Ylpeyttä ja ennakkoluuloa Bloomsburyn kirjakaupassa

Lonely Hearts Bookshop #2

by Annie Darling, Saara Pääkkönen (translator)

Yksi nainen, kaksi valepoikaystävää, aikamoinen sotku.

Ihastuttavan Bloomsburyn kirjakauppa -sarjan toinen osa! Introvertti kirjakauppias Verity Love ajautuu feikkisuhteeseen, jossa on vain yksi sääntö: rakastua ei saa.

On yleisesti tunnustettu tosiasia, että naimaton nainen, jolla on valepoikaystävä, on välttämättä parisuhteen tarpeessa. Vai onko sittenkään? Verity Love on oikein tyytyväinen elämäänsä sinkkuna. Vapaa-aikansa hän viettää Jane Austenin romaanit seuranaan, ja sokkotreffit hän välttää keksimänsä poikaystävän avulla. Kun huijaus on lähellä paljastua, Verity joutuu improvisoimaan ja esittelee tuntemattoman miehen poikaystävänään. Päätös ajaa hänen hallitun elämänsä kaaokseen: uusi valepoikaystävä nimittäin sattuu itse olemaan valetyttöystävän tarpeessa... Mitä Jane Austen tällaisesta tilanteesta sanoisi?

Annie Darling asuu Lontoossa pikkiriikkisessä, kirjoja pursuavassa asunnossa. Hän rakastaa rakkausromaaneja sekä kissaansa herra Mackenzieta. Ylpeyttä ja ennakkoluuloa Bloomsburyn kirjakaupassa on itsenäinen jatko-osa Pieni kirjakauppa Bloomsburyssa -teokselle. Hauskassa ja romanttisessa sarjassa seurataan elämää ja ihmissuhteita lontoolaisessa kirjakaupassa. Täydellistä viihdettä kaikille Lucy Diamondin, Jenny Colganin ja Beth O'Learyn faneille!

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Contemporary, Fiction, Books About Books, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Rebecca Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verity Love - Vicar's daughter and huge Jane Austen fan - is perfectly happy being single after her last relationship ended three years ago. She has a great job working in the Happy Ever Bookshop on Rochester Mews in Bloomsbury, good friends, four loud sisters, a love for romance books, a demanding cat called Strumpet and no need for a boyfriend. However, her friends are desperate to set her up with someone. So she has a bright idea to stop everyone from continuously attempting to set her up with men she has no interest in. Peter Hardy Oceanographer - the god of boyfriends and a prime catch. Apart from he doesn't exist and is a fake boyfriend who acts as a convenient excuse for Very.

Her friends are obsessed with him even though they have never even met him in six months, because Verity has an endless list of excuses. The easiest is his job as an oceanographer, meaning he's away an awful lot. However, she was now running out of reasons at keeping her friends away from meeting him and at arms length, it was becoming more of a pain. So she decides it's time they "broke up".

On a Friday night after work drinks with Popy and Nina in The Midnight Bell pub, Very escapes to Il Fornello, the Italian restaurant she frequents by herself every Friday night with only a book for company. She told her friends she was meeting Peter, so when she realises Popy and Nina have followed her, she plonks herself down in front of a guy at a table by himself, and asks him to go along with her. But she was too late. Wires crossed and her friends concluded she was also now dating Johnny, the gorgeous man Verity sat down at the table across from... As soon as her friends left Verity also makes her grand escape.

The following Friday night, when she's back in her usual cozy spot at her little table, with a book in hand and waiting for her lasagne to make an appearance, Johnny sat down in front of her. He suggested that as they're both in similar predicaments - she didn't want a boyfriend, and he was in love with a woman he couldn't be with - that they are each other's pretend other halves to keep their friends off their back.

They make an agreement and Johnny tells Verity not to fall in love with him because his heart his taken. She is adamant she won't. So they start the summer season of weddings and garden parties as "a couple" and fool their collective friends. The only people Verity has told the truth to are her sisters. But how long can the charade continue for? Will the truth out? There are obstacles galore to tackle; crazy exes, nosey friends and awkward situations. Verity finds herself referring to her favourite book of all time - Pride and Prejudice - and asking herself on countless occasions "what would Elizabeth Bennet do"?

This is the second book in The Lonely Hearts Bookshop series. However, "True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop" can be read as a standalone book, I didn't even realise until the end of that it was part of a series. So don't let that put you off this one.

