
  • Henry was the dullest, flattest, most useless character.
  • Henry and Martha did not seem to have any chemistry whatsoever. It was only in the moments where one of them are thinking "oh s/he's perfect!" that anything came across, and it felt like we were being reminded they were supposed to be together. 
  • The magical realism of the story was shoe-horned in and so lightly defined that it seemed to be pointless.
  • There are 3 books in this book. One is possibly great (Opaline), one is okay (Martha and her husband and how she grows as a person) and one terrible (Henry and Martha and the magic bookshop).
  • Plot holes make my head hurt.

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jessversteeg's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Unique plot, very creative! I enjoyed the rare books aspect and the investigation of the old stories 

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galadriel07's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5


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fedorasommora's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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saskiajva's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Before you start this book, definitely read the trigger warnings. Based on the summary and the tagline “the most charming and uplifting novel of 2023”, i was expecting a cozy story about a magic bookshop that filled you with warmth, hope, and childlike wonder. This book was nothing like that. Instead, it is 431 pages of three different people experiencing and processing horrific and very real-world traumas. The actual bookshop is much more the background setting of their lives, and not at all integral to the plot in my opinion, which i thought was a bummer. this book could’ve easily been set in a realistic world without the bookshop and it would change very little. 

Ultimately the book was fairly captivating and i did read it to the end, but i don’t think i would’ve chosen this had i known what it was actually about. Or at  the very least i definitely would have been more mindful about reading this while in a good headspace. The history was pretty cool, it’s clear the author did a ton of research and there are so many historical Easter eggs interwoven 

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ash_bees's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A single story told from two points in time about 100 years apart.  Very well written, I could feel the heart ache.


Not to distract from the rest of the story line, but so much of this is about the actions of a psychopath, the fall out from those actions, and the victims who are trying to heal.

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hannahcstocks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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