Book Synopsis
A.J. Fikry meets The Bookish Life of Nina Hill in this charming, hilarious, and moving novel about the way books bring lonely souls together.
Two young lovers. Sixty long years. One bookish mystery worth solving.
Librarian Chloe Sampson has been struggling: to take care of her three younger siblings, to find herself, to make ends meet. She’s just about at the end of her rope when she stumbles across a rare edition of a book from the 1960s at the local flea market. Deciding it’s a sign of her luck turning, she takes it home with her—only to be shocked when her cranky hermit of a neighbor swoops in and offers to buy it for an exorbitant price. Intrigued, Chloe takes a closer look at the book only to find notes scribbled in the margins between two young lovers back when the book was new…one of whom is almost definitely Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door.
When she begins following the clues left behind, she discovers this isn’t the only old book in town filled with romantic marginalia. This kickstarts a literary scavenger hunt that Chloe is determined to see through to the end. What happened to the two tragic lovers who corresponded in the margins of so many different library books? And what does it have to do with the old, sad man next door—who only now has begun to open his home and heart to Chloe and her siblings?
In a romantic tale that spans the decades, Chloe discovers that there’s much more to her grouchy old neighbor than meets the eye. And in allowing herself to accept the unexpected friendship he offers, she learns that some love stories begin in the unlikeliest of places.
My Review
The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore is an adult fiction romance and a book about books that also talks about family, friendships, and life lessons. It is charming, hilarious, a moving novel about the way books bring lonely souls together, and much more. Jasper Holmes, the curmudgeon next door, is such a grumpy old man.
If you ever stumbled upon a chance to read a book that was annotated and had thoughts by someone mentioned in it, would you read them? If ever given a chance to read the same book with your partner and jot down your own respective thoughts, would you do this activity? HELL YESS, I DEFINITELY WOULD!
Our main character and librarian, Chloe Sampson, stumbled upon a book that was read and annotated long ago by two lovers, one of whom is her next-door grumpy neighbor. But there is an interesting twist to this that builds the plot of this book and adds more layers to it. At times, I struggled to like Chloe and other side characters.
The dual timeline between the past story of Jasper and his lover and the present time, where we see Chloe unravel the truth and find her own path, takes place over almost a decade. I absolutely loved the quotes and references from the classic books in this one. It’s definitely worth picking it up once.
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AVANI SHAH 