It's a light and heart warming book, that should delight fans of Jane Austen with references peppered throughout.
Some of the characters were lovely and others on the unpleasant side. There were parts of the storyline I found unbelievable and annoying and I wanted to yell at the infatuated and love struck Johnny on more than one occasion. The plus points for me are the setting and descriptions of Bloomsbury and the bookshop Verity works in, the relationship between the five Love sisters and the fact a lot of the story takes place in a bookshop that specialises in romantic fiction is great for bookworms. The downsides for me were parts of the storyline being far fetched and certain characters being rather irritating.

Overall I found it a nice and enjoyable read, which fans of chick lit and romantic fiction should lap up.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction, for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest and unbiased review.

[Ivana - Diary of Difference · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely romance novel, with lots of moments that will make you giggle and feel sad, approve and disagree with Very and Johnny's decisions all the time - an adventure that you can't afford to miss this time - especially if you are a book lover and `Pride and Prejudice` is one of the many books you truly love!

[Zakirah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very torn between one and two stars but I'll be generous and if, after a few days, the incredulous/revolted expression on my face still appears at the thought of this book, then I'll bring it down to 1.

It started alright. I recall chuckling once, smiling a couple of times, then from chapter 4 my reactions went as follows;

"Wow, that character is pathetic"
"Wow, THAT characters is pathetic"
"Wow, that character is a 2D cliche"
"What exactly is she attracted to?"
"Was that all there was to that story?"
"Well, this is really pathetic"
"Really? Just really? Nothing between you for 90% of this book, then all of sudden? Ok then"
"Wow, that is unbelievably embarrassing"

Or something like that.

I got to 98% and honestly couldn't even bring myself to finish that tiny 2%, it was just unbearable. I mean, you're supposed to like at least ONE character in a book right?


My quest for romcoms that are actually funny continues.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing something to kill time.

EDIT: This had better not have besmirched the glorious words of my forever beau, Darcy, for me. I will be really mad if I remember that awful conversation at the end the next time I read Pride and Prejudice.

[Rachel Gilbey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have spent a year really excited to think there would be another book at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop given how much I had enjoyed the first book. However as is unfortunately the case, I just didn't think this one lived up to my own expectations of the book.

That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book, as I did, this is a very enjoyable story, I suspect I had been expecting one thing and the story I was given just wasn't quite it. It was a book full of parties, from weddings, birthdays, housewarmings and all manner of other things, with the two main characters being in a fake relationship.

Verity is a lovely girl, but even though I'm on the quieter end of the scale the descriptions of her introverted nature were draining me completely. She really has lots of foibles that to the right guy are probably adorable but to me as a reader just started to annoy me, I think mainly due the repetitive nature.


There are though some great moments in the book, mainly involving Verity's four sisters who are as different from Verity as you can be. They are loud chatterboxes and Merry in particular is good entertainment.

Johnny himself is wanting a fake girlfriend for a reason I just wanted to slap him for. He came across for most of the book as really pathetitic in his reasoning but at the same time I loved the way he interacted with Verity. He seemed to be really patient with her specific problems with the world.

Ultimately if you haven't read the first book and go into this with a fresh mind then you will probably enjoy it a lot more than me. It can easily be read as a standalone. However if like me you read book 1, then to me this was just missing the magic of the first book. I would have loved to have seen more about our romance themed bookshop.

Verity is also a huge Pride and Prejudice fan but there is only so much Austen I can take, as I was never that enamoured with my GCSE text! She continually wants to live her life like the Elizabeth Bennet and also is able to quote the book regularly.

Don't get me wrong this isn't a bad book, its really enjoyable and I did like it, I just felt it was missing that certain something to make it a great book in my eyes.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

[Bookread2day · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn in by this gorgeous front paperback cover and of course the romantic blurb. It's a must read to all romantic people. Verity, posy and Nina all work in a bookshop Happy Ever After. They transformed it into a one stop shop for all romantic fiction. Verity' friends kept trying to set her up with any random man spare or signing her up for dating sites.. Can you girls imagine your best friends doing that to you? Just because your friends are obsessed with being coupled up doesn't mean you have to be. Verity is in that situation where she was happy to be single. To stop her friends from giving her a hard time she invented a fake boyfriend his name would be Peter Hardy and he was an oceanographer. Break out in a cold sweat or what! Verity's friends kept asking her so many questions about Peter Hardy her good looking blonde tanned fake oceanographer boyfriend. Lots of fun and romantic things happen along the way in this beautiful story. It is really a must buy must read.

