Miss Mary's Book of Dreams

Everyday Magic #2

by Sophie Nicholls

Dreams, books and vintage fashion - the second book in the bestselling ebook series by Sophie Nicholls, author of The Dress.

In historic York, Ella seems to have the perfect life. She's a published author, her bookshop is thriving, she's married to the man of her dreams and they've started a family of their own.

But Ella is struggling. Motherhood isn't quite everything she imagined it to be, and she's worried that there may be cracks in her marriage.

On the other side of the Atlantic, despite endless blue skies and a stream of eager customers in her vintage dress shop, Ella's mother Fabia finds that life in San Diego is not enough for her. She misses York, and can sense that Ella needs her, so she flies home.

And this is when they meet Bryony. With a complicated life and secrets of her own, Bryony may have some of the answers they're looking for.

Can Ella and Fabia help her find her way, whilst also working out how to find their own happily ever after?

'A delightful, uplifting novel that, while unashamedly romantic and feel-good, nevertheless ponders some deeper questions.' Yorkshire Post on The Dress.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Young Adult, Fantasy, Fairy Tales

320 pages, Paperback

Published March 23, 2017

About the author

Sophie Nicholls is a best-selling author and an award-winning poet based in York in the North of England.

She teaches Creative Writing at Teesside University and is Programme Leader of the MA Creative Writing by Online/Distance Learning.

Reviews

[Always Pouting · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ella runs a book shop while taking care of her daughter most days and has started to feel restless. I didn't even know this was supposed to be a sequel apparently but I don't think it took away from the book, you can read this on it's own. The writing was good but I just don't think the plot was. I even liked the characters I just think the cohesion wasn't there. Nicholls tried to combine three story arcs and bring them together but they didn't seem to relate and the sense of suspense was so different for them that it felt jarring to alternate between the POV. I wouldn't mind reading other books by Nicholls I just didn't enjoy the plot to this one but her writing has potential.

[Bookread2day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that the author Sophie Nicholls had a lovely writing style and a beautiful way with words.

Ella is a busy wife, a mother and a successful novelist. It was her mamma that encouraged her to write.

Being a mum, running a business and writing a novel, she hardly got any time to think. As we all know there isn't quite enough hours in the day to get everything done.

Ella's mamma sold her dress shop and Ella had taken the shop over as a book shop. The shop bell still dangled in the same way just like it did when Ella's mamma had the shop. Bryony Darwin came into the book shop looking for a book about dreams.

Who is this Bryony Darwin? And why was she looking for a book about dreams?

I now know why this book is named Miss Mary's Book of Dreams.

A Dream. A Bookshop. And a little touch of magic.

Sophie Nicholls is the bestselling author of The Dress, which is next on my to read list.

I do hope that you all enjoy Miss Mary's Book of Dreams as much as what I did.

[Justkeepreading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley, Bonnier ZAffier and SOphie Nicholls for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance reader copy of this book.

You can find my review on both Goodreads and Amazon. On goodreads.com/karenwhittard and on Amazon under k.e.whittard from publication date.

I really don't know why this book has such a low rating on Goodreads. I absolutely loved it and find out utterly delightful. It has, love, family, friendship, books, food, fashion, drama, dreams and magic. What more could you possibly want?

Ella is a writer who has lost her way since her adorable little girl has been born. Trying to run her bookshop as well as raise a family and write a book is taking its toll. Plus Ella keeps being plagued by unsettling dreams and her self esteem has hit rock bottom. However she is such a lovely, kind and caring creature who is a wonderful leading lady.

Ella's mother Fabia lives across the ocean in America but there dreams link them together. When Fabia realised Ella is having troubling dreams she know she must go and visit her daughter and burn some bridges. Fabia runs a wonderful vintage clothing shop. I love Fabia, her best friend and her partner. Such wonderful colourful characters.

Bryony stumbles into Ella's bookshop on a cold and Rainey day. Plagued by vivid dreams and cryptic messages. Bryony is desperate to find out what they all mean. Which is when she stumbles across Miss Mary's book of dreams. Bryony is in a relationship but isn't sure if it is right for her anymore. She also has a septic sister who loves nothing more than getting them both in trouble.

Can Miss Mary's book help Bryony and Ella more than they know and can their fleeting meeting turn into a wonderful friendship?

