16 Jan / How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry [in Library Journal]
Emilia Nightingale returns from Hong Kong to her childhood home in Peasebrook in the middle of the English Cotswolds when she inherits Nightingale Books after her father’s death. Taking over the establishment means that the villagers immediately become part of her inheritance, including a klepto new mother, a trying-not-to-be-deadbeat dad, an accomplished chef, a renowned conductor and his temperamental girlfriend, and even her father’s married lover. The elder Nightingale’s antiquated business practices have just about wrung the coffers dry, but clever, caring Emilia just might maneuver a few happy beginnings.
Fiona Hardingham makes for an ideal narrator for Emilia with her youthful-yet-slightly-world-weary presentation; she effortlessly shifts her voice sharply for city-transplant thief Bea, crisply for elegantly aging lover Sarah, and menacingly for greedy developer Ian, using her chameleonic modulations to excellent effect for this sprawling cast of characters.
Verdict: Bookshop-book fans who flocked to Jenny Colgan’s The Bookshop on the Corner, Katarina Bivald’s The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend, and Gabrielle Zevin’s The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry will want to add Love to their audio shelves.
Review: modified from “Audio,” Library Journal, January 1, 2018
Readers: Adult
Published: 2017