[Danielle's · Rating 5 out of 5]

Verity Love is a romance reader who believes all the best stories are in books. She's a huge fan of Jane Austin (which I hope you are too or you may not understand some of the references in this book). Verity is a manager of a London book store, and perfectly happy to keep her romance in the fiction category.
Verity makes up a pretend boyfriend to help her friends accept she's happy. Peter Hardy is an oceanography and always travelling. He is the perfect cover, but when Verity accidentally gets caught cheating on her boyfriend she ends up with a real "Fake" boyfriend.
Johnny, just like Verity is on the undateable list. He has his reasons, and so a plan is formed. Friends who help other friends with the plus one situation. You think you have read this story a thousand times, but you haven't. I really enjoyed this book, and the ending was Perfect!

4.5 stars out of 5.

*ARC received in exchange for a fair review* Recommend to the Pride and Prejudice fans, the happy singletons, and the lovers of British romance.

[Agi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh dear. Guys. I've fallen in love with "True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop" immediately - just like it happened when I've been reading the first book in the series "The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts". Those two stories are heart - breakingly funny, warm, they tug at all the right heart strings and are full of the best ever comments, one - liners and characters. I could read Annie Darling's books on daily basis.
This book was a little different to the previous novel, although I can't tell you exactly what was missing this time, maybe I just had too high expectations but still it was a brilliant, poignant and hilarious read. However, if you haven't read the previous book, I would highly recommend to do this before reading Verity's story, and not because you are going to miss on the characters or plot, because this book can be read as a stand - alone, but because the previous novel was just magical.

Annie Darling has - again - created some of the best characters in the fictional world. This time the story focuses on Verity Love, who works in Posy's bookshop. Verity may be a very extreme character - you know, there might be quiet and there might be quiet, and she was at the very end of the scale, but the descriptions of her introverted nature were so spot on, they explained her personality in such a perfect way that - even though I have my wild years behind me I am still an open person - I could just get Verity, I understood her with my whole heart and could see her need for peace and quiet. It was brilliant that she realised she's not the easiest person to be around but it was even more great that she was trying hard not to overwhelm people with her need to be alone, and I had a feeling that she tried so hard not to be a burden - but she was not a martyr! Oh no. She was a lovely, incredibly smart and funny person and I would love to have Verity as a friend.
I think that the best parts of the book involve Verity's family - her fours sisters, cats, dog and parents who also refers to themselves as Our Vicar and Our Vicar's Wife - loved it! The sisters couldn't be more different than Verity herself and they brilliantly complemented her, they were incredible, self - confident chatterboxes talking all the time. I laughed out loud at their antics and couldn't stop smiling when they were planning Con's wedding. They were all so warm and you could see they love each other incredibly.
The author also couldn't come up with a better name for the antagonist. As it happens, I know one Marissa and even though she's only a child, she's as devil as the Marissa from the story.
And then we have the main male character. Oh boy. But before I start gushing about Johnny please let me tell you that there was one moment at the end of the story when I felt SO disappointed with him! I thought I'm going to kill him with my bare hands. Also, him being in love with a woman he can't have, and the way he cling desperately to this illusion started to annoy me at some point and I wanted to shake him really hard. And he was a little like enigma to me, sometimes he just came across as self centred and arrogant, and sometimes he was so understanding and heartfelt. But whatever, I really liked him and the way he was around Verity, he was so patient with her and he had so much understanding.

What made me feel a little unsure was the fact that I was eventually asking myself if Verity and Johnny should really end up together? They worked brilliantly together in my opinion but there came a moment that we got to know Verity's feelings about the situation and didn't know about Johnny's, and then came this another moment that I've mentioned above about being unsure about Johnny, and I was simply afraid that Verity is going to be hurt, because I was not sure what it really is what Johnny feels. Nevertheless, I loved the way this friendship evolved, it felt very genuine and natural. They both had issues and demons and I loved to see how they open up to each other and how it helped them.

I am only afraid that slowly there is only so much Jane Austen I can take and that with this book I've maxed up my limit of reading books based on "Pride and Prejudice" - however it was one of the best "adaptations" I have come across.

So altogether, even though the first book in the series was magically brilliant, I adored "True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop" and I hope that Annie Darling is going to write another book about one of the characters! I will be the first in the virtual queue to read it, that's for sure. This book was full of a great, different romance, wonderful, larger than life characters and written in such a lovely way! The author has a great way with words, she always knows when it's time for something poignant or some fun and some of the situations are either heart - breaking or hilariously funny, and I loved this balance. If you need to loose yourself in a humorous, heart - warming novel about friendship, family, love and hope than treat yourself to this book. Highly recommended!

