Review: The Book Lovers by Victoria Connelly

Source: Review copy from author
Rating: ★★★★★

‘A good book lives forever,’ he said.

‘I sometimes think it’s easier to love a book more than a person, don’t you think?’ she said. ‘A book doesn’t change — it remains constant and perfect no matter how many times you read it.’

(from The Book Lovers)

The Book Lovers is the first in a new series by Victoria Connelly, whose writing I have loved since I discovered her Austen Addicts series several years ago. This was the first non-Austen-inspired book I’ve read by Connelly so I didn’t know what to expect, but oh my goodness, it was fantastic!

The novel centers on Callie Logan, a children’s book author who leaves the fast pace of London to settle in Owl Cottage in Newton St. Clare. She’s going through a divorce and needs to rediscover her creativity, and a small village where everyone knows everyone seems like just the place to heal. She soon meets the wild adventurer Leo, who takes her hiking through the woods and cooks her meals from ingredients he has foraged, and Sam Nightingale, the owner of a used book store who is trying to start up a book club and is dealing with relationship troubles of his own. Callie forges a friendship with both men, as they each bring something different and needed into her life.

I loved how Connelly introduced such an exciting cast of characters in the Nightingale family, including Sam, his sister Bryony, who owns a children’s bookshop, his parents, and his grandparents, especially the grandfather who is always hanging around Sam’s shop. This is a close-knit family who gets together every Sunday for dinner, and the love they have for one another — even when they get on each other’s nerves — is infectious. I loved how they welcomed Callie with open arms, and how Callie — whose parents are cold and distant — blossomed in their presence.

I couldn’t put this book down, and the characters felt so real to me that I thought about them when I wasn’t reading and couldn’t wait to jump back in and find out what happened next. The best part is they are standalone books, so no cliffhangers, but you’ll want to dive into the next book right away. Stay tuned for my review of book 2 later this week!

Disclosure: I received The Book Lovers from the author for review.