This is a wonderful book. Which sparkles from the front page to the very last. I absolutely loved it.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Happy reading everyone

[Lynne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I didn't realize when I requested an advance copy of this book that it was the second book in a trilogy (my bad), and although I can say that this can be a stand-alone book, I think perhaps I would have enjoyed it more (and would have felt more of a connection to the characters) had I read Sophie Nicholls' first book The Dress.

That said.

Sophie Nicholls writing itself was excellent. My issue wasn't with that, but more with the plot. I had a hard time connecting characters, or their subplots with one another. It was almost like a series of short stories linked together by the “magical” aspect of this book: people (Ella, Bryony, Fabia and Zohreh) who see/feel the magic around them, a sixth sense of sorts. They stroll in and out of one another’s lives, but the book could have been written without one or more of the characters and it wouldn’t have detracted very much from the story.

This book wasn't what I thought it would be. It really didn't need to be called "Miss Mary's Book of Dreams" since the focus on Miss Mary and her book of dreams really felt as though they were an afterthought. Even though each chapter started off with one of Miss Mary’s spells, the chapters didn’t then tie it back together by having a scene or event that focused on those spells (example: a chapter starts with finding a true love – the chapter wasn’t about that).

I wanted this to be a bit more like The House at the End of Hope Street by Menna van Praag – and it fell short. The dash of magic tossed into this book just wasn’t developed enough. Why was Bryony so interested in Miss Mary? What happened to her before? Why wasn’t a friendship between Ella and Bryony better developed? How is it that Ella had never met Zohreh – her great-grandmother? Too many loose ends, to many unanswered and under-developed aspects to the plot to make this more than a 2 star read.

[Kathleen Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Sophie Nicholls first novel, The Dress, and loved it. So I pounced on the sequel, but with a little apprehension – I’ve read so many sequels that were a let-down. But The Dream didn’t disappoint. Iranian Fabbia and her half-Italian daughter Ella still had a lot of story to tell, and I finally got to meet the mysterious Maadar-Bozorg.

The Dress told the story of Fabbia and Ella’s arrival in northern city of York and Fabbia’s struggle to open a vintage dress shop and make a living for herself and her daughter. It also described the teenage Ella’s quest to find an identity for herself – and the difficulties of fitting in to the close-knit northern community – with an Iranian mother and an Italian father who died before Ella was born, it was never going to be easy. There are also family secrets that Ella hasn’t been told and she has never met Maadar-Bozorg, the woman who brought her mother up in Tehran.

As the sequel opens, Ella has achieved her dream of running a bookshop and becoming an author; she’s married to Billy and has a lovely 2 year old daughter Grace. Everything should be perfect, shouldn’t it? But life running a business, looking after a child, and trying to write a book, isn’t easy.

Ella is still troubled by ‘The Signals’ – her strange flashes of what used to be called ‘second sight’ – and they sometimes frighten her. But then a confused young woman called Bryony walks into the bookshop, picks up a book called Miss Mary’s Book of Dreams and things begin to change.

Fabbia is living in California with David, the doctor she met at the end of the first novel, and though her relationship is going well and her vintage clothing business is thriving, there’s something missing. She senses that Ella is in trouble and doesn’t know what to do.

Sophie Nicholls is a published poet as well as a novelist and the writing is beautiful. It reads as effortlessly as any romance should, but it skates lightly over deeper water – so much wisdom and knowledge was thrown out as superstition and paganism – women were burned alive for knowing how to cure people with herbs – we have been taught not to listen to our ‘intuition’ but to put our trust solely in science – as a result we have lost many of the skills we need to survive. In this novel, Ella and Fabbia learn to trust their intuitions in order to make sense of their lives.

This is a lovely ‘feel-good’ read, which will probably be a best-seller like it's predecessor. Perfect for an afternoon when you're feeling a bit depressed and need cheering up. Now I’m waiting for number three in the trilogy!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read although at times I kind of zoned out. It just didn't hold my interest as much as I thought it would.

At the beginning of each chapter, there was a spell from Miss Mary's book of dreams. So Miss Mary is basically a book, not a character in the book. I enjoyed the magical parts but felt as if the story was lacking something. I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. I think I liked the authors style of writing more than the actual story. I have to say that I would try another of her books.

* I was provided an ARC of this book to read and reviewing it was voluntary.

[Kirsty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't realise this was second in a series. Will come back to if I can get my hands on book one to read first

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I remember really liking the original book and thinking I’d read this as it was the sequel - this one just didn’t have any storyline - the was no structure, no story, no real conflict. It was very nice and cosy but it just felt empty and like it had nothing to say.

