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The Bookstore

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The Bookstore

By: Deborah Meyler
Narrated by: Lucy-Jane Quinlan
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About this listen

Ardent and idealistic, Esme Garland arrives in Manhattan to study art history at Columbia University. When she falls in love with New York blue-blood Mitchell van Leuven, life seems to be clear sailing, until she falls pregnant and he abruptly ends it all. To make ends meet Esme starts work at a small West Side bookstore with a colorful crew of characters - but then Mitchell, glittering with charm and danger, comes back on the scene.

©2013 Deborah Meyler (P)2014 W F Howes Ltd Contemporary Contemporary Romance Fiction Romance Women's Fiction New York

Critic reviews

"This is a gorgeous book, witty, lyrical, and bursting with heart… when you finish you will be smiling, wondering what happened next." (Gabrielle Donnelly, author of The Little Women Letters)
All stars
Most relevant

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Not a great read/listen the story is tired and the narrator is appalling, makes me wonder if she was in fact educated properly, it is truly amazing when she pronounced a word correctly, even common ones, hence my comment about education. So I would not recommend this to a friend or even to someone I didn't care for.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

That is part of the problem, most of the stories within the novel have been told often so nothing special in that case either, all very tired and no imagination. I hate to be so negative, but I really struggled to finish this book.

Would you be willing to try another one of Lucy-Jane Quinlan’s performances?

Never

Do you think The Bookstore needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Finishing this one was painful enough, a follow up could be torture, especially with the same narrator.

Painful to listen to

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Would you try another book written by Deborah Meyler or narrated by Lucy-Jane Quinlan?

Not by this narrator

Would you ever listen to anything by Deborah Meyler again?

Maybe

Would you be willing to try another one of Lucy-Jane Quinlan’s performances?

Never, she is supposed to be portraying a very intellectual character who would know how to pronounce all of her words, which distracts completely from the story.

Did The Bookstore inspire you to do anything?

No

All spoiled by the inept pronunciation

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Would you try another book written by Deborah Meyler or narrated by Lucy-Jane Quinlan?

Apparently the narrator of this story is not familiar with reading books with 'big words' as she mispronounced so many that I was cringing. Really, if you're going to employ someone to read books aloud as a job, you should at least ensure they're actually able to do it competently!

Was The Bookstore worth the listening time?

As for the story, it was okay: nothing breathtaking or challenging, and you could see what was coming a mile off. Still, it whiled away the time whilst I was decorating, and I wasn't too upset if I couldn't hear it all the time, as I could pick right back up again wherever the tale had got to.

Breathtakingly badly read

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Would you try another book written by Deborah Meyler or narrated by Lucy-Jane Quinlan?

probably not, just could not focus on what was going on, nothing caught my attention.

just couldnt keep my attention

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I enjoyed this book as a twenty-something (which I am not) The truisms and at times naivety of the heroine over conception, childbirth, and the American way were amusing, and her injections of literary wisdom charming. I only gave the performance a '4' as the reading was perfect for the heroine's character, but Lucy-Jane Quinlan did pronounce certain words very unconventionally to my ear. Perhaps this was to add to the guileless-ness?? The only one I wrote down was one near the end: indignant, pronounced something like 'indijent'...but otherwise good, sound entertainment.

English naivety in New York

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