Copy provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.

[Katy O. · Rating 5 out of 5]

New favorite series ❤️

[Mercedes Yardley · Rating 3 out of 5]

True Love at the Lonely Hearts Bookshop is about a PRIDE AND PREJUDICE obsessed introvert and her quest to be left alone. I was impressed that it looked long and hard at some serious issues like emotional affairs and personal boundaries, but I found myself personally stressed out by the loud and invasive friends and family who constantly violated the main character's space. I mean, I was genuinely having negative physical reactions! If you're a P&P fan, this might be the book for you. P&P is mentioned constantly throughout, is a major plot point, and also has quotes that begin every chapter. This would make a wonderful gift for a P&P fan.

[Samidha; समिधा · Rating 4 out of 5]

*NOTE: A copy of the book was provided in exchange for an honest review. I would like to thank HarperCollins India for the book.*

I would like to start by saying that the title is very cleverly done and isn’t as sappy as it sounds. That being said, it is still a romantic comedy so don’t expect that there won’t be cheesy stuff.

It follows our main character Verity Love, who is an introvert, very content with her life as a twenty seven year old, single, working in a bookshop that caters to the Romantic readers, has a cat and lives above her workspace. She gets increasingly frustrated with her friends setting her up with random dudes on weird dating apps and decides to make a fake boyfriend called Peter Hardy Oceanographer, who stays at sea and isn’t around much. Until one day her friends follow her into her little hiding place, a beautiful restaurant where she goes to just be by herself. In a pinch she decides to sit next to a random dude, who is very handsome by the way, and asks him to go along with her plan.

“Verity had met a lot of Jane Bennets and Charles Bingleys, far too many Mr Collinses, an occasional Wickham, but a Darcy was rarer than a single man in possession of a good fortune who was in actual want of a wife.”

This guy is Johnny True (True-Love), who happens to have a certain story about his unrequited love. They both decide to join hands and become each other’s “fake” boyfriend/girlfriend just so they can get through the summer. It is super clichéd, but that is the thing that attracts you the most.

From the start, you aren’t rooting for them, even though the book relies heavily on Pride and Prejudice, it is unlike the Elizabeth-Darcy relationship where there is a lot of  sexual tension between the two. In this novel, Johnny and Verity are actually just friends, who understand each other and don’t expect much.

“Many times Verity had tried to explain that wanting to be alone and being lonely were two very different things.”

One of the hardest things for me to do, when I read a rom-com is to actually like the characters, Either the girl is a total Mary Sue, and the guy a douche who constantly treats the girl as a piece of crap, or they both have absolutely no chemistry and it’s all about getting in each other’s pants. However, this book was different for me. I genuinely liked Verity a lot, I could relate with both the characters and none of their reasons seemed to be banal when it came to their personalities. The writing style was very light, and very funny. I loved the country/urban England contrast with the Regency Era.

 “Did very tell you how we played at being puritans who denounced each other as witches?”

The dynamic with the family was lovely, Verity’s elder sister Merry was a constant support system along with her friends. They were five daughters of a Vicar, with Verity being the middle one, whereas Johnny was an only son to a widowed father.

Each chapter was preceded by a P&P quote, which brought out the gist. It was such a beautiful perfect read for me. Even though it is more of a summerish read I would still recommend reading this because it was just a perfect little place to immerse yourself in. At no point was I rooting for them, but when the romance actually happened I was happy.

So it wasn’t a frenetic read, which induces anxiety about whether or not they end up together but a laughable romance about these two, not-so-unconventional characters. Would definitely recommend this, and also this is apparently the second book in the series but that doesn’t hinder your reading in any way.

-Samidha Kalia.

 

[Rachel McMillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am totally reading these out of order and am finding I follow just fine so please pick up any at your whim and will.


Again, we are at a charming book shop in Rochester Mews with a delightful London setting painted so vividly and not at all matching the vague pastels of the covers.

Verity, the vicars daughter, is the introverted shop manager and centre of this readable romance wherein she and a stranger agree to pretend to be a couple for summer functions even while falling in love.

There were several things to recommend the book: the warmth and humour of the author's voice, for one and the colourful supporting characters. Verity's large and raucous family under the parentage of Our Vicar and Our Vicar's Wife is an absolute delight (do you remember when we met Sam Stewart's vicar father in Foyle's War? this made me think of that).