[Simona Dreca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to netgalley for the preview.

I've expected a different story, a story in which books had a more imporant role. The protagonist, in fact, runs a bookstore, so everything suggest that the novel would be set there. The bookstore is there, and it is also a very cozy place where at the customer is offered coffee (books and coffee are a perfect match). But the story revolves around four generations of women, linked by a kind of magic, a housewife magic. This group of women is joined by a fifth one, who is "magic" too.
Passages from the book of Mary are found as exergue of each chapter.
Although I've expected a different book, I've liked the novel, this magic of storytelling ...

Mi aspettavo una storia diversa, in cui i libri avessero un ruolo più imporante. La protagonista, infatti, gestisce una libreria, quindi tutto lasciava supporre che il romanzo sarebbe stao ambientato lì. La libreria c'è, ed è anche un luogo molto ospitale, in cui alle clienti viene offerto anche il caffè (libri e caffé sono un binomio perfetto. Ma la storia ruota intorno a 4 generazioni di donne, legate da una sorta di magia. Una magia casalinga. A questo gruppo di donne se ne aggiunge una quinta, anche lei "magica".
Brani del libro di Mary si trovano ad esergo di ogni capitolo.
Pur aspettandomi un libro diverso, il romanzo mi è piaciuto. Questa magia del raccontare storie...

[Tonya Barton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I rated this a 3 on here but I'm wavering in the 2.5 to 2.75 range.

I really enjoyed Sophie's writing style. I just wish the plot didn't feel so average and chaotic at times. The premise was great and I think with some tweaking it could had made it to a 3.5. I'd love to check out more of her work and watch it develop.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffre for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

If Goodreads would allow I'd give this book a solid 2.5 stars. The actual writing in the book is very good. I'd like to read more of Sophie Nicholls if all of the writing is this good. The plot on the other hand needs a little bit of refinement. The plot wavers between being a supernatural chick lit book and just your everyday run-of-the-mill chick lit book (you know, women bored with wife/motherhood; looking for more fulfillment). But the two themes didn't really jive that well together. I was super interested when it was about Ella with The Signals running the super cool bookstore but less interested when it was passive aggressive Ella who was questioning her choices as a mother.

Overall, the book seemed a little messy to me and I found I lost interest in it.

[Ilaria_ws · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Ora so che la forma delle cose è in continuo mutamento. La parola fine non è mai scritta."

La piccola libreria del destino racconta la storia di Ella, proprietaria di una piccola e accogliente libreria a York. Quando Ella inizia a fare degli strani sogni in cui spesso compare sua madre e scopre che quegli stessi sogni tormentano anche le notti di Fabia, inizia ad indagare aiutata da un libro: "Il libro dei sogni di Miss Mary". A loro si aggiunge anche Bryony, una giovane donna che da sempre è tormentata da strani sogni e visioni. Insieme riusciranno a trovare un senso a tutto quello che stanno passando e ritroveranno l'equilibrio che sembrava perduto...
Ho trovato questo romanzo ben scritto e molto particolare ma purtroppo la storia non mi ha particolarmente entusiasmato.
Fabia e Ella sono madre e figlia, la prima ha un negozio di abiti vintage in California, la seconda invece è una libraia di York. Entrambe hanno sempre avuto una sensibilità particolare che gli permette di cogliere nel mondo che le circonda segnali e particolari invisibili alla maggior parte delle persone. I sogni che popolano le loro notti e quelle di Bryony le spaventano, e proprio per questo decidono di far luce sulla faccenda facendosi aiutare dal Libro dei sogni di Miss Mary.
Ho letto questa storia in breve tempo grazie allo stile immediato e scorrevole dell'autrice. La narrazione segue i punti di vista dei vari personaggi aiutandoci a comprendere meglio le varie dinamiche tra di loro. La storia è particolare, ricca di dettagli riguardanti il mondo dei sogni, ma ho trovato che mancasse di emozioni. Effettivamente credo che la storia in sè non emozioni particolarmente il lettore nè lo coinvolga come dovrebbe.
Si tratta di una storia praticamente tutta al femminile, le donne che animano questa storia sono tutte diverse tra loro ma accomunate da una particolare sensibilità. Il romanzo si lascia leggere velocemente ma personalmente non mi ha dato molto, è una di quelle storie che emozionano poco e che nonostante affrontino un tema interessante come quello dei sogni, alla fine non hanno poi chissà che guizzi di originalità.

