I’m really delighted today to be joining the blog tour for the forthcoming book from the wonderful Faith Hogan, The Bookshop Ladies, and sharing my review. To be published on 6th June by Aria Fiction, it’s now available for preorder (for kindle, in hardcover, paperback, and as an audiobook) via Amazon, or via the publishers’ website, and also for Kobo. My thanks to Shannon Hewitt at Aria for the invitation and support – and for my advance e-copy, provided via netgalley.
I’ve really loved Faith’s books from the very beginning – and you’ll find reviews of every single one here on Being Anne (just pop her name into the search bar). But I know there were so many others who added her name to their “favourite authors” list when they read The Ladies’ Midnight Swimming Club (you’ll find my review here) – and, like me, looked forward to and really enjoyed their returns to Ballycove with both The Gin Sisters’ Promise (review here) and The Guest House by the Sea (you’ll find my review of that one here). She’s the most wonderful storyteller, and her writing is always compelling, life-affirming and uplifting – and the very real characters she creates have never yet failed to engage every possible emotion. Another glorious cover from Aria for this one – and a story inside that I was so looking forward to…
‘A captivating read, written with warmth and elegance, The Bookshop Ladies is the perfect escape!’ Evie Woods, author of The Lost Bookshop
Bestselling Irish writer, Faith Hogan, has created another gripping saga of friendship, betrayal and secrets in this story of a widow in search of answers to a shocking confession by her dying husband.
Joy Blackwood has no idea why her French art dealer husband has left a valuable painting to a woman called Robyn Tessier in Ballycove, a small town on the west coast of Ireland, but she is determined to find out.
She arrives in Ballycove to find that Robyn runs a rather chaotic and unprofitable bookshop. She is shy, suffering from unrequited love for dashing Kian, and badly in need of advice on how to make the bookshop successful.
As Joy becomes entangled in the daily dramas of Ballycove, uncovering the secrets behind her husband’s painting grows increasingly challenging. When she finally musters the courage to confront the truth, her revelation sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community she’s grown to love.
Shocked by her art dealer husband’s deathbed confession that he had a daughter – they were never blessed with a family of their own – there’s a further surprise when his will is read, and Joy discovers he’s left the painting on his study wall to a woman who lives in Ireland called Robyn Tessier. Might this be his daughter – or perhaps even his mistress? She needs to find out, and rather than sending the painting, travels from her home in Paris to Ballycove – where she finds the young woman struggling to run a bookshop. A misunderstanding sees her helping her out, their joint efforts beginning to change the bookshop’s fortunes – and, having grown closer to both Robyn and her family, it becomes increasingly difficult for Joy to make clear the real reason for her visit. Many of Joy’s questions are answered – but when her own secret is revealed, she knows that the deep friendships she’s made will never be the same again, and that her stay will be over.
The characters – all very real, and every one of them so sympathetically drawn – and the relationships between them made this a book that entirely won my heart. There’s Joy’s essential loneliness in the absence of a family of her own, and her increasing sense of belonging as her presence makes an impact on everyone around her – and the growth in Robyn’s fragile self-confidence as she sees small changes and a little friendly support making such a big difference. And other strong friendships too – Joy’s with Robyn’s wonderful grandfather Albie (he’ll be a real favourite with everyone who reads this book…) and her more unexpected and particularly touching one with Robyn’s mother Fern – and relationship issues as the younger woman endeavours to sort out her feelings about the entirely oblivious Kian.
There’s always something rather special about a bookshop setting – and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the transformation the women were able to bring about while working closely together, their mutual trust and respect slowly building. Emotionally, the book hits every single note with absolute perfection – with that lingering threat always in the background that once the real reason for Joy’s visit is revealed it will blow everything apart. There are a few other surprises along the way too – overall it’s a fairly gentle read, but completely compelling, and I felt entirely immersed in everyone’s lives and experiences. It explores, in some depth, the power of friendship – but also the importance of family, however complicated, and whether tied together by blood or the love between the individuals who become part of it.
I found the whole book absolutely captivating – and its perfect ending left me with a really warm glow inside. A new favourite from an author who never disappoints? Yes, I really think it might be – I loved every moment, and really couldn’t recommend it any more highly.
About the author
Faith Hogan is an award-winning, million copy best selling author. She is a USA Today Bestseller, Irish Times Top Ten and an Amazon UK Number 1 Best Selling writer of ten contemporary fiction novels. Her books have featured as Book Club Favorites, Net Galley Hot Reads and Summer Must Reads. She writes grown up women’s fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel-good and inspiring.
Her new summer read The Bookshop Ladies is out in June 2024 and it’s a great big welcome back to Ballycove for her readers.
She writes twisty contemporary crime fiction as Geraldine Hogan.
She lives in the west of Ireland with her family and their Labrador named Penny. She’s a writer, reader, enthusiastic dog walker and reluctant jogger – except of course when it is raining
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