I also thought it did a wonderful job of showcasing what introverts really look like and live like. The drain that comes from having too many tabs open on a computer, for one.


The big issue for me was the hero. Johnny has some lovely qualities, thoughtfulness and wit, but his obsession with a married woman and his attraction to someone so horribly wrong for him made him seem like the villain who tries to keep Alicia Witt from happiness in a Hallmark Christmas movie.


On to the next one!

[Mireille Duval · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book that I would have finished reading hidden beneath my desk at school. It was such a page-turner. WILL THEY FIND LOVE, READER? WILL THEY?!

That said, of course it's a romance and it's nice that they end up together, but. I kind of wanted Verity to run away and stay away. Johnny had been a dick, frankly. He didn't even text or call! AND MARISSA IS THE WORST HUMAN BEING ALIVE. I mean clearly my real life has me seeing red but THE WORST ALIVE does not feel like that much of an exaggeration. Ew. It does not reflect well on Johnny, indeed. Nor Harry? What's that guy doing, seriously?! But Very can stay.

This author is good at grabbing your attention and not letting go of it. It felt very surprising all the time, despite the tropes. Johnny's first line to Very's friends just melted me.

I am so glad that I love romance novels. I had taken a bit of a break lately from romance (I think?) but nothing delights me like it. To think that some people think romance novels are beneath them. Like Marissa. No wonder she's the worst human being in the world.

[Chris Conley · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun little book. I stumbled across it and am so glad I did. Very Love is a delightful heroine.

[Ginni Brinkley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I haven't read the first book in this series, but this one is readable as a standalone. It's an OK, if predictable, story centred around Verity Love and Johnny True (yes, I'm afraid so), with a cast including Very's loud sisters, parents (I really didn't like them being called Muv and Farv, or Our Vicar and Our Vicar's Wife, both names were irritating), Johnny's unpleasant ex, his many dahling friends and a few others. Johnny wants a fake girlfriend, and his reasons are pretty poor, Very goes along with it too, but I'm not sure why, really. A lot is made of her being an introvert, yet she's at weddings and parties with Johnny non-stop all through the summer, despite many references to her need for solitude. There are also some pretty annoying stereotypes - the socks and sandals mansplaining curate, the do gooding vicar and wife, whose sermons are long and boring and who give all their children terribly holy names and have no TV, etc...

The ending is predictable and very possibly wrong. After ten years, ten years, of conducting an emotional affair with his ex-best mate's wife (admittedly said ex friend was a bit of a scumbag for pinching her from him straight after his mum died, hardly paints either of them in a good light, shades of Ross - "we were on a break!"), Johnny falls for Very, but he's hardly Mr Darcy. Just because he seems nice, we can ignore this major character flaw of obsession. Very, run a mile!

It's sort of engaging, but with an undercurrent of 'do I really care about these characters?' Probably a reasonable summer beach read, but not one to go back to for a second read. The tearoom sounds awesome though!

Thanks netgalley for the advance copy.

[Cadiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one, which was a surprise because it's rare these days that I read any hetero relationships or chick lit but this certainly didn't have any annoying alpha males or simpering females.

I thought both Verity and Johnny were well crafted characters, believable and real, human and alternatively frustrating and fascinating. Very's obsession with Pride & Prejudice was neatly woven into the whole story narrative and never felt like a deliberate plot device and it worked well as the hook to hang their unconventional relationship on.

The introduction chapter was one of the funniest and most engaging I've read in a contemporary chick lit romance for a long time and actually had me chuckling out loud. Very's mad family and bunch of friends meshed well and provided a nice contrast with Johnny's, who were a bit posher and - at times - much more standoff ish.

Marissa, the technical villain of the piece, never became a caricature, I've met a fair few Marissa's in my long years and she played true to type, a narcissistic selfish woman who couldn't bear to let go of her devoted suitor.

The resolution was lovely but the epilogue was a bit of a waste, far too short even if it was quite sweet.

#ARC received from the publishers via NetGalley in return for an honest and unbiased review

[Sara Oxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

True Love at the lonely hearts bookshop by Annie Darling a fab four-star read. This was a fun and flirty read, it tells us the story of Verity Love and we also meet her four sisters who are entertaining in their own right, and they are some of the background characters I have read in this type of book for a long time. I loved the first book, and this doesn’t have the same sparkle, and ommpphh that book had but it is a good read and I would recommend you read it. Just be prepared to want to do some damage to Jonny he says one thing but feels another, will ever own up to what he wants from life?
If you want a quick an entertaining read, that’s light and fun and amazingly British this book is for you, also if you are a fan of Jane Austin you will love this book and probably recognise some of the quotes mentioned.

[Liliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE LOVE

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to be honest. I loved this book.

Most Ardently.

[Johanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved Very so much! I also loved secondary characters who were already familiar from the first installment. All characters were fleshed out nicely and that made everything feel alive.

I loved how fun this book was, some sentences made me laugh and setting was also awesome.

This was really delightful story that was so much more realistic than so many other romance novels - and was still really fun!

[Gio-Karmaversum · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teil 2 hat soviel Spaß gemacht! Verity ist so speziell und ich liebe ihre 4 Schwestern und überhaupt ihre Familie. Johnny ist Johnny... etwas verpeilt und blind für die Liebe und ziemlich hot. Seine Storyline ist vielleicht etwas übertrieben, aber ich hab es trotzdem sehr geliebt.
Pure Unterhaltung und ich freu mich, bald Band 3 zu lesen und zurück nach Bloomsbury zu kommen. Ich liebe es einfach in der kleinen süßen Buchhandlung zu sein und alle Charaktere wieder zu treffen.

[Aylin Niazai · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not for me. I liked what it could have been, but I had some issues and did not care for the writing style.

[Nanou · Rating 3 out of 5]

C’est mimi, peut-être un peu mièvre, mais ça lit tout seul et ça rend gloire à la littérature sentimentale ^^ et puis Verity travaille dans une librairie qui fait salon de thé (le rêve xD)

[Edith · Rating 3 out of 5]

iha kivsu, ei tää nyt mitenkää hirvee erityine ollu mut iha symppis niinku se edellinenki osa. huomaa kyl et tätä sarjaa kirjotetaa enemmän trope edellä, nää on niin ennalta arvattavii mut eisemitää

[Karen Mace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the first in this series so was eagerly anticipating falling in love again with the characters and settings in this one - and I wasn't disappointed! The perfect romance read, full of lots of lovely bookish references and hope for all of those who believe in love finding a way, no matter what obstacles you may put in the way!!

This is the story of Verity Love who knows runs the Happy Ever After bookshop, and it's still nice to catch up with the other old characters from the previous story who became like friends after reading the first in the series! Although this still can be read and enjoyed as a standalone!

Verity is the epitomy of an introvert, preferring the company of books and her rather fabulous but needy cat, Strumpet, and just a few close friends. She likes having routines and one of those is dining along in a nearby restaurant where even the owner knows her needs as a diner!

The problem she has is convincing her friends that she's happy this way, and has pretended to have the most fabulous boyfriend, who exists only in her dreams. So when she meets a fellow single diner in the restaurant one day, Johnny, who helps her out of a sticky situation, they soon find that they both could use each other as their 'fake other halves' to keep their friends and families from sticking their beaks in!

I loved how their friendship evolves, and how they open up to each other about issues they both have. Johnny is a dreamboat of a 'boyfriend' although I did find him a little bit of a wet weekend at times when he kept going on about the woman he loved and lost - but still wanted! But they were still always there for each other when needed for social occasions and they brought out some interesting events to enjoy!

Verity and her family and friends were all fabulous characters, her sisters particularly were so funny, and i loved all the Pride and Prejudice references - so much so that I'm going to have to read it once more to enjoy it again for myself!

It also gave great insight into how being an introvert affected her on a day to day basis, and how she needed calm and peace to reset herself every now and then - very difficult to do in this fast paced, noisy world we know we live in. It gave you great empathy as a reader with her as a character

A really fabulous read and I am hoping there will be more in the series as I love the characters and the bookshop setting!

Thankyou to the publishers and NetGalley for the e-copy in return for a fair and honest review.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mlle Alice, pouvez-vous nous raconter votre rencontre avec Coup de Foudre à la Librairie des Coeurs Brisés ?
"Le résumé faisant clairement référence à Jane Austen, je ne pouvais qu'avoir envie de découvrir cette histoire. Après avoir lu le premier tome, j'ai donc joyeusement enchaîné avec celui-ci."

Dites-nous en un peu plus sur son histoire...
"Verity Love est parfaitement heureuse avec son petit ami imaginaire mais alors que ses amies insistent pour le rencontrer, elle se dit qu'elle va devoir leur annoncer leur rupture. Jusqu'à ce qu'un soir, l'une d'entre elle ne la suive et qu'elle se voit obligée de sauter sur le premier inconnu disponible (et qu'il soit grand, beau, riche et célibataire est un hasard total)..."