[Rachel Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophie writes like Joanne Harris, always flirting with the borders between the worlds. It must be something special in Yorkshire water! Exquisite.

[Maria Taboada · Rating 2 out of 5]

Puedo resumir está novela en dos palabras: Familia y Amor.

Por un lado, tenemos a Ella, novelista y dueña de una librería en York que, a pesar de tener un marido al que ama y una hija adorable, siente que le sigue faltando algo en la vida, que no encaja,que no está viviendo la maternidad como socialmente se espera, que no está siendo buena esposa y que posiblemente por eso su marido, Billy, está teniendo un affair con una compañera de trabajo, Selena...En definitiva, que no pertenece ni sabe si quiere pertenecer al mundo y la vida que está viviendo. Y ahí es cuando entran en escena su madre, Fabia (que a su vez tiene sus correspondientes problemas amoroso - sentimentales del mismo estilo con su nueva pareja, David, en California), y su bisabuela, Maadar-Bozorg, una ancianita iraní que siente la llamada del deber y se traslada a York para conocer a Ella y a su hija. Todas ellas, con una especie de poderes para leer las energías, y canalizarlas, cada una a su modo.

Por otro lado, tenemos a Bryony, una chica callada, tímida e introvertida, que siempre ha estado a la sombra de su hermana Selena, y a la que tachaban de loca por tener los mismos poderes que Ella, Fabia y Maadar-Bozorg. Tras mucho tiempo en tratamiento psiquiátrico, al tiempo que mantiene una tóxica relación con Ed (el libro da a entender incluso que la maltrata psicológicamente), decide indagar en aquello que todos consideran "locura" y acaba en la librería de Ella, buscando un libro sobre sueños. Casualmente Billy es un friki de esos temas, así que a partir de ahí, junto con el don que comparten Ella y Bryony, sus vidas se unen para siempre.

Personalmente no puedo decir que, objetivamente, sea una novela fascinante. Entretenida, para echar un buen rato... Pero no especialmente reseñable en cuanto a trama y desenlace. De hecho, el final de por si te deja un poco frío, porque es el resultado una historia demasiado predecible.

Está muy bien el mensaje de aceptar los cambios, vivir el presente, afrontarlo y ser capaz de tomar las riendas de tu vida y aceptarla tal cual es, con sus virtudes y sus defectos. Sobre todo en un momento en el que, personalmente, comparto las mismas inquietudes que Ella. También me ha gustado ese toque que te recuerda tanto a Chocolat, en cuanto al misticismo y demás.

Pero, en general, y sintiéndolo mucho, no es un libro que volvería a leer así como así.

[Lisa Bentley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly let me thank Ellie Burns from Bonnier Zaffre for sending me a copy of Miss Mary’s Book of Dreams by Sophie Nicholls to review.

What a peculiar novel. Miss Mary’s book of Dreams is a novel set in a book shop in Yorkshire. It has a colourful cast of characters and it has quite a few different threads to the story. We have shop owner Ella who is a writer struggling to write her next story and also finding it difficult to be a young mum. Then there is Bryony who is struggling with her mental health and an evil sister. Together they find each other and are helped to find themselves.

I enjoyed reading Miss Mary’s Book of Dreams but I can’t honestly say that I fell in love with the story. It was well written, I would never criticise Nicholls writing talent. Her ability to tell a story is evident I just didn’t gel well with the book. I wasn’t gripped and I didn’t find myself consuming the book at the speed that I regular do but I can see how others may love this book.

Miss Mary’s Book of Dreams by Sophie Nicholls is available now.

For more information regarding Sophie Nicholls (@wordsauce) please visit www.sophienicholls.com.

For more information regarding Bonnier Zaffre Books (@BonnierZaffre) please visit their Twitter page.

[Valentina Desiante · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first few pages of the book are not what I was expecting, but the more I read, the more I wanted to read.
Ella is an interesting character. She is a writer with a bookshop in York - my absolute favourite place in the entire world.
York is my magical place, and by the look of it, it is a magical place in this book also.
Ella is trying to write her book when a curious woman comes into the bookshop. She is looking for a book about dreams - another topic that fascinates me - but not a "cheap" dream dictionary, a proper deep one.
She finds Miss Mary's Book of Dreams, a rare book of instructions, guidelines on life, including dreams and how they affect your daily life.

Well, this screams magic and a bit of mistery to me!
I so want to see how this carries on.
Good writing style, easy to follow and captivating.

