Book Review: The Little Paris Bookshop

The Little Paris Bookshop was one of those books that I struggled to start and finish but ultimately I was somewhat satisfied with the ending. I didn't dislike it enough to stop reading, so something kept me engaged enough to finish. Here's more of what I thought about The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George.

I wanted to read this book because I had read in some magazine or library journal that fans of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society would enjoy it. That got me excited tha I waited impatiently for weeks for it first to be released and then second to be available for check-out at the library. I have to say I was disappointed in that recommendation. I didn't really see any similarities other than the writing style and how the Potato Peel Society is written the majority in letters and this is made up somewhat of a diary. Here is my review from Potato Peel Society.

The Little Paris Bookshop is follows the journey of Jean Perdu, a literary apothecary, on a journey to heal himself not his customers after finding a letter from a lost love. I loved the idea of a literary apothecary serving French customers from a barge moored on the Seine; however, that ended up being one plot line almost intertwined with many others that ultimately would just be dropped as Perdu made progress on his quest to overcome losing the love of his life. The course of his journey includes another potential love, a young writer suffering from writer's block, an aspring chef, another surprise author and then the family of the lost love. Some just disappear from the story line and others remain present but it is long and sometimes confusing.

It was probably me more than the book and I would definitely recommend people read this book if only for the interesting topic of a literary apothecary and the book barge. At first when I started reading I thought it took place in an earlier time and was surprised when they started talking about cell phones and Harry Potter. Give it a try! It never hurts to read something and find out later you disliked it.You still read.

Happy Reading!