Mais que s'est-il exactement passé entre vous?
"Même si j'avais bien aimé le premier tome, j'avais eu quelques réserves sur le héros alors qu'ici j'ai été très touchée par Johnny et Verity. Ils sont tous deux d'une grande sensibilité qui a rendu pour eux certaines épreuves de la vie insurmontables et leur relation est aussi sincère que possible dès le départ. On retrouve donc l'ambiance que j'ai aimé dans le précédent, l'humour, les livres, les citations et de nombreuses références à Jane Austen, avec tout ce qu'il manquait au précédent : un couple qui fait vraiment rêver, des jolis moments, de l'amitié et bien sûr, une peste insupportable. Même si je n'avais que peu de doutes sur la manière dont tout cela pouvait se terminer, j'ai veillé jusqu'à trois heures du matin pour connaître le fin mot de l'histoire et ça, ça en dit assez long je pense sur le plaisir de lecture ressenti !"

Et comment cela s'est-il fini?
"J'ai trouvé l'auteur bien indulgente avec certains personnages mais les retrouvailles entre les deux héros (oups, j'ai gâché le suspense !) m'ont bien amusée. Qui ne rêverait pas d'un amoureux capable de réciter un passage clé d'Orgueil et Préjugés ?"

http://booksaremywonderland.hautetfor...

[Jordanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

He’s Just Not That Into You, Because He’s Way Too Into Her

🌟 🌟 🌟

I … generally liked it. It made me laugh, I liked the Austen references (even if there were borderline too many quotes shoehorned where they needn’t be) and even almost liked Verity and Johnny. In all fairness, their flaws are what make them likeable and I actually couldn’t fault Verity until the end which I personally felt made no sense, but there you go.

I found it hard to like Johnny. I mean everyone told me about how lovely he was and what a good guy he was, but good guys don’t do what he did. Or say what he said.


His redemption came too late in the book to come to a realistic end and I judged Verity so hard for sleeping with him after he basically said she meant literally nothing to him and that he was using her all along. I mean, Very – you’re so cool – have a little self-respect!


Marissa was a hateful Caroline Bingely archetype and was written very well, especially since I know several Marissas and it was bang on the money – though Verity was so slow on the uptake at the wedding despite the fact she had technically already been told exactly who Marissa was not two chapters previous, every other time she was actually very intelligent.

Despite these reservations I was generally hooked and have already order book one (because I kind of really like Sebastian-types? Not in a ‘I’d take that crap’ kind of way, more of a ‘I see you as a kindred-spirit kind of way’ … I think) and have begun Book 3 because Nina intrigues me.

I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

To read more of my reviews, visit my blog, Bloodthirsty Little Beasts.

[Lynne Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a delightful read, though at first I worried it might be a bit manic. Once I got into the rhythm of the book, and the fun style of writing, I was on my way. Verity is a truly quirky character, but one I could relate to on some levels as an introvert myself. Her fake oceanographer romance was meant to be a way to barricade herself from the world of dating. It backfires when, in a moment of desperation, she must throw herself at an unsuspecting man in an Italian restaurant to keep her fib alive for her nosy friends. Turns out Johnny had a need for a fake relationship as well, and the two misfits make a pact to spend the summer helping each other get through a long list of social gatherings. I liked how the relationship built slowly and believably, and kept me amused throughout the book. It was hard to understand Johnny's attachment to Marissa (I hiss the name as she is a manipulative, awful person). For being such a wonderful and smart man, I repeatedly scratched my head over his clinging to such an unappealing old flame. The book is filled with family members - some crazy, some wonderful like Our Vicar and Our Vicar's Wife, offbeat co-workers, and upper class types who may or may not be likable. I smiled a great deal while reading this book and read it quickly, which is a huge sign that I liked it.
I do ask the world a question though. Have we done enough spinoff/influenced books from Jane Austin's Pride and Prejudice yet? Maybe not. This from a person who has even watched Pride, Prejudice and Zombies. ;)
I give this book 4 1/2 hearts

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book! I could so easily identify with Verity (as I'm sure many bookworms could!). She finds it hard to socialise enmasse, would rather be in the background than be centre of attention, is a good listener but not very good at hugs or giving advice....and definitely prefers to be in her office rather than chatting to customers at the bookshop where she works.
While all Verity's friends seem to be loved up, she is happy to be single and when she meets gorgeous Johnny, who, by an amazing coincidence also needs a fictional partner for personal reasons, what could be more simple and straightforward they both agree.

