I bought this book during a work trip to York, during my unsuccessful quest for York magnets at Waterstone's, as it was advertised as local fiction.
I am usually attracted by the same kind of books (and book covers), and this one fitted the style, although there was something in the plot that made me wonder if I would 100% like it.
And at the beginning I was not sure, it was a good read, yes, but I couldn't get into it because I couldn't (luckily) relate to anything that Loveday was going through or liking or thinking, except from the love for books.
But it's the description of the details and the writing style that kept me going, and made me read the second half in a day and love it! I loved the way Loveday described her childhood memories, with tiny little details that made me smile and see what she was seeing, and remember my own details as well. And I loved how everything got together in the end, and made sense, in a simple yet deep and beautiful way. So very real and very human. And I loved the ending. I was surprised to see that the book was finished, as I thought there would be more details of something that's supposed to be happening at the end, but it just ended like that. And then I saw the very last page, which made me feel emotional and made up for the details which were not written, and which were actually better left that way, because the few words on the last page were the perfect ending of the circle, and made this book a precious little jewel that touched my heart.
I am usually attracted by the same kind of books (and book covers), and this one fitted the style, although there was something in the plot that made me wonder if I would 100% like it.
And at the beginning I was not sure, it was a good read, yes, but I couldn't get into it because I couldn't (luckily) relate to anything that Loveday was going through or liking or thinking, except from the love for books.
But it's the description of the details and the writing style that kept me going, and made me read the second half in a day and love it! I loved the way Loveday described her childhood memories, with tiny little details that made me smile and see what she was seeing, and remember my own details as well. And I loved how everything got together in the end, and made sense, in a simple yet deep and beautiful way. So very real and very human. And I loved the ending. I was surprised to see that the book was finished, as I thought there would be more details of something that's supposed to be happening at the end, but it just ended like that. And then I saw the very last page, which made me feel emotional and made up for the details which were not written, and which were actually better left that way, because the few words on the last page were the perfect ending of the circle, and made this book a precious little jewel that touched my heart.