Time for just one more review before going off on holiday again, and it’s a real pleasure to share my publication day review of the new book from Amanda James, The Midnight Bookshop. Published today (16th May) by One More Chapter, it’s now available as an e-book on all major platforms and as an audiobook, with the paperback to follow on 22nd May. My thanks to Mandy for providing my advance reading e-copy – and isn’t that cover just so beautiful?
Having very much enjoyed Mandy’s books in the early days – you’ll find a special feature here that I shared in 2020 – I was delighted to rediscover her writing last year with the simply wonderful The Garden of Memories, one of my 2024 Books of the Year (and you’ll find my review here). It was such a special book – some gentle romance, and a lovely focus on friendship, family, being there for each other, starting over and finding your own path to happiness. It also had the perfect emotional touch, both tears and laughter, and a warmth to the story’s telling that I found particularly moving – it was gloriously heartwarming and uplifting, every individual found a place in my heart, and I loved every single moment. So I was very much looking forward to her latest…
Long ago, a bookshop was born – the beating heart of all those who find hope within the pages of a book. With the words penned upon the echo of old forests, new worlds are created.
It’s ready and waiting to welcome all those who know where to find it…
Strangers Jo, Adelaide and Kye are the least likely people to find themselves across the threshold of a bookshop.
But as their midnight book club shows them that a single book can change everything, all three realise that their own stories can be rewritten.
Three random strangers, living in Truro, meet on a visit to the local food bank, each of them picking up a flyer about a bookshop – an old fashioned one, with a red door and a brass knocker, that none of them has ever seen before. Jo is at the food bank taking in a donation – she’s 21, a university drop-out, has no job and a generous allowance, loves reading, and lives with her parents who favour material things over any love or understanding. Kye also lives with his family, but with a wholly different experience – his formal education ended so he could care for his mother, and he’s also very dissatisfied by being at the beck and call of his brother who’s involved in an illegal trade he abhors. And then there’s Adelaide – dreaming of a different life, trapped in an abusive marriage.
Over a coffee, they make a plan to meet and visit the bookshop together – it proves difficult to find, but once they enter they know they’ve found something particularly special. It has a lot of features they can’t explain – and a quirky custodian, Fay, her appearance regularly changing, making enigmatic statements they don’t fully understand, there to help them experience the full magic to be found in books. And that’s as far as I’ll go with telling the story – but it follows the lives of all three individuals, through their more surreal experiences at the bookshop on their nighttime visits, and also through the strength and support they find in each other and in the pages and stories of the books that choose them.
I’ll admit that the degree of magic realism in this book did take me a little outside my reading comfort zone, although I could most certainly appreciate how very well it was handled. Another key thing I tend to look for in a book is at least one individual who I can identify with – but could find very little common ground with the three main characters. But (worry not!) then there are the books – that wrap them up in their pages, help them find their own path and change their lives – and the magic of the reading experience is something that every reader can’t fail to be familiar with, and the hook into the story that I was hoping for.
There was so much I really enjoyed about this book – the characters are superbly drawn, and their experiences really do touch you to the heart. It’s a very emotional story at times, as they struggle to change their lives – and the magical elements are nicely balanced with the real life challenges they all come to acknowledge and try to overcome. But it’s never too heavy – there’s a lot of humour in the interactions with the wonderful Fay, and it’s also very easy to share their moments of joy, whether found in the pages of a book or through a hard-won small and personal victory. The fantasy elements work really well in their context – some of them particularly clever, significant to each individual’s personal story or a book that’s become important to them.
The whole book has its messages aplenty – the main one for me was the way reading can connect people, that books will always be there when you need them, and that a fresh perspective and a hand to hold can make a world of difference. But others will find other universal truths, aspects of reading that they’ve always believed in – as the individuals too find what they need the most, either through the books or each other. It’s fresh, it’s original, and it’s quite beautifully written – although I do know its magical touches might not be for everyone. I must say though that I thoroughly enjoyed it, finding it wholly different from anything I’ve read before – and I’d very much urge you to give it a try.
About the author
Amanda James has written since she was a child, and as an eight-year-old, she asked her parents for a typewriter for Christmas. She never imagined her words would ever be published however. Then in 2010, after many twists and turns, the dream of becoming a writer came true when she had her first short story published for a Born Free anthology. She left teaching in 2013 to pursue her dream full-time.
Originally from Sheffield, Amanda now lives in Cornwall and is inspired every day by the wild and beautiful coastline near her home. She loves writing uplifting books with a twist of magic, as she thinks the world needs more joy in it right now. Amanda can usually be found playing on the beach with her family, or walking the cliff paths planning her next book.