I hadn't read the first book in this series The Little Bookshop of Lonely Hearts but I didn't feel I'd missed out too much as this is a stand alone book.
As I said, I loved this book, the storyline was funny, and sweet, and I loved Verity and her cat, and her saying 'what would Elizabeth Bennett do?' when she didn't have a clue what to do, I loved Johnny and his friends, the writing was enjoyable and at just the right pace.
Definitely one to recommend!

[Janice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant holiday read. On the surface it's a predictable romantic novel but it has a really quirky humour and writing style. So many sentences end in unexpected ways ! Who else writes about love and " wonderful sex" and finish with " though it is a school night " !? I also loved the literary references and obviously to Pride and Prejudice. My only criticism is the number of characters. I found Verity's sisters with their names and nicknames and the workers at the shop rather "confusing" . It might have been easier if I had read earlier books in the series but this was a random choice of book.

[tatiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

MUITO MELHOR QUE O PRIMEIRO. depois de me decepcionar com o primeiro livro, só continuei a série porque já tinha comprado os 4 volumes, mas que surpresa boa foi essa história. o segundo livro conta a história de Verity Love, depois de um termino de relacionamento meio turbulento, ela decide que toda essa coisa de romance não é para ela, mas seus amigos parecem não entender isso e constantemente ficam encontrando possíveis pretendentes para ela. a solução que Verity encontra é criar u namorado falso, Peter Hardy o oceanógrafo (eu AMAVA como o oceanógrafo parecia fazer parte do nome dele porque todos se referiam a ele assim), e ela consegue enganá-los por um tempo até que um dia as amigas seguem ela até onde teria um “encontro com ele” e Verity acaba pedindo para um estranho fingir que era com ele que ela estava indo se encontrar.
o que era para ser uma mentirinha de uma noite só, acaba virando um plano para o verão. Johnny, o date falso, acha que seria uma boa ideia que os dois fingissem que estão se conhecendo (namorando, não, assim não seria mentira porque estava se conhecendo MESMO) para que os amigos dele também saíssem do seu pé insistindo que ele precisava de uma namorada. Acontece que o problema do johnny é um pouco maior, na época da faculdade, ele se envolveu em um triângulo amoroso e até hoje acha impossível amar outra mulher, mesmo ela já estando casada.
Durante todo o verão nós temos Verity e Johnny participando de vários casamentos, festas e pela primeira vez em um tempo, sentados na mesa dos casais e não na mesa dos solteiros. o problema é que quando o sentimento falso começa a se tornar verdadeiro, muitas coisas (e pessoas) estão lá para dificultar que isso aconteça.
eu amei o livro, eu não esperava pelo namoro falso, e eu AMO namoro falso em livros, sempre são as melhores histórias, mas esse em especial, foi tão diferente, e acho que o melhor na minha opinião. para mim, pelo menos, sempre que leio uma história de namoro falso, já fica clara desde o unicio a tensão romântica entre os personagens e eu SEI que eles vão terminar juntos, mas esse por um momento eu achei que uma troca de casais iria acontecer porque o johnny deixou MUITO claro que ele era apaixonado por outra pessoa, e essa obsessão dele me convenceu DEMAIS.
a presença constante da família da Verity fez toda a diferença, eu gosto muito mais de histórias que agregam a família ao romance porque acaba sempre proporcionando momentos engraçados. foi muito legal ver a relação entre eles, o vigário e como as irmãs eram extrovertidas demais totalmente o oposto da Verity.
eu desenvolvi um crush absurdo no Johnny, e o mais engraçado é que imaginei ele o livro TODO como o Jonathan Bailey, EU SEI, nenhuma semelhança entre a descrição do Johnny do livro e o real, mas o nome era o mesmo e isso bastou pra que eu só visualizasse ele assim, é o meu jeitinho.
Verity foi uma personagem interessante, por ela ser introvertida, precisar de UM MOMENTO em silêncio, trouxe uma carga diferente para o romance, e eu achei muito verdadeiro e consistente a maneira como isso foi representado.
todo capitulo começava com uma citação de orgulho e preconceito, e eu gostei muito porque já sabia mais ou menos o que esperar ler, sem contar o final com o Johnny terminado a fala dela <3
se você não gostou do primeiro livro (assim como eu!) leia o segundo, e se você está começando a série, comece do segundo. 5/5 amei.