[Sonia Bellhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unpredictable book, and one that defied my expectations. I came upon it by chance in my search for books about book shops. The bookshop was fairly incidental to the story which concentrated more on three generations of the same family. As there are references to The Dress and events that happened in its storyline I felt that I was slightly disadvantaged,
The ‘ Miss Mary’ of the title was a healer or ‘cunning woman’ who fell foul of a disgruntled and incompetent doctor who accused her of witchcraft. Now, a copy of her precious book is in the bookshops and draws to it those who need its magic.

[Milie_Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un bon roman, mais qui ne m'a pas enchanté plus que ça.

J'ai eu un peu de mal avec Ella, le personnage principal. Elle a tout pour être heureuse et ne fait que se plaindre. Même si elle le remarque elle-même, j'ai trouvé ça plutôt agaçant, quand je lis un livre je n'ai pas envie de suivre l'histoire d'une personne qui a tout et qui se plaint pour un rien.

L'intrigue n'est pas très passionnante. J'ai quand même apprécié pour la proximité avec les livres et pour Billy, que j'ai beaucoup aimé.

[Liane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me AGES to read this book though I'm not sure why as I really enjoyed it.
It was a lovely, uncomplicated read with a touch of magical mystery, curiosity and cosiness.
Definitely would recommend but I think it would have to be a certain type of rather than to the general mass public type of recommendation.
Wish we could be more specific when rating with stars. I would be more comfortable with giving 3.5 stars for this but sadly I can't, so instead I'm going to make it 3 out of 5 and hope people will read the review to get a more accurate score.

[Caz Parry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was excited by this novel, potentially a perfect combination of books, magic and the lovely city of York- and indeed it is an enjoyable, romantic and thoughtful book.

Interesting characters develop, all with their own secrets and issues, and I loved the references to colours swirling round them, their dreams and the Signals , an area that I personally find fascinating.

At times, particularly earlier on in the novel, I found I was confused by some of the characters and their roles, and tended to race through the chapters where Maadar –Bozorg and Fabia were telling stories

It wasn’t quite the story I expected it was going to be, I would have liked there to have been more development of the magic theme, but overall it was very enjoyable and left me with a warm glow, which on a cold March day, can't be a bad thing!

Thank you to Readers First for giving me a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest and unbiased review

[Nona · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here is something different for those who want to read about the intricacies of thoughts and dreams, spells and maybe a little bit of witchcraft, all revolving around daily life.
Sophie NICHOLLS has written a very interesting piece that influences the reader to maybe try a few of 'Miss Mary's' practices. It is light entertainment, however has underlying truths and realities that we all experience in our lives.
Highly recommended.

[Astrid Johanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the book, it is different somehow and I have love books where you follow different people at first, and in the end there different life's and perception comes together in one story that you didn't think about when first reading. This Story has this quality together with a sprinkle of magic.

[Holly is Happy Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ella works in a bookstore in York and she has a young daughter Grace and husband Billy. A woman comes into the shop and sees a book called miss Mary’s book of dreams. Soon she gets fascinated by her magic tales. This for me was such a vibe and I enjoyed it a lot and practically read it in one sitting. Every chapter had a magical thing that could help you.

[Judy Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book of witches, dreams and family. I liked the characters, Bryony and Ella, but I found there were to many other characters. With old and new names it was hard to remember who was who. There was the mix of the old dress shop and the new bookshop. I just felt there was so much going on. I thought it would be more about Miss Mary and dream interpretation.

[Mandy Marr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't realise I'd read this before and not too keen. I probably chose because it's based in a book shop in my local city York. I found the first chapter confusing had no idea what it was about and then all through it Mamma and Great grandma have several names each and I never knew who the story was referring to at any one time. Sorry, found it irritating

[Gráinne Raghallaigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Readable to pass the time but missing something, feels like theres 3-4 different stories here and theyre not really meshed together or examined properly. So your attention is getting drawn away all thd time for no real payoff.

[Karen Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I have read by Sophie Nicholls the first was The Dress I really enjoyed it now the miss Mary’s book of dreams carries the story on I liked this so much I didn’t want to stop reading, the characters are lovely I do hope there’s going to be another one soon.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this delightful; yes, a bit soppy and too good to be true. But what the heck - warms the cockles of your heart to read a book like this sometimes 😊

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good inter-generational magical realism story.

[Pauline Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good mellow romance with magic and witchcraft entwined into it, and it was all centred around a bookshop!